• Tag Archives Electronic Arts
  • NHL Hockey ’95

    NHL Hockey ‘95

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/176323500882/retrocgads-usa-1994-nhl-hockey-95

    NHL ’95 is probably better known for its console versions on the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. However, as the ad above indicates, there was also a DOS version and it was really just as good. While I’m not much into sports games and I tend to prefer them on consoles when I do play them, this one was perfectly fine on a PC as long as you had a decent controller.

    NHL ’95 is part of a long, long line of sports games by Electronic Arts (EA Sports). In the NHL line alone there have been 27 releases including one this year. NHL ’95 was the fourth. Honestly though, I thought these games were more fun back in the 90s or even earlier. Heck, Tecmo Bowl is one of my all-time favorites and still one of the most fun to play. There was more innovation and greater improvements year to year. Nowadays, not so much.

    Like I said, I’m not that big into sports games and never have been but if I do play them, I tend to prefer the older ones like this one. Old versions of these games do not tend to be re-released so you’ll have to track down an original or resort to emulation if you want to play it. Fortunately, old sports games like this are literally almost a dime a dozen.

    Screen shots above are for the PC version of the game.


  • Desert Strike (DOS)

    Desert Strike (DOS)

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/175808223215/retrocgads-usa-1994

    Desert Strike is a shooter released by Electronic Arts in 1992 for the Sega Genesis. It was ultimately ported to a number of other systems including the Super Nintendo, Atari Lynx, an enhanced version for the Amiga, MS-DOS and Game Boy among others. The above ad is for the 1994 DOS version of the game which could be had on 3.5″ disks or CD-ROM.

    Desert_Strike_title.gif
    Desert Strike is a nice change of pace from more common bullet hell shooters. It is a bit slower paced, more strategic in nature, and is played from an overhead isometric perspective. It comes across as a sort of cross between Choplifter, Blue Max and Raid on Bungeling Bay.

    While the development of Desert Strike started well before the Gulf War (Desert Shield and Desert Storm), the plot was adapted as development went along after those events occurred. You must execute a series of missions in your Apache helicopter with the ultimate goal of stopping the evil dictator from escaping with a bomber full of nukes.

    The game was great on just about every system it was released on and was especially good on the Genesis, Super Nintendo, Amiga and DOS. A couple of later ports were excellent as well. As far as shooters go, this one is very well done and a little different than the vast majority of shooters out there.

    I’m not aware of any re-releases of this game though there were a couple of later ports including a 2002 Game Boy Advance release and a 2006 PlayStation Portable release. There were also a number of sequels including Jungle Strike, Urban Strike, Soviet Strike and Nuclear Strike. Future Strike was also planned but it evolved into Future Cop: LAPD. Desert Strike is an excellent game and worth tracking down. I recommend one of the 16-bit console versions or one of the computer versions whether you are using original hardware or emulation. Screen shots above are from the DOS version of the game.




  • Wasteland (DOS, Apple 2, Commodore 64)

    ‘Wasteland’

    [DOS / APPLE2 / C64] [USA] [MAGAZINE] [1988]

    • Computer Gaming World, August 1988 (#50)
    • via CGW Museum
    • ‘Wasteland’ ring a bell to anyone? Hopefully it does, since it was a huge contributor to the book of what we see in popular post-nuke games! It even got a sequel through Kickstarter a couple years back, and before that it spawned a spiritual sequel that you may have heard of: Fallout!

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/159570403640/vgprintads-wasteland-dos-apple2-c64

    Wasteland is one of THE classic role-playing games for 8-bit computers. Unlike most RPGs, Wasteland was not set in a fantasy world of wizards and dragons but in a post-apocalyptic future. Wasteland was developed for the Apple 2 and ported to the Commodore 64 and DOS based computers and released in 1988. Originally, two sequels were planned but one was turned into an unrelated game (Fountain of Dreams) and the third was cancelled (Meantime). Wasteland was a favorite of critics and fans alike and was hugely successful but it took five years to develop which is an unheard of amount of time, particularly for that era.

    Wasteland is a turn-based RPG somewhat similar to the Bard’s Tale series by the same developers. However, the mechanics were really based on the pen and paper role-playing games Tunnels and Trolls and Mercenaries which were created by designers of Wasteland.

    Fallout, while not a direct sequel, was inspired by and has many references to Wasteland. Fallout was released in 1998 and has spawned a series of sequels and spinoffs that continue to this day. Most of these games, particularly the original, have also been huge critical and popular successes. Wasteland did not receive a direct sequel until the Kickstarter funded Wasteland 2 was released in 2014. Wasteland 3 is scheduled for a 2019 release and it appears this series is continuing the high quality everyone has come to expect from these semi-related post-apocalyptic games.

    The above ad is from the August 1988 issue of Computer Gaming World.