MicroProse

"Kennedy Approach..."

"Kennedy Approach..."

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1988

The player assumes the role of a controller in a Terminal Radar Approach Control, giving instructions to aircraft so that they can safely land, as well as take off and enter their correct flight corridors. The purpose of the game is to manage the flights that are presented to the player without the flights being delayed or exiting/landing in the wrong location. The aircraft either come flying in on the screen and have preset exit or landing points or show up as wanting to take off with an exit point. It is the player's job to determine the route each aircraft flies and when they may land or take off. The aircraft cannot be too close to each other, so the player needs to make sure that they are passing each other on different flight levels or with sufficient distance (three grid dots north/south or east/west) between them. When an aircraft is in danger of crashing or is exiting at the wrong location or altitude, the aircraft will inform the air traffic controller. Aircraft do not change course/altitude unless the player tells them to. Incoming aircraft not given clearance to land, however, will go into a holding pattern and wait until given clearance. When necessary, the player can also give holding instructions to aircraft, as long as their course takes them over a VOR tower which is used as the holding fix. To start with, there are few flights at the same time, but at higher GS levels, there are many flights that need management at the same time. Also storms which the aircraft can not pass through show up and some aircraft have very little fuel and have to land fast or they will crash.

AcroJet

AcroJet

Microsoft MSX2 - Released - January 1, 1988

The player flies a BD5J, a small agile jet. The player has to complete a series of eight stunt courses and routines with the jet. For example, in one set, the player has to fly the plane around a series of pylons. In another, the player must fly a figure eight. Stunts get harder as play progresses. Some game parameters, such as weather, are configurable. There are ten acrobatic events which can be played by up to four players at four levels of difficulty. In all ten events the player must fly over a series of obstacles.

Airborne Ranger

Airborne Ranger

Atari ST - Released - 1989

Airborne Ranger is a video game developed and released by MicroProse in 1987. The game is a relatively (for its era) realistic action game in which a sole U.S. Army Ranger is sent to infiltrate the enemy territory to complete various objectives. Note that The AMIGA and Atari ST versions were released few years later and were a wholly independent development and absolutely different from gameplay standpoint. This article and the praise is about the original PC/C64-version.

Civilization II

Civilization II

Sony Playstation - Released - December 31, 1998

Starting out with just a single unit and knowledge of a small local area, your challenge is to guide your civilization into becoming the dominant force, either by conquering every other civilization or by sending a spaceship to Alpha Centauri. As you'd imagine, a lot of challenges come into such a task. You must locate cities so as to make use of food, construction and trade resources, which can be later improved by constructing irrigation, roads, mines, railroads, and farmland. Each city can construct one item at a time - civilian and military units, buildings or Wonders of the World (there are 28 of these across the different eras of the game, and each can be possessed by only one city). The buildings and wonders have different effects - most buildings and some wonders improve defenses, scientific research, trade or food output, but most wonders offer unique advantages that can be used to great strategic effect. There are over 100 scientific advancements in the game, and most require prerequisites before they can be researched. How quickly this happens depends on your scientific output, which must be traded off against financial and military concerns.

Civilization II: Test of Time

Civilization II: Test of Time

Windows - Released - July 31, 1999

Civilization II: Test of Time, released in 1999, is a turn-based strategy game remake of the best selling game Civilization II that was released to compete with Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Test of Time's central innovation was the addition of multiple maps and the inclusion of two campaigns concerning science fiction and fantasy themes.

Decision in the Desert

Decision in the Desert

Apple II - Released - August 7, 1985

Decision in the Desert was the second installment in the "Command Series" of tactical wargames co-designed by Sid Meier and Ed Bever and published by MicroProse in the mid 1980s. The game covers the North African theater during World War II. The design is essentially the same as in the first Command game, Crusade in Europe. Five different scenarios with multiple variants can be played. This, along with multiple levels of difficulty, gives the game significant replay value. Battles occur in real-time, though orders may be issued while the game is paused.

Decision in the Desert

Decision in the Desert

MS-DOS - Released - 1985

Decision in the Desert was the second installment in the "Command Series" of tactical wargames co-designed by Sid Meier and Ed Bever and published by MicroProse in the mid 1980s. The game covers the North African theater during World War II. The design is essentially the same as in the first Command game, Crusade in Europe. Five different scenarios with multiple variants can be played. This, along with multiple levels of difficulty, gives the game significant replay value. Battles occur in real-time, though orders may be issued while the game is paused.

Em@il Games: X-COM

Em@il Games: X-COM

Windows - Released - September 30, 1999

Em@il Games: X-COM is a turn-based game played over email (optional one computer hot seat) loosely based on the original X-COM game. The units and weapons are similar. The graphics are basic but clear. The major difference is the game-play of course, which is very simple. Each player controls a squad of randomly assigned troops, you have limited action points and move/fire options. Whoever kills the other squad wins, no research, no campaign type options, just single map games. The players can select the side of the conflict (X-COM troops or Alien forces) and one of five available mission environments.

F-15 Strike Eagle

F-15 Strike Eagle

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1987

The seven missions featured in this simulation of F-15 flight are all real-life missions the plane was originally used in. They take place in the Middle East and Asia during the 1970s and early 1980s, and have air and ground targets to destroy. You have machine guns, guided missiles and bombs at your disposal. There is an arcade mode and 3 further difficulty levels. The game features 3 enemy aircraft and 3 types of enemy SAMs.

F-15 Strike Eagle

F-15 Strike Eagle

Atari ST - Released - 1985

The seven missions featured in this simulation of F-15 flight are all real-life missions the plane was originally used in. They take in the Middle East and Asia in the 1970s and early 1980s, and have air and ground targets to destroy. You have machine guns, guided missiles and bombs at your disposal. There is an arcade mode and 3 further difficulty levels. The game features 3 enemy aircraft and 3 types of enemy SAMs.

