| The Adventures of MicroMan Brian L. Goble, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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MicroMan was originally a playable demo to promote Brian Goble's Windows Animation Package. It featured a variety of mechanical enemies, three weapon upgrades, a super jump ability and a shield, transporters, and had 14 rooms and two bottomless pits. An entire game, The Adventures of MicroMan, soon followed. MicroMan was shrunk to micron size as part of an experiment, and is now trapped in a computer full of unfriendly robots. There are 49 rooms and three bottomless pits in the first adventure, and the game added springboards, invisible platforms, and new enemies. There are platforms that will only move when MicroMan is standing on them, and platforms that will only move when he isn't standing on them. Version 1.5 added background music and save points, improved the sound effects and allowed multiple sounds to play simultaneously, allowed MicroMan to have more shots on the screen at a time, made the animation even smoother, and made one particularly frustrating room much easier. Version 2.0 converted the game to Win32 and added joystick support, changed some sound effects, and made one of the rooms much easier. There are 2 adventures in this game, with only the first adventure playable in the shareware version. Adventure 1: Crazy Computers The Adventures of MicroMan v1.5 Shareware Episode (533k) I have found no ordering information for this game. Brian Goble's company, HipSoft, still sells a new Win32 game called MicroMan's Crazy Computers.
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| 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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| Castle of the Winds Epic MegaGames, 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Freeware (former shareware) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Castle of the Winds is a cult classic RPG for Windows. At the beginning of the game, you have ability points that you can distribute between three characteristics, and you can choose your hero's gender. The storyline is linear and the gameplay and inventory system are cunningly simple. In contrast to the cities, the dungeons are almost monochrome, and the graphics throughout the game are minimalist. It may not look like much, but something about it makes it surprisingly fun. There are two volumes in this game, with only the first volume playable in the shareware version. Part 1: A Question of Vengeance Castle of the Winds v1.1A Registered Version (679k) Author Rick Saada has generously released this game as freeware.
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| Dare to Dream Epic MegaGames, 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dare to Dream is a point-and-click adventure that takes place inside the mind of a troubled ten year-old boy. Tyler Norris lost his father eight months ago, and his dreams have been haunted by someone named Christian. His concerned mother has taken him to a psychiatrist, and that's where the story begins. You must explore the world inside Tyler's mind, examining objects and solving puzzles to rescue Tyler from his own dreams. There are 3 parts in this game, with only the first part playable in the shareware version. Part 1: In a Darkened Room Dare to Dream Shareware Episode (743k) I have found no ordering information for this game, and it is not listed at www.epicclassics.com.
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| Dinner With Moriarty Everett Kaser Software, 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Also known as Sherlock II: Dinner With Moriarty, this game is the sequel to the popular game of deduction inspired by Sherlock Holmes. This time a group of people are sitting around a table, and one of them has had their food poisoned. To complete the puzzle you must determine who is seated at each chair, what color their plate is, what they're having to drink, and what food they are eating, based on a set of clues provided to the right of the table. At the most basic level, the game is very easy — much easier than Sherlock. However, the game concept scales very well. At higher difficulty levels, more people sit at the table, things can be set at the corners of the table, and you can have to figure out what hat everyone is wearing and what (presumably) their favorite number is. It's extremely easy to jump right into playing the game because hovering the mouse over the hints triggers a pop-up explanation of what the hint is telling you. The hints can tell you that two things are at the same place, between two other things, directly across from something, or above/below or to the left/right of something. Through the process of deduction, you eliminate possibilities until you know what's in each square. Every puzzle can be solved with the hints that are given, but if you ask for a hint, the game will explain to you in plain English how one of the hints helped you to eliminate one of the possibilities. Getting a hint will cost you 30 seconds on your clock. When you no longer need one of the clues, you can send it to a holding bin, where you can still see it if you change your mind. Version 2.0 was released on 26 November 2004, which kaser.com still indicates can be run from Windows 3.1, but it appears to be Win32-only. There are 65 536 puzzles in each of the six difficulty levels of this game, with only the first 25 from each difficultly level playable in the shareware version.
Everett Kaser Software still sells v2.0, a Win32 version of this game, for $19.95 by download or CD-ROM.
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| Football TSoft, 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (full version) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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In this very simple football game for Windows, you're the coach (or quarterback) of a football team, calling the plays and watching what happens. There are no graphics for the players, but it's not really necessary because the game tells you what happened. You can choose from a number of running and passing plays, and you can stop the clock with a Timeout when you need one. There are 28 NFL teams to choose from, which are listed only by nickname, not city, for trademark reasons. The league is called the CFL, which probably stands for Computer Football League, not the Canadian Football League. The game only takes a few minutes to play, and you get detailed statistics at the end of the game. You can play against a human opponent or the computer. Football v1.1 Shareware (115k) I have found no ordering information for this game.
