Revistronic 1996
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Arizona, 1866. Fenimore Fillmore, the young (actually, he looks like he's 12 years old) hero of our story, accidently stumbles across the secret of three golden skulls which unlock the way to the treasure of the Toltecs. One of these skulls is already in his possession. Two other ones have yet to be located, but at least he knows who has them.

Factor 5 / Hudson Soft 1992
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Conversions of console games to computers often go wrong. Translations of Japanese games just as often. With B.C. Kid, it went surprisingly smooth. It first appeared on the PC Engine and had (for 'western' tongues) a really strange name. The English version became 'Bonk'. Bonk? To make a long story short, the Amiga version got a better title when it was ported by the German company Factor 5 a few years later.

Creative Edge / Panasonic Interactive 1995
Genre: Strategy, Action
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Baldies is a real time strategy game.

PLOT

The plot is simple, you have to lead the Baldies to victory over the Hairies.

GAMEPLAY

This is a standard build, research and attack game (no hunting for resources). There are four types of Baldie, breeder (Red), builder (Blue), soldiers (Green), and scientist (White). When the first house is built you have to pick up Baldies and place them in the house (just by dropping them on the house), and then double click on the house for an internal view which consists of four rooms (one for each of the colours) and a hallway. It is possible to move the Baldies from one room to another via the hallway. This allows you to branch into different spheres of research and breeding. For example if you have mostly red then your Baldies will multiply alarmingly. Once four houses have been built you will have access to the "shovel" and the "angel wings". The shovel allows you to extend the land or even remove little sections of the land so as there is only water underneath (I enjoyed going onto my enemies land and trapping his men and drowning them). The angel wings allows you to select a group of Baldies with the mouse and send them where you like (even onto your opponents land).

Konami 1993
Genre: Action
Rating: 2/6
Licence: Commercial
System: SNES

A common day in Gotham City: Batman puts on his chicle coat, and with his Batmobile he drives to the place of action. Through the slits of his ridiculous mask, he sees the unjustness. Good citizens are being hindered to do their Christmas shopping. A gang of clowns prevents a fluent and free enterprise and causes a setting that reminds of an oriental bazaar.

Sierra 1995
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

Battle Bugs is one of the games that do not need a story. You just complete mission after mission. Nevertheless it has a naive charme because of its theme (insect battles). The military background is ironically weakened by that. Most times they are about "conquering" most of the food that is lying around. That is done by moving a "unit" near the thing that you want to conquer. Then a flag appears on it, slowly rising. If you have more bugs there the flag will rise faster. When it has reached its top you own the object. Unfortunately the enemy tries to achieve the same so that heavy battles take place. As long as both sides have insects around the food nobody owns it. Conquered targets can of course be taken over the other army if it dominates the control zone. Almost any unit has its own special ability, strengths and weaknesses. A grasshopper for example is lethal for enemys but it also is killed fast. Bees can (of course) fly and also drop bombs, dynamite or cheese (!) on the enemy. This last thing is used to stun units. All flying animals have to fear ants with missiles. These specific characteristics should be considered when planning the battle. An example: A huge mass of enemies that would easily crush you hands down comes nearer. You send your "pill bug" in their direction. The enemy army concentrates on it, so that all are on the same place and beat it up. Now your bee starts and drop its bombs on this concentrated mass. The pill bug is immune to bombs but the enemies die in the explosions. Level completed!

Revolution Software / Virgin 1994
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Freeware
System: Amiga

If at first you don't succeed.... Lure of the Temptress wasn't a very good game, but it did receive quite positive reviews - let's just say there are and were games which are even more overrated. After that, Revolution Software took their time to develop a successor - and they succeeded in a brilliant way!

Revolution Software / Virgin Interactive 1997
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 2/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

George Stobbart - occupation: American tourist in Paris. After a few month, he comes back trying to get it on again with his girlfriend Nico, the photograph who helped him unravel a Templar conspiracy in the first game. Instead of the date he hoped for, Nico drags him to the home of a Professor of Central American culture - where the two are knocked out. Nico is taken away while George is bound to a chair with a poisonous spider in the room. And just to be sure, the baddies also set the room on fire.

Revolution Software / Virgin Interactive 1996
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

American tourist George Stobbart is enjoying himself sitting in a cafe in Paris when he witnesses a murder: a clown plants of a bomb and an older man in a grubby raincoat who had been eyeing the young waitress just a moment before dies. The clown escapes through the sewers. Because he has nothing better to do, George decides to investigate on his own, meeting the journalist Nicole (Nico) Collard who supports him for selfish reasons. They uncover a conspiracy involving the order of the templars... Looking at the current bestseller lists of novels and the cinema charts, Broken Sword hits a popular theme there.

PDS 1997
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Freeware
System: PC

A dark backroom filled with smoke. The evil masterminds had a meeting. "How can we achieve world domination the fastest way?", asked the overweight boss. The suspicious looking man on his right was playing with his knife but his mouth remained closed. For the first time, we can see the third man's face. He had been slumped back into his chair but now he was leaning forward on the table. He was wearing thick glasses, the little hair which is left was completely white. He's wearing a brown suit. "Can't we just do it like in the old days? Let's just fake the results of the elections!" Fury was glowing in the big cheese's eyes. "Stupid fool!", he shouted out, "Oh Great Satan, why do I have to be surrounded by such idiots?". Suddenly, a slim shadowy figure stepped out of a dark corner. The three looked surprised - they obviously had no idea there was someone else in the room. Stunned by the shock, they just looked at the mysterious man eyes wide open. Tension was building up in the air, the silence would have killed every normal being. At last, the figure began to speak: "I come directly from the the nameless one you serve." "You mean.....", was all the big cheese could gasp pointing his head eastwards. "Silence!" Despite his unimpressive appearance, the unknown person seemed to have some kind of natural authority over all the other men. "Listen to me carefully as I'll only say it once: the youth of today is the future voters. Control the youth, and the future is yours!" In the very next moment, the figure was gone again - as suddenly as it had appeared. But he had left inspiration in the other men's heads. "Heureka! Let's make a computer game!", they shouted unisono.

Psygnosis 1993
Genre: Puzzle, Strategy
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

In Creepers the player has to move a specific number of caterpillars around various obstacles into an bowl in which the caterpillars transform into butterflies. Why the caterpillars can only transform in this bowl isn't explained further. Seemingly it's the nature of this species. So it's the player's task to save this foolish and therefore rare species from extinction.