CineTech 1998
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 5/6
Language: English, Italiano, Deutsch
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

The Amiga family of computers weren't blessed with the gems Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max. ScummVM was still a few years away. Fortunately, there are always creative people to fill such gaping gaps. Enter Sixth Sense Investigations - the Lucas Arts game not made by Lucas Arts.

Microsphere 1985
Genre: Action, Adventure
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: ZX Spectrum

Eric is a normal schoolboy, and this game simulates his normal daily life. Unsurprisingly to those who haven't played it, but probably surprising to those who have, Skool Daze does have a goal. Eric's report card has gotten long. So long, in fact, that he's bound to get thrown out soon. Now there's only one thing to do: Eric has to get the card from the school safe located in the headmaster's office.

Sierra On-Line 1987
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Released only a few months after Space Quest I, the sequel, named Vohaul's Revenge has brought little new. In fact, if I felt nasty and unthankful, I'd say that the game was one of the first cash cows in the history of PC gaming. By today's standards I'd be right - inept puzzles, the same graphics, lack of the same humor I remembered from the first part and a very short gameplay would automatically qualify a game as a rip-off. At least in my eyes; in fact such games seem to be very successful and highly regarded by certain gaming magazines. Back in the days, however, we were happy for the little we got and paid for it accordingly.

Sierra On-Line 1987
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Back in the mid-1980s, computer games were created by their fans. It so happened that two guys, Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy decided that they would like to play King's Quest in a science fiction setting. After being initially rejected by Ken Williams who ran Sierra at the time, they created a small demo to show him they could pull it off. They got the job...

Legend Entertainment 1990
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Whenever Steve Meretzky is listed as designer of a game, you can be fairly sure it'll involve girls. In some cases more, in some cases less. In Spellcasting, it's definitely 'more'. Much more.

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!

Capcom 1989
Genre: RPG, Adventure
Rating: 4/6
Language: Japanese, English (unofficial)
Licence: Commercial
System: NES

Mamiya Ichirou created a series of frescos that attracted many people to her abandoned and lost in the middle of the forest house. A place that obviously is damned and owned by her victim searching ghost.

Telekom / Art Department 1993
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Language: Deutsch
Licence: Freeware
System: PC

And "Ron Sommer" said: "Let's pretend to to cool. It'll look as if we actually care for our customers and as if we were a young and modern company." And his disciples went into the wide world to spread his word. One came back with something he called a 'computer game'. And "Ron Sommer" saw it was good. Or at least he thought it was good...

Mike Woodroffe & Others 1985
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 2/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

By the power of Grayskull.... All the children in the 80s knew this catchphrase. They watched the adventures of He-Man and his friends (and foes) on TV, bought the action figures, read the comics. And of course there were several computer games for the most common systems of the time.