Virgin Games - LaunchBox Games Database

A View to a Kill: The Computer Game

Commodore 64 - Released - July 1, 1985

You are James Bond and you must stop Max Zorin from destroying Silicon Valley and dominating the microchip market. This game will take you to Paris and San Francisco. In Paris you will need to chase Mayday in your vehicle as she parachutes down to her extraction point. In San Francisco, you will get to go to City Hall and go to an abandoned mine where you must disarm a bomb. If the bomb is not disarmed a huge earthquake will occur and Silicon Valley will be flooded.

Agent Armstrong

Sony Playstation - Released - September 18, 1997

Agent Armstrong is set in the 1930's where a criminal cartel known as the Syndicate is gradually taking over the world. Enter the most respected agent from the British Secret Service to track down this organization who will lead him to various locations across the world from the Amazonian Jungle to the Chicago dockyards. Armstrong must battle across 4 continents and deep underwater as the Syndicate attempt to control the world. The 30 levels are mission-based with at least 2 objectives. There are boss sequences every 5 levels or so. Whilst the game is predominantly side-scrolling there are many sequences and areas (boss areas in particular) where the action is free form.

Bleifuss 2

Windows - January 1, 1996

Mit verbessertem Fahrverhalten, noch aufwendigeren Grafiken und einer umfangreichen Multiplayerfunktion geht der Konkurrenztitel von "Need For Speed" an den Start. 16 Fahrzeuge und 6 Rennstrecken mit unterschiedlichen Schikanen stehen den risikofreudigen Piloten zur freien Auswahl.

Cannon Fodder 2

MS-DOS - Released - November 13, 1994

After the success of Cannon Fodder, a sequel was inevitable. The basic gameplay remained the same – guide a team of soldiers through a succession of levels populated by trees, huts and lakes. The major change is that the plot involves time travel, rather than straightforward war situations, and this means levels taking place in different scenarios including a strange ‘Alien Planet’. The levels include a variety of vehicles such as jeeps, tanks and helicopters, which can be used to shoot or even run down enemy soldiers. Standard bullets are joined by collectible grenades and rockets – use these wisely, as nothing else can destroy huts or vehicles. Finding strategic defense positions can be vital as well.

Circle of Blood

MS-DOS - Released - 1996

George Stobbart is an American tourist spending his autumn vacation in Paris. He barely escapes a bombing of a café and decides to investigate the clues left behind by the killer. This eventually leads him to a mystery dating back to the legend of the Knights Templar. Circle of Blood is the first part in the Broken Sword series. It is a third-person puzzle-solving point-and-click adventure game with 2D cartoon-like graphics. The player moves the character around using the mouse, examines the environment, talks to other people and collects items stored in an inventory. These items need to be used or combined with other items to solve puzzles. George gets help from Nicole Collard, a French journalist. The story is divided into eleven chapters and takes place in locations such as Paris, Ireland, Syria, and others.

Computer Christmas Card

Commodore 64 - Released - 1985

For Christmas in 1985 Virgin released a Computer Christmas Card to all Commodore users and it came with a pretty great shooter called Ambush. You typed in your name and it delivered a personalized Christmas greeting just for you as well as tidings of a Happy New Year. It was a good deal and all our hearts grew three sizes that day.