F-15 Strike Eagle

F-15 Strike Eagle

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1986

The seven missions featured in this simulation of F-15 flight are all real-life missions the plane was originally used in. They take in the Middle East and Asia in the 1970s and early 1980s, and have air and ground targets to destroy. You have machine guns, guided missiles and bombs at your disposal. There is an arcade mode and 3 further difficulty levels. The game features 3 enemy aircraft and 3 types of enemy SAMs.

F-19 Stealth Fighter

F-19 Stealth Fighter

Atari ST - Released - 1990

F-19 Stealth Fighter was based around Sid Meier's closest estimate of the stealth fighter based on the data available at the time. You get full 3D graphics, 3D enemies, random objectives and enemy dispositions (so each mission will be different), dynamic radar effectiveness that depends on your position and radar cross section, enemies that search you out if you do "tickle" their defenses, even civilian aircrafts in the air, and ability to play in cold war, moderate war, or all-out war, with very different rules of engagement.

Falcon

Falcon

Commodore CDTV - Released - 1992

The game was originally developed by Sphere, Inc. for the Macintosh and PC in 1987. Rowan Software ported Falcon for Spectrum HoloByte to the Atari ST in 1988 and Amiga in 1989, and the version for the CDTV was also published by Spectrum HoloByteand Mirrorsoft in 1992. In the original Falcon, the players have their choice of flying one of 12 missions - with awards for flying missions at higher skill levels. There is a choice of different ground attack and air-to-air weapons, although these are also limited by several factors. For dogfighting, AIM-9J missiles are not as reliable as newer AIM-9L missiles - and are useless for head-on attack - but were typically the only missiles available. Because they are guided, AGM-65 missiles are easier to use than "iron dumb bombs" like the Mk 84, but ineffective against strengthened targets. An ECM pod provides defense against enemy missiles, but occupies an external hardpoint that can be used for additional weapons or fuel. The enemy occupies the western areas of the game's playable map - itself a large square divided into 9 smaller squares. Enemy targets were fixed sites on the ground. For defense, the unnamed enemy was limited to MiG-21 interceptors, and ground-launched missiles - either the SA-2s, which are launched from identified and fixed sites on the ground, or the SA-7s, which could be fired from portable launchers and can therefore appear anywhere.

Fields of Glory

Fields of Glory

Commodore Amiga CD32 - Released - 1994

Originally released in 1993, this historical combat simulation deals with the wars of Napoleon after his return from exile in Elba in 1815. The game is close to historical facts and therefore can be recommended to provide good information about this period of European history.

Fields of Glory

Fields of Glory

MS-DOS - Released - July 1, 1994

Originally released in 1993, this historical combat simulation deals with the wars of Napoleon after his return from exile in Elba in 1815. The game is close to historical facts and therefore can be recommended to provide good information about this period of European history.

Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4

Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4

Windows - Released - September 10, 2002

Grand Prix 4, commonly known as GP4 was released for the PC on June 21, 2002, is currently the last Formula One racing simulator released by the developer Geoff Crammond and the MicroProse label. Based on the 2001 Formula One season, GP4 essentially serves as a graphical and seasonal update of Grand Prix 3 which had been released in 2000 the game retained the series' legendary physics engine. However it entered the market at a far less hospitable time than its three predecessors, and the game faced stiff competition from an alternative Formula One simulation from studios such as ISI. The game was planned for release on Xbox and GameCube consoles, but was later cancelled for unknown reasons.

Grand Prix 3

Grand Prix 3

Windows - Released - July 28, 2000

Grand Prix 3 (GP3) is a computer racing simulator by MicroProse. Released in 2000 by Hasbro Interactive featuring the 1998 Formula One season (with all drivers except Jacques Villeneuve, who is instead replaced by a fictional character, John Newhouse). The game wasn't quite as well received as its predecessors, but at the time was widely considered to be the best racing simulation available. An add-on to the game, called GP3-2000 or GP32k, was released by Hasbro which updated the game to the 2000 Formula One season. A few other changes were made as well including: updated damage physics including damage from on-circuit debris, improved AI, a new replay system, and EAX 3D-sound. Since the release of Grand Prix 4, the GP3 modding scene has slowly declined, and with the cracking of track editing for GP4 many track modders left GP3 for the newer title.

Grand Prix II

Grand Prix II

MS-DOS - Released - August 30, 1996

All the circuits and drivers of the 1994 Formula 1 World Championship is recreated in Geoff Crammond's second racing simulation. The game is viewed from within the cockpit - external views are provided primarily for use in replays or demonstrations. Texture mapping and full detail in the rear view mirrors are available for almost every visible feature. The game has 5 skill levels, 7 driving aids such as automatic brakes and a dotted 'ideal racing line' to follow available on lower skill levels, and variable race and practice session lengths. You will have to alter the car's setup to get the best possible car performance - this ranges from standard features such as brake balance and gear ratios onto more technical ones such as spring settings and the ride height. Multiplayer games involve either taking it in turns on a single computer, or on a linkup.

Gunship

Gunship

Sony Playstation - Released - June 3, 1996

GUNSHIP allows you to sit behind the controls of a combat helicopter. Play a Quick Fire game, and try to blast as many enemies out of the sky as possible. Or, if you’ve got more long-term aspirations, play the Simulation mode and create a squad of pilots and choose and equip one of the game’s eight helicopters, which include the AH-66B Comanche, AH-64A Apache, and UK-60K Blackhawk. Once the chopper is outfitted, choose between missions in Europe and the Persian Gulf. After each mission, you can rank the pilots and give them promotions and honors. Just for the most hardcore flight simulation fans, flight yoke peripherals are supported, giving you the most realistic helicopter simulation you’re likely to see. With all of the options, modes, and missions, GUNSHIP has plenty to keep aspiring combat aces busy well into the future.

