| Alien Force Robert Epps, 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Freeware (always) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Alien Force is a space shooter for Windows 3.0, and one of the first Windows games I ever played. Gameplay takes place in a 10×10 grid, and each level pits your ship against 10 alien ships. Both you and each alien ship can only have one shot on the screen at a time, so a missed shot can leave you defenseless. At first the game is slow and the aliens are dumb, and they don't even shoot in Level 1. By Level 2 some of them start shooting back, and by Level 8 some of them can take two hits. Each kill is worth 100 points, and the level bonus is 500 times the level number. Your score ticks down 10 points at a time when you take too long to complete a level. To customize the level of challenge, you can start at any level you like. Alien Force v1.0 Freeware (16k)
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| AstroFire ORT Software, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Another one of those extremely simple but addictively fun games. Your ship is in a single-screen wraparound environment full of asteroids, but there are waves of aliens flying onto the screen in formation. Kind of a mix between Asteroids and Galaga. Graphics and sound are quite good, and there's even voice. Versions 3.0 and above have Win32-only installers but are still DOS games. There are 3 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode 1 - Into The Storm Complete version history:
ORT Software still sells the registered version of this game for $24.95 on CD-ROM or for $14.95 by download.
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| Galacta Albino Frog Software, 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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A ridiculously hard shooter, but more than just a Galaga clone. Hostile aliens have destroyed Pluto, Neptune and Uranus, as well as the defense force that was sent to engage them. This game is so difficult that you get seven ships to fight them with. Galacta adds power-ups like shields and lasers, occasionally an asteroid will enter the playing field, and the enemies don't merely enter the screen in formation, they fly in formation for the entire level. That means that enemies are never standing still, and the screen frequently fills with enemy fire. There are 3 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode 1: The Battle for Saturn Complete version history:
Albino Frog Software has apparently released this game as freeware. Confirmation to follow.
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| Highway Hunter Safari Software (Epic MegaGames), 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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In the future the Earth has been conquered by the Axis of Allied Planets, who have terraformed the planet to be more hospitable to aliens, making it deadly to humans. Using an assault vehicle, you must blast your way through the highways to destroy the terraformers and save the world. There are lots of shield and weapon upgrades to help you destroy the cars, helicopters and other vehicles that try to destroy you. There are 3 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode 1 - Evil Drivers Highway Hunter v1.0 Shareware Episode (844k) I have found no ordering information for this game, and it is not listed at www.epicclassics.com. It can be ordered from Amazon: Highway Hunter
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| Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom Pop Software, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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One of my favorite games. This is a strange variation on the shooter sub-genre that developed through Space Invaders to Galaxian to Galaga. Waves of weird-looking aliens arrive in formation and attack you. Your ship can move vertically as well as horizontally, which is a nice touch that was sadly missing in its predecessors. No more getting trapped by aliens that are sweeping left to right across the screen once they're too low to shoot. Various power-ups can be collected which make your ship a bit more powerful without feeling like gimmicks. Mini-games test your accuracy and contribute to an overall fun factor that's hard to find in games of any era. The graphics and sound are attractive and the gameplay is addictive. Originally published by Elven Software Company, the company changed their name to Pop Software by version 2. Version 3 includes a copy of DOSBox v0.63.
Pop Software still sells the registered version of this game with Return of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom for $24 by e-mail.
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| Kiloblaster Epic MegaGames, 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Essentially an updated version of Galaga, with less creative formations. Lots of power-ups, though. You shoot your way through wave after wave of alien ships in classic arcade shooter style. There are 3 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode 1 - Death of a Starship Kiloblaster v2.0 Shareware Episode (530k) The registered version of this game is still sold through www.epicclassics.com for $19 on floppy disk only.
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| Major Stryker Apogee Software, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 6 | DOS Freeware (former shareware) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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A great EGA shooter with a surprisingly good soundtrack and lots of firepower. Major Stryker must fly to three different planets to fight aliens which are threatening the Earth. He destroys alien space ships and rescues humans in beautifully layered, triple parallax scrolling EGA levels. Mission briefings are delivered by a beautiful woman who adds some rather tame sexual innuendo, but the game is still appropriate for children. Apogee's FAQ used to claim that versions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 were never released to the public, but I was able to prove that v1.3 appeared on a number of shareware compilation CDs and set the record straight. There are 3 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode 1 - Lava Planet Complete version history:
Apogee generously released this game as freeware under the Major Stryker Freeware License in March 2006.