Conan: The Cimmerian

MS-DOS - Released - 1991

Conan the Cimmerian was living happily as a blacksmith with his wife in the village of Irskuld, Cimmeria...until one fateful day. A group of horsemen raided his village...Conan was knocked unconscious, awakening only to find his wife and his friends butchered in the aftermath. Conan discovers architect of the slaughter was a wizard named Thoth Amon, a high priest of Cult of Set. Sword in hand, vengeance aflame, Conan now travels south in the land of Hyborea to the city of Shadizar. Here his journey of vengeance begins... Conan: The Cimmerian is an action-adventure game with some RPG elements. The game is divided into 3 areas. The first is the overland map, where Conan may travel only between identifiable town and other locations. The second is the town map, here Conan is viewed in a horizontal 3rd Person and the last is the combat screen (or when he enters houses) where Conan is viewed in vertical 3rd Person. Conan may also view his character status and inventory sheet, anytime during the course of the game. Gameplay consists of exploration and combat. The exploration element in the game sets Conan to find his way around towns and hidden locations, often breaking in houses and searching the premises for hidden loot. Towns consist of various places to visit, among others temples which usually offer quests, shops offering weapons and other items, and inns to stay for a health boost. NPC’s may be conversed with to seek information, while the tougher-looking types may be provoked into combat. Combat is real-time, one-on-one with Conan on the left and the opponent on the right, consisting of only movement to the left or right and attacking. There are no defensive maneuvers. Both must now keep on attacking until the health bar of either side drops to zero. If Conan wins, he may search the remains and may find loot. At the beginning of the game, Conan may only use one sword style (swing) out of three available sword styles. Additional sword styles may be trained by a sword master.

Dan Dare

Enterprise - 1986

Dan Dare is an action shooter published by Virgin for the Enterprise.

Dan Dare II: Mekon's Revenge

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1988

Mekon, the arch-enemy of humanity with an insatiable lust for power, is back. He’s created the SuperTreens, a genetically engineered species bent on destruction, as well as a new spaceship. As Dan Dare, you must stop him. You have gained access to Mekon’s spaceship, which is packed with SuperTreens. When you find each one you must disable each control box before the time limit, and then reach the next level. Mekon will be trying to reach and activate each one, with the help of his existing race of Treens. Although Dan has six lives, being caught in an blast triggered by the destruction of a level without appropriate shielding is Game Over. Extra lives are scored incrementally after 50,000 points, while energy recharges can be obtained around the game.

Ephemeral Fantasia

Sony Playstation 2 - Released - July 10, 2001

In this game, the player controls Mouse, a silent musician who travels with his talking guitar Pattimo. One day Mouse is invited to play at a royal wedding on an island called Pandule. But soon he discovers that the groom Xelpherpolis has put an awful time-looping spell on the island, and intends to destroy this way the entire population. Mouse has to stop the villain and, most importantly, recruit other people to help him break the spell. Ephemeral Fantasia is a Japanese-style role-playing game with turn-based combat. Several characters can be recruited to the party. The game's stand-out feature is the time-looping system, which is somewhat similar to the one implemented in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The game has an internal clock, and the first five days repeat themselves until Mouse finds a way to stop it. Certain events occur only if Mouse travels to a specific location at a specific time.

Flux

Sega Genesis - Released - August 28, 1995

Flux is a music visualizer software developed by EXP for the Sega Mega Drive and released by Virgin Interactive exclusively in Europe. When the Mega Drive is connected to a Sega Mega-CD, an audio CD is in the CD tray, and this cartridge in the Mega Drive, Flux will have the Mega CD play the music on the CD and show various user-configurable effects (the default being a two-channel oscilloscope). B pauses playback, Left and Right skip tracks, and Start brings up the configuration panel. The cartridge works for two reasons — the Mega CD supports using a cartridge as a boot image (this was also done with Wonder Library) and supports having the boot image access the CD drive for audio playback. Kega Fusion can emulate all this specifically for Flux; instructions are in its readme file. It requires a small modification to its configuration file and a European Mega CD BIOS to work.

Ivan Stewart's Off-Road

Arcade - Released - 1989

Enter the world of off-road racing as 4 vehicles will face each other, on a series of tracks which are based around flipped and reversed versions of a core selection. Fame, glory and bikini clad women await your victories and the taste of dirt awaits if you fail. Let a computer car beat you and you lose one of your 3 credits. Successful races bring more money, which can be used to soup up their machine. Boosts to top speed, grip and acceleration can be purchased, and your nitro boost must be kept topped up. If you are desperate for upgrades, you can buy into your spare credits. Only your off-road driving abilities will be enough to pull you to first place in these races. Play alone or with up to 3 other players (depending on the version) in this classic arcade game.

