Gardensoft 1988
Genre: Simulation
Rating: 1/6
Licence: Freeware
System: ZX Spectrum

It's the things which are fun in real life which usually translate well into great computer games. And you know what's really fun? Lawnmowing. Don't you just love going back and forth, tweaking your route till perfection, while at the same time, you have plenty of time to think about all kinds of things? At last, Advanced Lawnmower Simulation gives you the opportunity to do all this in front of your computer!

Infogrames 1990
Genre: Simulation, Action
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Now what should you think of this? A pseudo-esoteric 3D Sim with an unusual soundtrack. Yeah... that pretty much describes it. That's all? Hell no, of course not. The goal of the game itself is a bit unclear, but usually you have to find your way out of the room you are in, which in some cases is not difficult at all - at least it seems so - just jumping up those stairs. Yeah, you think - the gravity is different in those rooms, some stairs are just moving away and not all the doors you might want to use as an exit are open - you sometimes have to use crystals to open the doors. Nasty thing about this is that you can't even leave through the door you entered all the time - nice surprise to fall down from just below the roof, defintely eliminates the possibility of using that door again - hehe.

Microsphere 1985
Genre: Adventure, Action
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: ZX Spectrum

Last year, schoolboy Eric managed to steal his report card from the headmaster's safe. He has taken his time to forge a positive one. Now it's time to get it back into the safe.

A lot has happened on the school grounds over the holidays. It has been split in two sections: a boys school and a girls school (with a fence between them). The boys' building (the only part which could be seen in the prequel Skool Daze) has been expanded, too. There are now more classrooms, more offices, a new assembly hall and (perhaps the most useful innovation) a bathroom. The school has also bought a new safe to replace the old one. This one doesn't have a combination of numbers, but a simple lock. But where has the key been hidden?

Real World Multimedia 1997
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Based on the Griffin and Sabine trilogy of books, by Nick Bantock, Ceremony of Innocence brings to life the story of an intense relationship carried out entirely through a mysterious exchange of exotic postcards and letters. Griffin Moss is a lonely postcard designer who one day receives a very odd card from a woman named Sabine Strohem—a card in which she states she has a psychic link to him and his artwork. So Griffin and Sabine begin the correspondence that forms the backbone of this surreal and haunting story.

AnimaTek / Maxis 1993
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 6/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

El-Fish is a fish breeding/creating and aquarium-building simulation that was released by the companies Maxis and AnimaTek in 1994 (Maxis is the creator of the successful Sim game series, while AnimaTek was a Russian company that invented the concept of El-Fish). The game was advanced for its time -- the photorealistic 3-D fish you can create look and move very realistically, and, through breeding, can be shaped into from 800 possible attributes into infinite numbers of unique fish. A fractal-based generator can also create unique decorative plants for your tank, and a rather intelligent random music generator can put together simple pieces of background music for your tank-display. Plus, just watching the fish you've made swimming in a tank you've designed is a very calming and rewarding experience.

Mattel / Epyx 1985
Genre: Simulation
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

Back in the 90s, 'action toys' were the market. The leading company was Mattel with their action figures ('Barbie for boys'). And there were these toy cars. Completely unlike the car models which existed before and served only 'museum values', these little metal (or plastic if it had to be cheap) vehicles were actually designed for children playing with them! I, for example, held 'ramming contests': causing two cars to crash frontally and the one which falls upside down loses.

Creative Sparks 1985
Genre: Adventure, Action
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

I must admit I'm a sucker for classic horror movies and novels. I'm also one of these people who cheer for the bad guys and abhore the wimpy do-gooders. For all those with similarly sick minds, the 80s produced the computer game of our dreams: Mad Doctor.

Microsphere 1985
Genre: Adventure, Action
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: ZX Spectrum

Eric is a normal schoolboy, and this game simulates his normal daily life. Unsurprisingly to those who haven't played it, but probably surprising to those who have, Skool Daze does have a goal. Eric's report card has gotten long. So long, in fact, that he's bound to get thrown out soon. Now there's only one thing to do: Eric has to get the card from the school safe located in the headmaster's office.

Richard Jordan 1999
Genre: Adventure, Action
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Freeware
System: PC

Remaking a classic game is always a controversial, but also popular venture. There's always the question of the point, because why do a straight remake when there's the original (running on every imaginable device thanks to emulation). On the other hand, if a supposed remake strays too far from the source, the old fans complain as well. A difficult balancing act.

Konami 1999
Genre: RPG
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Game Boy

You wake up in a deserted isle, during a storm the ship where you was sank and now that you are alone and lost you should learn how to survive.

Survival games usually have two main points, getting food and water and making tools, both here are key points of the game.