HIDDEN GEMS - TOP 10 STRANGEST RETRO ADVENTURES

 

Have you ever picked up a random game bought from the local game shop or downloaded from a random abandonware blog and be confronted with some of the craziest shit you've ever seen? I have. More than once. In fact, I actively go seeking for them. Some of the strangest games I've ever played fall into the point-and-click adventure category so for your entertainment I've collated 10 of them and arbitrarily rated them from worst to best.

Out of the 10, there are 4 games newly escaped from the Chamber. Placed somewhere on list is Bad Milk (2000 Dreaming Media), DEVO Presents Adventures of the Smart Patrol (1996 Inscape), Who's Fat Lou? (1996 Mediola SRL), and the English translation of Eastern Mind II: Middle Heaven Chu-Teng (1995 Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Osamu Sato & OutSide Directors Company) . There's also a fair few updates too so check them out after the jump and stay tuned for the rather lengthy video coming very soon...

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THE CHRISTMAS CATCH-UP ROUND-UP

The newest video on the Collection Chamber YouTube channel talks about 5 of the 15 games I reviewed during the run up to Christmas. You can watch it below, but I've also collated those games in one easy post for those that may have missed any.

Stay tuned in the coming days for my annual Top 10 games and movies of the past year. There were a lot of good ones, despite all that happened.

Enjoy!

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MONTHLY 5 - AUGUST 2021

It's the August Bank Holiday Weekend and that means music! Whether you're slumming it at Reading Festival or tripping around one of the many smaller events, the sounds of Summer is here. So, I've dedicated this month's quintet of quality games to top tunes. Accompany MTV's resident music video commentators on their trip to university in Beavis & Butt-Head Do U (1998 MTV Networks & GT Interactive), their second point-and-click adventure. Defy the devil with a magic guitar in the tough as leather 2D platformer Johnny Bazookatone (1995 Arc Developments & U.S. Gold). Destroy the overlords with a little help from Aerosmith in Revolution X (1994-1996 Midway), their classic light-gun shooter and some no-so-classic ports. Play as the frontman  of a metal band as he plays another game within a game in the third-person-shooter Virtuoso (1994 Motivetime Ltd). Finally, rock out with the Rolling Stones in their Voodoo Lounge CD-ROM (1995 Virgin Benelux) dedicated to the late Charlie Watts. Enjoy!

I also want to plug an app a good friend of mind is developing for players of Dungeons & Dragons. The Goblin's Notebook is a single-pane view of your tabletop RPG campaign notes for pre-session planning, in-session note taking and post-session recapping, all direct from a web browser! I've been using it as a DM in my recent campaign and it's become an incredibly invaluable tool. Check out The Goblin's Notebook for free by visiting this link now!

Before I forget, there are a few updates too! Last month, I forgot to tell you all that Bermuda Syndrome got a new version that works natively on Windows. It looks better too! Also, the underrated futuristic racer, Scorcher, got an update. Head on over to their game pages to find out more.

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MONTHLY 5 - JULY 2021

The end of July is here, and so there is another quintet of games I managed to get working on Windows 10. There were a few stops and starts this time, with several projects having to be put aside due to bugs and crashes later in the game. I thought I managed to get the long-gestating Dark Side of the Moon working, but it constantly crashed on me when ringing the bell at the casino (you'll know if you've played it). Another was Liath: WorldSpiral before I found out some of the speech was all buggered. It looked like it could've been true of the original release, but there's so little information out there that isn't in Russian so I can't be sure. Alas neither was meant to be. Nor my punctualty it seems, as I've again merged two months of of games into one for the video round-up. You can check it out below if you want to see these games in action. Then, once you've done so, click on the links after the jump to read their full review and play them for yourselves. There's some doozies too, including the action-fest that is Esoteria: Techno-Assassin of the Future (1998 Mobeus Design & Kirin Entertainment), the puzzle-fest that is Jewels of the Oracle (1995 Discis Entertainment), the sports-fest that is Alien Olympics (1994 Dark Technologies Ltd & Mindscapre Inc), the loogie-fest that is Beavis & Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity (1995 Viacom New Media) and the IP theft of Zona 0 (1990 Topo Soft). Enjoy!