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| Hugo's Horrific Adventure Gray Design Associates, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Hugo Trilogy was re-released as for Windows 3.1 under slightly different names. The graphics are identical, but there are new sounds effects, and the music is much nicer. You still have the option of controlling Hugo by using the arrow keys and typing commands, but you can also use the mouse to click on where you want Hugo to go, and you can left-click to look at objects or right-click to take or use them. The "infinite score" bug from Hugo's House of Horrors is fixed in the Windows remake. Overall, the game retains all of the charm of the original, but makes it a bit easier to navigate, and the music and sound are a bit easier on the ears. There are three episodes in this game, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. Hugo's Horrific Adventure Hugo's Horrific Adventure v1.4 Shareware (676k) Gray Design Associates still sells the DOS and Windows versions of the Hugo Trilogy collectively for $10 by download only.
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| Jigsaws Galore Gray Design Associates, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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This puzzle game is literally a puzzle game. The game allows you to put together a jigsaw puzzle, and you can select the difficulty level which determines how many pieces the puzzle is broken into. You can have the computer sort the pieces for you, and you can place pieces in a separate tray so that you can work on different parts of the puzzle separately. Version 1.0 was an internal release only. Version 3.0 converted the game to Win32 and increased the color depth from 256 color to true color. There are 10 jigsaw puzzles in this game, with 130 more on the Gold Edition CD-ROM. Complete version history:
Gray Design Associates still sells Version 6, a Win32 version of this game, for $25 by download or $39 on CD-ROM.
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| Kye Colin Garbutt, 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Freeware (former shareware) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kye is a classic "collect the diamonds" game named after the author's dog. Kye must be navigated through some difficult levels, eating or pushing blocks out of his way, and figuring out obstacles and traps. There are balls that move in one direction, sticky blocks that can pull obstacles out of the way, and five kinds of monsters that pursue Kye in real-time. Besides the monsters, some levels have blocks that are constantly in motion, so reflexes and skill are required in addition to problem solving. There is no gravity and no boulders to drop, and the levels, blocks and monsters are entirely original, so this isn't just another Boulder Dash clone. You can design your own custom levels, and a number of third-party level packs exist. Version 2.0 added five extra levels, black holes, one way doors, time bombs, an on-screen level editor, and registration now required a charitable donation to Save the Children, instead of direct payment to the author. There are 15 levels in the shareware version, and originally there were 20 extra levels in the registered version. User-created levels were added over the years, with a final tally of 496 extra levels in the registered version. Complete version history:
Colin Garbutt generously released this game as freeware on 18 February 2008. He still asks that a donation be made to a childrens' charity.
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| MESH: Hero Defiant Everett Kaser Software, 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The sequel to MESH: Hero's Heart, Hero Defiant adds a number of block types and a challenging new set of levels. Hero Defiant is a pure puzzle game that looks a bit like an adventure game. The hero must collect all of the hearts in a level by solving the puzzle. The game is turn-based rather than real time, which means that when you move and cause an action, you can't move again until the reaction is finished. You can move the hero with the keyboard, or by clicking on where you want him to go with your mouse. There are over 100 levels in this game, with only the first 10 playable in the shareware version.
Everett Kaser Software still sells v3.0, a Win32 version of this game, for $19.95 by download or CD-ROM.
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| MESH: Hero's Hearts Everett Kaser Software, 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Windows version of Hero's Heart increases the color depth from 16 to 256, you can now play as either a male or female hero (thus the name change to "Hero's Hearts"), and there are hint notes to teach you how to play. Hero's Hearts is a pure puzzle game that looks a bit like an adventure game. The hero must collect all of the hearts in a level by solving the puzzle. The game is turn-based rather than real time, which means that when you move and cause an action, you can't move again until the reaction is finished. If you cause a boulder to fall or an arrow to fire, you can't move out of the way to avoid it! You can cause boulders to fall, balloons to rise, and arrows to fire in any direction. There are hazards such as fire and water, Worms that head directly towards you with each step you take, and Creepers that simply move in circles around any barriers they find. Some hearts can't be collected until they have been changed from blue to red by a Creeper. Some puzzles involve figuring out how to use a raft or push a ball, you can use earth to fill up some water or put out a fire, or you can use a fire extinguisher. You can move the hero with the keyboard, or by clicking on where you want him to go with your mouse. Walking or pushing something over ice will slide it all the way to the other side in one turn. There are over 1000 levels in this game, with only the first 15 playable in the shareware version.
Everett Kaser Software still sells v3.0, a Win32 version of this game, for $19.95 by download or CD-ROM.
