The increase computing power of game machines around 1990 led to some attempts to revolutionise the wargame genre. Where before, armies and units were represented by abstract symbols, many developers tried to build sort of a "diorama" game, i.e. to come close to showcase tabletops which used fully modelled miniature landscapes, models and figures.
Metro City's new mayor, the former Street Fighter champion Haggar, has vouched to rid the city off crime. The Mad Gears (a local gang) aren't too thrilled by that prospect, so they've kidnapped Haggar's daugther Jessica to blackmail him. As either Haggar himself, Jessica's boyfriend or another random guy who happened to be hanging around at the gym, the player has to fights his way through the hordes of the Mad Gears to free her again. No real risk there, because for some reason, the evil guys won't kill her even when they're attacked...
Finally – your long-awaited promotion: Director General of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries! Located on the thirteenth floor in an unconspicuous office building, many deem it an incredibly boring, bureaucratic job. What they don't know is that this name is just a cover; in fact, you've just become the chief of the country's secret police. And it's not just any fictional or anonymous third-world country, but the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Triads have murdered your whole family, so already as a young boy, you had to go into hiding. Training your fighting skills for decades, you only live for revenge. Until finally (as a white-haired man), you emerge to beat them all up. Not sure the Triad people will really see the link between some everyday murder they committed 50 years ago and that guy challenging them now, but anyway…
After the big success (?) of Emmanuelle, fans (?) could hardly wait for more. So here we have Geisha. A game designed to make the audience appreciate the predecessor even more.
How is that possible? Well, from start to finish, Geisha is a mess. Its plot? Laughable: a mad scientist turns young beautiful women into robot sex slaves and now he has kidnapped your girlfriend. Right, of course! Luckily, the villain has made a number of enemies in Japan's underworld, so if you (literally) play your cards right, you may get some support stopping him.
Spartacus… if that name makes you think of Stanley Kubrick, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin and Charles Laughton, you better cling to that memory of lush, colourful and overall impressive scenes of intricate drama. Because for this particular Spartacus, one of the last attributes which will come to your mind is 'impressive'.
How can a planet survive or even just coexist with humankind? Stepping into the shoes of Sim Earth and Balance of the Planet, Global Effect reuses the gameplay of Sim City to for another entry into this not too crowded genre of games. A thematic rarity warrants closer inspection, doesn't it?
Take the Adventure genre. Strip all story from it. Add different characters with different abilities. Limit the free movement of these characters to one screen at a time. What you get is Gobliiins.
The king may have been saved, but now, his son has been kidnapped. The evil Demon King wants to make the prince into his court jester. What an offense! Instead of the terrific trio of the first part, a gruesome twosome (see number of 'i's in the title) is sent: Fingus, the diplomat, and Winkle, the practical joker.
The third installment of Coktel's successful series. Officially, also the last one. Depending on personal definition, Woodruff and The Schnibble of Azimuth could as well be called Goblns 4 (sic!). That however, is another story.
