Amiga Games – Part IV: Cult Classics

And now for some classic amiga games that had and have their ardent fans. Maybe even in a fanatic sense. Some of these games appeared on other platforms, but when we’re talking about that omnipresent “Gold Standard”, there weren’t really any good alternatives – Mostly, they got the job most well done… On the Amiga…

Many games stuck in the memory but simply didn’t motivate us enough to ditch the €400-Amigas (Including the games!) and rob a bank to get €2200-P.C.s instead… And here are merely forty reasons.

1. Alcatraz (Infogrames, 1992)

It’s 1996 in the 90s future, and Alcatraz has been taken over by drug baron Miguel Tardiez and his army of henchmen. The government has grown tired of Tardiez’s shit and decides to send in a military special task force consisting of exactly two hard-asses: Fist and Bird. The mission is to wipe out the entire operation and capture Tardiez. This is a two-player split-screen action game, albeit with a single player mode. The levels consist of four sideways scrolling ones, three in first person view, and a scene where you climb up the walls while avoiding searchlights. (Pretty much like in Hostages, which is the spiritual predecessor to Alcatraz.) And just like in Hostages, you switch between running and hiding until you get inside the complex. That’s where you can start killing people. First, you have to find some secret documents, then destroy the drug- and the money stash with two bombs before preventing Tardiez from escaping. The indoor levels consist of the barracks building, the industry building, and the cellhouse. (Which you only can reach via the roof.) As far as gameplay and action goes, Alcatraz is a pretty decent game with the right gritty Actionsploitation movie atmosphere.

2. Brataccas (Psygnosis, 1986)

An important moment in video game history. Key words are: Mega-Game, Bandersnatch, Imagine Software, and Finchspeed. Out of the ashes rose Psygnosis and Brataccas was their first published game. So this flip-screen arcade adventure in four colors is what became of the infamous Bandersnatch that dematerialized on July 9, 1984. Brataccas sure looks a lot like a high resolution “8-bit” game with an original art-style… Except the game has a very… Original… (Some would say unoptimized and horrible.) mouse-based control system for the game’s hero Kyne. (You can switch to keyboard controls, which is highly recommended.) The idea is to explore the hostile environment on Brataccas and gather enough evidence to clear your name. The government claims that Kyne is trying to sell military secrets to the bad guys. (Kyne being a genetic engineer and all.) The game promises sixty independent NPCs around Brataccas, and its gameplay includes the usual navigating, jumping on platforms, finding the right objects and using them in the even more right places. The visual details are quite impressive, but the sound is minimalistic. (Furthermore reminding the player that this title had its very origins on Sinclair’s machines.) And the game map is “possibly” pretty large.

Note: The game was born on the ZX Spectrum, and developed on the Sinclair QL.

3. The Dark Queen Of Krynn (SSI, 1992)

The atmosphere in Krynn sours immediately when the final game in the DragonLance-based trilogy begins. The Dark Queen in question decides to destroy everything that’s good and take over Krynn. After creating a party of six (Or importing them from Death Knights Of Krynn.), Laurana Kanan calls the players to the city of Palanthas and asks them to investigate what’s going on in Caergoth. And that’s basically the beginning of the end of this epic… Although many fans felt it was an anti-climactic one. The game has both good and less good differences when compared to the preceding entries. If you absolutely love these games, this is still a must-play… This chapter was never ported to the 8-bit computers due to the leap in quality of the “Gold Box”-game engine. (The P.C.-version could display VGA-graphics instead of the less than breath-taking EGA.) The interface looks more or less identical to the previous AD&D-based games, and using the menu system (including commands in-combat) got a whole lot smoother with a mouse instead of keys. In 1992, computer RPGs very becoming more and more sophisticated, immersive, and graphics-heavy, which made these games look dated when they were new. What a cruel fate.

Note: On P.C., the two first games were in 16-color EGA-graphics. Play like Royalty and fight through the entire trilogy on the Amiga with 32 on-screen colors instead. ; )
Preceded by Champions Of Krynn (1990) and Death Knights Of Krynn. (1991)
The other “last one” of the Gold Box games to appear on the Amiga, Treasures Of The Savage Frontier, is at no. 32 in this article.

4. Dragon’s Breath (Palace Software, 1990)

Three wizards decide to get their hands on the talisman of immortality. But there can be only one… And power-madness corrupts everybody…! Give a lunatic wizard a bunch of dragons and things might start burning soon enough on near-genocide levels…! Dragon’s Breath is a strategy game for one to three players, and it includes arcade elements. To get rid of the other wizards, you have to take over the realm. This is where the dragons come in. You have a couple of eggs that need to be hatched. When the dragons hatch, you have to make them strong. But since you can’t feed them people, you have to rely on your alchemy skills. In your lab, you create spells that should make everybody in Anrea nervous as hell. The inevitable dragon attacks often leave hundreds of people dead. The aforementioned arcade element is a vertically scrolling Shmup where you torch everything Daenerys Targaryen-style! Not always a great idea, but… And you need the spell-book to cook up some really heavy shit in the laboratory. (Where things explode if you fuck up.) The journals keep you up to date with what happens around Anrea… All this equals: A bloody ingenious game.

Note: That spell-book mentioned has to be downloaded, because you won’t get anywhere without it. The total number of twenty-five ingredients isn’t the problem, but rather how they’re ground, mixed, condensed, and heated. You almost have to be an Alchemist for real…! (Bad jokes aside: It’s a smaller science.)

