MORE GAMES TO PLAY
» IGNITION
■ DEVELOPER: UNIQUE DEVELOPMENT STUDIOS AB
■ YEAR: 1997
■ This riotous racing game features a ludicrous array of vehicles – ranging from school buses to monster trucks and ambulances to police cars. The action takes place across a variety of diverse landscapes, from precarious alpine slopes to tropical sandy beaches. However, they’re all fittingly chaotic and, short of actually winning, there’s nothing more satisfying than ramming a rival racer off a cliff, to their fiery demise.
» BUD TUCKER IN DOUBLE TROUBLE
■ DEVELOPER: MERIT STUDIOS ■ YEAR: 1996
■ Like a cross between Day Of The Tentacle and Leisure Suit Larry, Bud Tucker stars as a pizza delivery boy tasked with rescuing a quirky inventor and his cloning machine. Amazingly, the game actually allows players to switch between a Lucasarts or Sierra-style interface. Paired with some strong voice acting, with Rik Mayall as the villain, the absurdist dialogue will often have you laughing off your seat.
» THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT ADVENTURES OF GEWT NINGRICH
■ DEVELOPER: TERRA SOFTWARE
■ YEAR: 1997
■ This satirical take on US politics is a beat-’em-up starring Gewt Ningrich, an obvious parody of Republican Newt Gingrich. Gewt works his way from level to level, raising money by clubbing seals, killing hippies, cutting down trees and shooting journalists at press conferences, with the aim of overthrowing the government.
» CURSE OF ENCHANTIA
■ DEVELOPER: CORE DESIGN LTD ■ YEAR: 1992
■ An innovative adventure game, Curse Of Enchantia features a text-free interface and little dialogue. Instead, the game uses a clever set of controls to tackle a wide variety of obstacles and puzzles. Although some require great stretches of logic, the creative puzzles will push even veteran adventurers to their limits. Stunning graphics do justice to the inspired, albeit bizarre, world – making this one of the genre’s greats.
» EČSTATICA
■ DEVELOPER: ANDREW SPENCER STUDIOS ■ YEAR: 1994
■ One of the weirdest games to grace DOS PCS – think of a sloppy, psychotic Dark Souls. Players have to liberate a cursed Medieval village, where Satan’s monsters are impaling and crucifying residents one by one. Yet, as sinister as it is, at the end of the game, instead of fighting the devil, players can make a pact with him, and spend eternity being spoiled by a harem of half-naked manservants. It must be experienced to be truly appreciated.
» ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS II
■ DEVELOPER: KOEI ■ YEAR: 1989
■ Long before Total War: Three Kingdoms, Koei developed the OG Romance Of The Three Kingdoms. Set during the chaotic collapse of China’s Han Dynasty, this suitably grandiose take on the epic – like its Total War counterpart – lets players choose either a historically accurate or fictional game mode. Diplomacy, warfare, development and, of course, luck are all crucial to uniting a fractured China beneath your yoke.
» BIO MENACE
■ DEVELOPER: APOGEE ■ YEAR: 1993
■ Developed by Apogee’s
James Norwood, this ultraviolent side-scroller is all about grit – buildings are littered with corpses, and streets are dressed in burned-out vehicles. Players control Snake Logan, who has to save the city from a mad scientist, and his army of mutants and robots. To complete levels, Snake must not just blow mutants into meaty pieces with an array of weapons, but solve puzzles – making full use of the Commander Keen engine.
» THE HORDE
■ DEVELOPER: TOYS FOR BOB ■ YEAR: 1994
■ When a young servant called Chauncey saves the king’s life, he’s rewarded with a fief and a magical sword. The only catch? He has to defend his new land from insatiable hordes of red monsters. Between invasions, players can build up and reinforce their village, before personally taking on legions of ravenous beasts. With a huge array of tricks and traps to play with, and varied landscapes and enemies, this one has loads of replay value.