Taito 1990
Genre: Puzzle
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Puzznic is one of the great games from the heyday of the puzzle-genre. The late 1980s/early 1990s brought a good number of these gems and well, here's one I really do like. The concept is fairly simple, which let's you concentrate on the problems the levels bring you. Basically you have to get matching pieces together to let them vanish. You can push them to the left and the right, but cannot lift them up. If you push them over an edge they fall down to the ground. Once all are gone you have completed the level. Simple as that, but difficult in many cases. While the first problems mainly consist of moving blocking pieces away and back again the higher levels face you with the problem of getting three pieces to vanish at once as there are uneven numbers of pieces of the same type. Also pretty soon the dreaded moving brick enters the stage - I seriously got to hate that thing! I have to admit I'm a bit weak in reacting fast, but you sort of have from time to time. You have to throw pieces on these moving things and down again. I tend to push my pieces too late... But seriously - don't think this game has any serious action-elements. It doesn't - I'm just slow. ;)

Microprose 1990
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Most people already know this classic. Because it was a huge success. And it deserved it! Inspired by Sim City, Sid Meier wanted to do a real-time building game. This was the product.

The most significant thing about the game is, that there's no real goal. Just like in Sim City you just build and build. You can't really win the game, only climb the highscore list. You just try to build up a huge railroad company.

Dynamix 1990
Genre: Simulation
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Red Baron is kind of a predecessor of Dynamix' Aces series. This time it's about World War I and featuring its respective planes. All known features can be found in this game: single missions, a career mode and the possibility to record your most glorious deeds.

Core Design 1990
Genre: Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Another ordinary action game. But what makes it special to me is the fact that I spent days, weeks and month in front of my Amiga playing this particular game!
Why? Well, to be honest mainly because it was available! I simply didn't have that many games back then. But beside the emotional component, there are also objective arguments for this game!

Tengen / Domark 1990
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 2/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Atari ST

You've all gone through this: You see this amazing game, a technological marvel, a sensational experience. You buy the game, and then it turns out your own computer doesn't really seem to be up to it. These days, you'd just go out and buy a new video card or a faster processor, but in 1990, that just wasn't possible - because all hardware on the consumer market wouldn't have cut it in some cases. Cue S.T.U.N. Runner.

Origin 1990
Genre: RPG
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

On earth, an experiment with the moonstone the Avatar got on his last adventure goes awry and carries him, along a professor and a reporter, to the lost Valley of Eodon, where dinosaurs and humans live together.

Microprose 1990
Genre: Simulation, Strategy
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

A very mature Amiga game. Looking at its theme, it's obviously not aimed at the same target audience as the endless flood of Jump'n'Runs, but on the other hand, it's also not some ultra-realistic simulation which would scare most people off.

Epyx / US Gold 1990
Genre: Action, Simulation
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Atari ST

This is one I spent a lot of time with back in the days. At first glance, it's a simple aerial shooter, but there's more to it than that. Even though it's far from being a realistic simulation, there's a certain feel to the controls and general gameplay that draws you in, and before you know it, you really ARE crack pilot Butch Slayer, codename Fifi.

Rare 1990
Genre: Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: NES

Aliens have captured your ship and it now lays in pieces all around the galaxy, so if you want to get it back you will have to travel from planet to planet, exploring inside a capsule. A tough work, as they are not the most manoeuvrable things, nor the best for fighting back.

Bitmap Brothers 1990
Genre: Sport
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Atari ST

The successor to the best sports game of the 80s (see the Amiga section for the first part) - published on the Atari first! A few years after Speedball 1. Corruption and violence have driven the sport underground. At least that is what the intro says. There's not really much more violence, but at least the corruption has obviously been eliminated (no bribing the officials anymore ;). Anyway, you're the manager of a team called 'Brutal Deluxe' (what a sound name!) which is a member of the second league. And now guess what you have to do...