The fourth instalment in the Gradius series was released into arcades in 1999, by Konami.
Tag Archives: polygons
Star X, Game Boy Advance
Star X is a third-person space shooter, of a similar style to Star Fox. In fact: it wouldn’t be unfair to call it a Star Fox clone. It uses simple polygonal 3D graphics to create the world and sees you flying around in a small spaceship, blasting things. Star X was developed by Graphic State and published by BAM! Entertainment in 2002.
Zaxxon’s Motherbase 2000, Sega 32X
Zaxxon’s Motherbase 2000 was an attempt by Sega to update one of its most famous IPs onto the Sega 32X (a hardware add-on for the Megadrive/Genesis). In the process I think Sega forgot one of the main reasons Zaxxon was rated so highly…
System Shock: Enhanced Edition, PC
This enhanced edition of the classic sci-fi RPG, System Shock, was developed by Nightdive Studios and first released in 2023. What Nightdive has done is bring the original 1994 classic into the modern age, with high definition graphics and a boatload of quality-of-life features.
System Shock, PC
This is the original VGA/SVGA* version of System Shock, first released in 1994. The game was developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems in North America and Electronic Arts in Europe.
*= System Shock was originally released in VGA (320×200 resolution), but was soon upgraded to SVGA (640×480 resolution) via patches and re-releases. I’m showing both the VGA and SVGA versions here.
3D Starstrike, Amstrad CPC
Written by Graeme Baird, Ian Oliver and Andrew Onions, 3D Starstrike was the hit-outta-nowhere* from Realtime Software, in 1984. Well, actually, that was the ZX Spectrum version, which came out the year before this – the Amstrad CPC port. Which was released in 1985.
*= Aided somewhat by the success of Atari‘s famous Star Wars arcade machine.
Total Eclipse 2: The Sphinx Jinx, Commodore 64
Published by Incentive Software in 1991, Total Eclipse 2: The Sphinx Jinx is a direct follow-up to the 1988 Freescape classic, Total Eclipse.
Continue reading Total Eclipse 2: The Sphinx Jinx, Commodore 64
Total Eclipse, Commodore 64
Major Developments‘ Total Eclipse was released for the Commodore 64 by Incentive Software in 1988.
Red Baron, PC
Developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra On-line, Red Baron is a combat flight simulator set during The First World War. The game was innovative for the time, and garnered considerable praise from players and critics alike at the time of its original release – 1990.
Hard Drivin’, Atari Lynx
Developed by NuFX and published by Atari Corporation in 1991, the Atari Lynx version of Hard Drivin’ was quite impressive for the time. It showed that the Lynx could handle rudimentary 3D polygonal games – and in colour. Something that its main rival (the Nintendo Game Boy), couldn’t do.
