|
|
Adventures:Adventure related:Kids:Role-Playing Games:Platformers:Casual Games: |
Adventures
| Adventure Writer | Gilsoft / Codewriter Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
This is a version of The Quill, a program to write home computer adventure games, originally written in Assembler for ZX Spectrum. IT only allowed for the creation of text-only adventures, using a text interpretation process known as a verb–noun parser. Later an add-on called The Illustrator was made to let the user include graphics in the adventures. In 2001, WinPAW was written by Douglas Harter. It could read adventures written in Quill and PAW, but ran under MS-Windows and had a few extensions to the original. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Enchanter | Marc Blank and Dave Lebling / Infocom | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Enchanter is the first entry in the Enchanter Trilogy, a series set in the Zork universe, except casting you as a magic user than a clueless adventurer. The premise is typical fantasy fare: you are a novice enchanter sent to Krill's castle to save the world from his evil plans. Your start out with a handful of not-so-powerful spells in your spellbook, but as you progress you will acquire more powerful spells which you can copy into your spellbook for later use. Similar to AD&D RPGs, you will need to memorize spells before you can cast them. The game also forces you to deal with "realistic" conditions like thirst or hunger. Enchanter has all the charm of Zork games, although it (and the entire trilogy) is decidedly much more serious and less whimsical. Almost all puzzles require appropriate use of spells. None of these is particularly difficult - you can solve most of them by simply trying out all the spells in your repertoire. This makes the game a good introduction to the much harder sequels (Sorcerer and Spellbreaker). As you can expect from an Infocom game, the writing is excellent and the parser powerful enough to understand a wide range of synonyms and sentence structures. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
1 2 3 |
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Forbidden Quest | William Pryor & Donnel Cox / Pryority Software | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
One of the most innovative and obscure interactive titles ever made, this is an ambitious sci-fi game that features many innovations, but falls a little flat from a few uninspired and obscure puzzles. The plot is typical enough: you are an intrepid space explorer sent to the United Alliance of Planets to find a powerful alien race to mine their knowledge necessary to restore order to the Alliance. Before you know it, you find yourself crash-landed on an unknown planet, with nothing but a trusty blaster and wits to help you survive. Puzzles are generally fair, although the existence of one (very huge) maze is a downside. What makes the game different, though, is the ingenious use of Artext prints - five color drawings included inside the game box that provide clues necessary to pass certain scenes. This combination of software and drawing adds a nice touch to the game, and makes it a unique adventure. Finding clues in these prints is a lot of fun - too bad there are only five of them. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Hobbit, The | Beam International / Melbourne House | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
One of the first computer games based on Tolkien's works and from an Australian company, based on his first Middle Earth novel The Hobbit. The game follows the book's plot very closely, as you guide Frodo's ancestor Bilbo the hapless Hobbit and his band of equally clueless neighbors into their first grand adventure. Most versions were sold with a paperback edition of "The Hobbit". The game was revolutionary for its time, with vibrant graphics, big vocabulary, and surprisingly robust NPC interaction. Unusually for a text adventure, the game was also in real time - if you left the keyboard for too long events continued without you. The game reached Number 1 best-selling position throughout Europe, and was converted to most computer formats. Across all platforms, the game sold in excess of one million copies. In the United States, it was published a few years after its original appearance as The Hobbit Software Adventure, a much extended and improved version. This version is the first part of The Tolkien Software Adventure Series. The popularity of the game has inspired many parodies of it including The Boggit, An Everyday Tale of a Seeker of Gold, The Tebbit and Hobbit - The True Story. In addition, there is a German simplified BASIC version of the game called Der kleine Hobbit. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
1 2 |
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| In Search of the Most Amazing Thing | Tom Snyder Productions, Inc./ Spinnaker Software | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Although marketed as a children's game, ISOTMAT drew acclaim from players of all ages for its original concept and imaginative game world. The game begins on a mysterious planet, Porquatz, with the androgynous player, Terry Bailey, exploring his/her subterranean home city by elevator. Terry's mysterious uncle, Smoke Bailey, has recently arrived in a strange craft known as the B-Liner, a hybridized all-terrain vehicle and hot-air balloon. Finding Smoke napping in his room, and waking him from his reverie with repeated shouts, Terry is tasked by Smoke to embark in the B-Liner on a quest for a lost artifact known only as "The Most Amazing Thing". Navigating the world outside the city, known as the Mire, is a considerable challenge. Driving the B-Liner over the tar-like surface is easy, but consumes precious fuel. To conserve fuel, the B-Liner can float above the Mire in unpowered flight, but this requires the player to carefully trim the B-Liner's altitude to take advantage of different wind currents prevailing at different altitudes. To investigate notable objects in the Mire, the player can perform EVA using a personal jetpack. Encounters range from the benign Popberry trees, which provide fuel for the B-Liner, to the deadly Mire crabs, to the quizzical merchant aliens who provide Terry with vital clues and supplies for the quest. To trade with these aliens, the player must create Musix, a simple line-drawing translated by the game into an atonal melody, which is then evaluated by the aliens according to their inscrutable aesthetics. Due to their intrinsic shyness — and the limited graphical technology available to the game's designers — the aliens communicate with the player entirely in a form of semaphore code, utilizing the only visible part of their anatomy: twin antennae, protruding coyly over the edge of the aliens' "desks". There is no linear path that you must follow, making this game a new experience every time you play the game, as each new game creates a random new world to explore. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Infidel | Michael Berlyn / Infocom | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is Infocom's first game in the "Tales of Adventure" line. You like to think of yourself as a bold and adventurous soldier of fortune, daring to brave the perils of the Egyptian Desert in search of a great lost pyramid. In fact, you're a small-time explorer, and you've just been marooned by your crew. Thoughts of getting lost, starving to death, or dying of thirst cross your mind, but you are sustained by the faint hope that you can somehow find the pyramid in this smoldering heat. You're all alone. The game's parser is up to Infocom's usual level. Michael Berlyn's writing helps bring the pyramid to life, although some sections of the pyramid to be a bit weakly written. The plot moves along fairly briskly at first, then widens to allow more exploration once you find the pyramid. There are no true NPC's in the game; how many characters are you likely to meet while exploring a long-dead pyramid? Infidel is of medium difficulty, an entertaining game but not a true classic. Also unusually for Infocom's games, the game has no happy, triumphant conclusion. Some players felt extremely disappointed, saying that the ending made them feel that everything they'd done was in vain. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Mystery Master: Murder By The Dozen | Brainbank / CBS | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This plays similar to the popular Host Your Own Murder board game, a collection of 12 murder cases for up to 8 players. The computer serves as a tool that provides case histories, obtain autopsy and lab reports (when you request them), and aid in constructing a profile of each victim. The players (if you play solo, then you're just competing against yourself) are responsible for taking notes, looking up clues that the computer designate, and solve the case. Your goal in each case is twofold: identify the murderer, and collect enough evidence to convict him/her in the court of law. As a cop, you have several options at your disposal on each turn. You can interrogate witnesses/suspects, examine physical evidence, or go to another location on the game map. Each option takes up some "game time," so you must budget and spend your time carefully to optimize the results. Choosing the order of action is also important-- if you discover the shoe in the victim's bedroom before ordering the lab report. Once you feel you know who the killer is and have enough evidence, the computer will tell you to look up the solution in the solution book that comes with the game (downloadable below as "Solution"). The computer will then spits out a rough rating of your sleuthing skills based on the time you take to solve the case. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Planetfall | Marc Blank and Dave Lebling / Infocom | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Planetfall is one of Infocom’s most successful games that was updated and re-released as “Solid Gold” edition in 1988. It includes Infocom’s “InvisiClues” hints as an in-game feature, the game engine (“Z machine”) was updated to version 5 (which features a more versatile parser), and most bugs squashed. Similar to the Space Quest series, you start the game as a starship janitor who managed to escape the ship before it was destroy, subsequently landing in a deserted building complex on an alien planet. With the help of your faithful robot companion B-19-7 (aka Floyd), you must discover what happened to the people and solve various problems before time runs out. Planetfall is a great science fiction game that boasts a milestone in computer gaming: creating a believable and lifelike non-player character. Floyd is universally hailed as Infocom’s best NPC, and for good reason. Although he is useful for only three things in the game, Floyd constantly provides you with quips, amusing banter (including many tales of his life as a robot), and hints. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
1 2 |
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Return To Pirate's Island | Scott Adams / Adventure International | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is #14 and last in Scott Adams' classic text adventure series and is a
sequel to Pirate's Island, though he did release another sequel to this
particular game after a long hiatus in 2000. This game is as tricky and
devious as the mind of Scott Adams gets. A treasure hunt in the same vein
as its predecessor, it incorporates some of the more interesting effects
Scott achieved using his system. Knowledge of "Pirate Adventure" is essential.
Return to a world full of sea, sand, pirates and treasure. You wake up in a
boat, not knowing your purpose, but as you find your sea legs and begin to
explore, many tasks are unraveled. See also: #Scott Adams Collection |
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Sleuth: A Murder Mystery | Norland Software | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Sleuth is a simple, but fun and memory-challenging ASCII-based murder mystery written by Eric N.Miller, the man behind the well-made Norland Hangman series. Sleuth is an interactive murder mystery. As a game of Sleuth begins, a murder has just been committed. It is your job to explore the house (which is displayed on the screen), to question the houseguests for their alibies, and to locate both the murder weapon and the scene of the murder. The challenge of Sleuth is to solve the crime, gather all of the suspects together, and accuse the guilty party before the killer becomes suspicious of your investigation and eliminates you from the game. Each game of Sleuth is different from the last, so you must always explore the house fully before you can solve the murder. Also, to make things more interesting, you can choose a 'Personalized' option which allows you to populate the house with your friends and acquaintances. During the course of the game you're required to ask people for their alibis to find out "whodunit", and additionally you need to find the magnifying glass so you can examine every room and object to discover "howdunit" and "wheredunit", too. The difficulty lies in figuring out which person's story doesn't match those of the other guests, or who had the opportunity, which is made harder by the fact that you can only question people once or twice since the more time you spend solving the mystery the more suspicious the murderer becomes. The ability to use the names of your friends and relatives makes the game a lot of fun; there's nothing better than randomly dotting down names only to find out that your cousin has been brutally murdered in his home, and there's a whole house full of your friends and relatives who all had a reason to do him in. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Sorcerer of Claymorgue Castle | Scott Adams / Adventure International | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Solon the Master Wizard has learnt of Vileroth's destruction and how, in his
final days, he concealed the stolen 13 Stars of Power within the Castle of
Claymorgue, determined that no one should possess them. As Solon's
apprentice with a few spells, can you recover Solon's stolen Stars? The
Castle contains further spells but beware - as an apprentice you may find the
results unpredictable. This Scott Adams game is number 13 in the series
and is recommended for experienced adventurers only. See also: #Scott Adams Collection |
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Suspended | Michael Berlyn / Infocom | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
