Shot97 Retro

   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'...

   Curse of the Azure Bonds Amiga, 1990 (Original C64/DOS 1989) SSI/Micro Magic $49.95 *My video review for Curse of the Azure Bonds *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of writings *Game shown on its designed NTSC hardware, pics of 4:3 CRT screen How do you prefer your story? Do you see a group of friends at your side, the dungeon master sitting at the kitchen table while downing some Jolt and waiting on a pizza? If wanting to roll some dice with fellow nerds at your side, TSR had you covered. Perchance you're an old fashioned type, wanting nothing more than to sit comfortably in a chair, book in your hands, near a focused light. If reading from hundreds of pages of gripping fantasy was your jam, TSR had you covered. Maybe you'd rather see that story through the phosphorescence glow of a monitor, your every step heard through your speakers, to invoke your very own lightning bolts. If wanting to play those stories through a computer, TSR (with the help of SSI...

  King's Bounty New World Computing Amiga, 1991 (Originally 1990) $39.95 *My video review for King's Bounty *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of all writings *This game best played in NTSC mode with 4:3 aspect ratio (U.S. game) It was 1996; afraid of the vast and undiscovered wilderness around me, I hunkered down and opted for protectionism in the world of Heroes of Might and Magic II. The computer was busy fighting itself, I decided to amass a bigger and bigger army at home before finally inching my way to another castle. Thinking back I must have spent an enormous amount of time on that very first map of the game, but I'll never forget the first time I defeated it and moved on. Much of the same frightened strategy would be used on later maps, there's nothing like not knowing what to expect. These days I'd bolt for the nearest castle quite quickly, as you could very well get lucky and face a barely guarded castle while a h...