CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 6

We're halfway through our Christmas Countdown, and we return to all that is pink with Pink Panther in Hokus Pokus Pink (1998 Wanderlust Entertainment), the sequel to Passport to Peril from a few days ago. The first one was a surprisingly hilarious time, so how does this slightly spooky follow up fare? Head on after the jump to find out - and stay tuned for more festive festivities in the days to come!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 5

There's only ONE WEEK left until the big day, so I hope you've all got your presents sorted. If not, I gotcha with Day 5 of the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown! Today we have a futuristic racer that was the big thing for the genre years after WipEout released. This time, Take2 Interactive took a stab at publishing Thrust, Twist + Turn (1999 Carts Entertainment Oy, Ltd) for our little ol' PCs and there sure is a lot of each of those verbs to be found.

Check it out by clicking on the links after the jump!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 4

With Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon recently hitting Netflix, and the fact that I've already reviewed both unrelated Rebel Moon games some time ago, I thought I'd bring in a slightly different touch or rebellion for the fourth day of the Collection Chamber Christmas Countdown. Rebel Runner: Operation Digital Code (1996 Microforum) is a tough action side-scroller from a little-known South Korean developer named Family Production. Check it out after the jump to see if it's as explosive as Netflix's most recent and expensive streaming blockbuster.

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 3

Day 3 and we have a doozy! Created by a bunch of talented modders around the world before being picked up, funded and expanded at the behest of Sierra On-Line, Gunman Chronicles (2000 Rewolf Entertainment & Sierra On-Line) is perhaps one of the best total conversions of Half-Life there ever was. A classic FPS with cowboys AND dinosaurs! What more could you want?

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 2

Day 2 of the Chamber Christmas Countdown and we're travelling around the world with fuchsia feline in Pink Panther's Passport to Peril (1996 Wanderlust Interactive, Inc). It's a surprisingly chucklesome point-and-click adventure for kids with some mean jokes and even meaner stereotypes. Enjoy!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 1

The Christmas Season is here! And with it comes a slew of old games thanks to the Collection Chamber. We begin with something creepy... and crawly. It's also Christmassy too with Creepers + Christmas Creepers (1993 Psygnosis). If you take Lemmings and mix it up with The Incredible Machine, this is what you'll get. A fun puzzler with some bonus festive levels too!

On another note, there is one update to rattle on about. Most likely the only one in December. Disney's Hercules: Hades Challenge has now gone back to using DOSBox emulating Windows '95. This is instead of ScummVM which - unbeknownst to me - hasn't fully implemented a lot of the mini-games. Perhaps this is the better way to play!

Bon Noël everybody!

MONTHLY 5 - NOVEMBER 2023

December is nearly upon us, but before we commence our countdown to the festive season, let's gander at an eclectic quintet of PC gaming perfection* from the past.

First up for November is Beyond Time (1997 DreamCatcher Interactive, Inc), a time-travelling ancient Egypt-set first-person adventure that dabbles in everyone's favourite* presentation style; FMV. For more trips throughout history, why not try Excalibur 2555 A.D. (1997 Telstar Electronic Studios), that sees Merlin's granddaughter travel to the future to do some exciting* actioning along with that adventuring. If you want some full-on guns-blasting action, take a look at Machine Hunter (1997 Eurocom Developments), a fantastically* frenetic top-down shooter that rises up to become my pick of the month. If all the bloodshed is not to your liking, try the ever-tranquil* SimSafari: Step into the African Savannah! (1996 Maxis, Inc), that takes the tried and true SimNoun template into a safari park. Lastly, navigate a cute little tank across vast landscapes in Wild Metal Country (1999 DMA Design / Rockstar Games), an overlooked gem* from the folks behind Grand Theft Auto. Despite my tongue-in-cheek asterisks, all of them are worth a try so check out my reviews to find out more.

Sadly, no updates I'm afraid, but I did catch up on some of the missing written reviews from the last couple of months. Check out my thoughts on Weird and SimIsle and let me know yours in the comments. I'm currently neck deep in preparing for the annual Christmas Countdown that will commence 14th December - that's 12 days straight of gaming goodness just for you lovely folk! On that note, I must crack on with it. Until then, head on after the jump and enjoy!

* Your definition of what's considered this may vary drastically...