Hal Laboratory / Nintendo 1992
Genre: Action
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Game Boy

Kirby is a small bubble that can breath in air or small creatures and then blow it out at speeds that kill whatever is in its way. It can jump and fly, and it's got a mortal enemy it needs to dispose of. Welcome to Kirby's Dreamland, one of the easier platformers, which has become hugely popular with the not-so-adept-with-the-controls crowd. The game is fairly straight-forward: you proceed through four lands, each of which has its own architecture and monsters, and each of which has three stages. You fight a boss at the end of each stage, only to fight the main level boss at the end of each level. After finishing all stages, you fight the main bosses again, after which you meet the final boss. While clearing your way through the usual monsters requires nothing more than blowing air at them, most bosses throw things at you you've got to inhale and spit back at them. Yet, because you can fly and because you can always shoot, the game is much easier than, let's say, Mario platformers.

Richard Jordan 1999
Genre: Action, Adventure
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Freeware
System: PC

Remaking a classic game is always a controversial, but also popular venture. There's always the question of the point, because why do a straight remake when there's the original (running on every imaginable device thanks to emulation). On the other hand, if a supposed remake strays too far from the source, the old fans complain as well. A difficult balancing act.

English Software 1986
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

The Middle Ages: was it an age of chivalry and knights in shining armors? Or a dark age of oppression and plague? We'll maybe never know for sure. One thing is for sure though: people liked brawling back then - just like today! And that makes all the other questions completely useless and uninteresting!

Exxodus 1989
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 4/6
Language: Francais, English, Deutsch
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

In the far future. After a nuclear war, part of the human race has mutated and now form two new races: the Tuners who look human, but have PSI powers (reading other people's thoughts, telekinetic powers,...), and the Protozorqs, humans with lizardlike heads. The latter live in huge temples which inspire fear into passers-by. There are rumors about humans and Tuners disappearing into these without leaving a trace.

Opera Soft 1987
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 4/6
Language: Castellano
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

A man was murdered on the abbey, and it is fray Francisco, a monk who has just arrived, the one in charge of discovering the culprit. And he must hurry, because in a few days inquisitor Bernardo Gui will arrive, and it will be better for everybody if he doesn't get mixed in all of this.

Lucasfilm Games / Activision 1986
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

There were Adventure games before SCUMM and aside from Sierra's endless Quests. Lucasfilm's first own foray into the genre was Labyrinth - an official offshoot of the movie of the same name (starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly).

Psygnosis 1994
Genre: Action
Rating: 0/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

A whole bunch of unvoluntary humor! This game confirm several cliches at once.



1. A movie conversion

The game has nothing (really nothing) to do with the film. Some very short video excerpts are shown betweenthe levels but that's all. A few characters and settings from the film show up but they are futile.

Mindscape 1991
Genre: RPG, Action
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

I have to admit that I'm preoccupied. In the good old Amiga times I haven?t played any game more than this one. After discovering it again I was instantly caught by its old magic.
The land of Trazere is swept by the waves of a mighty evil's dreams which flood the country. By hacking through dungeons the 4 heroes gather experience and get ever closer to their goal...

Westwood Studios 1992
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 2/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

The evil jester Malcolm has escaped from his prison. Now he's draining all the magical energy of the realm. None of the court magicians can withstand his powers. As a sign of extreme evil, he has turned Kallak (one of the elders or something) into stone.

Westwood Studios 1993
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Kyrandia is in trouble again! But this time it's not that easy to determine where it comes from. The realm is slowly disappearing bit by bit. The royal Mystics don't have a clue what to do (that rhymes ;). But fortunately, a giant hand has obviously experienced this phenomenon before: someone needs to retrieve the anchor stone from the center of the world. On the hand's diagram of the world, you can clearly see a lot of lava there, but who cares? The youngest member of the mystics is chosen for this mission: Zanthia.