This page lists all the games that I see worthy of recieving the much coveted Area 51 "good" rating. If you've got any comments or (hopefully not!) complaints then 'mail me.
This is the recommended games section of my site which now includes a game of the month award, and I recommend games that I have:
(a) played
(b) got
Here's the list:
Game of the Month
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Written by Nintendo.
An engrossing game, based in the land of Hyrule. In this game you play Link and basically have to save Hyrule. This game is brilliant! The graphics are superb, the gameplay better and the difficulty curve is beautifully judged. Definitely enough reason to buy an N64.
Golden Eye 007
Written by Rare.
This is a cool game! The first non-PC game to feature here, its actually for the N64. The graphics are cool, the multiplayer addictive and the missions intelligent, almost enough reason to buy an N64!
Worms and Reinforcements: United
Written by Team 17.
A kick ass little game! Possibly one of my best games purchases to date. You go a team of worms armed with some pretty insane weaponry (exploding sheep, for example) and your purpose is to beat the hell out of the other team, simple eh? But don't let its simplicity fool you... it is really cool. You can name your team, customise the weapons settings, design your own landscapes and even create your own speech packs for your worms to use. Out on the Microprse Power Plus range for around £12.99.
Pagan: Ultima VIII
Written by Lord British.
A cool little RPG game. You are the Avatar and you have to save Britannia and Earth from destruction by an evil being (whose name escapes me). Pretty cool the only problem being with the 45 degrees viewpoint which means enemies can hide behind walls and are difficult to see. I got it for £4.99 in EB, so you should go there to check it out too.
Fade to Black
Written by Delphine Software.
A cool little Tomb Raider style game, with a twist, it was brought out before Tomb Raider. Get it, it's pretty cool!
Dune
Written by Cryo Interactive.
A superb game, hard to put into one category. You are Paul Atreidies and you have to get the Harkonnens off Dune. Sounds simple, eh? But you've gotta rally the natives of Dune, the Fremen, to do it with.
Stonekeep
Written by The Oliphant Group.
A superb fantasy/RPG title. You take on the role of Drake, one of the only survivors of a terror that befell the town of Stonekeep, now, ten years after that same disaster, Drake returns and has the task of freeing Stonekeep. Graphically a bit primative (running at only 320x240) but more than makes up for this in the gameplay.
Pizza Tycoon.
Written by Microprose.
A unique and brilliant game based around the dodgy world of pizza making. You play as an avid pizza maker hopefull to dominate the world with your chain of pizza resturants. The darker side comes in the form of doing missions for the mafia and attempting to scare competitors custom away by placing joke items in their resturants. Out on for £4.99 from Sold-Out Software.
Fables & Fiends: Hand of Fate.
Written by Westwood Studios.
A nice point and click adventure with pretty good graphics and (as far as I've got) a good story line. It's based around the land of Kyrandia, which is dissappearing piece by piece and you (Zanthia, who is, rather unusually for a point and click, a girl) have to travel to the centre of the world to get an anchor stone to prevent the rest of Kyrandia dissappearing. Another triumph for Sold-Out Software, being on its range of £4.99 games.
Total Annhilation.
Written by Cavedog.
A rather superb RTS title. It distances itself from the rest of the clones (that I've played at least) by utilising 3D landscapes and units! You can play for either the Arm, a rebel faction, of the Core, the government type people. The story is based around the process of "patterning", which is a means of transferring consciousness from humans to a machine, thus giving near immortality. Many viewed this as a brilliant breakthrough, but equally as many viewed it sceptically. The governing body (the Core in this case) made one fatal mistake......... making the process compulsory. This led to a four-thousand year war which you have to finish, and, obviously, win.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert.
Written by Westwood Studios.
Succesor to the classic Command & Conquer. It wasn't a MAJOR step forward, but it did work out some of the nigly faults from the original, and is TREMENDOUS fun. You choose either to join the Soviet Empire, in an attempt to "liberate the working classes of the world", or as the Allied Forces, struggling to keep freedom and liberty. Despite the Soviet tanks and defenses (namely the Tesla Coil) being better, the Allies have 3 naval units, including the ludicrously powerful Cruiser, able to lob destruction for miles, an the GPS (Global Positioning System) making the radar redundant and meaning that you don't need to explore the whole map, because once this baby is up, its all shown to you.
Theme Hospital.
Written by Bullfrog.
A superb game which mixes comedy with the every day running of a hospital. A must buy for every self respecting PC owner. This game just proves the briliance behind Bullfrog games.
Dungeon Keeper.
Written by Bullfrog.
