Shot97 Retro

    Menace Amiga, 1988 DMA Design/Psyclapse/Psygnosis  $29.95 *My video review for Menace *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of all writings *Discord for updates *If pics show artifacting, zoom in/out (CRT effect) Beyond the chapters of your favorite novel, there's a power to the written word which can transcend lifetimes. A deserved classic will generally stay as such, the trash shall be forgotten. Perhaps a hidden gem will shine through, spotted beneath the murky depths of obscurity. Art takes many forms, from traditional paints, to music, stage, film, and of course the video games discussed here. Those entrenched in the culture of one may look upon another with pure disdain, even amongst family subsets. I've wondered if perhaps the common thread tying them all together lies in your humble, or sometimes not so humble, critic. The select few who care so deeply as to love or hate something the vast majority of people are indifferent to. Having read hun...

      Knights of the Sky Amiga, 1991 (Original DOS 1990) Microprose/Jeff Briggs $59.95 *My video review for Knights of the Sky *Next article *Previous article *Alphabetical list of writings *Discord for updates *Game played/shown in its intended NTSC mode with 4:3 aspect ratio *If pics show artifacting, zoom in/out (CRT effect) Predating not only the first personal computers of the 1970's, NASA, mainframes, and even the Great War itself, the storied life of the flight simulator began in 1910. One half barrel on top of another, the Antoinette Barrel befitted its name. A potential pilot attempted to balance themselves by controlling pitch, roll, and rudder, while three instructors manipulated connecting rods. Primarily a tool for training, problem solving, and maintaining skills, through the passage of time no expense was spared to make simulators feel as realistic as possible. In the 1970's Evans & Sutherland took the simulator into the computer age, with graphics ...

   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...