Gunship

Gunship

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1987

Gunship depicts one of the Western world's finest attack helicopters: The AH-64A Apache. This simulation recreates the weapons, flight systems, and performance of the real machine. The player controls an arsenal that includes laser-guided Hellfire missiles, a 30mm cannon controlled by helmet gunsights, clusters of bombardment rockets--even air-to-air missiles for duels with enemy helicopters. The game starts with flight training at a base in the United States. Tutorials teach the player to handle the copter; once the controls and flying skills are mastered, there are escalating challenges and hundreds of missions in any one of four regions of the world, including Southeast Asia, Central America, the Middle East, and the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies in Western Europe.

Gunship 2000

Gunship 2000

MS-DOS - Released - 1991

Take the Apache, the new Longbow Apache, The Blackhawk, Comanche Scout, Comanche Gunship, or the MD-500 Defender on campaigns or missions. Updated graphics engine has much more detailed terrain variation with true valleys/hills and even train tunnels that you can fly through. When you are promoted to a sufficient rank you can take along multiple helicopters to accomplish your objectives. The dynamic campaign generates new missions based on multiple maps. Attack, defend, sweep, scout, rescue, drop... Lots of missions to keep you busy. Crew learn and grow in experience as they survive and succeed. A full mission recorder allows you to view EVERY member of your team as they fight or die. Plenty of weapons are available for your side from the latest Hellfire missiles and Sidearm anti-radar missiles to the old fashioned chain gun and gun pods are available for your use. The enemy can be well armed as well, from deadly 2S6 gun/missile combo to old-fashion ZSU-23, even the occasional MiGs.

Gunship 2000

Gunship 2000

Commodore Amiga CD32 - Released - 1994

Take the Apache, the new Longbow Apache, The Blackhawk, Comanche Scout, Comanche Gunship, or the MD-500 Defender on campaigns or missions. Updated graphics engine has much more detailed terrain variation with true valleys/hills and even train tunnels that you can fly through. When you are promoted to a sufficient rank you can take along multiple helicopters to accomplish your objectives. The dynamic campaign generates new missions based on multiple maps. Attack, defend, sweep, scout, rescue, drop... Lots of missions to keep you busy. Crew learn and grow in experience as they survive and succeed. A full mission recorder allows you to view EVERY member of your team as they fight or die. Plenty of weapons are available for your side from the latest Hellfire missiles and Sidearm anti-radar missiles to the old fashioned chain gun and gun pods are available for your use. The enemy can be well armed as well, from deadly 2S6 gun/missile combo to old-fashion ZSU-23, even the occasional MiGs.

Gunship!

Gunship!

Windows - Released - July 11, 2014

Fly low and strike deep in the re-invention of the Gunship flight combat franchise. In Gunship! Players take control one of the worlds deadliest weapons in a simulator that is unmatched.

Harrier Jump Jet

Harrier Jump Jet

MS-DOS - Released - 1992

The RAF's Harrier GR7, or the US Marine Corps' AV-8B represented a new generation of aircraft. Vertical take-off and landing, plus the ability to hover and reverse, make this a plane of immense power, capable of winning any argument, and here's your chance to fly it. Fly in three imagined flash-point areas of future conflict (which are now in the past): Hong Kong 1996, the Falklands 1997 and Nord Kapp 1998. Each of these has multiple difficulty settings. Pre-flight briefings and scene-setting drags you into the action, but mission objectives and enemies change as the flights unfold due to real-time AI.

Impossible Mission 2025

Impossible Mission 2025

Commodore Amiga - Released - May 1, 1994

The evil Elvin Atombender returns in this modernized version of Epyx's original game. Elvin has assembled a crack team of robots within his high-security tower - the only way to stop him unleashing them is to destroy them first. Gameplay is puzzle-oriented as before, although the levels are now scrolling, and as such much larger than before. Each one contains objects to pick up to enable you to take on the level's final puzzle of putting them together in sliding-block form. There are lots of bonus games, ranging from a Simon title to standard shoot 'em ups. A bonus for old-timers is provided in the form of a near-perfect remake of the C64 original.

Impossible Mission 2025: The Special Edition

Impossible Mission 2025: The Special Edition

Commodore Amiga CD32 - Released - 1994

As an erstwhile Spectrum and C64 owner, the name Impossible Mission sends all sorts of chills up and down my spine. I can well remember countless days and nights spent searching rooms in a secret underground bunker, looking for the missing parts of a puzzle that would allow me to enter the hidden room and kill the mad professor who is trying to take over the world. "Destroy him my robots," cried the voice of said sanity-challenged intellectual. The presentation has been updated, but the actual game remains much the same. You have to search every object in each location for the parts of a puzzle, which must be solved to open the exit for the location. As items are searched, various other objects can be found, such as single shot guns, jetpacks, mines and all manner of other toys and freebies. So what improvements have been made over the original? Well, you now have three different characters to choose from instead of the original one. The rooms have been broken down into levels and expanded to a hundred times their original size. After playing the game for a few nights, I have to admit I feel a little disappointed. By trying to combine a puzzle game with a platform title, MicroProse seems to have fallen between two stools. This game just doesn’t have the charm or excitement of the original, but perhaps fond memories have clouded my view. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad game, it just gets tedious after a few goes. It may have been up for the nineties, but it belongs in the eighties.