Sick of being the good guys? Then this is the game for you, you must invade the good guys layer and, put bluntly, kill them all! This is tremendous fun, as you not only manage your dungeon, but you can also personally kick the good guys' asses, using the possess spell.
Syndicate.
Written by Bullfrog.
How can one company be so good? In this Bullfrog epic you take control of some cyborg agents with the sole purpose of taking over the world. Add to this big nasty guns and sprinkle in another 7 or so other syndicates that are out to do the same thing as you, and you have trouble. A brilliant game, not for kiddies, squemish people, or pacifists. Now out on budget under the EA Classics range, available for about £12.99.
Dune II.
Written by Westwood Studios.
The original real-time strategy game that started off the craze. You can play as either the noble Atreides, the insidious Ordos (by the way, yes, I did get that phrase off the box!) or the evil Harkonnen. I know where my loyalties lie! I was absolutely blown away by the sound! I mean it's superb for a 1992 game, in-game speech and every thing! Available on a double budget pack with Cannon Fodder 2 in The White Label for £9.99, if you go to the right places (e.g. Ourprice)
Star Wars: TIE Fighter.
Written by LucasArts.
Despite being 4 yearsold I haven't seen any thing better (yes, I haven't played X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter). There is in game speech, lovely (at least for the time) graphics and a superb storyline. You can really get to grips with this game, it's brilliant! The story, at least in my opinion, pans out better that in X-Wing, and the Secret Circle of the Emporer is a brilliant idea. Out on the White Label for about £9.99.
Star Wars: Dark Forces.
Written by LucasArts.
A superb 3D shooter, with bags of game play, decent graphics and a nicely done story line, essential for any Star Wars fan. Another White Label Bargain, around about £9.99.
Star Wars: Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2.
Written by LucasArts.
Expands on the already excellent Dark Forces. Now the graphics are better, you can use the Force and, possibly best of all, you get to use a Light Saber.
Star Wars: Rebel Assault 2 The Hidden Empire.
Written by LucasArts.
A superb (if slightly easy) game. It revolves around, the rather unconvincingly named, Rookie One, and has graphics and cut scenes to rival todays best offerings.
Frontier: First Encounters.
Written by Frontier Developments.
A BRILLIANT open ended space opera. FFE is the sequel of the sequel (Frontier: Elite 2) to the ledgendary ELITE, programmed in 1984 by Ian Bell and David Braben. Despite being grapically backwards (running at a resolution of 320x200) it more than makes up for it in means of gameplay. Click here to learn more about it (frames compatible browsers) or here for no frames.
Constructor.
Written by System 3.
A game where you delve straight into the murky world of building housing estates. It doesn't just end there though, you must make sure the family are happy and generally take care of them. Once you have sufficient resources, you can build Gangsters and the like and send them round to kill your enemies. Runs on a DX-66 with 8 megs in DOS at a surprisingly high resolution.
The Secret of Monkey Island 1 and 2.
Written by LucasArts.
Possibly the 2 of the best point and clicks ever released and now at £9.99 on the White Label. It's graphics are a bit pants, but it has gameplay to rival todays best offerings.
Stonekeep
Written by The Oliphant Group.
A superb fantasy/RPG title. You take on the role of Drake, one of the only survivors of a terror that befell the town of Stonekeep, now, ten years after that same disaster, Drake returns and has the task of freeing Stonekeep. Graphically a bit primative (running at only 320x200) but more than makes up for this in the gameplay.
Star Trek: The Next Generation "A Final Unity"
Written by Microprose.
A classy point and click, with a nice story line, good cutscenes and Star Trek style combat. Graphically superb with great sound this is a must buy. It uses an odd compression system, because every thing is compressed on the CD, so you need to install a 15MB swap file. Well worth the £12.99 asked for, as it is out on budget.
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries
Written by Activision.
A brilliant game of fast action, and pretty stunning visuals. You play a mercenary who is out to make his/her fortune. Fast, furious and EXTREMELY fun. At £9.99 on the Essential Collection range, it's a must buy!
Beneath A Steel Sky
Written by Revolution Software.
A superb point and click game! A 1994 offering from the authors of Broken Sword 1 and 2. It is humourous, cleverly thought out and most of all I can solve most of the puzzles! The story was written by Dave Gibbons, a comic artist. It revolves around Robert Foster who was left orphaned in a helicopter crash in the desert as a child. He was then re-captured and survives ANOTHER 'copter crash and you must get him out of Union City. It has nice backdrops and the intro on the disk version (the version I have) is nicely done. Out now for £4.99 on the Sold-Out Software range.
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All text (unless otherwise stated) © Michael Graham 1999.