GCE 1982
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Vectrex

A Pacman clone with a twist or two.

You are a bank director and your bank has just been robbed. The robbers have blown up your safe and the money is now lying everywhere in the bank. You are collecting it, but the bankrobbers are trying to get you. And when they do...you're history.

Dalali / Leisure Genius 1990
Genre: Puzzle
Rating: 3/6
Language: English, Francais
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

An aristocrat mansion, a murdered host and one of the guests has to be the murderer. Each player takes over the role of one of those guests / suspects / detectives trying to find out the truth. Of course, this is the classic boardgame in the mystery genre: Cluedo.

CDS 1989
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 3/6
Language: English, Deutsch, Francais, Castellano
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Chess might be the most known strategy games in existence. Who knows? One thing is for sure though: it is one of the simplest. At least the rules are simple. It's easy to learn how to play. Reminds my of the time back when I was working in the kindergarten where I taught this game to a bunch of interested children between 4 and 6. That was the time in my life when I played chess most frequently. Almost every day someone challenged me. Yeah, that was fun! At last some real competitors ;)

Cyberdreams 1995
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

After Mike Dawson saved the world from the 'Ancients' in Dark Seed, he had a nervous breakdown (somehow understandable considering what he went through). To recover, he moved back to his mother who still lives in his old home town where he spent his childhood. A year has passed, and Mike still isn't feeling too well. One day, his ex-girlfriend Rita is murdered. Mike's the prime suspect, and he can't remember a thing of what happened that night...

Avalon Hill 1984
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

This is a conversion of a tabletop. As one of 7 Powers in a Europe divided in regions on the dawn of the 20th century you try to conquer as much as possible with your allies' help.

The rules have been adopted completely. The main point of them is that nothing happens by accident but everything can be calculated logically before. That means that nobody can use the excuse of luck/bad luck. Instead of that the attacking armies are compared to the defending ones. The one who has more wins. But more than one unit per area is impossible. In order to build a front line neighbouring countries have to support others.

Elite 1989
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Steve Bak had already ported both Commando and Ikari Warriors to the Amiga for Elite, and apparantely building on that experience, he followed that up with his original creation Dogs of War. The use of 'original' in the previous sentence being limited to the meaning of 'not being a conversion', because Dogs follows Commando's footprints very closely, but it has become a minor classic on its own right.

Accolade 1989
Genre: RPG
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

An old mansion, a lost grandfather and plenty of monsters in what at firsts looks like another dungeon crawler, but that hide within a few things which make it different. But don't get your hopes high.

CLR 1986
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

This review is part of The Review Roundup - Round 2: Games Related to the Undead

Dracula - a universally known horror icon. Ironically, only few have actually read the novel these days. Instead, the count's image is dominated by his numerous appearances in other media. Most notably movies which have taken on a life on their own, straying from the original more and more over time. Instead, these movies seem to be based on other movies. Or how would you explain that almost every vampire movie out there claims these undead creatures dissolve in daylight? A hint: this wasn't the case in either Dracula or the even older vampire story Carmilla. That 'tradition' was established by Nosferatu, an unofficial movie version of Dracula from the 1920s.

Art Department 1994
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Language: Deutsch
Licence: Freeware
System: PC

"Dunkle Schatten" (Dark Shadows) was released during the "Fairständnis" campaign of the German Ministries of Inner Affairs in 1994. The slogan was "respect human rights - against racial hatred", the development was executed by Art Department, a company well known for its advertising games at that time.

Rainbow Arts 1989
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Language: Deutsch, English
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

The early days of the Cold War. The USSR is blocking all land transports to the western sectors of Berlin. The USA have initiated an air bridge to supply the city. But Berlin is like a tiny island in what is going to be the GDR - when it comes to war, it'll be overrun by the Red Army immediately!