5. The Faery Tale Adventure (MicroIllusions, 1987)

This one-man project (by David Joiner) isn’t just a cult classic, but a groundbreaking effort in bringing the concept of computer RPGs to the next level. The top-down perspective (Even if it’s slightly isometric in nature.) is just one that works well in this context together with the mouse-controls. (Which are designed for using icons and character movement.) In the land of Holm (17.000 screens big!), the forces of the night is such a pestilence on everybody that three brothers embark on a journey (Albeit not together.) to find a talisman that can banish a Necromancer. Not exactly something you do as a mini-quest. When one brother croaks, the next one takes over. They don’t travel together mainly due to technical– And… Possibly anatomical limitations. (Three mice would have required three arms and mad multi-tasking gaming skills, or “something”.) The game has a lovely atmosphere that swings between what the title indicates, and somewhat intimidating. There’s just something brutal about nasty Mofos slaughtering the brothers in brief battles… That is: Until you level up and can start dealing some proper blunt force- and magic trauma…! And the soundtrack and sound effects… Well, one wouldn’t want to replace or change them…

Note: Need you’ll more than Might. To quest for the Light. Make haste, but take Heed. Scorn murderous Deed. Summon the Sight. Wing forth in Flight. Hold fast to your Creed. From illusion be Freed. Defy ye that Blight. In black darker than Night. (Yep, those capitalized nouns are the words for the copy “protection”.)

6. Fire Force (I.C.E., 1992)

When there are Commando-style missions that are too hard for almost anyone… That’s when you send in soldiers from the Fire Force. After creating a recruit, it’s time for gearing up and deployment. This side-scrolling Shooter is divided into twelve missions in three parts. (Echo, Xray, and Zulu.) The missions vary from assassinations to taking out an entire compound including its army. Knives, assault rifles, rocket launchers, and explosives are usually your best pals, but the game also has a stealth mechanic where you can silence enemies by slicing their throats. You don’t have all the time in the world, so make sure to get back to da choppa when it’s all done. With the clever use of the Fire-button, Fire Force implements multi-directional shooting. Some buildings can be entered, and they usually have several floors connected via stairs. This is one bloody entertaining game when you get the controls down. The challenge factor is high from the beginning, and it never gets boring. The graphics, animations, and sound effects create that perfect Actionsploitation atmosphere from these types of 80s movies, and the interface (With the load outs and mission briefings.) is very well-designed. One of the 16-bit Greatest Hits.

7. Hostages (Infogrames, 1988)

When terrorists take over an embassy, it’s time to send in a team of six who knows one or two things about counter-terrorism. The idea is of course to turn the baddies to sieves while making sure that none of the hostages get killed. But first, you have the set up. The five variants of the mission are called: Training, Target, Ultimatum, Rescue, and Jupiter. Each can be played at three difficulty levels. Training is naturally the easy one, and in Jupiter, you have all odds against you. The game is divided into three sequential parts. You place out three marksmen in their right positions around the embassy. While moving ahead, you have to avoid getting killed by the terrorists who use searchlights to target you. Then, the other three squad-members enter the building via the roof by scaling down the walls and jumping in through the windows. (Terrorists can also be shot when spotted in the windows.) And finally, while running around the building, the objective is to machine-gun them baddies dead one by one. Mission summary. Game over… Hostages is a well-designed game with some tense action and a nice atmosphere. Plus… It plays best on the Amiga.

8. The Hound Of Shadow (Electronic Arts, 1990)

Text adventures were going out of “fashion” with Infocom’s downfall, but Eldritch Games had at least one excellent program brewing. It’s an extremely Lovecraftian tale set in London, 1922. And it all begins with something that’s straight out of an RPG. Because you have to create a character (Male of female.) who has quite a few different characteristics that you then divide “points” between. The game has lengthy, novel-like descriptions of the events and locations, but also stylish sepia-toned illustration that improve the atmosphere from the get go. “Hound” takes places over several days and starts with a séance where things aren’t quite what they seem. So that requires some investigation that leads to something truly horrific. It’s also quite a long game with a couple of different endings. The characteristics of your character will of course determine how “easy” or hard it will be to figure out the solutions to the many puzzles. (There are multiple red herrings too, of course.) And in true interactive fiction fashion there isn’t a single sound in the game. The Hound Of Shadow is an ambitious project, and the idea was to develop several connected games, but… This was the first and last…

Note: To play the game, you have to create a “User Disk”. Insert Game Disk B first, which brings you to the disc creation utility. (And have a blank one ready…! In the world of emulation, that’d be an ADF-file created in the emulator.)

9. The Immortal (Electronic Arts, 1990)

Master wizard Mordamir has got himself locked up in the Dungeons and pleads to be rescued. You happen to be the magician who receives the message, and with exactly nothing better to do, you take on the perilous quest. In this case, it’s eight four-way scrolling isometric levels of varying sizes. You walk around, slaughter monsters, solve various puzzles, and interact with characters. The controls change depending on if you’re exploring the surroundings or getting into fights. Your inventory is conjured with the Space-bar, and the Fire-button is for, e.g., activating spells. The Immortal is not all hacking and slashing, though. There is a real story that unfolds through conversations, thoughts, and descriptions that the very well-animated graphics alone can’t convey. The levels are nicely laid out, and the level of detail in the graphics is pretty astounding. Everything from blood-splatters to tiny objects on the floor are defined. The background graphics don’t however change that much since… You’re in a dungeon………… Apart from some suitable sound effects, the soundtrack also has a good feel to it. The music almost sounds like it could feature as intros on various Norwegian Black Metal albums. Or it’s more like… Full-on Dungeon Synth.