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| Overkill Epic MegaGames, 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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A pretty average space shooter. You know the drill: kill everything that moves, collect power-ups, try not to get destroyed. There are 6 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Overkill v2.0 Shareware Episode (393k) The registered version of this game is still sold through www.epicclassics.com for $19 on floppy disk only.
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| Raptor: Call of the Shadows Apogee Software, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 7 | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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One of the best shooters of all time. Excellent graphics, sound, and weapons make this an incredibly fun game to play. Countless hours have been lost forever playing this addictive jet fighter game. Developed by Cygnus Software (now Mountain King Studios) and distributed by Apogee. There are 3 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode 1 - Bravo Sector Complete version history:
Apogee still sells the registered version of this game for $15 on CD-ROM or registered download. Mountain King Studios still sells v2.4b, a Win32 version of this game, for $14.95 as a registered download only.
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| Roketz BlueMoon Software, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Freeware (former commercial) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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A space combat game for play against a computer or another human over a network connection. Ships can move in 360 degrees and there is a small amount of gravity. Money is earned during combat which can be used to upgrade your ship in many different ways. The computer opponent's skill level can be adjusted, but the computer upgrades when you do so that it maintains the same difficulty level regardless of how powerful you become. This surprisingly good game features impressive graphics and sound and addictive gameplay. Roketz Freeware (8217k) BlueMoon Software has generously released this game as freeware.
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| Round 42 Elven Software Company (Pop Software), 1986 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 9 | DOS Shareware (full version) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Round 42 is the predecessor to Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom. It was written by Mike Pooler and published by Elven Software Company before it became Pop Software. The game is basically an advanced version of Space Invaders, with waves of aliens descending from the top of the screen, increasing in speed as their numbers decrease, and destroying you when they reach the bottom. There are no shields, and you have a limited number of "phazor" shots that never miss to help you hit those last few aliens of the round. Far from being repetitive, each of the 42 waves of aliens has a different appearance and behavior. The first wave is clearly made up of space bats, so it's interesting to see how this concept evolved into one of the most popular and bizarre shooters of all time. Round 42 Shareware (27k) I have found no ordering information for this game, and it is not listed on Pop Software's website.
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| Seek and Destroy Safari Software (Epic MegaGames), 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Seek and Destroy is a combat game with 360° movement and an aerial view. In most levels you can use either an Apache helicopter or a tank to complete objectives such as recovering hostages, stealing information, or just destroying stuff. Weapons can be purchased with the money you find after destroying some buildings. The game has decent graphics and sound, including voice, and using the mouse to control your direction and speed becomes easy fairly quickly. There are 20 levels in this game, with only the first 8 playable in the shareware version. Seek and Destroy v1.0 Shareware Episode (3736k) The registered version of this game is still sold through www.epicclassics.com for $15 on CD-ROM only.
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| SinkSub Anders Wihlborg (Wihlborg Entertainment), 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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SinkSub is a very simple game where you take control of a Swedish naval vessel and try to hit submarines with sinkbombs, while they try to hit you with floatbombs. It's just that simple! Originally distributed independently by Anders Wihlborg, it remained a part of their catalog after Wihlborg Entertainment came along. Only the first 8 levels are playable in the shareware version. SinkSub v1.1 Shareware (341k) Wihlborg Entertainment still sells SinkSub Pro v2.03, a Win32 version of this game, for $19.95 by download only.
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| Skunny: Desert Raid Copysoft, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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A sidescrolling shooter starring Skunny the squirrel. Desert Raid is so ridiculously difficult that no one in their right mind would play it. It's so awful that it's famous which, unfortunately, make it classic. In the most political and offensive game of the Skunny series, Desert Raid is based on the Gulf War. Skunny flies an airplane that has unlimited bullets and limited bombs and must defeat the evil Sadman Insane for possessing weapons of mass destruction. Skunny's plane can take several missiles and bullets, but is destroyed instantly if it touches a palm tree. Play it to appreciate how lucky we are to live in the modern gaming era and bask in it's awfulness. The registered version has more and longer levels. Skunny: Desert Raid v1.0 Shareware (499k) Copysoft still sells the full version of this game for $20.