Jimmy White's 'Whirlwind' Snooker

Commodore Amiga - Released - September 1, 1991

A 3D snooker simulator. The table and cue can be turned through almost any angle, with shot strength and spin as required too. An on-screen dotted white line shows the path of your ball, including the next bounce. There is also a "trick-shot" mode, allowing you to recreate classic snooker trick shots (well, not the one with the basket. Or with the cues lying on the table. Or the one with the girl lying on her back with the pink ball in her mouth. But you know).

Judge Dredd

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1990

Just another day for Judge Dredd in Mega City One as he fights crime and tries to return the city back to some normality. You play the Judge as he tries to attempt six missions of crime. Once a mission is completed there is a bonus level related to the last mission to attempt. Take too long to complete a mission and the crime rate rises. Let the rate get too high and it's game over. To aid the Judge you have various weapons to fire and also your Lawmaster bike. This allows you to move around faster but you can't fire your weapon or arrest people thus making the crime rate rise. Judge Dredd is a side view platform game that scrolls as you move left or right. Pressing the space bar allows you to change from walking to riding your bike. The joystick controls your character while the fire button shoots your weapon.

Monty Python's Flying Circus

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1990

Monty Python's Flying Circus is an arcade style game based on the UK television series of the same name. Players control one of the "Mr. Gumbies" and maneuver him through multiple screens, throwing fish at flying feet and similarly surreal enemies. Periodically the game cuts away to a non-sequitur aside, such as a lesson on "the larch," or a quick game of breakout.

Reach for the Skies

Commodore Amiga - 1993

Reach for the Skies is a combat flight sim focused on WWII's famous "Battle of Britain", splitting the battle into four stages and giving you the option to take part for either the Royal Air Force or the German Luftwaffe. As well as piloting a plane, you can also take on Controller duties, of planning which planes to deploy where on each day, trying to minimise losses. Eight planes are simulated, from Hurricanes and Spitfires to Ju88s and BF110s, each with their own cockpit displays and characteristics. When playing as the Germans, protecting the fragile and slow Ju88 bombers is crucial. There is a practice mode with indestructible planes, realism levels can be adjusted, and time can be accelerated while an enemy plane is not in sight.

Sarakon

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1991

A simple variation of the classic game of Mahjongg (also known as Shanghai). Each of the 40 levels consist of rows and piles of tiles, patterned with symbols such as butterflies and masks. Pair them up within the time limit to move on a level. The difficulty is that a tile can only be moved if it has no tile on top of it, and a gap either to the left or right (or both). Careful planning ahead is required if all tiles are to be cleared.

Screamer 4x4

Windows - December 22, 2000

Screamer 4x4 is a 4x4 off-road game, designed by Hungarian-based Clever's Interactive. It makes use of graphics hardware acceleration, allowing to choose between Glide, Direct3D and OpenGL renderers. Unlike nearly all other off-roading games, the emphasis is not on racing but on passing through checkpoints laid out at specific points in such a way that the player is forced to navigate difficult terrain. Other modes are available as well, such as Pathfinder, which gives only a handful of checkpoints spread out over the terrain and leaves it up to the player to decide how to reach each one (although each must still be passed in a predetermined order). Penalties are given in all modes for hitting checkpoint markers and for using the recovery service to flip an overturned vehicle, and you are immediately disqualified for hitting any bystanders. The game contains details such as car damage due to accidents & rough driving, varying weather conditions and unlockable upgrades to your vehicle in the form of engines, tires and differentials. There are a few different areas to drive on, although all but the first two must be unlocked through the career mode. Unfortunately the only variations in the maps are from the geography and the textures used, as there is no difference in handling from one surface to another.