10. Infestation (Psygnosis, 1990)

Time to descend into full Alien-mode in first person view. To say that you’ve been sent on a suicide mission is an understatement. Infestation takes place on an extraterrestrial colony guarded by hostile robots. But the main threat comes from the hundreds of alien eggs that have been laid in the subterranean complex. Needless to say, they must not hatch. Poisonous Moon Marauders constantly target your ass, so you’d better get to the terminal that activates the transporter. (Which then takes you under ground.) To survive, you need air, food, and heat. Guess what there isn’t an absolute abundance of? Your space-suit (With flying abilities!) needs power, and you need the other two. Destroying the eggs is done with your mounted cannon. And that’s the good news. (Moving around the labyrinthine complex is an entire nightmare… Especially to the sound of gradually more and more panicked breathing!) Infestation utilizes filled vector-graphics, and does so very well. The visuals give the game its cold and sterile atmosphere. As you couldn’t control a game like this with the Joystick alone, there are numerous keyboard-commands. Very useful amidst the increasing, non-stop frustrations. (Just don’t remove your helmet on the surface of the moon!)

11. Iron Lord (Ubi Soft, 1989)

Archery, sword fights to the death, gambling, and army building. These are all a part of everything in this Medieval-style adventure / strategy game set in France. The problem is your tyrannous and thieving uncle. You aim to build a strong enough army for an uprising that hopefully will lead to uncle’s demise. And that could just as well start with impressing the locals with your insane archery skills. Iron Lord takes places in a couple of locations on a single-screen map. You ride from point A to B on horseback and navigate around the villages on a tiny overhead four-way scrolling map. Establishments like shops and inns are entered with the Fire-button when standing close to the respective buildings. There aren’t that many places you can visit. The focus of the game is the recruitment of soldiers and the “middle” part of the game where the inevitable war breaks out. This is visually a relatively simple and animated board game which then leads to the final showdown in another top-down section inside a castle. This section is combined with a “Shmup” (?!) where you fight Chaos itself with your magic missile-firing sword… A really good and varied game overall…!

Note: And the Commodore 64-soundtrack is superior… It’s the exact same music, but it’s much more pleasant to listen to.

12. KGB (Virgin, 1992)

Comrade Rukov has been transfered to “Department P” within the KGB to investigate the murder of a private investigator / former KGB agent. (Things go sideways pretty soon, as you’d imagine.) The game takes place in 1991 right before the Soviet Union fell apart. KGB is a Point ‘n Click-adventure with an excellent interface (A “Smart Pointer”, an easily accessible screen for your inventory, plus a clever Backtracking system “if” you make a mistake.) Because god damn is it easy to fuck up. (And that instantly ends the game. Some of the puzzles are intricate, to say the least.) The story involves everything from prostitution rackets to snuff movies, and shenanigans that lead to conspiracies on government level. There are obviously people who aren’t especially fond of seeing the Union collapse. As everything is so extremely strict, the game fits nicely into this particular box. As Rukov, you can (through dialogue) come across as one of the State-idolizing agents or one that’s a bit more relaxed. It’s pretty amazing how much heart and soul Cryo put into the intriguing story, and there are plenty of plot-twists during the game’s four (Two long and two shorter.) chapters. Also featured: Suitable Suspense-music.

13. Leander (Psygnosis, 1991)

Traveller’s Tales (Nowadays famous for at least two dozen Lego-games.) first game looks like your typical multi-directional scrolling platform game with a distinct “Japanese” art-style. But fundamentally, it’s as Western as Commodore itself. The game was later released on the SEGA Mega Drive as “Galahad”. With twenty-one levels spread across three worlds to get through, you immediately notice how devious the platform layout is on most levels. The main character has this weak inertia going on as he walks and jumps. And he slides ever so slightly on small logs… Before falling down a couple of screens… Yeah, you all know how fun that is. A mystic woman presents the mission for each level before Leander enters the stage. He has to find special items including coins and jewels. These can be used in shops to get better swords, stronger armor (Which changes color when you get hit.), and healing potions. Levels are completed by exiting through a portal once the objectives are fulfilled. Leander is a well done and long enough game complete with Bosses and an odd but pleasing soundtrack. The game also utilizes twin Fire-button joysticks where one button is for jumping. Excellent. Win-win on all fronts.

14. Lethal Xcess (Eclipse Software Design, 1991)

Wings Of Death is this top quality Shmup that got everything right. So why not follow it up with another one? Lethal Xcess is that game, and it was developed by members from Demo groups X-Troll and Gigabyte Crew. Once you hit the Fire-button, you’ll immediately notice two things: The recognizable art-style and certain mechanics… Plus that increased difficulty level. Even on “Normal”, Level 1 is much harder than the first stage was in the original. A sequel to Wings Of Death isn’t even half of what it’s supposed to be without another majestic Jochen Hippel-soundtrack. And that’s what you get: Great tunes all over the place. (And / or sound effects.) Lethal Xcess too has a neat weapons upgrade system, but also a simultaneous two-player mode. (However, this mode can only be played on “Lethal” difficulty.) And there’s always the “Easy”-mode if it gets too harsh. Five levels of non-stop and merciless blasting awaits you. As it takes at least thirty minutes to get through them all, Lethal Xcess is one Shmup that’s neither too long nor too short. Either way: Everything about it breathes quality. It’s obvious that it was made by dudes who knew the Amiga’s hardware.

15. Loom (Lucasfilm Games, 1990)

Brian Moriarty charted new territories with text adventures such as Trinity. And Loom was his first (and last) game for both Lucasfilm Games and the 16-bit machines. I think expectations were slightly “unrealistic” or skewed around Loom as people probably waited for another laugh riot like Monkey Island or Maniac Mansion. And Loom only looks like a Lucasfilm game on the surface. (As it uses the SCUMM engine.) But it’s all about impending doom. Religious superstition and cryptic messages from a magic loom are the reason why protagonist Bobbin Threadbare is targeted by his Elders. But he’s saved from banishment when everybody is turned into swans. Bobbin grabs a distaff that can play notes a.k.a. Drafts. (These would be like spells in an RPG.) These are played in combinations of four notes after clicking on an object. Playing the Drafts in reverse has the opposite effect, e.g., “Open” becomes “Close”. The “Point ‘n Click”-interface is extremely simple, but the puzzles aren’t. (In that sense, this is a “typical” Lucasfilm adventure!) Loom may not dazzle you with its EGA-looking graphics or simple renditions and variations of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”, but the atmosphere is unique and the game has a magic presence.