Knights of the Sky

Knights of the Sky

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1991

Knights of the Sky is a World War I flight combat sim where you pilot one of 20 different aircraft (each handles differently) as you engage in simple missions or join a full campaign where you will progress through World War I, going on a variety of missions, patrols, and even encounter enemy aces. You can engage balloons and blimps, enemy fighters and bombers, even strafe group targets such as supply trains. If you do really good in the game, one of the enemy aces may drop a note to challenge you to an aerial duel. A unique feature of the game is the capability of modem link so you can challenge fellow modem owners to dogfights, something that none of its contemporaries had.

M1 Tank Platoon

M1 Tank Platoon

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1990

A very encompassing game that allowed players to issue orders to Tanks, AA units, Aircraft, Artillery and Infantry in a campaign against Warsaw Pact units in Europe, while specifically controlling a platoon of 4 M1 tanks. The player could jump into the position of the driver, gunner or commander of any of the tanks to view the world from a 1st person perspective, or work from a tactical map to command all his forces. Characters in the M1 platoon actually increased in skill as they survived battles.

Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering

Windows - Released - February 28, 1997

Magic: The Gathering is a computer game published by MicroProse in April 1997 based on the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. The game takes place in the plane of Shandalar, where the player must travel the land and fight random enemies to gain cards, and defeat five wizards representing the five colors. The player must prevent one color from gaining too much power, and defeat the planeswalker Arzakon, who has a deck of all five colors. Adventure game and role-playing game elements are present, including inventory, gold, towns, dungeons, random battles, and character progression in the form of new abilities and a higher life point total. An oversized version of Aswan Jaguar was included in the game box.

MicroProse Formula One Grand Prix

MicroProse Formula One Grand Prix

Windows - Released - August 30, 1994

Formula 1 Grand Prix (known as World Circuit in the US) is the first installment of Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix series. The game includes all 16 international GP circuits of 1991. Players may drive them in quick race mode, single race or a full championship. The 18 teams and 35 drivers and their performance are based on the 1991 season, but the game doesn't include real names. It is possible to edit and save team and driver names by hand. The extensive tuning feature influences the performance of the car. In-race setup allows players to adjust gear ratios, brake balance, wing downforce and tires during each visit to the pit box. Six optional driving aids help F1 rookies finish their race: players can toggle best line and suggested gear displays to learn track tactics, or have auto brakes, auto gears, self-righting spins and indestructibility to improve their driving. A replay system allows players to watch race scenes from three different views, including track-side camera footage. The game features 3D graphics and various details and effects such as working rear mirrors, collisions with flying debris, crude damage models (wings are visibly bent after crashes), and wet weather that influences traction, including a fog effect that obscures vision when driving in another car's splash water. While the Amiga version allows multiplayer races in hotseat mode, the PC version originally had solo races only. In 1993, the v1.05 update added modem support and a few other improvements.

Microprose Formula One Grand Prix

Microprose Formula One Grand Prix

Atari ST - Released - 1991

MicroProse Formula One Grand Prix is a Racing game, developed and published by MicroProse, which was released in 1991. Coming from those clever people, MicroProse, Formula One Grand Prix is, not surprisingly, almost a flight simulation. With detailed, complex game play, not to mention the MicroProse trade mark huge manual and one trillion camera views, FOGP is by no means an easy game to get into. That said, however, it you do have the time and patience to learn, there’s a excellent game waiting to be found. Though the on-screen graphical effects are sometimes a bit sparse, the action is smooth and fast, while the car emits a whole selection of, er... car-like noises in a very car-ish way. Formula One Grand Prix shouldn’t be mistaken for a simple ‘bash round the track’ affair, as it is, to give credit where credit’s due, more of a racing simulation.

NATO Commander

NATO Commander

Apple II - Released - August 25, 1983

NATO Commander is a commercial computer strategy game designed by Sid Meier and released in 1983 by MicroProse. The game ran on 8-bit home computers of its day such as the Atari 8-bit family, Apple II and Commodore 64. The player takes the role of the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces in Europe as they respond to a massive Warsaw Pact attack. The goal is to slow their advance and inflict casualties, hoping to force a diplomatic end to the war before West Germany is overrun. The same game engine was also used as the basis for Conflict in Vietnam, Crusade in Europe and Decision in the Desert.

OpenXCOM: XCOM 2

Commodore Amiga - Homebrew - 2023

The war continues… X-COM: UFO Defense brought you to a galactic battlefield. X-COM: Terror from the Deep brings the alien terror into a totally new dimension. X-COM: Terror from the Deep is the follow-up to the resource management and tactical combat game X-COM: Enemy Unknown. This OpenXCom recompilation was planned for Vampire but due to very inefficient loading code it took long minutes for this game to load. This is not a problem for Pistorm with Emu68 so I’ve decided to release it only for this accelerator.

Pirates! Gold

Pirates! Gold

Commodore Amiga CD32 - 1994

As with the original, this is a blend of strategy, action and adventure. Pirates! Gold lets you play the role of a beginning buccaneer in the 17th century Spanish Main, in search of fame and fortune. Each town in this untamed raw region has different surprises and dangers. How you acquire stature is up to you; you can make your living through honest trade and the search for hidden treasure, or you can be a little more daring and attack and plunder ships. As you can choose a specific skill to stand out in, the game can vary each time. Sword fighting is played out in side-view action sequences.

Project Stealth Fighter

Project Stealth Fighter

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1990

The original 8-bit predecessor to the now better known F-19 Stealth Fighter. Take control of a top secret classified Lockheed F-19 and fly missions in Libya, the Persian Gulf, Scandinavia, and Central Europe, with a variety of selectable mission parameters such as rules of engagement, escalation of conflict, risk, type of target, and skill levels with regards to landing and fighting. Similar in scope and design to F-19 Stealth Fighter, but otherwise a completely different game, with graphics and physics more aligned with the capabilities of Gunship than with its 16-bit remake, completely lacking its speed, polygonal complexity, and features such as external chase camera, tactical views, and side/rear views. According to original co-designer Arnold Hendrick, "The only thing borrowed from the C64 would be the game scenario concepts, military equipment research data, and perhaps some flight dynamics algorithms".

