First published by Thorn EMI on the Atari 8-bit in 1983, and later on the ZX Spectrum in 1984, Orc Attack is a great little game in which you play as a knight, defending a castle rampart from attacking orcs.
Kuru Kuru Kururin, Game Boy Advance
Kuru Kuru Kururin is a weirdly-named but wonderful (and original) Game Boy Advance game, developed by Eighting and first published by Nintendo in 2001.
The idea is that you have to control a spinning stick, and take it around a series of increasingly twisting and torturous courses, without touching the sides, or hitting other hazards. And do it against a time limit. It’s one of those games with a simple premise, but offers quite a tough and interesting challenge.
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, PC
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame was originally released for PC MS-DOS by Broderbund in 1993, but has a had a number of high def Apple-based remakes since.
Like the first Prince of Persia, The Shadow and the Flame is a side-on, Persian-infused action/platform game with sword fighting and fantasy elements.
Continue reading Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, PC
Gyron, ZX Spectrum
Gyron was developed by released by Firebird Software in 1985 and was something of a bolt out of the blue at the time. Nothing quite like it had been seen before.
You play as a Hedroid and roam a wireframe 3D maze, avoiding towers and spheres, while searching for the exit goal. In other words: you’re just trying not to get squished on your way out…
Jet Set Willy, ZX Spectrum
Here are all the screens from Matthew Smith‘s original classic ZX Spectrum platform game (and sequel to Manic Miner), Jet Set Willy. All 61 of them. Plus the ending after completing the game.
Manic Miner, ZX Spectrum
All 20 screens of Matthew Smith‘s ground-breaking 1983 ZX Spectrum platform game, Manic Miner!
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-Earth, PC
An excellent Real Time Strategy (RTS) game based on the Peter Jackson films (not to mention the brilliant and famous books by JRR Tolkien, on which the films are based), and first released by Electronic Arts in 2004.
Continue reading The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-Earth, PC
I, Robot, Arcade
Atari’s 1984 arcade hit I, Robot was the ever first video game to use 3D polygonal graphics in its presentation.
Rage, PC
id Software‘s fantastic post-apocalyptic shooter Rage was first released by Bethesda in 2010.
The game generally divides games-players, although in my opinion it is a great First-Person Shooter. And a weapon-fetishist’s wet dream…
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, PlayStation
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete is a superb party-based, level-grinding RPG, first released on the Sega Saturn in 1996 (as Lunar: The Silver Star), and brilliantly remade for the Sony PlayStation in 1998.
Continue reading Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, PlayStation