By the time Pentagram came out in 1986, famous development and publishing house – Ultimate Play The Game – had been sold off to US Gold. How much of Pentagram was therefore down to Ultimate‘s designers, and how much was down to US Gold‘s programmers, is still a matter for debate. Most likely, Pentagram was a construct of US Gold, with Ultimate providing only the initial ideas, graphics and game engine (the famous Filmation Engine).
Tag Archives: maze
Alien 8, ZX Spectrum
The original ZX Spectrum version of Alien 8 was first released in 1985, not long after Knight Lore had already blown the world away with its incredible isometric graphics and characteristic gameplay.
Halls of the Things, ZX Spectrum
Halls of the Things is a 1983 release from Design Design and Crystal Computing. On the surface it looks like an RPG, but it’s more of an action game than anything.
Boulder Dash, ColecoVision
The ColecoVision conversion of Peter Liepa and Chris Gray‘s classic Atari 8-bit game, Boulder Dash, is really quite wonderful. It was converted by Micro Lab and published on the Micro Fun label in 1984.
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos, PC
Westwood Studios‘ 1993 RPG Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is a Dungeon Master-like first-person, real-time action game with spells and combat and plenty of monsters out to end your life.
Las Vegas-based Westwood, coincidentally, were developers of the first two Eye of the Beholder games, but dropped the franchise in favour of developing Lands of Lore, their own IP.
Don’t Press The Letter Q, Oric
Released for the Oric by IJK Software in 1984, Don’t Press The Letter Q is a very early ‘minigame’-based adventure, in a similar vein to more modern titles like Warioware.
Considering that Don’t Press The Letter Q is over 35 years old now, it has stood the test of time remarkably well. And – considering that it is an Oric exclusive – it is something of a stand-out title on the platform. Arguably even the best game on the Oric.
Eye of the Beholder III: Assault On Myth Drannor, PC
The third episode in the classic Eye of the Beholder series was not developed by Westwood Studios – as the other two games were – but by publisher Strategic Simulations, Inc. itself, and as a result it doesn’t quite hit the same mark as parts one and two.
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Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon, PC
Released the same year as the game that preceded it (1991), Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon is another excellent first-person, party-based, TSR AD&D-licensed Role-Playing Game with atmospheric, level-grinding gameplay.
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Eye of the Beholder, PC
Westwood Studios‘ Eye of the Beholder is a bold attempt to replicate the thrills of Dungeon Master, with real time, first-person exploration and combat.
Factory Breakout, ZX Spectrum
Steve Crow‘s second game, Factory Breakout, was published by Poppy Soft in 1984.
The King of Grabs 