In this other "Expert" level sci-fi game from Infocom, you are an alien frozen in an underground cryogenic chamber that is part of an underground complex that controls the planetary weather control devices. In the event of emergency, your mind (but not your body) is activated in order to coordinate the repair efforts carried out by six robots: Auda, Sensa, Iris, Poet, Whiz, and Waldo. Each robot has different abilities: Auda can hear, Iris can see, Sensa can detect photon emission and ionic charges, Poet can touch, Whiz can connect you to the central library core (a computerized database), and Waldo can manipulate objects. You have to co-ordinate the robots' actions and correctly interpret their reports. To help you do this, Suspended comes with a full map of the underground complex and 6 robot markers to help you visualize and plan their moves. It's quite difficult even on the "easy" setting. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
1 2 |
|
||
|
1 2 |
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Witness, The | Stu Galley / Infocom | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
In The Witness, you are a police detective working near Los Angeles. The year is 1938, and on this stormy February night a wealthy but frightened man has asked you for protection. In spite of your best efforts, a death will occur, and you will have twelve hours to solve the mystery and try to arrest the killer. If you think you have enough evidence against one or more suspects to convince a jury of their guilt, you can arrest them and conclude the case. Your ever-helpful assistant, Sergeant Duffy, will assist you in taking the accused into custody. You are expected to establish the three traditional ingredients to an ironclad case for the prosecution: the accused must have had a motive, a method, and ample opportunity to commit the crime. There are many possible endings to this case, and the one you reach is determined by your actions and by the deductions you draw from the evidence you gather. But one ending fits the facts better than any other, and you will know it when you reach it. The NPCs in the game are very well designed, each with a wide range of actions and reactions that will entertain you long after you have already solved the game. The parser is much better than 1982's Deadline. The game now understands a wider range of synonyms. The difficulty level is only moderate. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
Adventure related
| Animation Creation | Mouseworks Computing / IBM | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This s a creative entertainment package for IBM personal computers. Without any programming effort, you can create color displays using 255 different characters - special characters and text characters. Simple ANIMATION is included too. With Animation Creation you can animate up to eight 24x40 character screens or up to four 24x80 character screens. It lets you draw different pictures on each screen and then switch among them. By changing the positions of objects little bit from screen to screen, you can make "moving" pictures. It's easy to use. Function keys and cursor movement keys help you build the screens. Built-in commands help you save and reload screen files from diskette, copy from screen to screen, set the maximum numberof screens, and erase unwanted screens. | ||
|
|
|
||
| Joust | Williams Electronics Inc. / Atarisoft | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Players take control of a knight with a lance who rides their flying ostrich (or stork, for Player 2) to do battle against computer-controlled evil knights who ride atop vultures. Players must flap their steed's wings to hit the enemy from a higher jousting point to destroy the vulture and its rider. Once the enemy has been hit, an egg falls to one of the platforms below. The heroic knights must destroy the eggs before they hatch and release new and increasingly more difficult knights. The three strengths of enemy knights are Bounder (red knight), Hunter (white knight), and Shadow Lord (blue knight). These enemy knights are not the only challenge to be found in the game. Players must also contend with crumbling platforms, lava trolls who attempt to pull knights into the fire, and the dreaded "unbeatable"(?) pterodactyl. The game was novel for its time for being one of the few two-player simultaneous games when it was released in 1982 in arcades. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
Kids
| Adventures in Math | IBM | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
The player takes the role of a treasure hunter who explores a castle. The goal of the game is to find the exit while earning as much points as possible. Points are rewarded for picking locks and finding treasures. To achieve these tasks the player has to solve mathematical riddles while using the four basic arithmetic operations. The answer has to be typed in by using the keyboard. If the player doesn't succeed the game shows the correct answer and he has to try again - but in a few cases the treasure gets stolen by a spider and is lost forever. In the beginning of each round the player selects the size of the castle and the used combinations of mathematical operations, e.g. only addition or multiplication and division. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Algebra Arcade | Wadsworth Electronic Publishing Company | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is an educational game which despite its title is not an arcade game. It does include some aliens however and these appear on a coordinate grid. The player's task is to zap as many of these so called algebroids as possible and this is done by typing in equations. When the entered equation is plotted a whirlwind will follow its path and knock off any algebroids that it passes through. For each algebroid that is taken out the player earns some points. At the same time it is necessary to avoid the ghost that is also located on the grid. If it is hit the Graph Gobbler will appear and munch the equation and the player will be without any points. The player will also be sent to a committee which can penalize the player by taking away some turns. The game can be played by one or two players who each has ten turns. Extra turns are given for scoring 10,000 points, clearing all the algebroids or by finding the Graph Gobbler which is invisible on the grid. | ||
|
|
|
||
| Creature Creator | DesignWare, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Do the Monster Match. Explore the computer with fun-filled programming and pattern matching games. Build creatures by selecting heads, bodies, arms and legs. Literally thousands of different combinations. Learn programming fundamentals by making the creature dance. Dance a duet with a twin partner created by the computer. Pattern recognition and matching activity. Perfect for individual or group play. A friendly, colorful learning game for children 4 to 8 years old. Great entertainment for all ages. Parents: This DesignWare software program combines wholesome entertainment with solid educational content. Children develop skills in pattern recognition and matching, both helpful in learning reading and math. They also learn to "program" a dance using a simple language. | ||
|
1 2 |
|
||