Sensible Golf

Commodore Amiga - 1995

Sensible Golf is a 2D golf simulation. Having been quite successful with their cute action soccer game Sensible Soccer, Sensible Software decided that the concept of "No fuss, just fun" could be applied to other sports, too. They chose golf. Sensible Golf is not an accurate simulation of golf, but an action adaptation of the sport streamlined for quick and easy gameplay. Consequently, complications such as wind and terrain heights are not featured, although the green has little arrows indicating the slopes. Apart from that, the player's only concerns are the water and sand hazards, and the distance to the hole. As a result, Sensible Golf is instead a practice in target shooting, rather than a golf game. Striking involves only two action: Aiming the pointer in the desired direction, and pressing the action button three times. The game uses the well-known three-click-control, with which you set power and swerve of the strike. The computer automatically suggests a proper club, but the player may change it manually. A pop-up map helps one find their bearing. The courses are fictional, composed from a pool of holes which often appear in multiple courses, sometimes with minor variations. Play modes include single 18-hole rounds, a complete season and a tournament. Up to 72 human players may participate in the latter.

Shuttle: The Space Flight Simulator

MS-DOS - Released - 1992

Shuttle is a vastly underrated and undersold simulation, probably because it is a “hard” SCI-FI game with a steep learning curve. This is the perfect game for would-be astronauts. It's a very realistic (and the only decent) simulation of the Space Shuttle. This one should not be approached by casual gamers, as this game is rock-hard. The flight model is very good, and it the glide test, the shuttle really handles like the enormous winged brick it is. Avionics are very detailed, and you should get a proper manual to get to use this game effectively. The manual accurately describes the launch and mission procedures, and unless you happen to work on the space shuttle program, you'll very likely need it. Graphics are very good for the time, sporting good old polygons. Sound is somewhat limited, but decent. This is a great game that has never really had a sequel, but one really needs to persist with it. Definitively recommended.

Spot Goes to Hollywood

Sony Playstation - Released - November 30, 1996

The central character in this game is Spot, the little red guy from the 7-Up TV commercials. Spot has somehow become trapped in a movie projector. As he jumps from film to film, he encounters many classic film genres that make up all the different levels of the game. The main levels are a pirate movie, an adventure movie, and a horror movie, but there are many other bonus films to unlock. The game is played from an isometric perspective. As you control spot, you have to collect 5 Hollywood stars per level to unlock hidden areas and ultimately complete the game 100%

Strider 2

Sony Playstation - Released - July 13, 2000

Strider 2 is a fast-paced, arcade-style action game. Unlike its predecessor, it features 2D animations placed on 3D backgrounds. There is a range of new moves including a double jump, backward somersault and dash, which allows him to perform longer jumps. He also has the ability to boost his weapon, the Cypher sword, enabling it to release homing plasma waves. There is also a Savage Slash attack, with random slashes. There are numerous bonuses that can be collected in the levels. These either boost Strider's vitality, increase the power of his sword or increase the player's game score. Another addition to the game is a Boss Gauge which lets the player know how much energy the mid- or end of level boss has left before it dies.

Supremacy: Your Will Be Done

Commodore Amiga - 1990

Supremacy: Your Will Be Done, released as Overlord in the US, is a strategy video game designed by David Perry & Nick Bruty and produced by Probe Software. The goal of Supremacy is to create and protect a network of planetary colonies and defeat a computer adversary who is trying to do the same. There are four skill levels, each represented by an enemy race, and each featuring a progressively stronger opponent. The more advanced a system is, the more freedom a player has when purchasing spacecraft. Higher skill levels also result in different numbers of planets in each system. The game was initially released for the Amiga and Atari ST computers in the beginning of 1990.