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| Sherlock for Windows Everett Kaser Software, 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Windows version of Sherlock increased the color depth from 16 to 256, and hovering the mouse over the hints triggers a pop-up explanation, which was replaced with a less intrusive dedicated explanation area in v4.0. Sherlock is a game of logic played on a 6×6 grid, and each row has a different set of six pictures that have to be arranged within the row. You get two sets of hints that tell you what relationship the pictures have to each other: one for to their vertical relationship and one for their horizontal relationship. Through the process of deduction, you eliminate possibilities until you know what's in each square. Every puzzle can be solved with the hints that are given, but if you ask for a hint, the game will explain to you in plain English how one of the hints helped you to eliminate one of the possibilities. Getting a hint will cost you 30 seconds on your clock. When you no longer need one of the clues, you can send it to a holding bin, where you can still see it if you change your mind. In the first 65 536 puzzles, you will always be told what a few of the squares are, while the second 65 536 will never complete any of the squares for you unless you increase the handicap. There are 131 072 puzzles in this game, with only 100 playable in the shareware version.
Everett Kaser Software still sells v5.0, a Win32 version of this game, for $19.95 by download or CD-ROM.
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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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| SkiFree Microsoft, 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Freeware (always) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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In 1991, Chris Pirih made a little skiing game for Windows and distributed it as freeware, thus the name SkiFree. His employer, Microsoft, liked it so much that they acquired the copyright and added it to the Microsoft Entertainment Pack. Chris Pirih retained the right to create and publish new versions and, one way or another, a copy of this simple little game made its way onto computers around the world. There are three modes of play: Slalom, Free-style, and Tree Slalom, or you can just ski wherever you want. Slalom is a 540m race to the finish line, and you have to ski around the flags. Tree Slalom is 1040m version of Slalom, but with lots of trees to avoid. Free-style is an untimed 1040m course that requires you to get style points for hitting jumps and doing aerial tricks. The skier can be controlled with the keyboard or mouse, and can spin horizontally with the left and right arrow keys, or head over heels with the up and down arrow keys or the left mouse button. Style points are lost for crashing. The game is remembered for its many Easter eggs and extras, such as dogs, snowboarders and other skiers on the hill, walking trees, and an Abominable Snow Monster. SkiFree v1.0 Freeware (30k) SkiFree v1.04, a Win32 port of the game, is available as a free download at the Official SkiFree Home Page.
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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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| World Empire II Deluxe Viable Software Alternatives, 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The World Empire series moved to Windows in the second game of the series. It's a game of global domination, like Risk, except that there are no cards to award bonus armies. Each player represents an ideology — Populist, Militarist, Socialist or Realist. The world is divided into 139 nations, each of which supports one of the players' ideologies. When you conquer a nation that supports your ideology, they greet you as liberators and require only 1 army to hold them, whereas nations that support rival ideologies need additional armies to remain in order to prevent a revolution. Armies are awarded at the beginning of each turn based on the number of nations held, plus bonus armies for holding an entire continent. World Empire II adds an "all nations conquered" option, in addition to the "all nations neutral" starting position of the original. Populations and national capitals are now listed for each country. Starting with v1.5, the game became "Deluxe" because it adds a real world simulation mode to the registered version, in which population and development are taken into account. Version 1.5 also adds an option to have all sides start with 30 armies instead of 56, and to check the status of all countries on the continent. The shareware version can be played by one to four players, with up to two computer players (one in v1.0). The registered version can be played against up to seven computer opponents, and adds three new ideologies.
Viable Software Alternatives still sells World Empire V Deluxe, a Win32 version of the game, for $18 by download or CD-ROM.
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| World Empire III Viable Software Alternatives, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The third game in the popular world domination series, World Empire III improves on World Empire II by adding a lot of new images and graphics, more attractive maps, and MIDI music, some of which is pretty catchy. It's also possible to see how many armies are in each nation on the map screen during gameplay, instead of having to check the Status screen. Otherwise the game is the same, except that you can no longer play against two computer opponents in the shareware version, and the "expert" option that starts players with 30 armies instead of 56 is now reserved for the registered version. The world is still divided into 139 nations, each of which supports one of the players' ideologies. Version numbers continue from where they left off in World Empire II, starting with v2.0 in World Empire III. The shareware version can be played by one to four players, with the computer serving as the opponent in a one player game. The registered version can be played against up to seven computer opponents, and adds four new ideologies.
Viable Software Alternatives still sells World Empire V Deluxe, a Win32 version of the game, for $18 by download or CD-ROM.
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| World Empire IV Viable Software Alternatives, 1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The fourth game in the popular world domination series, World Empire IV improves on World Empire III by adding online play. It's also possible to see how many armies are in each nation by hovering the mouse pointer over a nation, and there are buttons for both regular and blitz (continuous) attacks instead of having to toggle between attack modes. Player images have been replaced with photographs. The world is still divided into 139 nations, each of which supports one of the players' ideologies. Version numbers continue from where they left off in World Empire III, starting with v3.01 in World Empire IV. The shareware version can be played by one to four players, with the computer serving as the opponent in a one player game. The registered version can be played against up to seven computer opponents, and adds four new ideologies.
Viable Software Alternatives still sells World Empire V Deluxe, a Win32 version of the game, for $18 by download or CD-ROM.
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