Although the first Ultima game was an Apple II original, the Commodore 64 version of this early RPG is arguably the best-known. Re-made and released in 1986, the C64 version of Ultima [one] features colourful graphics and absorbing gameplay that is pretty much identical to the Apple II remake.
Continue reading Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness, Commodore 64
This first game in Richard Garriott‘s Ultima series was initially released for the Apple II in 1981 by California Pacific Computer and was originally called just “Ultima“. It was later re-named as “Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness” when it was re-made and re-released by Origin Systems in 1986. This 1986 re-code features improved graphics and gameplay, with a number of significant changes made to bring the game up-to-date with market conditions in the mid 1980s, and that is the version I’m featuring here. If you want to see the original 1981 version (and an explanation of how to play the game), click here.
Continue reading Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness, Apple II
Released in 1983 by Sierra On-Line, Ultima on the Atari 8-bit is more archaic and frustrating than the original Apple II version. And it looks pretty awful too, with a real lack of colour – especially in towns where the game is in monochrome unless you play on a machine (and monitor) that supports “artifacting“. In artifacting mode the dungeon and town graphics look similar to Apple II graphics, but they don’t really take advantage of the Atari‘s superior graphics capabilities.
The original 1981 Apple II version of Richard Garriott‘s Ultima was the first version of Ultima ever released. It was published by California Pacific Computer and is a stripped-down version of the more widespread re-release version put out by Origin Systems in 1986 (which can be seen here).
Operation Thunderbolt is the sequel to the classic 1987 arcade game Operation Wolf. It was developed by Taito and first released in 1988, and is a first-person, simultaneous two-player shoot ’em up that uses cabinet-mounted positional gun controllers to shoot at the screen.
The 2015 game, Mad Max, was developed by Swedish company Avalanche Studios and published by Warner Brothers Games. It is an action/adventure/Role-Playing Game based on the hit 2015 film, Mad Max: Fury Road, and it is pretty bloody amazing!
Developed by Canadian company BioWare and released in 2007, Mass Effect is the first part in a trilogy of futuristic RPGs featuring an elite human solder called Commander Shepard.
The Sega Saturn version of Road Rash is an exhilarating and enjoyable third-person motorbike race game, with the all usual Road Rash-style violence mixed-in.
Sometimes your opponents will try to hit you, to knock you off your bike, but you can always turn the tables and try to bring them down with a well-timed punch or a kick.
Road Rash on the Saturn was developed by Electronic Arts Studios and is basically an enhanced version of Road Rash on the 3DO, which first came out in 1994.
18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker is a conversion of a 1999 Sega arcade game, with gameplay featuring chaotic and destructive street truck racing. The Dreamcast version first came out in 2000 in Japan, and everywhere else in 2001.
Continue reading 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, Dreamcast
The second episodic chapter in the Half-Life 2 series is arguably the best of the adventures of Gordon Freeman, and maybe even one of the best games of all-time. Half-Life 2: Episode Two was first released by Valve in 2007.