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| Skunny: Lost in Space Copysoft, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Based on the classic Moon Patrol game, Skunny drives a space buggy that fires two shots forward and upward simultaneously and can jump over holes. It's ridiculously hard and, along with Desert Raid, is one of the two games in the Skunny series that gives the series a bad name and puts people off of trying the others. The registered version has more and longer levels. Skunny: Lost in Space v1.0 Shareware (424k) Copysoft still sells the full version of this game for $20.
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| Slam! Robert Epps, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 10 | Win16 Freeware (former shareware) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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After all these years, Slam! is still the best air hockey game I've ever played. The puck moves smoothly, the speed is intense, and the sound effects are perfect. This game just looks, sounds and feels like air hockey. The computer's skill can be adjusted to make the game challenging for any player. Even the colors can be customized. The game is first to 11 points, which is one of the few settings that can't be adjusted. Fun for all ages. Slam! v1.0 Freeware (44k) Author Robert Epps generously released this game as freeware on 5 February 2008.
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| Space Nightmare Microdem, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Despite the name, Space Nightmare isn't remotely scary. The game is a typical shooter, with the usual goal of destroying invading alien space ships. Besides your standard weapon, you also have a limited supply of rockets. There are plenty of weapon upgrades, you have a hit meter, and all weapon upgrades are lost when you get hit. A couple of things set Space Nightmare apart. The first is that you have a choice of three different ships, which each have different characteristics. One ship gets particularly heavy firepower, but is quite slow. Another ship can shoot in four directions when the weapons are upgraded. The other interesting thing about this game is that it supports VESA SVGA graphics in 640×480×256 color mode, although it can operate in 640×480×16 color mode if you only have a VGA graphics card. SVGA mode allows for very detailed title and menu screens, but the graphics are reduced to 320×240×16 colors in either video mode once the game starts, so it's more or less flashy dressing for a high resolution/low color VGA game. There are 10 levels in the registered version. Space Nightmare v1.0 Shareware (757k) I have found no ordering information for this game.
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| Stargunner 3D Realms (Apogee Software), 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 7 | DOS Freeware (former shareware) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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This shooter has very good graphics and sound. Much like Tyrian, items can be purchased to upgrade your ship using money you collect for destroying enemies. The game is sidescrolling instead of vertical scrolling, which is unusual for a PC shooter. A wide variety of weapons and upgrades make for a lot of fun variation in gameplay. Complete version history:
Apogee generously released this game as freeware under the Stargunner Freeware License in June 2005.
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| TerraFire ORT Software, 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Freeware (former shareware) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Based on the classic video game Thrust, you pilot a small spacecraft to various planets in search of nuclear bombs that are hidden in heavily defended bunkers. The game retains the look and feel of AstroFire but adds varying levels of gravity and adds 360° parallax scrolling levels to navigate instead of wraparound levels. There are weapons and other upgrades, and you have to earn the right to save your game by finding the save power-up. Once you've found the bomb, you grab it with a tractor beam and must pull it into space. Grabbing the bomb triggers a booby trap and you have a short time to escape. The bomb has mass and inertia, so it pulls you around in the direction of its momentum, or in the direction of gravity when you aren't moving, making for a challenging escape. The realistic physics are a great addition but, in an homage to AstroFire, there are also bonus levels where you must destroy asteroids and other space ships while in hyperspace, where there is no gravity and the screen becomes wraparound. Versions 2.0 and above have Win32-only installers but are still DOS games. There are 27 missions in this game, with only the first eight playable in the shareware version. Complete version history:
ORT Software has generously released this game as freeware.
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| Traffic Department 2192 Safari Software (Epic MegaGames), 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 10 | DOS Freeware (former shareware) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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As Lt. Velasquez, a pilot with the Traffic Department, you must take back the streets from the Vulture terrorist organization. You use a variety of vehicles to drive through the streets and shoot enemy vehicles as the Traffic Department finds itself mired ever deeper in a cosmic terrorist war. There are 3 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode Alpha: Process of Elimination
Developer John Pallett-Plowright generously released this game as freeware under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 License on 19 July 2007.