Red Storm Rising

Red Storm Rising

Atari ST - Released - 1988

The Soviet Union, under severe pressure after destruction of one of their biggest oil refineries, must secure a new source of oil, and to do that, they must disable the West... which means they must invade Europe and fight NATO to a standstill... And the only way NATO can prevent that from happening is to reinforce their forces with convoys from the US and other countries. You are in command of one of the US attack submarines. You must hold the ocean against the Soviet navy at all costs, or the land battle will go badly. Part submarine simulator, part dynamic campaign, and part WW3 simulation, Red Storm Rising is an amazing look at modern warfare.

Risk II

Risk II

Windows - Released - March 22, 2000

The world is at war, and you are in command of an army fighting for global domination. Organize your forces in a ruthless campaign to crush your enemies and take their territories in this fast paced game of strategy, negotiation, and luck. See the classic game come to life with more ways to play, advanced map options, superior graphics, and animated battles. It's up to you to deploy your troops, attack your enemies, and even betray your allies, in an aggressive effort to take over the world!

Rollercoaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes

Rollercoaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes

Windows - DLC - September 30, 2000

Loopy Landscapes is an expansion for RollerCoaster Tycoon. It adds Rocket Ships, Medieval Castles and Winter Wonderlands environments. Build landscapes, provide more shops, stalls on thirty (30) new scenarios filled with new exciting challenges.

Sid Meier's Civilization

Sid Meier's Civilization

Atari ST - Released - 1993

Civilization has the widest scope of any strategy game of its time. You are a leader of a nation. You begin in the Stone Age, and complete the game in the XXIth century (unless your civilization gets destroyed earlier). Your eventual goal is to become the dominant civilization in the world, either by wiping out everybody else, or being the first to get a space ship to Alpha Centauri. As the nation's leader, you have many responsibilities. You have to build cities, and then micromanage them, constructing various buildings. Most of people in your cities will be working on the neighbouring lands to get food (without it, your city won't survive or grow), production (used to build military units and buildings) and trade (which can be exchanged for money, science (see below) or luxuries that make people happy. You decide how much trade you want to invest into each of these areas.) You have to make sure that your people are in a good mood; if they get too unhappy, the city will collapse into disorder, and won't produce anything until you fix the situation. If you're ambitious, you can build Wonders of the World - epic constructions, such as the Pyramids or the Hoover Dam. Each Wonder is an unique thing, and only one of each can exist in the world. They give you a lot of benefits if you complete them, but they take a long time to build, and many of them will eventually stop working. There are other nations in the world, and there are also barbarians, so you'll have to invest into the military to protect yourself and to attack. Sure, you can sign peace treaties with other nations, and even exchange scientific knowledge with them (although sometimes they'll demand tribute from you), but eventually you'll probably have to fight. You control each of your military units on the world map, attacking your opponents' units and cities (possibly taking over them). Not all units are for combat though. Settlers are used to build cities, create roads (for easier travel of your units) and improve the land around cities, increasing production. Diplomats can be sent to foreign cities to negotiate with the other nations or create embassies, but they can also bribe enemy units to join you and conduct espionage and sabotage in the enemies' cities. Caravans can be sent to faraway cities to increase trade in their home city, and they can also help in building Wonders of the World. Scientific progress is an important part of the game. The more science your cities produce, the faster you research new technologies. Initially, you'll be finding out about the wonders of Alphabet or Bronze Working, but late in the game you'll be researching Computers and Robotics. Most technologies give you some new units, buildings and other things, although some have more interesting effects - for example, after inventing the Automobile, you'll find out that your citizens started producing pollution. Pollution is a bad thing; if there's too much of it, global warming may occur. How your cities prosper depends partially on the type of government that your nation has. Initially you're living in Despotism, but this can stunt growth of your civilization, so it's a good idea to switch to something else - Monarchy, Republic, Democracy or Communism.

Sid Meier's Civilization: Shin Sekai Shichi Dai Bunmei

Sid Meier's Civilization: Shin Sekai Shichi Dai Bunmei

Sega Saturn - May 2, 1997

Civilization: Shin Sekai Shichi Dai Bunmei (シヴィライゼーション 新・世界七大文明) is a port of Sid Meier's Civilization to the Sega Saturn.

