Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1990) — Horror Soft’s Haunted-Castle Debut
Casting a real horror-movie host as the star of a dungeon crawler sounds like a marketing gimmick on paper. In […]
Fantasy
Simon the Sorcerer II (1995): British Adventure Comedy at Its Sharpest
An ordinary teenager, back in a world that never wanted him gone Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard
Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (1993): Sierra’s Gothic RPG-Adventure Hybrid
Your character finally faces something that can actually kill you Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness, released by Sierra
Fantasy General (1996): Panzer General Trades Tanks for Dragons
Panzer General’s Formula, Reimagined SSI built Fantasy General in 1996 on the hex-based combat engine that powered its popular Panzer
Warlords II (1993): SSG’s Turn-Based Fantasy Sweet Spot
Refining a Surprise Hit The original Warlords was a surprise commercial success for the small Australian studio Strategic Studies Group,
Pool of Radiance (1988): The Game That Proved D&D Could Work on a Computer
The Game That Started the Gold Box Line Pool of Radiance, released by SSI in 1988, was the first video
Champions of Krynn (1990): Gold Box Goes to Dragonlance
Bringing Gold Box to a New World By 1990, SSI’s Gold Box engine had already proven itself in the Forgotten
Al-Qadim: The Genie’s Curse (1994): D&D Goes to Zakhara
A Different Corner of the D&D Map Published by Capstone and SSI in 1994, Al-Qadim: The Genie’s Curse set itself
Dungeon Hack (1993): SSI’s Roguelike Detour
An Unusual Choice for a Licensed AD&D Game Most of SSI’s AD&D catalog in the early ’90s was built around
Ravenloft: Stone Prophet (1995): Trading Gothic Horror for Desert Curses
Leaving Barovia Behind DreamForge Intertainment followed up Ravenloft: Strahd’s Possession with Stone Prophet in 1995, and the boldest decision the
Warcraft II (1995): Blizzard’s Rise and the C&C Rivalry
How a twice-renamed studio called Blizzard beat Command & Conquer’s three-month head start to help define the real-time strategy genre.
Clouds of Xeen (1992): The RPG Built to Merge in Two
How Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen was engineered to merge with its sequel into one world, plus DOSBox setup and early-game tips.