Lemmings 2: The Tribes Download and Review

Lemmings 2: The Tribes was release in 1993, two years after the release of the original Lemmings. Unlike "Oh-no! More Lemmings", Lemmings 2 is a real sequel with improvements on almost every part.




An introduction is added to give us a better understanding of the Lemmings' world. The introduction is nicely done with good illustrations and some simple animations.



In Lemmings 2, our mission is to bring 12 tribes of lemmings that are divided by different geographical areas into the ark to prevent the disaster that will come soon.



The game engine in Lemmings 2 has been upgraded to make use of better computing power in 1993. We now have smooth scrolling, better animations and sound effects.



As there are 12 different tribes, there are 12 different environment themes.



Each theme is nicely design with their own uniqueness. Similar to original Lemmings, there are tons of killing machines and traps in the level.



I personally feel that Lemmings 2 is easier to play if compared to the original Lemmings. Maybe it is a strategy by the developer to attract more audience.



With better graphics and soundtrack, Lemmings 2 is as enjoyable as the original one. You can get your copy here.

Oh-no! More Lemmings Download and Review

After the successful release of Lemmings, the developer immediately follow up it with the sequel "Oh-no! More Lemmings".




In "Oh-no! More Lemmings", there are another 100 levels for us to rescue. The 100 levels are distributed into 5 difficulties.



The levels are "Oh-no! More Lemmings" a lot harder to solve. Some levels require not only brain, but also good reflex in solving it.



In higher levels, there is usually only one way to complete the level. We have to do everything at the right timing in order to get pass the level.



For me, I completed "Oh-no! More Lemmings" in more than 3 months, with each day at most one or two levels solved.



Luckily, there are password to be written down for each level, meaning that we don't need to start from the beginning every time we play the game.



If you have not enough lemmings, you can get more lemmings here :)

Lemmings Download and Review

Lemmings is a great puzzle game published by Psygnosis in 1991. Lemmings is very popular at that time and has been praised by a number of games magazines. The first things that attract me is the great 256-color VGA graphics and engaging soundtrack. Believe me, the soundtrack quality is very high and I still can remember the tune even until today!




In Lemmings, our mission is to guide the "lemmings" into the gate. We can command the lemmings to do various tasks like digging holes, building staircase or even self-explode to achieve the mission.



In Lemmings, the levels are distributed into 4 different worlds. The first is the simplest to play and introduce each the task that we can order lemmings to do.



In certain level, we have limited task that we can order. And in some level, we are required to resque 100% of the lemmings. For higher level, we really need to crack our head before solving a level.



There are a number of environment is lemmings. The levels are superbly designed with beautiful decorations and animations.



In higher levels, we will meet a number of killing machines. Each is uniquely designed have special killing methods.



In conclusion, Lemmings is a fun and engaging puzzle game. Even until today, there are few puzzle games that can surpass this one. You can get your copy at here.

Reko 3 (三国志英杰传) Download and Review

Reko 3 (三国志英杰传) was published by Koei in 1995. It is quite different with other historical simulations published by Koei as it has incorporated role-playing elements in this one.




Too bad the Reko 3 that I have is the chinese version. There might have an English version though. Reko 3 is based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and we play Liu Bei, the ruler of one of the three kingdom in that era.



The game start in early chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdom, that is the time after Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei swear brotherhood. The game is very fast pace, soon after the beginning scene, we will be order into battlefield to engage war with Dong Zhuo.



After the first battle, we will have chance to travel around a few cities to get some tips from the villagers.



We can also purchase some items that can help us during the combat. Items like healing potions and magic items are available.



The combat system in Reko 3 follows the turn based system like most Japanese RPG games. The level of our heroes will increase when they collect enough experience point.



The problem in Reko 3 is that, the enemies always have far higher level than our heroes. Even though our character will grow, but the speed of their growth definitely cannot catch up with the enemies. This make completing the game an extremely difficult task. Replaying the same battle scene for a few times is a norm for Reko 3.



Overall, Reko 3 is an interesting and engaging game. The story line follow closely with the original history, only with some modification towards the end of the game that will surprise you. You can get Reko 3 here.

Raiden Download and Review

Raiden is a famous scrolling shooting arcade game released in 1990. Raiden is originally developed for arcade machines and later been ported to various platform including PC.




The PC version of Raiden is lacking is many aspect if compared with the original arcade version. Many graphics effects like explode, debris and ground effects have been removed.



Still, the difficulty remains almost the same with the original one. Completing the game requires a lot of practicing and memorizing.



The bosses in the end of every level are still there, but their capability and size have been reduced to make it runnable on PC platform in 1990s.



The movement of the enemies are also jumpy on the PC version. The programmer also fail to implement a simple frame rate control algorithm to make sure the speed maintain throughout the game. Meaning that when there are many enemies on the screen, the whole game will slow down like turtle, and when there is no enemy, the game will move fast lightning.



As you can notice, the screenshots for the PC version definitely quite unattractive. The main reason is the vertical mode in arcade machine has been modified to horizontal mode. Everything become so small to create an impact.



Overall, Raiden for PC version still have some fun to play, but definitely not as attractive as the original arcade version. You can get the PC version here.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis CD-ROM Version with Speech Download and Review

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is one of the best adventure game in existence. When I first play it in 1993, I immediately amazed by its great story line, stunning graphics and engaging soundtrack. The additional speech pack has made Fate of Atlantis an unbeatable one.




In Fate of Atlantis, our main objective is to compete with German to uncover the lost city of Atlantis and stop German in controlling the ultimate weapon.



As with the Indiana Jones movies, we will travel from one place to another from time to time in order to complete the quest. The list of places that we will visit include New York, Iceland, Tikal, Monte Carlo, Egypt, etc.



In Fate of Atlantis, we can choose one of the three paths to complete the quest. The first is to complete with our partner Sophia, the second is to complete with brute force and the third is to complete with a lot of thinking.



Therefore, it is good for us to save the game before the path choosing scene. We must replay it with different path because the scene and storyline is completely different from one and another.



Fate of Atlantis is not as difficult as with Sierra's, but still need a lot of traveling and trying before completing a single puzzle.



Overall, Fate of Atlantis is a great adventure game that will set it place in the hall of fame for a long time. If you never play it with the speech pack, you should try to play it again with it. You won't be disappointed!



You can get Fate of Atlantis CD-ROM version with speech here. The manual and walkthrough are included in the package. As DosBox cannot support the big speech file in Fate of the Atlantis, you have to install the free ScummVM to play it.

Operation Wolf Download and Review

Operation Wolf is another famous title released by Taito. When I was young, Operation Wolf is indeed my favorite arcade game. The first time I see this game was in an arcade center. Seeing people playing it with the fake machine gun seems to be very interesting. The PC port arrives not much later, and it quickly become one of my favorite title.




As Operation Wolf is an arcade game, it is extremely difficult to complete the game with a single credit. (What will the arcade shop owner earn if everyone can complete the game with a single credit right?) We need lots of practice and memorizing the level in order to finish the game.



There are six levels in Operation Wolf. And the difficulties is increasing in higher level. Our weapon is a very slow machine gun and a limited amount of grenade. Most of the time, the screen will be full of enemies. We have to memorize where the soldiers come into screen and shoot them before they shoot us.



After each level, we will be rewarded with a simple screen with some description. And below is the screen where most people will see with only one credit. To see another level ending screen with a single credit is a daunting task.



And to be honest, I seldom reach the Airport level even with months of training, and only finish the game for 2 times.



Try your shooting skill with Operation Wolf. Test how far you can go with a single credit. Get the game here.