Mizar’s Out Of The Shadows is a brilliant, early “prototype” RPG on the humble ZX Spectrum.
Tag Archives: Level-Grinder
Wasteland, Commodore 64
Wasteland is a sprawling Role-Playing Game that could be said to be a prototype of a Fallout game, as it carries many of the traits seen in those type of games.
It was originally released on the Apple II in 1986, then later converted to the Commodore 64 and PC MS-DOS in 1988. Windows, Mac OS X and Linux versions followed later.
Dungeon Master, X68000
I’ve picked this version of Dungeon Master to show first, because it features some nice extended graphics, which are unique and don’t get shown very often.
Lufia: The Ruins of Lore, Game Boy Advance
Taito’s Lufia series has enjoyed moderate success over a number of platforms and releases over the decades, but this Game Boy Advance release (out in 2002 in Japan, and 2003 in North America – it never got an official European release) is the best game in the series, in my opinion.
Amberstar, PC
Amberstar is a German-developed RPG that was originally released for the Atari ST, Amiga and PC MS-DOS in 1992. It is an incredibly difficult game to get a foothold in, but is worth the effort because it is such an interesting gaming challenge to take on.
Fallout: New Vegas, PC
Fallout: New Vegas really is the game Fallout 3 could have been. Don’t get me wrong: I liked Fallout 3 (and loved Fallouts 1 & 2), but the storytelling and decision-making in Fallout 3 I felt left a LOT to be desired.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, PlayStation
One of the best Castlevania games, Symphony of the Night on the PlayStation is a brilliant mix of platforming and Level-Grinding Role-Playing, with some wonderful graphical moments and evil gameplay touches.
Continue reading Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, PlayStation
Morrowind, XBox
In my opinion the Morrowind Game of the Year Edition on the XBox is even better than the much-loved PC original, because the controls are more intuitive.
You may scoff, but having played all the Elder Scrolls games to death over the past two decades, and having written about them a lot in many different magazines, I think that qualifies me to override the opinion of someone who hasn’t done any of those things! 😀
Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City, Nintendo DS
This third game in the Atlus Etrian Odyssey series is a serious contender for the best RPG of all time. It is just so beautiful and so detailed and so well constructed that I haven’t got anything negative to say about it. Other than it is rock hard!
Continue reading Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City, Nintendo DS
System Shock 2, PC
The above is a screenshot I took when I wrote the world first review for PC Zone magazine, way back in 1999. I like it because it’s simple, atmospheric, and quintessentially System Shock 2.
The King of Grabs 