Datasoft 1986
Genre: Puzzle, Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

Some board games can be converted into computer games perfectly, because their rules are simple and logically structured enough. 221B Baker Street is such a case.

30 cases in classic style of Doyle's shorter Holmes stories are waiting to be solved by the player(s). As it was common back in the 80s, the nicely written introductions to these aren't presented 'in-game', but they can all be found in the accompanying casebook.

Infocom 1986
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

In spite of a few visits as a kid, I've pretty much always been quite a cynic about the circus. Ballyhoo is all about the circus. So insert your favourite fuzzy stereotypes here as I'll neither be listing them, nor be talking about 'the magic' or whatever. This game is set in the circus. The owner's daughter has been kidnapped and she's held for ransom. The player has to find her, because the detective who has been hired to investigate is a clueless drunk.

Codemasters 1986
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

I'm a sadistical person. No, really. I had a cat and a girlfriend until three days ago. But my girlfriend fled when she saw how I tortured the poor feline.

Of course I'm kidding (actually, I don't have a girlfriend), *but* I'm sadistical enough to enjoy breaking my bones on bycicle.

Interplay / Activision 1986
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Sam Harlow - Private Eye. It all begins with a quiet day at the office when the phone rings. 'They want you dead', a voice gasps. And how right that voice is! Two thugs are already hot on your trail. And even after you manage to escape those two, that wasn't the end of it: Your ex-wife has been kidnapped, everybody who tries to help you is assaulted and even more bad guys are after you.

Icom Simulations 1986
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Interactive Fiction made more accessable: add graphics, add a mouse-driven user interface and use the capabilities of a modern 'windowed' operating system. But in spite of that all: don't forget about your target audience!

CLR 1986
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

This review is part of The Review Roundup - Round 2: Games Related to the Undead

Dracula - a universally known horror icon. Ironically, only few have actually read the novel these days. Instead, the count's image is dominated by his numerous appearances in other media. Most notably movies which have taken on a life on their own, straying from the original more and more over time. Instead, these movies seem to be based on other movies. Or how would you explain that almost every vampire movie out there claims these undead creatures dissolve in daylight? A hint: this wasn't the case in either Dracula or the even older vampire story Carmilla. That 'tradition' was established by Nosferatu, an unofficial movie version of Dracula from the 1920s.

Firebird 1986
Genre: Action
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

Druid is yet another game in Gauntlet style: top-down view, player runs around shooting an endless stream of monsters. Mostly, these games are set in fantasy environments. So is Druid:

Acamantor, some evil sorcerer, has summoned four 'demon princes' to help him rule the country of Belorn. The guild of druids send one of their illustrious members to banish these powerful creatures: Hasrinax. They could have gone all together, and the quest would certainly have been way easier, but then, this game would have been pretty dull. So Hasrinax is on his own.

Melbourne House 1986
Genre: Action
Rating: 2/6
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

Karate Champ, The Way of the Exploding Fist, International Karate - how can anyone manage to drive these great games into the ground? Is it even possible? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

Fist 2 mixes the fighting style of the mentioned games with a more 'freestyle' approach (which would later become Double Dragon). Instead of duelling, the protagonist walks around freely in a landscape. From time to time, he meets an enemy whom he then beats up.

Firebird 1986
Genre: Action, Puzzle
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Plus/4

Don't worry, this is not a cheesy game revolving around a horse and an annoying child (I'm watching too much TV). This Fury is a Lode Runner version with a small twist. Instead of searching for treasure, the player is put in the role of one of the few survivors of an atomic war. Like the others, he lives underground to avoid death from radiation. However, there are also evil mutants in these caverns who must be destroyed (it's "us or them" apparantely). So the objective is not getting rich, but killing the mutants.

Imagine / Konami 1986
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: C64

A (heavily deformed, if the title screen is to be believed) US elite soldier taking out a complete army on his own to free prisoners of war. Rambo? Yes, that's the general idea, just multiplied to even more bizarre levels of (non-) realism. Green Beret's gameplay is about as original as its setting. It's a standard sidescroller, with the player's sprite trying to reach the far right side of each level (and a final fight waiting there).