Sid Meier's Civilization: Shin Sekai Shichidai Bunmei

Sid Meier's Civilization: Shin Sekai Shichidai Bunmei

Sony Playstation - Released - April 26, 1996

Sid Meier's Civilization is a turn-based strategy computer game created by Sid Meier for MicroProse in 1991. The game's objective is to "...build an empire to stand the test of time". The game begins in 4000 BC, and the players attempt to expand and develop their empires through the ages until modern and near-future times. It is also known simply as Civilization, or abbreviated to Civ or Civ I. Civilization is a turn-based single-player computer game. The player takes on the role of the ruler of a civilization starting with only one or two Settler units. The player attempts to build an empire in competition with between two and six other civilizations. The game requires a fair amount of micromanagement (although less than any of the simulation games). Along with the larger tasks of exploration, war and diplomacy, the player has to make decisions about where to build new cities, which improvements or units to build in each city, which advances in knowledge should be sought (and at what rate), and how to transform the land surrounding the cities for maximum benefit. From time to time the player's towns may be harassed by barbarians, units with no specific nationality and no named leader. These threats only come from unclaimed land or sea, so that over time there are fewer and fewer places barbarians will emanate from. Before the game begins, the player chooses which historical civilization to play. In contrast to later games in the Civilization series, in Civ I, this is largely a cosmetic choice, affecting titles, city names, musical heralds, color, and also their starting position on the "Play on Earth" map (and thus different resources in one's initial cities). It has no effect on starting position, however, when starting a random world game or a customized world game. The player's choice of civilization also prevents the computer from being able to play as that civilization or the other civilization of the same colour, and since computer-controlled opponents display certain traits of their civilizations this affects gameplay as well. The Aztecs are both fiercely expansionistic and generally extremely wealthy, for example. Other civilizations include the Americans, the Mongols, and the Romans. Each civilization is led by a historical figure, such as The scope of the game is huge — larger than most other computer games. The game begins in 4000 BC, before the Bronze Age, and can last through to 2100 AD (on the easiest setting) with Space Age and "future technologies". At the start of the game there are no cities anywhere in the world: the player controls one or two Settler units, which can be used to found new cities in appropriate sites (and those cities may build other settler units, which can go out and found new cities, thus expanding the empire). Settlers can also alter terrain, build improvements such as mines and irrigation, build roads to connect cities, and later in the game they can construct railroads which offer unlimited movement. As time advances, new technologies are developed; these technologies are the primary way in which the game changes and grows. At the start, players choose from advances such as Pottery, the Wheel, and the Alphabet to, near the end of the game, Nuclear fission and Spaceflight. Players can gain a large advantage if their civilization is the first to learn a particular technology (the secrets of flight, for example) and put it to use in a military or other context. Most advances give access to new units, city improvements or derivative technologies: for example, the Chariot unit becomes available after the Wheel is developed, and the Granary building becomes available to build after Pottery is developed. The whole system of advancements from beginning to end is called the Technology tree, or simply the Tech tree; this concept has been adopted in many other strategy games. Since only one tech may be "researched" at any given time, the order in which technologies are chosen makes a considerable difference in the outcome of the game and generally reflects the player's preferred style of gameplay. Players can also build Wonders of the World in each of the epochs of the game, subject only to obtaining the prerequisite knowledge. These wonders are important achievements of society, science, culture and defense, ranging from the Pyramids and the Great Wall in the Ancient age, to Copernicus' Observatory and Magellan's Expedition in the middle period, up to the Apollo program, the United Nations, and the Manhattan Project in the modern era. Each wonder can only be built once in the world, and requires a lot of resources to build, far more than most other city buildings or units. Wonders provide unique benefits to the controlling civilization. For example, Magellan's Expedition increases the movement rate of naval units. Wonders typically affect either the city in which they are built (e.g., the Colossus), every city on the continent (e.g., the Hanging Gardens), or the civilization as a whole (e.g., Darwin's Voyage). Also, some wonders are made obsolete by new technologies. The game can be won by destroying all other civilizations, reaching the end of the modern era with the highest score or by winning the space race by reaching the star system of Alpha Centauri.

Sid Meier's Colonization

Sid Meier's Colonization

Commodore Amiga - 1995

Sid Meier's Colonization is a Turn-Based Strategy game, developed and published by MicroProse, which was released in Europe in 1995. ‘Go and make a world’, they said. ‘Do it by Wednesday night.’ they said. ‘And bring us back some chips.’ Colonization is a fairly simply idea in theory but, thankfully, much more involved once you get going. Set sail in your little ship, bump into a bit of land that rightfully belongs to someone else, and then claim it as your own. Ah, the American way... This game is more to do with the discovery and development of the American continents during the period 1500-1800. This means that you can choose to either take part in the discovery of the New Worlds, or select to play over a random world - facing a totally different challenge every game. The ultimate goal here is to clarify your independence by attacking your original home land, and the English forces don’t exactly consist of a small donkey and a bag of peanuts If you know what I mean. Your best strategy is to be as friendly as possible with everyone, until you’ve had the chance to train up your folks to the point at which you know you can handle any trouble. Running away is the best form of defence. Probably. Colonization is a relatively original slant on the god sim genre and well worth purchasing, in my opinion.

Sid Meier's Pirates!

Sid Meier's Pirates!

Apple IIGS - Released - 1988

Take on the life of a buccaneer in the golden age of Caribbean Piracy! This game lets you choose from 6 different "ages" (for example, "The Silver Empire" from 1560-1600, "War For Profit" from 1640-1660, etc.), one of 4 nationalities (English, French, Dutch, Spanish), 4 difficulty levels, and one of 5 special abilities (skill at fencing, skill at navigation, etc.). Nine different types of ships were represented. The goal of the game is to retire with as much gold and land as possible, as many ranks/titles as possible (Colonel, Admiral, Marquis, Duke), and a wife. Finding long lost relatives helps too. You accomplish these goals by plundering cities, capturing and sinking enemy ships, getting in good with governors to receive titles, learn news of "evil Spaniards" holding your relatives, capturing evil pirates, etc. The game is educational, as you will learn about piracy through the thoroughly researched manual. You'll smell the sea salt as you participate in wild sword fights, desperate sea battles, and daring attacks by land.

Sid Meier's Pirates!

Sid Meier's Pirates!

Apple II - Released - 1988

In Pirates the player has been tasked by the queen to defend a castle against an attack by the pirate Sir Edwin Denner. This is done by using a cannon located at the top of a tower to sink the pirate's ship. The game is a bit similar to an artillery game but here the player's input is limited to entering the number of bags of powder (from 1 to 10) that should be loaded and then watch the flight of the cannon ball. To be able to sink the ship it is necessary to first destroy its three sails in order, starting with the top one. After each shot Sir Edwin makes one shot on the tower which will collapse after taking six hits. The player will then end up walking the plank. If the player manages to sink the ship a medal will be awarded.