Note: Two spin-offs were planned (“Forge” and “The Fold”.), but sadly never developed.

16. Lure Of The Temptress (Virgin Interactive Entertainment, 1992)

That NPCs roam freely and mind their own business in adventure games and RPGs is nothing new today, but in 1992, it was something extraordinary. This title, under the Virtual Theatre System banner, looks like your typical Point ‘n Click-game in a Fantasy setting, but you’ll soon notice its various features that go slightly beyond ordinary, similar games… The story takes places around Turnvale and a Sorceress who has organized an uprising for unknown reasons. Turnvale has turned into a slaughterhouse and is under the direct threat from abominations known as Skorl. You accompany the King to the town, but end up in a dungeon instead… Like in many grand adventures, you control a character and interact with the environments. A dynamic menu lets you input commands that normally have been seen in some of the better text adventures from Infocom. “Temptress” has mechanics for conversing with NPCs plus a combat system for when the going gets tough. Even with the atmospheric intro, the lovely visuals and pleasing interface, the game feels original and fresh. It takes some features to the next level. (A good example is the simple stealth mechanic where you can spy on people through windows, etc.)

17. Magic Pockets (Renegade Software, 1991)

Not every developer can make their own “Mario” or “Sonic”, and I don’t believe Magic Pockets ever had a chance of become “it”… It’s a good platform game for sure – With four worlds (Each with a bunch of stages.), good controls, and a couple of original ideas. But it just doesn’t stick in the memory forever like Sonic does. The semi-choppy scrolling doesn’t ruin the game, but it doesn’t do much good either. And I don’t think that many platformers work that well without a separate jump-button. But what’s there is pretty good. Bitmap Kid has to go through some sizeable levels and gather his stolen toys. As the pockets in his trousers have infinite space, the “only” problem is collecting them throughout the maps. Upgrades include different headgear that grant stuff like invincibility, etc. The Fire-button is for flinging the current weapon. (Which can be powered up by holding down Fire.) The most powerful weapon encapsulates the hit targets, which then turn into Bonus-items upon contact. And chewing gum is of course for floating to otherwise unreachable places… A simplified version of Betty Boo’s “Doin’ The Doo” graces the title screen, but the game only has sound effects.

18. Maupiti Island (Lankhor, 1990)

A “Point ‘n Click”-vacation on Society Islands’ sunny Maupiti… Except it turns into a Whodunit right after detective Jérôme Lange arrives… A woman named Marie has disappeared and… You probably have to be Jérôme Lange to be able to solve this mystery. At least in a few tries. It involves all the classic ingredients from a detective story: Looking for clues, interviewing people, being at the right place at the right time, drawing conclusions, and snooping around where you’re not supposed to be. What makes the game extra difficult is the simulated real-time aspect of it. Meaning: You could miss vital clues and events at any time. It’s unforgiving like life. And you can screw up the investigation by yourself and become a (locked up) persona non grata if you hassle the NPCs too much, e.g., wake them up in the middle of the night with stupid or irrelevant questions. And there be plot twists too… The interface is clean and uncluttered with everything no more than two-three clicks away. This, along with the pleasant visuals and atmospheric sound should attract fans of the genre. The whole game flows quite smoothly, really. It even has simulated speech for the dialogue.

Note: Preceded by Mortville Manor. (1989) A sequel, Soukiya, was planned but never developed.
Milleniumprod was (as of 2019) developing a re-make of Maupiti Island (www.maupiti-thegame.com), but the Kickstarter project was unsuccessful. However, the project wasn’t abandoned.

19. Mean Streets (Access Software, 1989)

San Francisco, 2033. You’re private investigator Tex Murphy who are assigned to investigate the mysterious death of professor Linsky. Said and done. You jump into your hover-automobile to conduct some heavy detective work. That mostly includes talking to people and being at the right location in the right moment. While Mean Streets tries to be this cinematic experience with a pretty solid story, its various gameplay-elements make the whole thing quite fragmented at first glance. The navigation around S.F. is done with a simple but sufficient 3D-engine. The dialogue-heavy story moves on with the help of text screens and options. You also get to control Tex in third person view (Like in a adventure game.) at places of interest and in the occasional action scenes. But quite often, it’s obvious that this originally wasn’t an Amiga-game. Some games do open up after a while if you’re willing to look past some flaws. Mean Streets isn’t any exception. Because there are some neat surprises and clever stuff implemented beyond the slightly sluggish flight “simulator”. But just like in real life, the actual investigation has to be done by you. The software won’t hold your hand with fancy stuff like auto-journals, etc.

Note: Followed by Martian Memorandum (1991), Under A Killing Moon (1994), and The Pandora Directive in 1996. None of the sequels were converted for the Amiga. A sort of re-make of Mean Streets was produced in 1998 – Tex Murphy: Overseer.

20. Mindbreaker (Digital Artwork, 1987)

It’s hard to fault any platform for providing some good old classic Breakout for the players. Even with titles like Crack, Amegas, Crystal Hammer, and Impact, it’s always nice to find one that has some original tricks. Mindbreaker is an upgraded Break! from 1986, and includes a two-player “Competition Mode” as well as a level editor. After a typical late 80s Amiga loading screen, we’re treated to a short sampled tune followed by the menu. (There is also an alternating two-player mode.) And you know what Breakout is. But in Mindbreaker, you don’t necessarily manipulate the angle of reflection with the angle of incidence by hitting the ball with the bat. The ball can “get stuck” bouncing in straight vertical lines. (Unlike in Break!, your paddle can’t shoot… But it can fly!) Once in a while, an extra ball is dropped on the playing field. The game itself looks (and is) as uncomplicated as it gets. The bricks emit “percussion”-sounds when they’re hit, which means that the soundscape turns into psychotic drum solos when you manage to hit multiple bricks. This may not be the finest game of Breakout ever, but it has a cool atmosphere and plays quite nicely.