| MasterType | Lightning Software, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is an educational game that teaches the player how to type with the keyboard. In the game the MasterType is a powerful wizard who is helping the player defending his command ship by using his laser like force. The command ship is stationed in the center of the screen and from each corner of the screen missiles are launched toward the ship. In each corner of the screen there is a word and by successfully typing in these words the wizard uses his force to zap the missiles. The command ship has four areas and when an area has been hit by a missile it's shield will be destroyed. If the same area is hit a second time the whole ship will explode and the game will be over. The game consists of 17 or 18 lessons depending on version and is chosen before the game begins. The first lesson deals with the home row keys (a to ;) and the player only has to enter single letters. As the difficulty increases with each lesson longer and more complex phrases needs to be typed in. Once a lesson is completed the player gets a summary showing how well he has done and whether further practice is needed. Some options exist to alter the game after the player's needs. A beginner mode can be turned on and it's also possible to set a speed goal (number of words per minute). In addition to the lessons included, it is also possible for the player to create his own lessons. | ||
|
|
|
||
| Math Blaster! | Davidson & Associates Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
An educational "action" game that can teach math to children from grades 1 through 6. Students can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Another level, for fractions/percents/decimals contains 5 sub-levels teaching reduction of common fractions, renaming improper fractions, renaming common fractions to decimals, renaming decimals as percents, and renaming percents as fractions. Math problems can be displayed in either horizontal or vertical display, depending on preference. Gameplay takes place on a screen with multiple answers to a problem ranged across the top of the screen, and a series of cannons below. You must move your character to the cannon aimed at the correct answer. There are 2 timers going- a seal bouncing a ball represents the time available to answer a given problem; a balloon descending towards a needle represents time left for the overall game. The speed can be adjusted for players' skill levels. Finally, an editor is included for parents/teachers to create their own lessons featuring particular problems. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Spellicopter | DesignWare Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is an educational software game that enables children to develop their spelling skills in order to remain in flight. The screen display shows speed, altitude, fuel level, score and cargo. It offers three levels of difficulty, allowing the student to learn up to 400 words, in 40 categories, in beginner, intermediate and advanced modes. The program could be played using keyboard or joystick, giving a sentence context clue for each word, allowing the student to maintain altitude and speed for correct spellings, utilizing screen graphics, animation and sound effects. | ||
|
|
|
||
| Type Attack | Electronic Arts Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
A Space Invaders inspired typing game. Letters slowly descend from the sky, type them in order to destroy them. Any letter that is at the bottom of a column is a valid input; mistakenly inputting another drains energy. There are 99 speeds (Anything above 80 requires a genetic mutation), and 39 lessons. These can include upper and lower case, symbols and special keys as options. Each lesson finishes with a sequence of words using the featured letters, to be input in as little time as possible, allowing for use of the delete key. Score is based on WPM, letters destroyed, minus mistakes. There is a savable high score table plus you can save your game at any time. The package includes finger placement diagrams for all variants of the host platform. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
Role-Playing Games
| Beneath Apple Manor | Quality Software | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
An early graphical rogue-like dungeon crawl. Slay some monsters, build up some experience, explore deeper levels. The goal is to find the Golden Apple, buried somewhere deep in the basement beneath the manor. This game can be configured for either graphics or text, 10 different skill levels, and configurable room layouts. Each level is created randomly at the beginning of the game. Besides of monsters which you have to fight, you can also find treasures, secret doors and hidden traps in the dungeons. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Oubliette | Bear Systems / Human Engineered Software | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Oubliette is one of the earliest party-based role-playing games, first on mainframe computers in 1977. It is an open-ended hack-and-slash through a multilevel dungeon with a party of 1-6 characters, chosen from possible classes including Fighters, Priests and Thieves. They will gain experience, jewelry and armor as the adventure progresses, but they will also age and may eventually die. Spells are triggered through typing their activation codes. The party can be changed before every trip to the dungeon by dropping off / picking up characters from the local tavern. The game can be launched both in text mode and in graphical mode (there will just be a first-person view), but, of course, the graphics in it are actually extremely arbitrary (which does not prevent a true oldgamer from enjoying a really old RPG). Please note that the use of spells (and without magic, the game can never be completed) in any case requires typing special commands on the keyboard. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Rogue | Artificial Intelligence Design | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Rogue is a turn-based dungeon crawler in which the player controls an adventurer who must explore the dangerous Dungeon of Doom in order to retrieve the precious Amulet of Yendor and make it out alive. The player character starts on the upper-most level and slowly makes his way downwards. The game uses ASCII characters to represent locations, items, monsters, and the protagonist himself. There are twenty-six different types of monsters, symbolized by their initial letters (e.g. L for Leprechaun). Monsters have different abilities and modes of attack. The dungeon and the items in it are randomly generated each time the player begins a new game. Each dungeon level contains a grid of three by three rooms and dead ends. Levels get progressively more complex and maze-like, and monsters grow in strength the deeper the hero ventures into the dungeon. The player character can acquire better weapons and armor, gain experience points and level up. Should the protagonist perish in the dungeon, the player must restart the game anew. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| StarQuest: Rescue at Rigel | Automated Simulations, Inc. / Epyx, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
In Rescue at Rigel, you take the part of Sudden Smith, a human adventurer teleported down by transporter beam inside a six-floor, sixty-room complex inhabited by an alien race, the Tollah. Scattered throughout the base, which has been hollowed out of an asteroid orbiting Rigel, ten humans are held captive, one in each of ten different rooms. While you can adjust the difficulty of the task, the object in all cases is the same: to search the complex, find and release as many of the prisoners as possible (by activating the transporter beam, which will teleport them back up to the ship), and get out alive-in an hour or less. If the Tollah base can be likened to an iceberg, you begin the game at the tip: inside the top room, the only one that connects the complex with the surface of the asteroid. (Since there is no air and no escape on the asteroid itself, the door to the outside, being "off limits," is not shown on the display). From this vestibule there are only two usable exits. The larger obviously leads to a gravshaft; the smaller looks like an ordinary doorway-but there are no other rooms on the floor. Whichever way you choose to begin your quest, there will be no turning back once you walk through the door. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Ultima III: Exodus | ORIGIN Systems, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