Silent Service

Silent Service

Apple IIGS - Released - 1987

Silent Service is a 1985 submarine simulator video game. It was designed by Sid Meier and published by MicroProse for various 8-bit home computers, and in 1987 for 16-bit systems like the Amiga. A NES port of Silent Service developed by Rare was released in 1989 by Konami in Europe and by Ultra Games in North America. The follow-up game, Silent Service II, was released in 1990.

Silent Service

Silent Service

Apple II - September 10, 1985

Silent Service is a 1985 submarine simulator video game. It was designed by Sid Meier and published by MicroProse for various 8-bit home computers, and in 1987 for 16-bit systems like the Amiga. A NES port of Silent Service developed by Rare was released in 1989 by Konami in Europe and by Konami's Ultra Games subsidiary in North America. The follow-up game, Silent Service II, was released in 1990. Tommo purchased the rights to this game and digitally publishes it through its Retroism brand in 2015.

Silent Service

Silent Service

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1986

You are now a member of the Silent Service, the US Navy Submarine command. For a long while after Pearl Harbor, you are the only forces capable of striking back at the Japanese in the Pacific. Take one of the "fleet boats" and go on extended patrols of up to 2 months from Hawaii, Australia, or New Zealand. Set your difficulty/realism level and time period (early means less tech for juicier targets, later means tougher escorts, more tech, lousier targets). Contend with factors like dud torpedoes, maximum depth, and more. You can choose among practice run against some old hulks, recreate historical convoy attacks, go on a single patrol, or go on your own campaign, which lets you go multiple patrols until you die, get promoted, or survive the war. How well will you do when matched against history? [

Solo Flight

Solo Flight

Apple II - September 10, 1983

Solo Flight is a flight simulator game for the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and Apple II released in 1983. It was later ported to the IBM PC. The game was created by noted game designer Sid Meier,[1] and published by MicroProse, which Meier founded in 1982 with Bill Stealey. The mission of the game is to fly solo over several states, delivering bags of mail. The game supported a fairly realistic flight model (for the time), and a large number of flight instruments were available. A map covering many states of the US was used, which even included altitude data (although the landscape always appeared flat due to the technology constraints of the time).

Solo Flight

Solo Flight

Atari 800 - Released - 1983

A simulation that has you flying Mail runs from many different airports in one of three states of America which are Kansas, Colorado and Washington (choosing Washington does allow you to fly in neighbouring state Oregon as well). For a game that arrived some 24 years ago now, it still manages to feature an impressive amount of remarkable details for the time, such as VOR towers readings, DME, ILS, and coupled with the game aspect that is to deliver post, Solo Flight is clearly quite unlike what you will have played before. Score for choices made meaning you must ponder certain things like how much fuel you might need for each delivery. Each mail delivered is to a different airport but the option is also there to carry several loads, each an additional weight that needs to be taken into account. Having a heavier payload means burning more fuel and a difference to how the plane handles, but potentially a higher score can result. It's this design that makes Solo Flight so intensely fun each time. Various weather conditions such as clear, nightime, light cloud and even a heavy cloud that requires IFR skills. It's entirely possible to fly using just instruments in total cloud blindness up until the point you pop out of a cloud to see the runway hopefully as you had planned. Indeed an accurately planned route using both VORS can have yourself precisely lined up and ready for a final descent using ILS. You really do need the maps though and attempting Solo Flight without them is fairly pointless - playing this seriously requires maps for VOR plotting.

Solo Flight: Second Edition

Solo Flight: Second Edition

Atari 800 - Released - 1985

Solo Flight: 2nd Edition is a new version of the original flight simulator Solo Flight and once again allows you to fly a small plane, the Ryan ST-A with a new look cockpit instrument panel. At the start of the game you have two options, whether to fly the plane for practise or fly the plane for a mail run. You have the choice of six American states to fly over (instead of three in the original) which are Kansas, Washington, Colorado, Michigan, Massachusetts or Texas, each having their own weather and terrain. The games viewpoint is a 3rd person perspective behind the plane again with the joystick and keyboard to control your plane. The game also included speech to help you in flying by giving instructions as you fly. In Mail Run you have been given the task of delivering the mail from your home runway to either one other airport or various airports. There are four difficulty levels (Student, Private, Senior or Command). Before your flight you must re-fuel your plane taking note of the weight of the plane and you can decide how many airports you wish to fly to. In practise flying you have 4 levels of difficulty (Clear, Landing, Contest or IFR). Clear allows you to fly in good weather, Landing is practising landing, Contest gives you a score for your landings and IFR is flying in low level clouds with zero visibility so you can only rely on your instrument panel. You also can fly in the day or at night. The actual flying part has you sat on a runway and using the keyboard and joystick you take off into the sky and using the joystick control the plane. A map can be brought up to make sure your in the right direction. Once you have reached another airport you are able to land.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation

Windows - Released - May 25, 1999

Control one of five Star Trek Empires: Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian or Ferengi. Use diplomacy, research, espionage to dominate the galaxy.

Tank Battle

Arcade - 1993

Tank Battle (c) 1993 Microprose. Trivia: Never got past the prototype stage, JALECO acquired the division responsible for this game and scrapped the project.

Tinhead

Tinhead

Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Released - April 15, 2019

Once there was peace in the Galaxy. Then the evil Grim Squidge stole all of the stars, threatening to hurl the Galaxy into a horrible Cosmic Void. Who will save the stars before it's too late? Tinhead, Defender of the Edge of the Galaxy, of course! Leap, slide, hop, fly and shoot your way through wacky worlds and super-tricky challenging levels as you guide Tinhead to free the stars. Take on pesky spinning Krystals, relentless flying Saw-Sirs and hordes of mega-tough bosses. Grab radical power-ups and zany vehicles like Batteries, Hyper-Hoppers and Rocket Packs to help Tinhead through each weird, monster-jammed world.

