It sure takes me back to when I was about 15 and I played it for the first time. It reminded me a lot of Jumpman, Lode Runner and other little platforms out at that time. I loved Jumpman (it’s one of my favourite games of all time). So you can probably guess I adored Magic Maycabs, even though I found it excruciatingly hard at times.

According to the author Dan, Magic Maycabs is based on Magic Mushroom, which was an awesome game for the BBC Micro. (I remember that game!). Well, the reason you play a car in his PC version here, is because he couldn’t draw the best looking person I think that’s a good enough reason! Besides, it gives the game it’s own twist, and also lends to the name of the game – Maycabs. Named after a fictional taxi firm – it’s a long story I’m sure

Back to the plot, you are a car, a magical car that can jump. Maybe that is where the “Magic” comes into it. You have to drive around the level, collecting all the mushrooms. There are certain parts of the level which are fatal if your car goes into them. There are also enemies which you need to avoid, and they are clever enough to be attracted to your car too. A bit like possums and headlights? Or maybe dogs which chase cars…

Just when you thought that was bad enough – and trust me it is. There is also a time limit on each level. So you have to get all the mushrooms, avoid the enemies, and make it to the exit block before you run out of time on the clock. Much easier said than done… this game is damn hard. Or maybe we are all so into our modern games we’ve become useful at platform games.

Version 1.1 is shareware and available below (for memories sake). Version 2.0 is the registered full version, and it is also available as the main download below. This version has been made available by the creator Dan Lester for free! Version 2.0 also contains a level editor, which is easy to use and can keep you occupied for hours (just ask my family). You can use the level editor to create easier levels… hehe.

I want to say thanks to Swizzle for his part in getting this game out to everyone. And a really big thanks to Dan Lester for making this game free for everyone to enjoy.

The four games are all included in the one download from this site, for your pleasure. They are:

• Xmas Lemmings (1991)
• Xmas Lemmings (1992)
• Christmas/Holiday Lemmings (1993)
• Christmas/Holiday Lemmings (1994)

A bit about the games then eh? So, in true Lemming style you had to guide the lemmings from the entry to the exit. Overcoming all barriers using things like digging, steps, etc. Nominating lemmings to do the tasks.

The first two games had very few levels and were considered demo’s. The latter two were full games with 16 levels each. If I recall correctly the 1991 Xmas Lemmings had less levels than the 1992 Xmas Lemmings, because it included a couple of levels from the Oh No! More Lemmings game. You check that out and let me know.

All four games have the Christmas theme going on, from the little suits the lemmings wear to the halls decked out with bells and holly. They battle their way through ice and snow laying down their planks of wood true lemmings-style.

If you expected something different, then apart from visually and musically you will be let down. But if you’re into puzzle gaming, enjoyed the Lemmings games and want something fun for the festive season then by all means download these cool titles.

Oh, they are so cute with their little hats on, and as they are walking along they go boing, boing, boing, and the music is just brilliant!!

Broooom.. sweet Did you ever have any of the Micro Machines toys? You know the ones, the tiny little cars, trucks, boats or planes that were only about 2cm long? I had a tiny little purple truck. Okaay, now you’re probably wondering just what kind of butch chick I am, but I also had a Barbie doll so :p~~

This game is great. When I was taking the screenshots I took heaps, because I just kept playing it. And boy did I kick ass

The first level you are in a little jetboat, and you are racing in the bathtub or sink, amongst the bubbles. Then you progress to racecars amongst the waffles, milk spillage and spoons of the breakfast table. You also get to race little trucks and other types of cars, all in funny settings around the house

When you pick who you want to play, there are many characters to chose from. You also pick which race you would like to race in, or cycle through the tracks. There is a scale up the side (see screenshot) which starts of with 5 dots for you, and 5 dots for your opponent. To win a race you have to get to the other side of the screen from the opponent 5 times, every time you do that, then one of their dots becomes one of yours. Of course if they have 9 and you have one, you have to win 9 times to win the race overall. It’s a lot of fun, and can make races last a long time if you have met your match.

This game looks excellent. The graphics are very good. I played as a girl with pigtails and when I won she would fling her head around like a little kid and stuff – great animations. The racing and stuff also looks great, the scenes etc. I didn’t play with sounds though, so I can’t comment there.

Definitely worth a try, play vs. the computer or against someone else multiplayer. They so need to make an online version of this game, so I can kick gords arse

The Lion King: Man I love this movie n the game is pretty cool too ;D

Well okay anyone who has seen the movie (and I know you have no hiding) will know what the lion king is all about, you play as simba the lovable lion cub who happens to be heir to the throne (lion, king of the jungle, all that ).