The third title in the Ultima series, this was the first game in the series to feature a party of adventurers instead of a single player. It also had large, detailed towns with many people to talk to, and a separate combat engine where your party fought multiple monsters in a turn-based tile-based system. The story: after the defeat of the evil wizard Mondain and his mistress Minax in the previous two Ultimas, peace has returned to the land of Sorsaria. Times passes and eventually geological disruptions and a resurgence of the monster populace occur, and it is soon learned that Mondain and Minax had conceived a child named "Exodus" before their death. Now that child has become an adult with the power to avenge the death of his parents. Obviously, it falls upon you the hero to find and stop him. See also: #Ultima Collection |
||
|
1 2 |
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
Platformers
| Big Top | Funtastic, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is one of the first platformers designed for the pc. Big Top allows you to take on the role of Wendell, a rookie acrobat who must retrieve the ringmasters hats, and stop the chaos that resulted because of their disappearance. In your way are clowns that will hinder your progress, armed with the likes of knives and beach balls. One of the trickiest obstacles in each ring is the presence of evil clowns. Each ring spans across at least two screens, which was an unusual feature at the time. Each ring has an upper and lower level and as the levels progress, they get bigger as well as harder. As the levels are completed by grabbing up all of the hats in each ring, the clowns become more and more evil, and the platforms themselves become more difficult to negotiate. The platforms become smaller and the gamer has to really hone his jumping skills in order to make successful leaps. The jumping portion of the game is actually very difficult from the beginning, and it only grows more so. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| BurgerTime | Data East Corporation / Mattel Electronics | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
You play as Chef Pepper and your goal is to make giant hamburgers while evil eggs, sausages and pickles chase you around the game area in this port of the popular arcade game. To properly make a hamburger you must assemble all of the ingredients together, dropping them from higher up onto the burger area below. To actually do this you have to let Chef Pepper step over every burger ingredient. As soon as an ingredient (a piece of lettuce for instance) has been stepped on, it will fall to the level below. Falling food will squish any enemy following you and will also "bump" any other ingredient below it farther down. Also, as an emergency defense against the enemy food, you can collect pepper shakers which will allow you to puff out a small pepper cloud that will momentarily stun enemies, allowing you to walk past them. Higher levels result in new level design, faster enemies and more ingredients to assemble. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Conquest | Windmill Software | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is a variant of the poular arcade game Joust. The player starts with four lives and controls a giant bird (bigger than in Joust) in the prehistoric age to battle pterodactyl warriors. The giant bird has the ability to run and to fly by constantly flapping its wings. Defeating pterodactyls is done by slamming into the pterodactyls (which bears no visual resemblance to actual pterodactyls) from a higher altitude; a lower altitude will result in death, while vertical altitude will result in the player and the pterodactyl bouncing off each other. Successfully slamming from a higher altitude will turn the pterodactyls into eggs, which may bounce away, as well as award the player with points. Additional points may be gathered by collecting these eggs. The game is divided into different rounds which will introduce more challenges: additional pterodactyls, which will spawn at any one of the eight green spawning areas; the lower ground will disappear and introduce wind current affecting the gravitational velocity of all moving objects in the game; the default six platforms may also change into fewer platforms; and an indestructible dragon may occasionally appear, resulting in instant death when collided with. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Dino Eggs | Micro Fun | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
While on an expedition through time to the prehistoric past, Time Master Tim accidentally brings a case of European Measles to that era. He has to return the Dino eggs to the present time in order to save them from this epidemic. Tim has to face the dino egg predators, such as spiders and snakes which will contaminate the eggs. The mother of the eggs also lurks by, and if a fire is not built, she may just step in. Will you be able to save the dinosaur race from extinction? | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Donkey Kong | Nintendo Co., Ltd. / Atarisoft | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Released in the arcades in 1981, Donkey Kong was not only Nintendo's first real smash hit for the company, but marked the introduction for two of their most popular mascots: Mario (originally "Jumpman") and Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong is a platform-action game (it is sometimes said to be the first platform game, although it was preceded by Space Panic and Apple Panic) that has Mario scale four different industrial themed levels (construction zone, cement factory, an elevator-themed level, and removing rivets from girders) in an attempt to save the damsel in distress, Pauline, from the big ape before the timer runs out. Once the rivets are removed from the final level, Donkey Kong falls, and the two lovers are reunited. From there, the levels start over at a higher difficulty. Along the way, Mario must dodge a constant stream of barrels, "living" fireballs, and spring-weights. Although not as powerful as in other future games, Mario can find a hammer which allows him to destroy the barrels and fireballs for a limited amount of time. Additionally, Mario can also find Pauline's hat, purse and umbrella for additional bonus points. Donkey Kong is also notable for being one of the first complete narratives in video game form, told through simplistic cut scenes that advance the story. Miyamoto's characters appeared on cereal boxes, television cartoons, and dozens of other places. A court suit brought on by Universal City Studios, alleging Donkey Kong violated their trademark of King Kong, ultimately failed. The success of Donkey Kong and Nintendo's win in the courtroom helped position the company to dominate the video game market in the 1980s and early 1990s. The 2007 motion picture documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters explores the world of competitive classic arcade gaming and tells the story of Steve Wiebe's quest to beat Billy Mitchell's world high score in Donkey Kong.
