D/Generation was originally released for the PC, Amiga and Atari ST in 1991 and this CD32 conversion was released in 1993. It is a colourful isometric action/adventure game with titchy graphics, cool animation and absorbing gameplay.

What drives D/Generation is the concise and well-written dialogue, which is refreshing in this sort of game. You basically play a courier of the future who becomes trapped inside a corporate building and slowly becomes embroiled in a larger conspiracy that has unleashed a number of hostiles. Trapped with you are various characters who you find and rescue, and who give you more information about what’s going on as you progress. It is easy to miss some people, though, unless you explore thoroughly.

Each room represents an individual puzzle, which you must solve to either make it safe, or rescue someone – sometimes both. Provided you picked it up on your way in, you have access to a laser gun, which can be used to blast hostiles and also shoot switches (which usually activates them). You can also bounce your laser off walls to shoot around corners, and do other cool stuff. It quickly becomes your main staple.

What makes D/Generation so good are the neat animation touches (like the way characters shake hands when they meet), and the solid game design. I found myself completely sucked in to the game on my first play and quickly started to feel like it was maybe one of the best games released for the CD32.

After some play I do think that D/Generation works extremely well on the CD32 and is very much worth finding and playing today. It felt to me almost like a tiny, isometric Half-Life… Which is going a bit too far, but if you squint and look at the screenshots you might see what I mean. 🙂

More: D/Generation on Wikipedia