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| Tyrian 2000 Epic MegaGames, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 10 | DOS Freeware (former shareware) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Originally published as Tyrian, this game is widely regarded as one of the best shooters ever. At the highest settings, Tyrian features amazing graphics and sounds, as well as voice. Many enemy ships, especially bosses, visibly take damage and break into smaller vehicles as pieces get destroyed, adding a real arcade feel to the game. The self-regenerating shields are especially helpful for aggressive players. You can collect money to buy upgrades for your ship, as well as pick up holographic data cubes that provide information or contribute to the story, or contain advertisements for fictional products. Even the advertisements provide some background information, and other characters contact you to keep you apprised of the situation. The story actually has depth and is not merely an afterthought to provide continuity to the levels. You can sometimes choose the levels you play by choosing a direction on the map screen, and there are secret bonus levels. Definitely recommended. Originally a trilogy, a new episode was added in version 2.0. A fifth episode was added to version 3.0, at which time the game was officially renamed Tyrian 2000. There are 5 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode 1 - Escape Tyrian 2000 v3.0 Registered Version (5642k) Author Jason Emery has generously released this game as freeware.
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| Xatax Pixel Painters, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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A sidescrolling shooter with power-ups, in the tradition of R-Type. It's the 23rd Century, and alien invaders called Xatax are consuming entire worlds, and mutating themselves as they do. Basically, destroy everything and avoiding getting hit by anything. Destroyed enemies sometimes leave power-ups that upgrade your weapon, add missiles to your ship, or add a pod that follows you and adds to your firepower. You lose an upgrade when you get hit, and if you're already fully downgraded, you die. Buildings and enemies have a great three-dimensional look to them, and the soundtrack is decent, if monotonous. "One hit kill" games can be frustrating and depend heavily on level memorization, but there are three difficulty levels to make it easier on beginning players. There are 3 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode 1: Defending the Guilds Xatax v1.00s Shareware Episode (738k) I have found no ordering information for this game.
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| Xerix Brendan Reville (Twilight Software), 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Freeware (always) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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A simple autoscrolling shooter by Brendan Reville before he started publishing games under the Twilight Software label. An alien spaceship is bombarding Earth with radiation, so an advanced fighter is sent to enter and destroy it. Inside the ship, a defense system made of thousands of ships and guns attempts to stop you. A single hit destroys your ship, which is a concept that I've never been fond of. Fortunately a Novice difficulty level was added to v1.3 which gives you infinite lives. You'll need them! Complete version history:
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| Xerix II: The Caverns of Mars Twilight Software, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Freeware (former shareware) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Three years after the events of Xerix, Earth and its colonies is again attacked by aliens. The alien ships come in waves, and blindly move about in patterns, including the bosses, so the enemy isn't exactly intelligent. They make up for that in numbers. There are a lot of weapon upgrades which, unfortunately, don't carry from one level to the next. A very long story is told before each level which, fortunately, can be skipped. The graphics are layered, with a foreground (a layer closer than the ship) as well as a background layer. The greatest strength of this game is the excellent soundtrack, which varies from techno to African tribal music with very convincing wind instruments. This is a challenging game, so fortunately there are three difficulty levels. There are 12 levels in this game, with only the first 6 playable in the shareware version.
Author Brandon Reville has generously released this game as freeware.
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| Zone 66 Epic MegaGames, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 8 | DOS Shareware (partial game) | No screenshot yet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Zone 66 is a 360° scrolling shooter that takes place two centuries in the future in a time when Earth is unified by single world government. Terrorism has been a problem, but now there have been nuclear attacks. You are a former member of the Global Security Agency and your city has been destroyed, and your wife and child with it. Defeat the terrorists and have your revenge. There are a number of aircraft to choose from, and you can choose what weapons you arm them with. You can return to the hangar during battle to repair and reload. The intro is a gritty anime sequence with a killer soundtrack (in SoundBlaster mode; cool and powerful in Ultrasound mode; rather tame in Adlib mode), and bits of the story are revealed after each level. There are 8 episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Episode 1 - Foreign Shores Zone 66 v1.5 Shareware Episode (994k) I have found no ordering information for this game, and it is not listed at www.epicclassics.com. It can be ordered from Amazon: Zone 66
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