Note: Run this game with Kickstart 1.2, like on an emulator of your choice. (And use the vanilla configuration with no additional Fast RAM.)

21. Murder! (U.S. Gold, 1990)

Apart from The Detective Game, Murder On The Mississippi, and Killed Until Dead (Ish.), there weren’t that many Whodunnit-games on Commodore’s platforms either. So it’s a joy to play one that exhausts the concept of “advanced Cluedo”. Murder! has you solve acts of– Well, homicide, at a bunch of different isometric flip-screen locations during the early 20th century. (England, naturally.) The atmosphere of old gumshoe-stories are conveyed through the stylish and simple black and white graphics. You have two hours to solve each case, and just like a real detective, you interview people, look for clues, examine items, compare fingerprints, draw conclusions, collect evidence, and finally apprehend the prime suspect. Combine every little option in the game, and you have a pretty much “endless” game like Cluedo. With four difficulty levels. You can even generate the face of your sleuth before the game. (And they almost look as shady as some of the suspects…) Murder! is a fun little game with a very logical and well-designed interface. (You can basically figure it out without instructions.) You change between walking and examining with the right mouse-button. Everything else is icon-operated. The only thing that’s on the minimalistic side is the sound.

22. Nuclear War (New World Computing, 1990)

An utterly realistic and harrowing depiction of nuclear warfare and its effects… In some other game, I’m sure…! Nuclear War is as serious as, e.g., the on-screen comment: “Only 4 million dead” after a strike on a city of 16 million people. And it’s as war-glorifying as the Hi-score table showing how many humans have been wiped out. (As a numeric score!) Offensive? Not in the least. Especially not when the game’s visual style is so utterly comical. It’s all making fun of the pointlessness of a potential war of this kind. This is a turn-based strategy game (For one player.) where you’re sandwiched between four world leaders (With names like: Ronnie Raygun, Tricky Dick, P.M. Satcher, etc.) in one final genocidal conflict. You build things that explode, spread propaganda in order to get foreigners to join you, deploy bombers, and attempt to turn the surrounding (unnamed) countries into craters. The winner is of course the one who obliterates the other leaders. (Including their citizens.) Nuclear War has a ton of funny animations, like the intro and the “Game Over”-screen. The game is amazingly easy to pick up and play, i.e., figuring out what the various icons and buttons do.

23. Ork (Psygnosis, 1991)

Call it a tradition at this point “already”, but Psygnosis did crank out a couple of very high quality platform / arcade adventures post Shadow Of The Beast. Ork comes from WJS Design and it’s no wonder Psygnosis published it. It hits all the check-marks: Cool and varied background graphics. Radiant sprites and animations. (With some charming Psygnosis-related references.) Smooth gameplay. Decent length. (Five levels where the first one is short and the last one is pretty long.) Good controls. Not impossible difficulty level. Great title-screen music. (By Tim Bartlett.) No in-game music… Okay, so that’s one check-mark missed. The player controls an alien known as Ku-Kabul. It marches around platforms. It jumps. It shoots. And with its jet-pack, it also flies. So you pretty much immediately realize what you’re up against. Especially when you start finding items like keys. (They’re usually used for something.) It wouldn’t much of a challenge if Ku-Kabul’s jet-pack and ammo were infinite, so it needs to re-fuel and re-load every now and then. It’s not that the game is unique (Except maybe in the visual department.), but it’s heart-warming to see that throwbacks to Old School platformers survived and kept living on the Amiga.

24. Panza Kick Boxing (Futura, 1990)

Multiple Kickboxing world champion André Panza and seven other opponents stand between you and the new world champion title as you enter the ring. But a good idea might be to hit the gym first to improve your stamina, reflexes, and strength. When you take on the first kickboxer called Dom Weak, you can’t just play this game like an ordinary “International Karate”-clone. Because you have 100 moves to choose from. Now, executing 100 moves with a Joystick would be pretty impossible, so you have to allocate the moves of your choice to the stick’s directions. Which means that you can focus on different kicks. Or punches. Or defensive moves. “Panza” has a whole set of options that you can change to make the game as varied as possible. Although there is “only” one ring and one look to the opponent, the animations are where this fine software shines. And the gameplay itself. There is that satisfaction when you knock out the other dude with one well-timed kick to the eye. (The fighters’ energy-levels are illustrated with four lanterns in the top corners.) In short: This is another game that grows more rewarding the more time you put into it.

25. Pegasus (Gremlin Graphics, 1991)

Ready for another Shoot ‘Em-Up / platform game that are longer than at least four or five Coin-Ops put together? That’s right. Pegasus’ fifty levels don’t fuck around, and the levels aren’t even short. Perseus rides his flying horse and blasts nasties out of the sky. When he lands, he continues killing various mythological abominations on foot… Optimus Software created a bloody good-looking game here. And Barry Leitch made another title screen-tune that would be on his Greatest Hits album should he ever make one. But there’s that delicious dressing missing from the fresh double sandwich… In-game music… (Good sound effects, though.) But a game like Pegasus needs in-game music. Desperately. Because it plays well, it’s sufficiently hard and challenging, and it rewards the player with some lovely scenery from start to finish. They’re console-lovely even. (Including various graphical effects.) This is one of those games that’s very hard to find anything wrong with. (Except those gaps of silence.) And at the same time, I don’t think “everybody” who loves NES-style platformers or side-scrolling Shooters could love Pegasus unconditionally. In the gameplay-department, it could’ve used a bit of tweaking. But still, its one lovingly presented game. (Very typical of Gremlin.)

