Scorpion is a platform/shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Digital Magic Software for the Amiga in 1989. [1] The game was also re-released as Fly Fighter, with another title screen and another order of levels.
The player fights hordes of enemies while traversing five side-scrolling levels, such as a harbour, jungle and ice land, [2] each of which is guarded by a powerful boss. [3] The player character attacks enemies by firing energy bolts from their fingers. [4]
The protagonist Scorpion is ostensibly fighting to rescue the kidnapped Princess of Scorpia. In a surprise ending, Scorpion kills the evil princess, revealing herself to be her good sister and now-sole heir to the throne. [5]
The game received the ratings of 93% in Amiga Computing , 69% in Computer and Video Games , 62% in The Games Machine , 60% in CU Amiga , and 47% in The One . According to Amiga Computing, "Everything about Scorpion screams quality and style, except for the box illustration which is a little iffy. The game is a zany Gryzor cum Green Beret hybrid with deliriously large, fast characters and plenty of bit noises." [6] Computer and Video Games called it "a competently executed game, let down by some easily corrected errors, and suffer[ing] from not enough outside criticism before release." [7]
Populous is a video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts, released originally for the Amiga in 1989, and is regarded by many as the first god game. With over four million copies sold, Populous is one of the best-selling PC games of all time.
The NewZealand Story is a platform game developed and released in arcades by Taito in 1988. The concept and setting were inspired by a holiday trip in New Zealand by one of the Taito programmers. The player controls Tiki (ティキ), a kiwi who must save his girlfriend Phee Phee (ピューピュー) and several of his other kiwi chick friends who have been kidnapped by a large blue leopard seal. While avoiding enemies, the player has to navigate a scrolling maze-like level, at the end of which they release one of Tiki's kiwi chick friends trapped in a cage. In 2007, the arcade game received a remake for the Nintendo DS under the title New Zealand Story Revolution.
Alien Syndrome is a run and gun video game developed by Sega and released in arcades in 1987, and later ported to the Master System in 1988. The game utilizes a side-scrolling feature that allows the player to take control of either a male (Ricky) or female (Mary) soldier whilst hunting aliens and saving hostages before they run out of time.
Defender of the Crown is a strategy video game designed by Kellyn Beeck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games.
Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja, also known simply as either Bad Dudes or DragonNinja, is a side-scrolling cooperative beat 'em up game developed and released by Data East for arcades in 1988. It was also ported to many computer and game console home systems.
Dungeon Master is a role-playing video game featuring a pseudo-3D first-person perspective. It was developed and published by FTL Games for the Atari ST in 1987, almost identical Amiga and PC (DOS) ports following in 1988 and 1992.
Operation Thunderbolt is a light gun shooter video game developed by Taito and released for arcades in 1988. As the sequel to Operation Wolf, changes include two-player gameplay with two positional gun controllers mounted on the arcade cabinet, and a new forward-scrolling pseudo-3D perspective combined with side-scrolling sections.
Golden Axe is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash video game released by Sega for arcades in 1989, running on the Sega System 16B arcade hardware. Makoto Uchida was the lead designer of the game, and was also responsible for the creation of the previous year's Altered Beast. The game casts players as one of three warriors who must free the fantastical land of Yuria from the tyrannical rule of Death Adder, who wields the titular Golden Axe.
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur is an illustrated interactive fiction video game written by Bob Bates and published by Infocom in 1989. It was released for the Apple II, Amiga, Macintosh, and IBM PC compatibles. Atypically for an Infocom product, it shows illustrations of locations, characters and objects within the game. It is Infocom's thirty-fourth game and is the second of two Infocom games developed by Challenge using Infocom's development tools.
Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World is a role-playing video game developed and published by New World Computing in 1988. It is the sequel to Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum.
Double Dragon is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for arcades across Asia, North America and Europe. It is the first title in the Double Dragon franchise. The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.
Shadow Dancer is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash action game produced by Sega and originally released as an arcade game in 1989. It is the second and the final arcade game in the Shinobi series, following the original Shinobi itself. The player controls a ninja aided by an attack dog, who is fighting to save the city from a terrorist organization.
War in Middle Earth is a real-time strategy game released for the ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MS-DOS, Amiga, Apple IIGS, and Atari ST in 1988 by Virgin Mastertronic on the Melbourne House label.
Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds is a first-person shooter, the fifth game in the Alien Breed franchise, a series of science fiction-themed shooters by Team17. It was published in 1996 by Ocean Software.
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Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax is a video game first published in 1988 for various home computers. It was released as Axe of Rage in North America. The game is the sequel to Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, which was published in 1987. In Barbarian II, the player controls a princess or barbarian character, exploring the game world to locate and defeat an evil wizard. The game's plot is an extension of its predecessor, although the gameplay is different. While the first game offers two players the opportunity for virtual head-to-head combat, the second is a single-player beat 'em up with fewer fighting moves. It uses a flip-screen style instead of scrolling.
Falcon is a combat flight simulator video game and the first official entry in the Falcon series of the F-16 jet fighter's simulators by Spectrum HoloByte. Originally developed by Sphere for Macintosh and MS-DOS in 1987 and ported to several platforms between 1988 and 1992, the game earned commercial success and critical acclaim.
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