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MONTHLY 5 - MAY 2021

With all the jobs, jabs and other japes happening now that lockdown is easing up, I've unfortunately let the Collection Chamber slip behind these last few months. I will try my best to keep to a schedule, but like a herd of horny re-animated dinosaurs, life tends to find ways to ruin plans. Still, I've prepared five gems for May's montly five. First up is a forgotten cinematic platformer called Bermuda Syndrome (1995 BMG Interactive Entertainment) that deserves more love. It has dinosaurs in it for Hammond's sake! Defcon 5 (1995 Millennium Interactive) will give you some sci-fi shooting in an underappreciated first-person shooter. Then there's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001 Electronic Arts), not either of those slightly naff movie adaptations on consoles, but the far superior Windows action adventure. You can test your noggin by destroying aliens in the rather fun puzzle game S.C.OUT (1992 Atreid Concept - Kalisto). To save the best for last, Star Trek: Bridge Commander (2002 Activision & Paramount Pictures) puts you in the decison-making shoes of a rookie Starfleet Captain. It's almost a precursor to the recent VR game Star Trek: Bridge Crew.

Anyway, I hope that makes up for tha lack of content this past month. Watch the video below to see all of them in action, including those that were supposed to be in last month's video. Enjoy!

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MONTHY 5 - MARCH 2021

March marked the 6th anniversary of the Collection Chamber, and over 470 (not including compilations) games have been reviewed and made playable again! There's more to come, including this month's random quintet. Dylan Dog: The Murderers (1991-1992 Simulmondo) is a cinematic platformer based on the classic Italian comic series. Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2 (1992 Infocom) is a love letter to 50's sci-fi B-movies and big-breasted women with an insane amount of humour. The 1st one is also included. To get your racing fix on, try Maximum Roadkill (1996 Take-Two Interactive) for some sci-fi infused speed. Ringworld: Revenge of the Patriarch (1992 Tsunami Media) is a good-looking point-and-click adventure bsed on the works of Larry Niven. Lastly, Xargon (1994 Epic MegaGames) is a classic PC platformer - and one of the few that could possibly rival those on consoles.

There's one update this month, and if you've seen my Animaniacs ranking video you probably know about it. The Animaniacs Collection now has an additional game - River Adventure. It was too small a game to justify its own review so the new version has conveniently added it. Head on ove to that game's page for more info.

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EVERY ANIMANIACS GAME RANKED - Ranking Video

Surely everone loves the Animaniacs? I've been on a bit of a nostalgic kick revisiting the series of late, and the games to boot. Head to my YouTube channel to watch my ranking video of all of them - including those featuring Pinky and The Brain. Once you've done that, you can visit the links below to read my full thoughts on them. They are now all playable right here too, including Pinky & The Brain: World Conquest (1998 SouthPeak Interactive) which is new to the site and the promotional game River Adventure (1997 WB Kids) which I've added to the Animaniacs Collection. Find the links after the jump...

 

MONTHLY 5 - FEBRUARY 2021

 

February's games are here and we start with the last remaining game in the Animani-verse with Animaniacs: A Gigantic Adventure (1999 SouthPeak Interactive). This one's a platformer, so read read on to see if it lives up to Konami's 16-bit classics. If you want something a little more serious, then check out the incredibly obscure Death by Dark Shadows (1994 William R. Fisher III), a dark and spooky cinematic platformer that has you play as a black panther. Following on from last month's educational adventure comes EcoQuest II: The Lost Secrets of the Rainforest (1993 Sierra On-Line) which sees you befriending an Amazonian bat as opposed to dolphin royalty. Still, I'm sure there's still enough litter picking to keep an average ex-con out of trouble. If you're a racing fan, why not try the first NASCAR Racing (1994 Papyrus Design Group)? It pits up to 38 stock cars against each other in an early polygonal crash-fest. Then, in a blatant move to be topical, there's Vaxine (1990 The Assembly Line) which has you throwing multicoloured balls around in the psychedelic brain of patient zero. I'm glad real-life vaccines don't work that way, otherwise we'd be screwed.