26. Personal Nightmare (Horror Soft, 1989)

A studio wouldn’t call itself “Horror Soft” if they didn’t know how to create several hell of a creepy horror-themed games. Right from the start, the dread hits with a priest getting struck by lightning. (Inside a church.) Moments later, Satan himself rises from the fiery pits. (You’ll remember that laughter forever!) In Personal Nightmare, you visit what’s practically “Hammer Horror”-town. And if Satan isn’t around, there’s always a vampire or an insane witch somewhere (too) close. Sinister shit is going on 24/7, and you have to investigate one of these things after another. You have four days to rid the township of devilry. (With your life at stake every hour on the hour. And lovely gore images when you snuff it.) The game uses a combination of a Point ‘n Click-interface and an ordinary “text adventure”-interpreter. The images of the locations don’t alway match the exits on the compass, but you’ll soon figure it out. Apart from the ordinary adventure-game puzzles, there are a few real-time elements where you’re put under some proper pressure. This is also one of the few games where its roughness around the edges only, and significantly, improves the atmosphere. It’s the elements at work.

Note: Horror Soft came back swinging the year later with Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark.

27. Resolution 101 (Millennium, 1990)

Convicted criminals get one chance to go free, and that’s according to Resolution 101. You are one of these criminals (Software pirate, no doubt.) and the next thing you know, you’re in an armed Skimmer with an assignment: Terminate the four drug runners of Los Envegas. This is done in first-person view and with a mouse. (Left button for accelerating and the right one for shooting.) The objective is as uncomplicated as it gets. Shoot at everything that moves. Especially the drug runner. You collect pods with money from enemies that you have atomized, and when your Skimmer starts leaking like a sieve, you visit the proper establishment to get it fixed. (Or armed with better firepower.) Bring down the runner’s vehicle, and you’re off to the next district. Each runner has to be defeated three times before the fourth one is the termination… Resolution 101 is a fun and action-filled Shooter with some frame-rate drops when there are showers of bullets and multiple enemies in your view at once, but the game is always playable. The combo of filled vector- and bitmap graphics is simple but functional. (And the in-game music sounds like you have stolen some Greaser’s Skimmer.)

28. Sabre Team (Krisalis Software, 1992)

Nobody said rescuing hostages would be easy. And this turn-based tactical action game with its jolly 80s Actionsploitation-atmos doesn’t make things easier either. From a squad of eight ultimate bad-asses, you select four that will take on five tough missions. The objective in each is to rescue captured people. If it’s not at a camp somewhere in the jungle, it’s inside an embassy and such. So how do you do it? Armed to the teeth and with a tremendous amount of luck. The game is viewed in isometric view and the gameplay is entirely based around action points. Everything everybody does costs action points. You click on the on-screen icons to select said actions, and you also see what the bad guys and hostages do during their turns. As Sabre Team involves a lot of strategy, you can’t just go in with all guns blazing in turns. Moving about quietly and avoiding being seen is something that becomes crucial at frequent points. This game looks exactly what it needs to look like. Everybody has mentioned Julian Gollop’s Laser Squad as a forerunner to these types of games, and… Absolutely. I can see the attraction for any fan of the genre.

29. Special Forces (MicroProse, 1991)

“Airborne Ranger II”… It’s no secret that MicroProse’s golden era was during the late 80s when they constantly released combat simulations in various military settings. Airborne Ranger was one of the more accessible games from the publisher, and it was a damn shame that it didn’t get expansions or stuff like that. Well, the Amiga-version of the original wasn’t too great. But developer Sleepless Knights made all the necessary updates and improvements. After a suitable intro, you create a Roster Disk and prepare for any of the 16 missions in four different environments. (With four difficulty levels available.) Select your squad of four hard-asses, arm them, select a mission, and enter the Warzone. You move around the top-down viewed environment and do what Special Forces do. You either focus on one squad member at the time, or split the screen into four smaller ones to see the entire team… This isn’t really an action game more than it’s a tactical one, i.e., you give orders more often than give that itching trigger-finger a relief. Still, a bunch of features are familiar from Airborne Ranger. And if you invest some time into learning how the game operates, hours of excitement await.

Note: To make a “Roster Disk”, you can’t for example create an ADF-image and call it whatever you want. You need to rename it, in the Workbench environment, to “RosterDisk”. (Literally. Minus the quotation marks, obviously.)

30. Stunt Car Racer (MicroStyle, 1989)

Only a bunch of lunatics would compete in what simply can be described as “roller-coaster racing”. In open cars. At suicidal speeds. Luckily, your vehicle can take a thrashing, plus you most likely wear multiple seat belts. (You’d be catapulted out of the car otherwise when it darts off the track. There are no guard rails on these roller-coasters.) In each race, it’s you vs. another maniac on tracks that have everything from draw bridges to ski jumps. There are eight tracks in total, and each division has two. (The season starts in Division 4.) As soon as you start racing (Or practicing.), you’ll most likely notice the excellent physics engine. I have no idea what the cars are made of, but they have some seriously good suspension. The engine also runs on Nitro (Boost Fuel) that you can burn to go significantly faster… Geoff “The Sentinel” Crammond’s racer is one bloody enjoyable and original one. You could spend hours trying to master the controls and figure out how the car behaves. The crack and holes in the top frame acts as the car’s Power-bar. (The crack grows from minor damages, and the holes appear when you hit something hard.)

