Shot97 Retro

   Ultima 1 Commodore 64, 1987 (Original Apple II 1981) Richard Garriot/ Origin $39.95 *My video review for Ultima 1 *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of writings *Game played/shown in its designed NTSC mode with 4:3 aspect ratio *If pics show artifacting, zoom in/out (CRT effect) Few dare to be different. A statement which holds up today on not only the individual level, but in the sphere of gaming as well. It was all the more true in the infancy of the industry, as developers who couldn't know better inundated us with ever more clones, especially in the console world. In the late 1970's most computers dealt strictly with text. Graphics were often a trick, clever arrangements of text that our minds melded into a picture. More capable machines such as the VIC-20 let programmers define their own character sets, which was nearly as effective as actual graphics, and the Apple II and Atari 800 offered a couple genuine graphics modes. The adventure game was kin...

  Death Knights of Krynn  Amiga, 1991 SSI $49.95 *My video review for Death Knights of Krynn *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of writings *Game played/shown in its designed NTSC mode with 4:3 aspect ratio Thump thump went the speakers as I made my way down the twisting roads of Crooked street. A dread wolf is the cause of nightmares, and we have a date with the Dream Merchant. Hot on the trail of a supposed enemy agent, we duck in and out of bars while voices warn of our impending death. As a stench of decay assaults the senses, we tumble down a ladder into the rotting remains of a ship. Its former officer's spirits linger in the form of wraiths, zombies are the only deck hands now. Accompanying a local priest to the town's cemetery, we haul all souls slain in carts so they may receive their final blessing. Above an outpost we walk city walls through the night sky, the thump thumping our only companion as we await the next patrol. The sound of walking is...

   Hero's Quest / Quest for Glory Amiga, 1990 (Original DOS 1989) Sierra $59.95 *My video review for Hero's Quest *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of writings *Game played/shown in its designed NTSC mode with 4:3 aspect ratio From their first games released for the Apple II in 1980, Sierra (then known as On-line Systems) gave the text adventure a twist with graphics. While they would publish all kinds of games throughout their history, the heart of their in-house development would long remain the adventure game. With their beginnings from Mystery House, they were also pioneers in recycling their previous works, each new adventure often based on the game engine technology of the previous ones. Their "Hi-Res Adventure" engine being used in multiple titles through 1984 prior to IBM contracting them to create launch titles for the PC-JR. King's Quest and the resulting AGI (Adventure Game Interpreter) engine would spawn over fifteen of Sierra'...