See also: CHAMP Kong |
||
|
|
|
||
|
1 2 |
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Jumpman | Epyx Inc., Mirror Images Software, Inc. / IBM | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
"Jumpman" was the original name used for Mario in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, which featured several elements that appear here. Jumpman is a bomb disposal expert. He is called on to save the Jupiter headquarters after the evil Alienators invade it and booby-trap its 30 levels. In this early platform game, the titular hero must find his way around each screen, collecting every bomb. There are platforms and ladders to use, and a jet booster to propel you up the screen. However there are also enemies to avoid, and Jumpman must be careful not to fall too far. He can jump, and there are two kinds of rope each allowing a single direction of climbing only. Hazards include falling "smart darts" (small bullets that fly slowly across the screen, but when orthogonally lined up with Jumpman, greatly speed up and shoot straight in his direction) and other hazards that are unique to a certain level. In 1994, an unofficial PC port Classic Jumpman, missing the level "Freeze", was released by Ingenieurbüro Franke and an updated version which included Freeze was released in 2001. Jumpman Zero was made by Dave Campbell in 2003 and a beta contains twenty-eight levels: the first level was from the original game, and all others were new, including several parodies other games. In spirit with the older games, each level has a unique hazard. Jumpman has the ability to dive and roll, and several levels are larger than the screen and scroll. The game uses an unusual graphics style that consists of 3-D renderings of pixelated graphics. In 2003, the first version of The Jumpman Project, a port of the original PC game to modern computers, was released. Also in 2003, Chris Leathley developed Jumpman - Under Construction which contains a full Level Editor. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
1 2 3 |
|
||
|
|
1 2 3 |
||
| Jungle Hunt | Taito America Corporation / Atarisoft | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This early platformer was an arcade game port and offers four unique adventure experiences, which repeat with greater difficulty once all four have been survived. If you don't survive these adventures, you will not only lose your own life but that of the lovely Penelope, who has been captured by cannibals! The first part challenges your Tarzan skills - can you swing on the vines without plummeting to your doom? The second part pits you against a whole bunch of nasty crocodiles in a mighty river. Fortunately, you have a knife to fight back with. Don't forget to go up for air! In the third part, you face a battle against oncoming boulders of varying sizes and physics. Once you've cleared all these treacherous hazards, you still must confront the dreaded cannibal, who is armed with a wicked spear. Can you get past him and save the lovely Penelope? Gameplay involves much strategic jumping and knife play (in the river/crocodile phase). The view is always a side view, much like Pitfall! and later platform games. All references to Tarzan had to be removed due to threat of a lawsuit from the creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs', estate. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Lode Runner | Brøderbund Software, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
The Bungeling Empire has stolen a huge cache of gold from its rightful owners, and your mission is to infiltrate its treasury and recapture it. This entails progressing through 150 screens of platforms, ladders and ropes. The Empire has sent robotic guards down to protect the gold, and contact with any of these will cost you a life. Your method of escaping them is to press fire to dig a hole in their line of movement, thus causing them to fall in briefly, allowing you to move across the gap safely. Holes will eventually fill up after several seconds. An enemy will climb out of a hole quicker than the hole fills up but you can time it so the enemy falls in just as the hole is about to fill up which will cause the enemy to regenerate at top of map. Gold is sometimes buried so you have to dig to uncover it but also allow room to dig yourself through to an open space. Once all the gold has been collected, a ladder allowing you to move onto the next screen is added. Completing these screens often requires forward planning and precision. This was one of the earliest games to include a level editor, allowing the creation of new level designs with no programming skill. In 2006, ZX Games made a fan version with enhanced graphics, redeveloped controls, improved usability and 150 original levels. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
1 2 |
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Miner 2049er | Big Five Software / Micro Fun | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
You play the part of Bounty Bob, and it is your mission to explore every inch of an abandoned mine. As you walk over floor sections in the mine, the floor will change color. When all of the floor sections have been changed in color, you can move on to the next, more challenging level. To reach all of the floor sections, you will need to figure out how to get there. You can jump (be careful not to fall too far though, or you will be squished), climb up and down ladders, and use different transportation devices that can be found on the levels (such as an elevator, slides, a springboard, or a cannon). Wandering around the mine are numerous radioactive creatures which get in Bounty Bob's way. Also scattered throughout the mines are various artifacts left behind; if Bounty Bob collects one of these, the creatures will temporarily become vulnerable. If Bounty Bob runs into one of the creatures in this state the creature will be destroyed, but if he runs into a creature while it is glowing Bounty Bob will be destroyed. There are a total of ten different levels, and to complete them all you will need quick reflexes as well as to figure out a unique strategy for each level. In 2007, the designer released an emulator coded in C++ with both Bounty Bob games in one package for Windows available free of charge. In 2009, a free fan remake Miner 2049er Again was released with great-looking new graphics. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
Casual Games
| Backgammon 5.0 | Willy Chaplin / Odesta | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is a computerized version of the ancient board game combining luck and strategy: both sides lay out their pieces on the game board, roll the dice in turn, make their moves accordingly, and attempt to win by clearing all checkers from the game board before the opponent does. This version supports a single human player against the computer opponent, in ten difficulty levels. Three basic variants are available (No Betting, Match Play and Standard), with optional features such as replay, automatic play, advice, undo (limited to a single move) and external dice (roll them yourself and input the results); games can be saved to disk and continued later. An in-game help system is also included. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Crypto Cube | DesignWare, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
20 themed words are arranged in criss-cross formation over the faces of a three-dimensional cube. You have to guess and uncover them. A mascot- The Wuzzle- apprises you of your progress. When uncovering the words, you will get: a blank square- no points and the turn is over; a vowel- 5 points and another turn; a consonant- you get a question mark and must guess the letter- a correct guess nets 10 points and another turn, an incorrect guess -5 points and the turn is over. There are also bonus squares that let you pick an extra square on the current cube-side, as well as one on another side. New word lists can be added by the user- ostensibly to allow children to practice their spelling homework. | ||
|
|
|
||
