“All Hands Ahoy”?! To the vineyards, “Fiddler-on-the-Roof” guy! PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER: Koei DEVELOPER: Koei GENRE: Strategy RELEASE DATE: November 1991 Another strategy-filled Koei misadventure, this time on the high seas. You play a Portuguese sea captain trying to reclaim your family’s noble status. Your father’s dead, lost at … Continue reading #697 – Uncharted Waters
#696 – The Uncanny X-Men
Where’s a priest when you need one? Guts Man?… Is that you?! PLAYERS: 1-2 simultaneous PUBLISHER: LJN DEVELOPER: LJN GENRE: Action RELEASE DATE: December 1989 Webster defines “uncanny” as “strange or unusual in a way that is surprising or difficult to understand.” This word applies to the X-Men … Continue reading #696 – The Uncanny X-Men
#695 – Ultimate Stuntman
Pretty sure that’s an airbrushed Arnold. He wouldn’t be the Ultimate Stuntman if he couldn’t climb up a building with his bare hands. PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER: Camerica DEVELOPER: Codemasters GENRE: Action/Shoot-em-up/Puzzle RELEASE DATE: 1990 Ultimate Stuntman is an odd, unpolished game that manages to entertain in spite of … Continue reading #695 – Ultimate Stuntman
#694 – Ultimate League Soccer
The ultimate average soccer title. Watch out for Gene Simmons in the background. Red shirt passes it to red shirt. Red shirt hits! He scores! PLAYERS: 1-2 simultaneous PUBLISHER: American Video Entertainment DEVELOPER: Hacker International GENRE: Sports RELEASE DATE: 1992 If there were such a thing as honest … Continue reading #694 – Ultimate League Soccer
#693 – Ultimate Basketball
You can do better than this game, kid. You’ll be spending most of your time on the side of the court, wishing for a better basketball experience. PLAYERS: 1-2 simultaneous PUBLISHER: American Sammy DEVELOPER: Aicom GENRE: Sports RELEASE DATE: September 1990 For whatever reason, basketball is a hard … Continue reading #693 – Ultimate Basketball
#692 – Ultimate Air Combat
Take that, purveyors of viewpoints inferior to mine! Ultimate Air Combat doesn’t screenshot well. I could take just about any picture and it would look like this. PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER: Activision DEVELOPER: Activision GENRE: Flight sim RELEASE DATE: April 1992 I’ve never been one for flight sims on … Continue reading #692 – Ultimate Air Combat
#691 – Ultima: Warriors of Destiny
“Cometh at me, brother!” Oh, the horrible memories. PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER: FCI DEVELOPER: Origin GENRE: RPG RELEASE DATE: January 1993 The Ultima ports on the NES are defined by their varying quality. Exodus had its faults (some might say ‘quirks’), but it was playable. Quest of the Avatar … Continue reading #691 – Ultima: Warriors of Destiny
#690 – Ultima: Quest of the Avatar
The poor souls who bought this game used, before FAQs were prevalent… That’s always the question, and never the answer. PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER: Pony Canyon DEVELOPER: Infinity GENRE: RPG RELEASE DATE: December 1990 How groundbreaking Quest of the Avatar must have seemed in 1985. To wit: instead of … Continue reading #690 – Ultima: Quest of the Avatar
SECOND PLAYTHROUGH – Fester’s Quest Redux
Hey, uh, Fester, you got some lipstick on ya. Might want to wipe that off, you’re a professional, for crying out loud. Fester will blow his horn on the streets or in the sewers. Wherever good times are had! PLAYERS: 1 … Continue reading SECOND PLAYTHROUGH – Fester’s Quest Redux
#689 – Ultima: Exodus
The cover looks like an off-Broadway theater production manned by sitcom rejects. Our intrepid pixel people. PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER: Pony Canyon DEVELOPER: Origin GENRE: RPG RELEASE DATE: February 1989 Ultima: Exodus is the third of nine games in the long-heralded, predominantly PC series Ultima. But it’s the first … Continue reading #689 – Ultima: Exodus
#688 – Twin Eagle: Revenge Joe’s Brother
The Twin Eagle font looks RPG-ish to me. This cover is just all-around terrible. Believe it or not, the screen was moving quite fast during this portion of the game. PLAYERS: 1-2 simultaneous PUBLISHER: Romstar DEVELOPER: Visco GENRE: Shoot-em-up RELEASE DATE: October 1989 To paraphrase a Britney Spears … Continue reading #688 – Twin Eagle: Revenge Joe’s Brother
#687 – Twin Cobra
What makes a “mega” chip? And where does one procure two of them? No annoying morse-code soundtrack in Twin Cobra, thank God. PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER: American Sammy DEVELOPER: Micronics GENRE: Shoot-em-up RELEASE DATE: January 1990 The NES has a king’s ransom of shoot-em-ups, many of which lack personality, … Continue reading #687 – Twin Cobra