3~D Voice Chess

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1985

3-D Voice Chess is a version of the strategic board game that sees two players battle to take control of the other player's king. The chess pieces are divided into two different colored sets: white and black. The players of the sets are referred to as White and Black, respectively. Each set consists of sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. Each type of piece can move differently and understanding the differences are key to overcoming your opponent. 3-D Voice Chess sees a single player take on a computerised opponent and gives you the choice of playing as white or black. The computer has seven skill levels which will impact on the response times. Skill levels range from "Beginner" to "Correspondance" with an average response time of 8 seconds stretching to 24 hours at the maximum skill level. Not surprisingly, there's also a save function so you can keep your games ongoing As the name suggests, you also have the option of having speech output so if you have a compatible peripheral attached (or emulated!) the computer will read back the moves as they are made.

Alien Syndrome

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1988

Alien Syndrome (エイリアンシンドローム? Eirian Shindorōmu) is a run & gun shooter arcade game developed by Sega and released in 1987. In 1988, the game was ported to various systems, including the Spectrum Two players control two soldiers, named Ricky and Mary, who fight their way through large eight-way scrolling levels while rescuing their comrades who are being held by aliens. After they have rescued a certain number of hostages, the exit opens and they can pass through it in order to fight the end-of-level guardian. If this monstrosity is defeated, they are then able to move onto the next stage. Alien Syndrome features two player simultaneous gameplay and pickups which assist the player, including better weapons and maps of the current level.

Buster Block

Microsoft MSX - Released - 1985

Push blocks onto monsters before they come and get you or even push blocks at you. Your energy decreases when you collide with a monster or block, and gradually all the time so you have to be quick! Complete one of 25 levels (arranged via four different routes which you can navigate in either order) and you gain back some energy plus bonus points.

Gogly

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1986

A strange creature called Gogly needs to collect keys in order to unlock doors. This moves him to the next screen. Each screen becomes more maze-like, while bouncing projectiles aim to hinder your progress. This is a hard game that sends you back to the beginning each time you die! The graphics are colourful and well drawn with some good sound effects included.

SwordThrust 1: The King's Testing Ground

Apple II - Released - June 12, 1981

SwordThrust was an improved version of Eamon (a public domain RPG also produced by Donald Brown). Unlike most games of its era, it was modular. This game, the so-called Master Disk, contained the main program and one adventure. Then subsequent adventures were released, which required this Master Disk to play. This is a similar model to the Epyx DunjonQuest series. Sometime around 1985 CE entered into a contract with Softsmith to distribute the SwordThrust series in its Kiosks. To accomplish this, Softsmith developed its own package AND used its own protection scheme. This meant that CE copies and the Softsmith copies were not interchangeable! The game itself is quite advanced for its time, with a sophisticated, highly mathematical combat system and a text adventure-like interface. It is also one of the few commercial all-text RPGs.

SwordThrust 2: The Vampyre Caves

Apple II - Released - June 12, 1981

A Vampyre--Nosferatu--Prince of the Undead. The most dangerous of all creatures that walk the night. No rogue in his right mind (and very few out) would choose to tangle with one, and yet that crazy old man's offer had been just too sweet to res ist. Your group arrived at the cave where your quarry supposed ly lived . It was well after midnight. Common sense suggested waiting until morning, but the old man would stand for no delay. Your group entered the tunnel. As the only experienced adventurer, you led the way. You had barely entered the tunnel when the party was attacked. Shadows rushed at you , beasts screamed--and you lost consciousness. You woke up, elsewhere and alone. Can you escape with your body and soul intact, or will you be just another of the thousands who have perished in "The Vampyre Caves?" The Vampyre Caves is the second adventure in the exciting SwordThrust series.