| Dig Dug | Namco Limited / Atarisoft | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is a 1-2 player arcade game in which you have to use your shovel to dig your way through the earth. Stopping you from doing this are two monsters, called Pooka and Fygar, who will continually chase you around. The only weapon that you carry is an air pump, which you can use to inflate the monsters to the point where they explode. (if you start to inflate them but stop doing so, the monsters will get turned back to their normal selves). Furthermore, rocks are scattered throughout the earth, and you can use these rocks to squash them. If the monsters do not find you for several seconds, they will eventually get turned into ghosts, which are able to walk through the earth. They are invincible and cannot be killed. From time to time, vegetables will appear in the center, and you can get these for points. In 2016, Arcade Game Series: Dig Dug a port for modern o/s was released that comes with scanline and sound settings, and the option to switch between the old and new versions - perfect for devoted diggers. In 2006, a free fan-made remake was released by TeamCalypson with scrolling (vertical) background, falling objects that are multi-tile in dimensions, particle effects, screen shakes, and 5 different worlds. All art, music, and code is 100% original. In 2021, another free fan-made Dig Dug Revival was released by LC-Games with procedurally generated levels and adjustable difficulty levels and number of enemies. See also: #Ultra 2000: Dig Dug [J] |
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Digger | Windmill Software | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Take control of a mechanical digging machine as you tunnel your way through the earth, searching for valuable gems and the even more valuable bags of gold! But watch out for Nobbins and Hobbins, and don't be careless enough to let the bags of gold crush you. Digger is an arcade game combining elements of the popular arcade games Dig Dug and Mr. Do!. Players control the titular 'Digger' that can tunnel through dirt with ease. The goal of each level is to gather up each of the gems, which allows you to progress to the next stage. However, Nobbins and Hobbins are also lurking within the levels - Nobbins are fairly slow, but transform into Hobbins which are much quicker. The enemies can only chase Digger through the tunnels he creates - they cannot dig through the dirt themselves. Digger's defenses consist of being able to shoot a single, rechargeable shot in the direction he is facing with F1 (which recharges after about thirty seconds), crushing his foes by digging underneath a gold bag and letting it plummet down, crushing anything in its path, or by collecting the bonus cherry that sometimes appears, causing Digger to become temporarily invincible. In 1998, Andrew Jenner created a free software version of the game called Digger Remastered, by reverse engineering the original game. It has many new features, including: Exit button, Optional VGA graphics, Recording and playback, Real time speed control, Keyboard redefinition, Gauntlet mode, Two player simultaneous mode. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Freddy Fish | Mirror Images Software, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is an arcade action game where your goal is to become the biggest fish in the sea. On each screen, you need to eat all of the fish to proceed to the next level. You will only be able to eat fish that are smaller than you, but as fish are eaten you grow in size. There are three different screens on which you need to eat fish: In the first screen you are in the open sea and need to dodge larger fish, a diver, and fishing nets from the boat on the surface while eating little white fishes to grow bigger and bigger. In the second screen you are in a narrow maze of fishing nets. You lose a life if your fish touches a net, and the bigger your fish gets the tougher it will be to navigate the maze! Eat the three pink fishes and a gap will appear on the right hand side of the screen, through which you can exit to the last screen. In the last screen you need to rescue your fellow fishes who are trapped in a net. As time ticks away they are captured onto a boat. Eat the little white fishes and avoid the fishing hooks, when you are big enough you can bite through the net and get bonus points for the remaining fishes. After all three screens are completed, the game repeats at a tougher difficulty level. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Friendlyware P.C. Arcade | FriendlySoft Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
A set of 8 games that are designed to be played on the original IBM PC computer of the time. Everything uses ASCII graphics, so it even works on the MDA adapter. An easy-to-access Boss Key is included, which pops up a histogram with Friendlysoft-related data. Most games are replicas of other popular games from the early 80s. There are variants of Pac-Man, Breakout, Frogger, Lunar Lander and Berzerk, as well as two different shooters and a PC Derby game. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Frogger | Konami Industry Co. Ltd. / Sierra On-Line, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Your task in this classic arcade game is to guide a frog across a treacherous road and river, and to safety at the top of the screen. Both these sections are fraught with a variety of hazards, each of which will kill the frog and cost you a life if contact is made. The road is full of cars and trucks, at variable speeds. The river water itself is fatal, as are the snakes which hover within on later levels. Frogger must use the arrangement of logs, turtles (which are only there for a short time) and alligators (but stay away from their faces), and then jump into one of the open home-cells, ideally one containing a fly for extra points. Once all holes have been filled, you move onto the next, harder, level. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Hangman | Norland Software | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Norland's Hangman series is a fun PC adaptation of the classic Hangman game in which you attempt to guess a word by picking individual letters, with a predetermined amount of incorrect guesses allowed. Although done fully in ASCII, the layout is clean and decent, and the hangman drawing looks simply hilarious. There's (optional) PC beeper sounds and music played when you win or lose, all well incorporated into the game. Certainly the best feature of the games lie in their diversity and customization. You can choose how many incorrect answers are allowed (5 or 7), and in both the Classic version and in Hangman for the Superintelligent there are four modes of play, each with different words and phrases. Classic mode, where you're presented with seperate underscores and you simply try to guess which word it is. Educational Hangman, where the words are slightly more challenging but where you're given a brief definition of each word as you go along. Literate Hangman, where you try to guess a famous quote or phrase and you're told the author of the quote, but where each letter is only written down once at a time, so if there are several cases of the same letter you need to guess it again. Personalized Hangman, where you and up to 8 friends take turns writing down words or phrases and having the others guess them in classic hangman style. If you have someone to play with, this is where the game really becomes fun. [In the Foreign Language Hangman version, gameplay modes instead include "English words/French clues" and vice versa, and "English phrases/French clues" and vice versa.] There's just a couple of issues that brings the series down from being top notch. The classic version of the series is a bit too easy, and Classic mode has only about 530 words in its vocabulary. Guessing a certain word is still hard even if you've guessed it before, but the game quickly becomes repetitive after a while. Educational and Literate Hangman adds a lot more words and phrases to the equation, but the word definitions given in Educational mode makes it much too easy for adults, and although Literate mode can be challenging there's just too few quotes and phrases there to make Literate Hangman fun in the long run. On the flip side, you can open up the .wrd files and add your own words in the games' vocabularies. Just mind the spacing. