MONTHLY 5 - SEPTEMBER 2023

So, it appears my Facebook (Meta?) has been hacked so if you are used to visiting my humble corner of the internet from there, that's why I haven't posted an update. So far, it looks like they've changed nothing beyond my admin status, username and password but it's probably wise not to trust links from there for a while until I claw back control from some arsehole in Dehli, India. I should probably take this as a sign to keep on top of my other social media accounts like Twitter (X?) and Instagram (Instagram?) which I've very much neglected over the years.

By technical troubles coming from Dehli, India haven't stopped me from putting forth five newly added games to the chamber (although, as is unfortunately becomming the norm, some of the reviews aren't up yet). Pick of the month is the sequel to Magic & Mayhem called The Art of Magic (2001 Virgin Interactive Entertainment). It continues the same strategy/RPG gameplay as the first but instead of the charming claymation graphics were introduced to some new-fangled 3D polygons. Dark Angael (1997 Vicarious Visions) is a cool Metroidvania-style platformer which has the same under-used mouse and keyboard controls as Abuse. L'Affaire Morlov (1995-1996 CPIO Multimedia & Titus) is a French-produced, English-language FMV detective adventure. SimIsle: Missions in the Rainforest (1996 Maxis Inc) is yet another SimNoun title, this time asking you to balance commerse and conservation on a series of island rainforests. Lastly, guest reviewer Austin tackles a surprisingly emotional freeware adventure called Mourir en Mer (2002 Digital Mind Studios).

As for updates, the big one is that of a compilation featuring Sierra's Hi-Res Adventures. ScummVM has been updated so it would accept a larger variety of Apple II disk images allowing all 7 games in the series to run via that program. Cranston Manor is now playable this way instead of using the more cumbersome AppleWin emulator. I've also tweaked the DxWnd configuration in Space Hulk 2: Vengeance of the Blood Angels which would hopefully help with random crashes.

That's it!

MONTHLY 5 - January 2023

It's 2023 and a full month has gone by. Other than collecting my musings of the movies and modern games I've encountered over the last year, it's time to get back to the old stuff. We have five interesting obscurities to kick off the year, starting with the fantasy Tomb Raider clone Asghan: The Dragon Slayer (1998 Silmarils). Next up is a recently translated PlayStation platformer featuring the first creation of Dragon Ball's Akira Toriyama called Dr. Slump (1998 Bandai). Then we have the racing sequel Monster Truck Madness 2 (1998 Microsoft Corporation & Terminal Reality) complete with dozens of fanmade tracks and trucks. Travel the high seas and shoot your way to treasure in Overboard! (1997 Psygnosis) otherwise known as Shipwreckers! in the US. Lastly, guest reviewer Austin takes on a crazy ride with the action-arcade-strategy hybrid that is Space Dude (1996 Evryware).

That's not all. A minor improvement to the site sees the list of all of the Labels in full view at the very bottom. It was something I didn't even think about until a random comment popped up, so hopefully it'll prove useful when browsing the hundreds of game reviews (we're edging towards 600!).

Talking about the games, we have a few updates. Shannara now uses DOSBox-X (but may have an issue so the last version remains - expect the fantasy adventure to appear here again next month), Nocturne now has some tweaks for better compatibility while also adding an editor and soundtrack too! Lastly, MetalTech EarthSiege fixes the crash at the end of Campaign 4, Mission 8 while also getting upgraded to DOSBox Daum as its emulator of choice. You can see their full details of their game pages or on the Game Updates page found to your right.

For the others, go check them out by clicking after the jump...

THE ADVENTURES OF DOWN UNDER DAN

In the 90s, point and click games were in their prime. We had classics such as Grim Fandango, Monkey Island, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, Myst, and many others.  While yes, the genre was flawed, good things did come out of it. One game that really flew under the radar was The Adventures of Down Under Dan, releasing in 1995 to the Australian and United Kingdom markets only. The game even takes place in Australia, if the title didn’t give it away. It boasted full voiceover, real videos, and digitized actors, which was still a selling point at that time.

ALIEN ODYSSEY

by Austin Brewer

Argonaut Software, a studio best known for its development of Star Fox and the Super Nintendo's Super FX chip, also developed the obscure DOS action-adventure known as Alien Odyssey in 1995. With a far more powerful system at their disposal, how does this innovative team fare on home computers?

STAY TOONED!

by Austin Brewer

When it comes to the 90s, what game genres come to mind? Well, if you said the point-and-click adventure, you might be familiar with a little company by the name of Sierra. They were one of the big daddies when it came to point-and-click titles with the likes of King’s Quest, Space Quest and Leisure Suit Larry all being fondly remembered. With such a huge archive of classics, the odd game can get easily overlooked. And one of those games was the Funnybone Interactive developed StayTooned!

CREATURE CRUNCH

by Austin Brewer

Being an obscure diamond in the rough, the point and click adventure Creature Crunch truly deserves some attention. Debuting at E3 in 1996, this game was developed by Class6 Interactive, an offshoot of Class6 Entertainment responsible for the likes of Ren & Stimpy and many animated commercials. Creature Crunch was an unfortunate commercial failure with talented people involved. Even though it won the “Best Director of Animation for CD-ROM” award in 97, the game was swept under the rug from too little exposure.

THE MUSEUM OF ANYTHING GOES

by Austin Brewer

Surreal and sometimes unnerving, The Museum Of Anything Goes is an obscure “edutainment” CD-ROM project that was left in the shadows of 1995. Developed by Michael Markowski and Maxwell S. Robinson under the development name Wayzata Technology, this interactive showcase for PC and Mac is truly a relic of multimedia past. Having little to no web presence, it only makes this strange project even eerier.

GROSSOLOGY

by Austin Brewer

All throughout the 80s and 90s, edutainment games were at their prime on PC and Mac. Series like Reader Rabbit, Jumpstart, and Carmen Sandiego truly shined out of the slew of kids’ titles. Most were quite tame in their content, to obviously be appropriate for children. Although, there was one title released in 1997, under the name of Grossology.