31. Super Cars (Gremlin Graphics, 1990)

Magnetic Fields figured that they could bring a couple of more features to the arcade-style racing genre. And you probably remember one or two earlier games that changed the classic “Super Sprint”-formula and brought multi-directional scrolling to the table. Except in Super Cars, you upgrade and repair your car as you speed around the tracks and advance through the classes. The engine, body, and tires all take damage during the minor or major collisions during a race. And cars happen to run on gas. You get some cash when you win, of course. And between races, you can visit the garage to refuel or fix your automobile before the next, harder, track. Win enough money, and you can get a better car. (Necessary.) What makes this particular game stand out is the fact that you can also buy front- or real missiles to get rid of those extremely irritating competitors. And what saves this game is the controls. The Fire-button is used for accelerating and left and right on the Joystick is for turning. Simplicity usually is king, and Super Cars doesn’t over-complicate anything. It looks pretty good and runs nicely. It has got everything it needs. (Except fantastic sound.)

Note: Followed by Super Cars 2 in 1991. If you loved the first game, blah-blah, etc.

32. Treasures Of The Savage Frontier (SSI, 1992)

Just like with The Dark Queen Of Krynn, it’s time to bid the Gold Box RPGs farewell. This is the sequel to Gateway To The Savage Frontier, but it’s not possible to import characters from that game. This also marks the final Forgotten Realms-based entry in the series. If you have played all nine games, you know exactly how this works. You create characters, add them to the party, and dive headlong into more or less severe danger. The plot? Fight hordes of backstabbing bastards and uncover sinister shit that threatens the good shit… Developer Stormfront Studios added some new features to the engine, like weather (Affects combat in various environments.) and “judgment”. This judgment comes from the software that brands your characters as either good, neutral, or evil. (Depending on your actions. This feature appeared in Fable years later.) There’s also a “compatibility match” between NPCs and player characters, meaning that two of them can get romantically involved with each other as time goes by. (This game also has some tweaks and improvements to the combat system.) When it’s all said and done, this is one fine swan song to the long-running series of quality RPGs. Old School, man…

Note: The Dungeons & Dragons-based game Dark Sun: Shattered Lands from 1993 was never ported for the Amiga. Neither was the third of the final round of Gold Box-games, which was Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed. (1992)
The Dark Queen Of Krynn was mentioned at no. 3 in this text.

33. Utopia: The Creation Of A Nation (Gremlin Graphics, 1991)

Just like the title suggests, the main goal of this game is to create a utopia for the people living in this extraterrestrial colony. After Barry Leitch’s phenomenal title-screen tune and a little back story, you start this journey towards “good life” in a “Sim City”-like way. (Except Utopia is played in isometric perspective.) You have to build living quarters, power stations, something that makes it possible to breathe, hospitals, etc. (“QOL” stands for “Quality Of Life” and is measured in percentage.) And you need to make money to be able to build more and maintain the QOL. This is where everything is accounted for, really. And you need a military the day (Not “if”.) someone decides to attack you and take over what you have built up. Utopia goes beyond the aforementioned “Sim”-game by including conflicts and numerous other factors that can change everything for the worse. Finances are important factors, and when the taxes don’t cover the expenses, there is always trading… So this is basically a society simulator? Yeah…! With exceptionally good background music. Leitch also provided a beautiful version of Pachelbel’s “Canon” as well as some suitable and moody pieces while chasing that perfect future existence.

34. Venus The Flytrap (Gremlin Graphics, 1990)

Genetically engineered insects were supposed to counter-balance the lack of natural insects when agriculture exploded. (To meet the demands of the world population.) Unfortunately, something went wrong and the bugs started wiping out all living things, subsequently killing nature. Enter the super-bug that will put everything right… Or is it too late, already? Well, it’s never too late to play a side-scrolling platform game starring this artillery fire-spitting insect… It begins with a nice intro that tells the story while another one of Barry Leitch’s catchy tunes plays… Press the Fire-button and you’re in for a lengthy session of “Jumping ‘n Shooting”. (50 levels in ten different worlds.) It does look lovely with the various shades in the backgrounds. The original part would be that some pods on the ground affect the super-bug in various way. One pod steals time (Because there has to be a time limit.), and others reverse gravity so that you can walk on the ceilings. As usual, you need to love these types of games, like, madly… And you need the patience and the calm of… Someone who doesn’t break Joysticks and other inanimate objects when frustrations mutate into pure hate. That’s Venus The Flytrap…!

35. Whale’s Voyage (Flair Software, 1993)

I don’t think I have ever played an RPG (Especially in a Sci-Fi setting.) that has been more polarizing amongst its players. Some magazines seemed to hate neo Software’s Whale’s Voyage with a passion and others think that it has something deeply engaging beyond its convoluted (Joystick-operated) interface. Because it starts with a highly original character creation sequence. You create a group of four people by selecting their parents (There are a couple of different fathers and mothers.) before the game randomly creates a son or daughter. Then, you define some of their characteristics and education. The “Whale” in the scenario is a space-ship that’s stuck in orbit near a planet. Once you have equipped and fixed up the Whale, you’re free to travel to any of the six planets in this particular Solar system. You make money through classic space-trading. (Popularized by a certain game called Elite.) But the bulk of the game is the RPG-section that naturally reminds of the “Beholder”-games. Whale’s Voyage also includes space-battles in turn-based top-down perspective (on a grid) as well as a multi-directional scrolling planet surface-exploration part. There sure is a lot going on, and who knows: You might absolutely love it. Eventually.

Note: Followed by Whale’s Voyage II: Die Übermacht. The game was released in German only, but an English fan translation exists. Many people would say that the sequel is a superior game on nearly every level.