On top of all this, there are a couple of updates to mention too. Alice: An Interactive Museum (1991-94 Synergy Interactive Corp) and the cancelled WarCraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans (Blizzard Entertainment) have received new versions. Check out their pages for more details.

Watch the video round up below before checking them out yourself by following the links after the jump.

MONTHLY 5 - January 2021

New year, old games. And there's a few stonkers here. There's more zany antics in Animaniacs: Splat Ball (1999 SouthPeak Interactive), a fantastic tryst with legend in Arthur's Knight: Tales of Chivalry (1999 Cryo Interactive), a rollercoaster design tool called Coaster (1993 Disney Interactive), an ecological adventure with EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus (1991 Sierra On-Line) and some barbaric fist punches in Savage Warriors (1995 Mindscape Inc). 

 

Alas, there are no updates. Or a video - yet. A few drunken Zoom parties laid to rest any illusions of punctuality. It's half done, covering all of December too, so expect it in the coming day(s). 

 

And here it is!!

MONTHLY 5 - NOVEMBER 2020

Okay, so a massive workload this month scuppered my plans for November. Essentially, there was to be some ranting diatribes about American politics as an excuse to review some thematically political computer games. You can still see a little of that in some of November's monthly five - most notably in two strategic simulations called Shadow President (1993 D.C. True Ltd) and CyberJudas (1996 D.C. True Ltd). 

 

If you're just about done with all that, there's some light-hearted fare too. Check out 3D Ultra Radio Control Racers (1999 Sierra On-Line) for a fun jaunt in a back yard-cum-race track. Or perhaps the kid-friendly point-and-click adventuring of Once Upon a Forest (1995 Sanctuary Woods) will suffice. If you just wanna shoot stuff, Radix: Beyond the Void (1995 Epic MegaGames) has you covered.

There's one update this month - Race Mania (1995 Flair Software). I've fixed a few glitches relating to audio and gameplay speed. It makes my main gripe when I reviewed it in 2015 disappear - I can actually win a race now! My gaming cred has returned :) Read the full review and list of changes by heading over to the game page.

 

 

What a selection! Check them all out after the jump.

MONTHLY 5 - October 2020

We may have to stay inside this Halloween, but with this bunch of old games, you don't have to waste it. Dusting off their sheets to escape the Chamber are the platforming skills of Satan (1989 Dinamic Software), the first-person shooting horrors of Eight Legged Freaks (2002 Warner Bros), the role-playing freak-outs of Xenomorph (1990 Pandora) and the survival horror that is Doctor Hauzer (1994 Riverhill Soft). Scariest of all is the teen romancing of The Vampire Diaries (1996 American Laser Games), but at least they have some vampire attacks in there to calm the nerves. 

October also got a slew of updates. 3D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night, Gahan Wilson's Ultimate Haunted House and Jurassic Park Collection: Volume 2 all got a little easier to get running on Windows 10. Check them out after the jump!

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THE DARK EYE - Video Review

Let's kick off the month of October with a few chilling tales from Edgar Allen Poe, a game I tend to revisit often this time of year. Watch the video review above, then check out the full review and game by heading to the link below.

If you want to support me and what I do here, you can join my PATREON or send a one-off donation through PAYPAL if you have the funds. I have a lot planned for October, so check back often to see what's new.

MONTHLY 5 - September 2020

Ok, so I went on holiday and missed August's back of mini-reviews, but it's back for the last Friday of September! Puzzle your way around some train tracks in 3D Ultra Lionel TrainTown (1999, Sierra On-Line), play as a cartoon Bond in the animated action game Guy Spy and the Crystals of Armageddon (1992, ReadySoft), act on that urge to go a bit faster in the original racing game The Need for Speed (1995, Electronic Arts), fix time by way of educational mini-games in The Time Warp of Dr. Brain (1996, Sierra On-Line) and lastly shoot up the place in the 360° schmup Zone 66 (1993 Epic MegaGames).

Don't forget that on top of all this, the last two months have brought us a number of new reviews and videos including my Top 10 Underrated FMV Adventures. I've also updated the package for RAMA to version 2, so check that out if you're interested.

Before you head on over, see them in motion by watching my YouTube video below! If you like it, you may want to subscribe to my channel and if you really want to show some support, consider becoming a Patreon.