Ikarion 1995
Genre: Action
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Mad TV's success virtually begged for a sequel. Rainbow Arts announced Mad Burger, a fast-food chain simulator. Ralph Stock, designer of the first part, had left the company, though, and he was working in Mad News which was published by Ikarion. Mad Burger never made it, but two years later, Mad TV 2 (the only 'official' sequel) appeared - and it sucked. This review is about Mad News, however. The game which should probably be called the only rightful successor of the original game.

Greenwood 1995
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

A safe way for a game to become successful back in the 'golden days' was to get good reviews in the magazines dealing with computer games. Most companies went with simple bribery (even though you never believed this of course, eh?).

Electronic Arts 1984
Genre: Action, Puzzle
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Marble Madness was one of the first games on the new and fresh Amiga system. And what a way to get a system started! Although the game was also released for pretty much every other system out there at the time, it was the Amiga version which outshone them all. Closest to the original arcade machine (and even with the two player feature), it showed off the new computer's technical capabilities perfectly. A killer application, especially considering the direct competitor, the Atari ST, only had a greatly inferior port.

Access Software 1990
Genre: Adventure, Action
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Einstein was wrong: the people living after World War 3 (which happened in 1998) aren't fighting with pointed sticks and stones. It's still guns. The whole world is in fact still very much the same as we know it. If it weren't for a few details: Half of the population has mutated because of the high radiation and people are using flying 'speeders' instead of cars.

Sensible Software 1991
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Imagine a mixture between Populous, Powermonger, The Settlers and Civilization. What you get is Mega Lo Mania. This is of course not overly correct. Some of the games are older than the game we're talking about here (Populous, Powermonger) and can therefore be classed as role models. Civilization was developed at the same time and The Settlers was released significantly later, so it was inspired by Mega Lo Mania and not the other way round.

Silmarils 1991
Genre: Action, Puzzle
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

As everybody knows, technology is evil. Some day, it machines will take over control and make humans their slaves. Comparing the amount of fictional coverage this theory gets to visions of less grim futures, it seems impossible it'll not come true. This game is yet another version of this well-known story. This time, mankinds only hope is a cyborg, the Metal Mutant of the title.

Maelstrom / Rainbird 1990
Genre: Action, Strategy
Rating: 6/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

There are only very few games out there which actually deserve the over-used label 'epic'. Usually, games called 'epic' just go for broadness, i.e. they offer lots of stuff of the same kind. For example, such a game would have lots of levels, but all those levels require the same few activities and strategies.

Lucas Arts 1992
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 6/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Guybrush Threepwood, the slayer of ghost pirate Le Chuck is back! He's currently visiting Scabb Island, but unfortunately, his fame is starting to fade quite a bit - his companions are sick of hearing the same story all over again, his books about his adventure have ceased to sell, most people don't even recognize him anymore when he says his name. That is when even Guybrush notices it can't go on like that forever. To renew his fame and to have a new tale to tell, he wants to fulfill another heroic adventure, something many brave and strong men failed to do before him: find the legendary treasure Big Whoop!

U.S. Gold 1990
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Detective Adventures may not be the most common genre, but they do exist (especially here on this site). All of them are somehow linear in their story and limited in their puzzles. All but one: Murder.