• Tag Archives Micro Prose

  • 1942 Pacific Air War Gold (DOS)

    Posted on by Azrael 1 Comment

    1942 Pacific Air War Gold (DOS) (1995)

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/154219266900/retrocgads-usa-1995-1942-pacific-air-war




    1942: The Pacific Air War is a combat flight simulator that was developed by MicroProse and released in 1994 for DOS based computers. The Gold version includes an expansion and some multimedia extras (some of which work only with Windows 3.1, not DOS).

    This really was an excellent simulator for the time. Graphics were excellent, game play was even better, and the realism was about as good as it could be. Ten different aircraft were available, both Japanese and U.S. Individual missions could be played or entire campaigns. This game could also be played as a strategy game. In this case, your aircraft could be positioned strategically and then you could switch between them to fly whichever one you want.

    MicroProse made quality simulations throughout its existence, especially in the 1980s and first part of the 1990s. While MicroProse is sadly gone, it lives on in spirit through other developers that owe their existence to MicroProse, including Firaxis. Many older MicroProse games are still available to play in one form or another today including this one. 1942: The Pacific Air War is available on Steam for a few bucks. While I’m often not crazy about older simulators, particularly flight simulators, this one holds up pretty well in terms of fun value. The graphics don’t live up to today’s standards of course but they are good enough.

    The original minimum system requirements:

    • IBM PC 33Mhz 80386 compatible or faster
    • 4MB RAM
    • MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
    • Windows 3.1 or higher
    • Super VGA graphics for 320 x 200 x 256 colors
    • Double-speed CD-ROM drive (MSCDEX version 2.1 or later)
    • Hard drive (10MB free)
    • Mouse

    The original recommended system requirements:

    • IBM PC 80486, Pentium compatible or faster
    • 8MB RAM
    • Joystick

    Supported sound hardware includes:

    • Ad Lib
    • Covox Sound Master II
    • General MIDI
    • ProAudio Spectrum
    • Roland MT-32/CM-32/LAPC-1
    • Sound Blaster
    • Sound Blaster Pro

    Obviously the Steam version has slightly more modern requirements…


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana DOS Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Sid Meier’s Pirates!

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    ‘Sid Meier’s Pirates!’

    [VARIOUS] [USA] [MAGAZINE] [1987]

    • Compute! Gazette, June 1987 (#48)


    Sid Meier’s Pirates! was released by MicroProse in 1987 for the Commodore 64. Before this game, MicroProse and Sid Meier were best known for their combat simulation games. Pirates! is a simulation too, but not of the typical kind. It simulates the life of a pirate.

    Pirates! is an open world game. You can roam from the coast of South America to the Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, and all the way to Bermuda. You can be a privateer for the Spanish Empire, Dutch Republic, the Kingdom of England. or the French colonial empire. Or you can just be a pirate. You aren’t stuck with a particular loyalty throughout the game. There are a variety of things you can do from attacking enemy ships, to hunting pirates, to seeking buried treasure and more. You can even choose a peaceful route and simply engage in trade. There’s no way to “win” the game per say. It continues indefinitely but as your character ages, it gets harder to recruit and fight. The game ends when you choose to retire.

    Pirates! was truly a groundbreaking game. It was unique for its time and hugely influential for many games that came after. Games like Civilization, Railroad Tycoon, Sword of the Samurai and countless others would never have been made if not for the success of Pirates! Reviews were glowing and this was about as successful as a game could be at the time.

    Success on the Commodore 64 led to countless other ports. First to the Apple II in 1987, a little later to the IBM PC also in 1987, then to the Apple IIgs, Macintosh, and Amstrad CPC in 1988. The Atari ST version came along in 1989 followed by the Amiga version in 1990. Even the NES received a port in 1991. Then came the enhanced Pirates! Gold remake for Windows 3.1, DOS, Macintosh and the Sega Genesis in 1993 and even the Amiga CD32 in 1994. Another remake came along in 2004 for Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360, Mac OS X, Wii and the PlayStation Portable. And it still hasn’t ended. A portable version was released in 2008, for the BlackBerry in 2010, the iPad in 2011, and versions for the iPhone and iPod touch in 2012.

    The easiest way to play Pirates! today is probably to get it on gog.com (or Steam if you prefer). However, I believe this is the newer 2004 release. There’s nothing wrong with it and it does have better graphics but I definitely recommend that Commodore 64 fans check out that version if they have never played it. Otherwise, pick the version for your favorite system because they are all pretty great.

    Images above are from the Commodore 64 version of the game.


    📂This entry was posted in Apple ][ Atari 8-bit Commodore 64 Computer Arcana DOS Retro Games 📎and tagged