U.S. Gold 1992
Genre: Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Street Fighter II - the game which ruled the arcades. One of the first examples of tweaking the modern kind of fighting to its perfection. One of the first to incorporate flashy special moves for its characters, thus making them really unique. The two-player sensation. Also a huge hit on the SNES.

California Dreams 1990
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

It's the early 60s. You're one of those 'cool rebels' who spend all day in their garage with your car. Tuning the motor, polishing it and in more intimate moments, probably even stroking it. However, what's the worth of a beautiful girlfriend which nobody else knows about? Exactly. That's why you're taking part in illegal road races.

Velocity 1996
Genre: Action, RPG
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Shooters have a tendency to lack story or at least a bit of depth, consisting in nothing more than pressing a button and moving forward. Yet a few like this one shine and reach a higher mark than the many which try only to be a copy of the famed game from where Strife takes its engine, Doom.

Disney 1992
Genre: Simulation, Action
Rating: 5/6
Language: English, Deutsch
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Stunt Island is one of the most original games in existence! To write a comprehensive text about it would be completely impossible because of the sheer mass of features and the fact that they are all cross-linked. So I'll just describe the individual parts. Basically, you're working in the film business. Your main job is stunt pilot. Hollywood owns a complete island to shoot these scenes: Stunt Island. Here you can find different scenarios ranging from a farm to a metropolis and from desert to mountains. Even some sites like the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz have been imitated! Depending on which surroundings are needed for the particular movie, the stunts are shot in another corner.

Konami 1993
Genre: Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: SNES

Yeehaw, cowboy!

You are one of four bounty hunters in the old Wild West, hoping to earn a decent living by shootin' some bad guys. Well, you're going to get your chance...

This game is a conversion from an old arcade game re-done for the SNES. That more or less says everything about the good and bad sides:

Magnetic Fields / Gremlin Graphics 1990
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Racing games weren't always in pseudo 3D. For instance, there were Sprint and Super Sprint (which was never ported to the Amiga, but that's a story for another day). Super Cars is a home-computer-original variant of the same idea, and quite a good one.

Nintendo 1989
Genre: Action
Rating: 4/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Game Boy

Besides Tetris, Super Mario Land likely belonged to the basic repertoire of most Game Boy players. The main character is the trade mark of the Nintendo corporation, distinctively the "plumber" Mario, who is on a quest for the kidnapped princess Daisy in order to free her. Obviously, the designers rather concentrated on tradition than on innovation when they constructed this background story.

Nintendo 1994
Genre: Action
Rating: 5/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: SNES

At first: this game is no remake of the NES classic "Metroid". It is true that it takes place at the same locations especially at the beginning, but it is several years later than part 1 and 2.

Tradewest 1992
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: SNES

Super Offroad is a very simple racing game. With a jeep you drive against three opponents (alternatively another human player amongst them) on tracks each sized exactly one screen. Appropriate to the name the terrain is covered with mud, hills and rocks.

Atari Games / Electric Dreams 1986
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 3/6
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
System: Atari ST

Finally - the classic when it comes to top-down racers. You'll find exactly the same elements as in the later imitations. Namely: Fast and simple racing round courses which stretch exactly across the screen and randomly appearing power-ups which can be picked up by driving over them. In this case, the latter consist of bonus points and wrenches. Wrenches can be used to tune your car (motor, tires, you name it) - another standard feature.