Mons & Simen 1984
Genre: Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Paratrooper is quite an old game (published in the same year as the much better-known Alleycat, 1984) and, as many of those games, graphically none too advanced but quite addictive.

Storyline:

The story, if the lack of one can be named such, is very simple. You command an anti-air battery and the enemy is trying to destroy you. They're trying this in two different ways:

Will Wright / Broderbund 1984
Genre: Action
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

It may seem unbelievable in these days, now that every computer game seems to be about war, spurting blood and severed limbs, but in the 80s, it was pretty much agreed on in the gaming press (here in Germany at least) that 'realistic' war themes are morally questionable and detract from the enjoyment of a game. So, the more otherworldly the story and the freakier the setting of a game about some sort of fighting, the better the ratings.

Julian Gollop / Red Shift 1984
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: ZX Spectrum

Not many games can claim the honour of having started something really big and immensely popular for themselves. Rebelstar Raiders is one of the notable exceptions. It spawned a whole modern genre and has to be recognized as the seminal work for countless others. Games like UFO (X-Com) and Jagged Alliance wouldn't exist without RR. Talking about UFO, RR was even made by the same person, so it's even a direct descendant.

ASCii Corporation / Spectrum Holobyte 1984
Genre: Puzzle
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Sokoban was created by Hiroyuki Imabayashi in 1980, and won the first prize on a computer games contest. Two years later, Thinking Rabit, Mr. Imabayashi's company has released the first commercial version of Sokoban. The game has often been reproduced, and remains as addictive today as ever.

BMB Compuscience 1984
Genre: Action
Rating: 2/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Many great works were created by accident. Sopwith is one of them. Once upon a time, there was a Canadian software company, called BMP Compuscience. It was developing database and networking software. It was its network software, Imaginet, which is the direct reason why Sopwith was created: the game, which supported multiplayer over the Imaginet network, served as a demo to show the network's capability. Ironically, the game has built up a strong following. The networking software did not.

Scott Adams 1984
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

Spiderman - the first superhero who was a teenager. He was just a normal shy geeky teenager who wanted to attract girls, but didn't know how to start a conversation with them. He had his problems at home with his aunt. He didn't know what to do with his life. Basically just the usual problems of growing up - something the readers could directly identify with.

Infocom 1984
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Yet another case of murder in yet another feudal mansion. And yet another time, it's up to you to solve the case before time runs out. Only this time, there's a twist to the usual procedure: You're not the police detective called to the scene of crime, but the main suspect. It all began with an invitation from Veronica Ashcroft to her annual Halloween costume party. What a chance to write an article for your paper about this event of the high society!

Sir-Tech 1984
Genre: RPG
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Once upon a time, the legendary world of Llylgamyn was ruled by an Overlord, appointed by the Council of Sages. When Trebor, the local hero, became the Overlord, he became obsessed with power. He found out about an artifact, a magical amulet of great power. He wasn't the only one looking for it: the evil wizard Werdna was only a step behind Trebor's efforts to find the artifact. Trebor found it first, however, only to have it stolen by Werdna almost immediately. Werdna didn't know how to handle the amulet properly, caused an earthquake beneath Trebor's castle, which creates several levels of mazes. To avoid looking like a complete idiot, Werdna announced that it was his intent to create the maze, so that he could move in at the lowest level. Trebor managed to clear out the first four levels of the maze, which he then pronounced to be his Proving Grounds for everybody interested to becoming a part of this private guard. You are one of these candidates...