Test Drive III: The Passion (1990): Early Exotic-Car Racing on DOS
Before racing games could reliably render a closed track convincingly, Test Drive III: The Passion was already trying something more […]
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Rise of the Robots (1994): All Style, Mixed Substance
Few games in the mid-90s were hyped as hard as Rise of the Robots. Acclaim’s marketing push around its pre-rendered
Primal Rage (1995): When Claymation Dinosaurs Ruled Fighting Games
1995 was crowded with fighting games chasing the Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat formula with yet another cast of
Street Fighter II (1992): How Capcom’s Arcade Hit Struggled Onto DOS
Every home port of Street Fighter II tells you something about the hardware it landed on, and the 1992 MS-DOS
Chasm: The Rift (1997): The Ukrainian FPS That Beat Everyone to Dismemberment
In 1997, most first-person shooters were still drawing their enemies as flat, billboard sprites — even Duke Nukem 3D and
Powerslave (1996): Lobotomy Software’s Vertical Egyptian Shooter
Most 90s shooters wanted you to think about sci-fi corridors or hell dimensions. Powerslave asked a different question: what if
Witchaven (1995) Review: Build Engine Swords Instead of Guns
By 1995 the Build engine had a reputation, and it wasn’t for swordplay. Duke Nukem 3D and Blood were still
Star Wars: X-Wing (1993): LucasArts’ Real 3D Space Sim
How X-Wing’s real-time 3D polygon ships beat Wing Commander’s sprite tricks, and how its power-triangle combat holds up against TIE Fighter.
Another World (1991): The Solo-Made DOS Classic
How Éric Chahi built Another World alone in ~2 years using rotoscoped polygon animation instead of sprites — plus DOSBox setup and tips.
Duke Nukem (1991): The 2D Platformer Before Duke 3D
Before the chain-gun and one-liners, Duke Nukem was a 1991 Apogee shareware platformer. Development history, DOSBox setup, and the Duke Nukum name story.
Mortal Kombat DOS: The Game That Built the ESRB
How Midway’s bloody fighter, a 1993 Senate hearing, and Acclaim’s uncensored DOS port combined to create the ESRB rating system.
Hocus Pocus (1994): Apogee’s Best-Looking DOS Platformer
Hocus Pocus paired VGA fantasy art with elemental magic bolts and a full freeware release — here’s how Moonlite Software’s platformer holds up.