36. Wizkid: The Story Of Wizball II (Ocean Software, 1992)

All right, at least Wizkid doesn’t seem too silly…! Wizkid’s parents, the Wizard and the Wizball from the 1987 game by the same name– Yeah… Those two, plus Nifta the cat (Including her eight kittens.) have been kidnapped by one Zark. Wizkid has to rescue them by wiping out Zark’s buddies. Wizkid isn’t much of a fighter, so he has to head-butt bricks and other objects at the baddies. A clown nose makes it possible to juggle bricks and the false teeth are used for catching bricks mid-air. Destroyed baddies leave bubbles containing paint behind them. Catching them colors a note on a staff at the top of the screen. A melody plays when all notes are colored and the screen is completed… Sensible Software’s sequel plays and looks nothing like the original. It plays on single-screen levels over eight different rounds. (And half of them can be played in “Body Mode” instead of the default “Head Mode”.) Describing all features and rampant lunacy going on in Wizkid would take a couple of paragraphs, but that’s why everybody should play it and discover for themselves. It’s definitely worth it, including getting subjected for the silly humor and sustained, absolute nonsense.

37. Wolfchild (Core Design, 1992)

It’s one tragic story about researcher Kal Morrow, who basically loses everything at the hands of terrorist organization Chimera and their leader Karl Draxx. Kal’s son Saul decides to seek vengeance and uses daddy’s scientific skills to transform himself into a hybrid between wolf and man. Said and done. Saul enters the stage, i.e., the first level in another high quality platform game from Core Design, and starts killing Chimera’s armies in the shape of various monsters and mutants. Wolfchild is not a game that overstays its welcome, but it’s either challenging or seriously hard after the first level or so. The key feature is the “Vitality Bar” that determines if and when you can transform into that lycanthrope. But Saul can also find other weapons instead of just using his fists. Wolfchild looks great (Nice sprites, animations, and varied levels… However varied a video game bad guy’s HQ can be.) and sounds great (Thanks to Martin Iveson providing the soundtrack. Make sure to keep the in-game music turned on.), but the gameplay doesn’t score that many points for originality. Chances are that you’ll merely remember this as “another good platformer among others”, should you give it a serious chance.

38. Xenon (Melbourne House, 1988)

The vertically scrolling Shmup that put Bitmap Brothers on the map. Those lovely blue tiles… That wonderfully delirious and avant-gardistic David Whittaker soundtrack. (The ONLY soundtrack that should have been allowed to use that brain-shattering electric guitar sample!) Xenon is that link between Shmups that could have been in the arcades and Shmups that one never thought we could play in the discomfort of our own homes. Because it’s pretty sophisticated. You either control a surface dwelling vehicle, or a space-ship. Fuel is needed to fly, and quite often, this becomes necessary to get past some obstacles. On the ground, you can move in eight directions and also scroll the level up and down. The game has four levels (With neat-looking bosses that appear twice on each stage.), and two of them are pure “flying”-stages in space. And of course there are upgrades to your vessel(s) – Fuel, Smart Bombs, lasers, multi-directional shooters, etc. At times, it almost feels too powerful, but then you realize, very soon, that the game soon gets… Harder… (I have also read here and there that Xenon has a “New Game+”-feature, i.e., when you complete Level 4, it warps back to a trickier Level 1.

Note: Followed by Xenon II: Megablast in 1989.

39. Zone Warrior (Electronic Arts, 1991)

The Geek Empire is threatening Earth by intruding via five different time-zones. Their mission is to cause enough damage so that humans are extinct in the future. You, a Zone Warrior, have to stop this. You travel back to Prehistoric times and start fixing things by giving the alien bastards some of their own medicine… The game is a mix of a side-scrolling platform game and a Shooter. You move between sections in each map through gates. The objectives in each era is to rescue prisoners, liberate the “Bod” (A very important prisoner.), and kill the main Geek. To aid you on your suicide mission, there are various collectable more or less effective weapons and items like mines and “speed”. (Activated with the Return-key.) Zone Warrior is a very polarizing game and not many players seem to love it very much. But one strong reason to play it is Barry Leitch’s soundtrack. The dude wrote twenty tunes and tunelets (Over an hour of music!) for the game, and they can be listened to on a Jukebox in the title-screen menu. So if you decide to blast some Geeks, turn the music on. (Because the sound effects are really nothing special.)

Note: Access the title-screen menu with the HELP-key and set the “Interludes”-setting to Jukebox to conjure the game’s built-in virtual Wurlitzer… (Typing “10” in Jukebox-mode returns you to the title screen.)

40. Zool: Ninja Of The Nth Dimension (Gremlin Graphics, 1992)

I think we finally have to give up trying to find a “Sonic for the Amiga”. (But I guess it could’ve been Mr. Nutz, then…) Zool was conceived and developed as “Bad news for hedgehogs”, although it didn’t “quite” live up to the hype… At least nobody sober claimed that Zool was a better game than Sonic The Hedgehog. (Since it looks nowhere near as good and doesn’t have as great level design.) Still… It’s a multi-directional, fast-scrolling platform game set in five different worlds. And you play as Zool… Before each new game, you select difficulty mode (Tighter time limit and the number of Bonus-items needed to complete a level.), in-game music (Some nice grooves from Patrick Phelan.) or sound effects, the number of continues, “Normal” or “Fast” speed, and inertia… But no matter what you select, Zool simply doesn’t play as well as the Masterpiece it tried to outdo. It’s just a fact. As an attempt, it was good enough, and it was nice to see a new franchise on the Amiga instead of more of those bloody awful MS-DOS ports and even worse rip-offs. So among the “Sonic style”-games that are truly enjoyable, Zool scores pretty high.

Note: Followed by Zool 2 in 1993. Separate AGA versions of both games were released the very same year. And both games appeared on the CD32 as well.

Zool in AGA-mode – Looking a bit more like a decent competitor to Sonic…! (Except: No.)

(To be concluded… “Part V” hits this site on December 4, 2019.)