T2: The Arcade Game

Commodore Amiga - 1993

The story is that a terminator sent from the future to kill the leader of the resistance, Sarah Connor, failed miserably and now the enemy is targeting the future leader, Sarah's son John. But young John has a guardian angel (you) and your job is to protect him from the said evil. Using a point-of-view perspective, you target a gunsight at a host of baddies and blow them to smithereens. These include Endoskeletons with rifles, machinegun-toting Cyborgs, acid-chucking laboratory technicians and various devilsome airborne craft. You start with a machine gun and 25 guided missiles, which are best used sparingly. Along the way, there are a whole host of pick-ups to gather including extra credits, protective shields, and a plethora of destructive firepower. They appear in kit cases and you must click to open them and click again to obtain them. It is seriously fast action. There are seven levels to tackle including a van chase where you battle against a T-1000 in a helicopter. This is a faithful conversion of the arcade game and the graphics and sound effects remain true to the original with sampled speech and crisp explosions and gunfire. Although Terminator 2 does not break new ground or offer a great deal of variety, it is perfectly adequate in the playability stakes. In two-player mode, it is fast, furious and fun. The sheer volume of baddies make it virtually impossible for one player to take them all out, but with two you can dispose of them at will as well as collecting the plentiful pick-ups. As the man himself once said, "I'll be back". But not until next Tuesday.

The Lion King

Commodore Amiga - 1995

Young Simba just can't wait to be king. His father is the current King of the Savannah and the young prince is able to frolic the lands at will; jumping on and around other subjects of this animal kingdom. When Simba's father, King Mufasa, is killed and his evil brother Scar takes over the kingdom, Simba is banished from the lands of his birthright and has to grow up fast, honing his skills, for the day of his return. The Lion King, based on the famous Disney movie, is a platform game where you control Simba - initially as a young cub, and later as an adult lion. The plot of the game follows the plot of the movie. Each of the levels represents a part of the movie. As young Simba, you can fight various beasts, such as lizards, by jumping on them. You can also roar to scare some creatures into submission, though every time you roar, you have to wait for your "roar meter" to charge. As an adult lion, you can still roar and jump, but now you fight enemies by slashing at them with your claws (if you're skillful enough, you can also grab them and toss them off the screen). The game features no in-game save function, and it needs to be replayed from the beginning every time.

The Ninja Warriors

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1989

The Ninja Warriors is a one or two player side-scrolling beat-em-up. The Taito coin-op featured three monitor screens side by side, while the Amiga version was developed in letterbox format in order to show as much of the wide screen background graphics as possible. The player(s) control robot Ninjas, which battle their way through the levels using Shuriken and knives. As the Ninja's take damage their classic Ninja garb is torn away to reveal robotic limbs, torso or head. When the damage reaches a critical level the Ninja Robot explodes scattering mechanical body parts. As with The Sales Curve's later title SWIV, The Ninja Warriors uses the company's Dynamic Loading System to load sprites, sound and background graphics from disk on the fly.

The Ninja Warriors

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1989

The Ninja Warriors

Commodore 64 - Released - 1989

The Ninja Warriors is a one or two player side-scrolling beat-em-up. The player(s) control robot Ninjas, which battle their way through the levels using Shuriken and knives. As the Ninja's take damage their classic Ninja garb is torn away to reveal robotic limbs, torso or head. When the damage reaches a critical level the Ninja Robot explodes scattering mechanical body parts. Also published in Zzap!64 Megatape #36 (11/1992).

Vengeance of Excalibur

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1992

This follow-on to Arthurian RPG adventure Spirit of Excalibur, Vengeance of Excalibur picks up where the old one ended. While power in Britain has been restored after the death of King Arthur and the destruction of evil sorceress Morgan Le Fay a terrible force has been unleashed. The demonic Shadowmaster, a dark summoning of the slain witch, is terrorizing Britain entrapping the King and stealing the fair court enchantress, Nineve. You must command the knights of the kingdom to find and destroy the vile beast. The gameplay takes place in seven acts or episodes and features a mix of RPG and simple strategy game (for combat) elements. The game world itself is loosely based on medieval Spain, and features dozens of towns, cities, and castles. Traveling from location to location takes place on an overhead map, while each actual location consists of picturesque hand-painted backdrops depicting the type of environment it is set in. The interface is entirely mouse-driven (although keyboard short-cuts are also present), iconic, and streamlined to make it accessible to inexperienced game players.