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| J-Bird | Orion Software, Inc. | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is a conversion of the arcade game Q*Bert. The object of the game is to change all tiles in a pyramid to the target color by having J-Bird jump on the tile. Various creatures and objects can get in the way of J-Bird. These include a bouncing snake, cats, falling balls, and frogs. There are four rounds per level, and each level increases in difficulty by having more enemies onscreen and requiring more complicated rules for a tile to reach the target color (for example, on the second level you need to jump on each tile twice). On the sides of the pyramid are platforms which J-Bird can jump onto to evade the snake. If the snake is close enough to the platform when J-Bird jumps on, the snake will fall off the edge. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Mine Shaft | Sierra On-Line, Inc. / IBM | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
It's business as usual down at the gemstone mines... or at least it was, until your trusty mining robots started going haywire and wrecking equipment. Rather than cut your losses, you decide to stick around: can you excavate the crystals from each mine and make a hasty exit before the dysfunctional robots destroy your mine cart? The action takes you down to the twisty network of passageways inside the mine, where several gems are strewn about waiting to be picked up. Soon enough the robots arrive and start running amok, chasing your mine cart along the twists and turns; any contact with them will cost you a life. Luckily (and somewhat unusually, for a mine cart) you're equipped with a gun to shoot them down. When you either collect all the crystals, or hunt down all the errant robots, the exit will appear: pass through it to move on to the next level. You earn an extra life for every level cleared, and the robots in turn multiply and get faster - later levels introduce new enemy types, including the dreaded (and bullet-proof!) skull. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Mouser | Gebelli Software, Inc. / IBM | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Mouser is a maze game with an overhead view similar to Pac-Man. The object of the game is to help the farmer rid his farm of mice. To do this the player must move the walls of the maze around to corner the mice, allowing their cat to take care of them. If a female mouse gets to a piece of cheese, it will reproduce and the player will have even more mice! | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Ms. Pac-Man | General Computer Corporation, Midway / Atarisoft | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
In 1981, an arcade sequel to Pac-Man was introduced in the form of his girlfriend, Ms. Pac-Man. This sequel continued on the "eat the dots/avoid the ghosts" gameplay of the original game, but added new features to keep the title fresh. Like her boyfriend, Ms. Pac-Man attempts to clear four various and challenging mazes filled with dots and ever-moving bouncing fruit while avoiding Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Sue, each with their own personalities and tactics. One touch from any of these ghosts means a loss of life. She can turn the tables on her pursuers by eating one of the four Energizers located within the maze. During this time, the ghosts turn blue, and Ms. Pac-Man can eat them for bonus points (ranging from 200, 400, 800 and 1600, progressively). The Energizer power only lasts for a limited amount of time, as the ghost's eyes float back to their center box, and regenerate to chase after her again. Survive a few rounds of gameplay, and the player will be treated to humorous intermissions showing the growing romantic relationship between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man, leading all the way up to the arrival of "Junior". A fan remake was done by PJ Crossley. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Pac-Man | Namco Limited / Atarisoft | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
One of the most popular and influential games of the 1980's, Pac-Man stars a little, yellow dot-muncher who works his way around to clear a maze of the various dots and fruit which inhabit the board. Pac-Man's goal is continually challenged by four ghosts: The shy blue ghost Bashful (Inky), the trailing red ghost Shadow (Blinky), the fast pink ghost Speedy (Pinky), and the forgetful orange ghost Pokey (Clyde). One touch from any of these ghosts means a loss of life. Pac-Man can turn the tables on his pursuers by eating of the four Energizers located within the maze. During this time, the ghosts turn blue, and Pac-Man can eat them for bonus points. This only lasts for a limited amount of time, as the ghosts' eyes float back to their center box, and regenerate to chase after Pac-Man again. Survive a few rounds of gameplay, and be treated to humorous intermissions between Pac-Man and the ghosts. In 2016, Arcade Game Series: Dig Dug a port for modern o/s was released that comes with scanline and sound settings, and the option to play with the Round 256 bug - perfect for PAC-MANiacs. See also: #Ultra 2000: Pac-Man |
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| Pango | Sheng‑Chung Liu | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
This is a fun clone of the classic arcade game Pengo (which was never ported to the PC). The player controls Pango, a penguin like character, in a maze made of ice blocks which can be moved around or destroyed. Also in the maze are bees which chase the player and will cause a life to be lost if caught. The goal is to clear all of the bees from the playfield in one minute by either squashing them with ice blocks or shocking them by pushing the walls at the edges of the screen. When a level begins, not all of the bees will be on the screen; some will be in egg form hidden in the ice blocks. Whenever a bee is destroyed, one of the eggs will hatch into a new bee. The player can prevent eggs from hatching by destroying the ice blocks containing them. In addition to the normal ice blocks and those containing eggs, there are also three diamond blocks. These cannot be destroyed, however if all three of them are lined up then bonus points are earned. Lining up the diamond blocks in the middle of the playfield will earn more points than lining them up against the wall. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
| ScubaVenture | Gebelli Software, Inc. / IBM | [top] | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
You need to dive for treasures - your goal is to earn as many points as possible by collecting rare fish and opening valuable treasure chests along the ocean floor. Each of the underwater caverns contains several locked treasure chests; keys for the chests can also be located somewhere in the cavern. By collecting the appropriate key and unlocking the matching chest you earn points, and if you can unlock all of the chests you move on to the next level. Collecting certain types of fish also earns points. Poisonous fish, seahorses, electric eels and sea weed can all be found in the caverns and will cause you to lose one of your three lives if you're not careful. The game screen continuously scrolls vertically; controlling your diver you need to avoid the cavern walls and obstacles while collecting the rare fish and treasures. When the end of the cavern is reached it will loop around back to the beginning allowing another chance to collect the treasures; if one of the two players can collect all treasures the next cavern begins. In the one player game the second diver is computer controlled and occasionally gets in the way while in the two player game both players compete for the same valuable items. | ||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
