Melbourne House 1988
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Regardless of what kind of game it is and how good or bad it is, this game wins the price for the greatest game name ever hands down: Aaargh! Just imagine going to the games store and demanding Aaargh! Or phoning a game retailer to order it. The possibilities of cool situations are endless.

Auswärtiges Amt 1991
Genre: Puzzle, Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Freeware
System: Amiga

In 1991, the EU wasn't nearly as prominent as it is now. In fact, it didn't even exist back then, because the treaties of Maastricht would only be signed a year later. However, there was the 'European Community' which was pretty much a predecessor of the EU. And it was obvious that the political and economic integration would continue, so there was a 'need' for political propaganda to soften the nationalist feelings of the population. Which part of the population is most easily influenced? Right, the children. Enter Auf dem Weg nach Europa.

Factor 5 / Hudson Soft 1992
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Conversions of console games to computers often go wrong. Translations of Japanese games just as often. With B.C. Kid, it went surprisingly smooth. It first appeared on the PC Engine and had (for 'western' tongues) a really strange name. The English version became 'Bonk'. Bonk? To make a long story short, the Amiga version got a better title when it was ported by the German company Factor 5 a few years later.

Art Department 1993
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Freeware
System: Amiga

A local radio station is holding a competition: answer five questions about (male) rockstar 'Alex X. Pose' (for the younger readers: the singer of a then popular band called Guns 'n' roses was called 'Axl Rose') to win a romantic candlelightdinner with him. Our (male) hero is keen to be the chosen one. Yes... you'd better ignore the homoerotic elements of this story. Anyway, let's just say our protagonist is a huge fan, ok?

Art Department 1993
Genre: Adventure, Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Freeware
System: Amiga

The 'production secret' of 'Bi-Fi Roll' (greasy 'meatbar' imported from BSE-infected countries, hidden in a bread container), a single sheet of paper, has disappeared. Instead of taking the usual route of calling the lawyers to sue everybody in sight, Bifi can depend on volunteers who scout their cities for free, because they're aware that without constant supply of their drug, they won't survive for long.

Image Works 1989
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Blasteroids, along with Phobia and Spidertronic, was one of the first three original games I owned. Ironically enough, I owned it before I even got an Amiga. Oh well - looking at a box cover can be fun, too.

Tynesoft 1989
Genre: Action, Sport
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Summer Games, California Games - you all know these games which consist of somehow sports-related mini games. Then there was was Circus Games - we're already getting a little more obscure here - and later, the same company released Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. And once again, the title says it all, so let's quickly go through the events of this game.

Incentive / Domark 1990
Genre: Adventure, Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

If a game primarily tries to sell its technical merits, its plot is quickly pushed on the back bench in the development phase. That is probably why this part of the Freescape series (a series known for its free-movement three-dimensional graphics) sends the player on the standard quest of the standard quests: The player takes over the role of either a prince or a princess whose respective counterpart twin has been captured by a magician. The player enters the baddies' castle on a rescue mission, but before he or she can enter the actual dungeon, he or she has to find ten items spread all around the castle.

Bitmap Brothers 1996
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Chaos Engine. The epitome of an Amiga game. Made by the Amiga company. The immensely popular first part actually found its way to the PC more than a year later after the initial Amiga release. But then there was nothing.

Ocean 1989
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Chase H.Q., which first got into the arcades in 1988, is a racing game with a twist. Instead of just using the basic 'driving faster than the opponents', it adds another goal: catching another vehicle. The simple background story tells us something about a 'futuristic' police department called 'Chase H.Q.'. The player sits around in his sports car all day until he gets a call from Nancy from the headquarters, telling him about an escaped criminal who has to be caught again.