SwordThrust 3: Kidnapper's Cove

Apple II - Released - June 12, 1981

Harvor McBane had once said that "There's nothing more dangerous than friends who have confidence in you ." You had never quite understood that before. The Count of Manchiu had been visiting the castle of your old mentor, Baron Gustav Greenleaf. Unfortunately, the welcoming festivities were spoiled by crime--the count's deathly ill son was kidnapped! Fortunately (for him). the baron knew of a brave soul who could return the boy. The count was uncertain, but when the baron put up half of the rogue's gold as a guarantee, he agreed . The villains have been tracked to a cave in the wilderness. You have been given a sack of gold to use as ransom, and a vial of the drug that can save the boy's life . Time is short, and your gold sack (as well as someone's life) hang in the balance

SwordThrust 4: The Case of the Sultan's Pearl

Apple II - Released - June 12, 1981

Twelve centuries ago, King Drugia was mocking the young muslem that he had invited for supper. "You have as much chance of ruling the island as I have of finding a pearl in this oyster!" The King laughed, swallowed the oyster whole, and promptly choked to death. During the autopsy, one large white pearl was found in his throat. The pearl soon became the symbol of the favour of Allah, and every year a solemn ceremony grants the power of the sultanship to whoever holds the pearl. Many years ago you had made friends with Shadom gen-Harouk, the current sultan, and so you were invited to the ceremony. You went, expecting a pleasant vacation. A few hours before the ceremony, you were awakened from your sleep. One of the Sultan's guards had been murdered, and the pearl was missing! You must find the murderer and recover the pearl or else the sultanship is lost!

SwordThrust 5: The Green Plague

Apple II - Released - June 12, 1981

Few citizens of the kingdom can forget that fateful day four months ago when Baron von Drummer returned from his morning duck hunt and found a man lying unconscious at the castle's entrance. In spite of the eerie shade of green that the man's skin had acquired, the Baron picked up the body and carried it into the castle, to have it cared for properly. The next day, the Baron awoke to find the castle in panic. The man had died, and all of the Baron's family and servants shared the same green skintone. One by one, the people fell into a deep sleep until the only one left awake was a visiting wizard named Korial. As she felt herself falling asleep, she cast a spell she had learned in the depths of the Earth. She spoke one great word of power, a great crack opened in the ground, and the castle vanished forever. Alas, Korial's great sacrifice seems in vain. The plague is sweeping the kingdom, killing all it touches. Can you save the kingdom, or will you enter the sleep that never ends?

SwordThrust 6: The Eternal Curse

Apple II - Released - June 12, 1981

Few buildings have a more evil reputation than the castle of Baron Ty me. Listen to the oldest legends known in the nearby villages and you will see how the castle looms large in them. The castle holds the villages in a grip of fear, demanding daily offerings that none dare refuse to give. No one alive has ever seen any moving creature around the castle, yet something takes in the offered gifts at night, and men speak quietly of inhuman monsters that have boiled out of the building in years past. The few fools who have dared enter the castle have never returned . One night you lay in your bed, sleeping . Suddenly a spectre disturbed your slumber. It told you that its body was being held captive in the castle of Baron Tyme , and it laid upon you the responsibility to free it. The Code of the Guild required you to try, and so you set out for the castle the next morning . Will you succeed where so many have failed , or will the Eternal Curse claim another victim?

SwordThrust 7: The Hall of Alchemie

Apple II - Released - June 12, 1981

Since the beginning of time, two forces have struggled against each other: Cosmos and Chaos, Order and Power, Science and Magic . Each has always held the other in check , until now. A man known only as the "The Master Alchemist" has come upon the land, conquering all he touches. He may well be the most powerful creature of all time, for he has found the secret of harnessing magic and science to work for him in tandem . He must be stopped, and only you can do it. Can you survive the Hall of Alchemie? PERSONAL NOTE: This adventure represents the first SwordThrust game by an outside designer. When Pete Wityk gave us this dungeon to publish , he declared that it was "The Deadliest Dungeon in the World ." Pete tends toward understatement.

Xecutor

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1987

The Zedar region of the Horsehead Nebula has been classified as "forbidden". Pilots of the Mark-7 Quantillion craft on route to the Stella Wars in Questron Minor decided to put this definition to test. Even if they regretted their decision later, there was nothing they could do about it: trapped in space, surrounded by Zedar ships from all sides, the pilots realize they will have to demonstrate their best skills in order to survive. Xecutor is a vertically scrolling shoot-em-up similar to Master Blaster. The player can either venture to defeat the Zedar alone, or play with a friend who controls another ship on the same screen. The concept of the gameplay is simple, but the game can be hard to master or even complete, necessitating a memorization of the patterns in which the enemies or end-level bosses attack. It can be controlled with either the keyboard, a joystick or any combination between the two. Power-ups that can be collected upon the enemies' defeat include stronger weapons, additional fire power (up to three times the regular strength), double and triple lasers, penetration missiles, explosive pods, and shields.