Tinhead

Tinhead

Sega Genesis - Released - August 19, 1993

On the edge of the universe, the evil intergalactic goblin Grim Squidge has captured and imprisoned all the stars. He has now scattered them across to faraway planets. While this is happening, a nearby space station picks up a distress signal. Tinhead, guardian of the edge of the universe, hears the cries for help and hurries to the rescue. TinHead is a platform game. Some exploration is required to find the exit or gather extra health or points. Attacking enemies is done by shooting them with small metal orbs that come out of TinHead's head. He can shoot them in three different directions: diagonal upward, straight, or just let them jump out and bounce over the ground. The direction is chosen by using a specific button.

Top Gun: Fire at Will!

Top Gun: Fire at Will!

Sony Playstation - Released - June 15, 1996

Players will be manning the F-14 fighter plane. Not only does this baby come with all the necessary tools and equipment needed for survival (radar, warning lights, altitude meters), it comes with a variety of missiles; there are standard air-to-air missiles, the air-to-ground AGMs, U238s made from depleted uranium, a disastrous Nuke, and the multiple target MIRV. It also comes with some defensive tools such as chaffs and flares that trick enemy radar. Don't worry, you're not going in the air alone! Merlin will act as your Radar Intercept Officer; loosely translated, he's the guy that sits behind you and watches out for enemy target locks. Additionally, the sweetly calm Raven and your arch rival Stinger will assist Maverick as his wingmen. When you get in a sticky situation, count on these guys to help you out!

UFO: Enemy Unknown

UFO: Enemy Unknown

Commodore Amiga CD32 - Released - 1994

X-COM: UFO Defense is a strategy game featuring separate but interlinked elements. On the strategic side, called GeoScape, you get a rotating view of the globe, where you see all visible UFOs (those that are within your detection range) as well as major cities and your base(s). You order movements from here, such as sending out fighters to intercept UFOs, transports with soldiers to assault/recover UFOs, and perhaps assaults on alien bases (if you find any). You also control your research, as you must invent better weapons (the Terran weapons are just no match against the alien weapons) quickly, not to mention all the other cool tech you can recover from the aliens. You also need to control your budget, as you can't afford to overextend your reach. Researchers need to be paid, engineers (who build the new toys) need to be paid, base(s) need to be be built/expanded, planes need to be bought/maintained, supplies need to be replenished, and so on. You can earn money by selling unneeded stuff, and you receive funding from the nations of the world; however, a nation can decrease its funding if it decides you aren't operating efficiently enough within its region. It's even possible that a nation gets so fed up with you that it signs a pact with the aliens and ceases funding altogether. Once you join a ground battle, the game switches to Battlescape, which is an isometric view of the battlefield with realistic line-of-sight calculations and turn-based combat. Your mission is usually extermination of all aliens on the battlefield, though if you can capture a few it would surely help your research efforts. If you win, you also recover any alien artifacts left on the field, which can then be researched. In combat, each of your soldiers has a specific number of Time Units. Doing anything (moving, shooting, turning around, rearranging objects in the inventory etc.) costs a number of TUs. Once a soldier is out of TUs, he cannot act any more this turn (he gets all his TUs back on the next turn, though).

World Circuit

World Circuit

MS-DOS - Released - 1991

Formula 1 Grand Prix (known as World Circuit in the US) is the first installment of Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix series. The game includes all 16 international GP circuits of 1991. Players may drive them in quick race mode, single race or a full championship. The 18 teams and 35 drivers and their performance are based on the 1991 season, but the game doesn't include real names. It is possible to edit and save team and driver names by hand. The extensive tuning feature influences the performance of the car. In-race setup allows players to adjust gear ratios, brake balance, wing downforce and tires during each visit to the pit box. Six optional driving aids help F1 rookies finish their race: players can toggle best line and suggested gear displays to learn track tactics, or have auto brakes, auto gears, self-righting spins and indestructibility to improve their driving. A replay system allows players to watch race scenes from three different views, including track-side camera footage. The game features 3D graphics and various details and effects such as working rear mirrors, collisions with flying debris, crude damage models (wings are visibly bent after crashes), and wet weather that influences traction, including a fog effect that obscures vision when driving in another car's splash water. While the Amiga version allows multiplayer races in hotseat mode, the PC version originally had solo races only. In 1993, the v1.05 update added modem support and a few other improvements.

X-COM: Terror from the Deep

X-COM: Terror from the Deep

MS-DOS - Released - February 28, 1995

X-COM: Terror from the Deep is the follow-up to the resource management and tactical combat game X-COM: Enemy Unknown. It has been 40 years since X-COM last defeated the aliens. Now, in the year of 2040, aliens begin to appear on the Earth again. This time the threat to humanity is coming from the depths of oceans. The game is almost identical to the original X-COM game. The user interface, weapons, and aliens are all the same. The only difference is the adaptation of the aliens and weapons (e.g. new hand-to-hand weapons) to the ocean environment. The game features both undersea and on-land missions, and is significantly harder than its predecessor.

X-COM: Terror from the Deep

X-COM: Terror from the Deep

Sony Playstation - Released - December 1, 1996

X-COM: Terror from the Deep is the follow-up to the resource management and tactical combat game X-COM: Enemy Unknown. It has been 40 years since X-COM last defeated the aliens. Now, in the year of 2040, aliens begin to appear on the Earth again. This time the threat to humanity is coming from the depths of oceans. The game is almost identical to the original X-COM game. The user interface, weapons, and aliens are all the same. The only difference is the adaptation of the aliens and weapons (e.g. new hand-to-hand weapons) to the ocean environment. The game features both undersea and on-land missions, and is significantly harder than its predecessor.

Scroll to Top