This game is a simple plat-former game; you jump from place to place and jump on anything that moves but an added factor to this game is your roar, you have a roar meter that drains when you roar, your roar can be used for scaring other animals (for example scaring a hedgehog type thing so that it turns upside down and you can jump on it )

This game is very colourful and defiantly one that will remind you of younger days . The monkey-puzzles will also make you think the monkeys must be turned around to face the right direction so that when they throw you about, you will land in the right place.

This game also features many action sequences, such as riding an ostrich type thing to timone and pumba bug catching mini-games to a half 3d type chase scene and when you are an adult lion you get to fight other animals (such as hyena’s)..

The lion king is very true to the movie and any fans of the game will enjoy it at lot

I finally got this game. Thanks to my cousin Brett I’ve been searching for it for ages – dude you rule! This game was so much fun when I was younger, puzzle games are a dime a dozen, but this one really stood out.

In this game there is a scientist, and all his particles have gone astray. You have to help him clean them up by putting them into test tubes. There are two modes you can play in (endurance or wave) and there are also difficulty levels.

Basically there are 6 tubes, and the particles come down them, and you can’t let them fall out the ends (aka drop)! You only get so many drops, and as you progress up through the levels it gets harder. You have this test tube on a slider and you have to catch the particle when it comes out of the tube by sliding across. You then empty one particle at a time from the test tube into the beaker below. You can hold up to 5 particles in the test tube so you can be strategic with how you empty them, as when you get three of one colour on top of each other in the beaker they disappear and you get points (sound like some sort Tetris kinda?)

Sounds easy huh? Well that’s not all you see, there are other particles in amongst them and they have different tricks. Some are helpful and empty the test tube, whilst some are evil and turn the ones already in there to lead.

I always thought the graphics were really good for this game. It had an interesting beginning and was always pleasant to look at.

The gameplay is excellent, it’s a really fun and challenging puzzle game. Tubes is a great game when it comes to taking a puzzle game and approaching it from a great angle. Many games are straightforward and have no theme. Tubes is also really hard to quit. It’s also quite rare and overlooked, so the more people out there who give it a shot and spread the word the better. Download it!

Okay to start off you should know that I am referring to the games on the ZX Spectrum (128k for the tech-heads). This is because more games came out on the Specky (Spectrum) and its that which the games were originally coded on (they were ported to many other systems including the Amiga and the PC).

Okay, so you may be asking, “so what the hell is Dizzy?” Well, it’s a game that was made on the ZX Spectrum in the 1980′s but finished its reign on the PC and Mega-Drive (Genesis for the Americans). The basic concept of the game is that you are a egg that is called surprisingly enough Dizzy, you are part of a small village that has “the yolk folk” inhabiting it. The Yolk Folk are your family and friends.

The basic plot is unusually the same in these games “Zack the evil wizard has captured Dizzy’s friends and girlfriend, Dizzy is obviously pissed at this and sets off the find his friends to defeat the evil wizard Zack”. You accomplish this task by jumping around many, many screens of pure fun picking up objects and solving tasks.

In all there were 7 PURE Dizzy games (Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy, Fantasy Land Dizzy, Magicland Dizzy, Spellbound Dizzy, Prince Of The Yolk Folk and Crystal Kingdom Dizzy. (There was another game called Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy that was released on the Mega-Drive and the PC but I don’t count that as being pure for reasons specified later). Dizzy also formed a few Spin-offs, the obvious ones being Kwik Snax (which was a puzzle game that had a super cool Dizzy rock band in it ), Fast Food Dizzy (PAC-Man Rip-off ), Dizzy Down The Rapids (Action game involving Dizzy in a barrel and apples), Panic Dizzy (another puzzle game) and Bubble Dizzy (in which you had been thrown off a pirate ship into the deep water and have to find you way up to the surface by riding bubbles. Hell a magazine (crash magazine) even made its own version of Dizzy (Dizzy 3 1/2) as the release of Dizzy 4 was getting close.

If you’re still in puzzlement of why the creators (the Oliver Twins), created their whole game around a load off eggs! Then think of it this way; Mario is one of the best selling game series ever and that is about a Italian plumber created by some guys in Japan… go figure?

The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy (Mega-Drive and PC only):
This was the worst Dizzy game by far, it was just a cheap attempt at getting a few extra bucks. This game basically combined elements of all the other dizzy games and like Crystal Kingdom was just a platform game with easy puzzles.

The plot of this game I have to say I have absolutely no idea played it for about 10 mins, realized it was crappy, turned it off and hung my head in shame at the disappointment of this game. I have to admit this was Code-Masters fault and NOT the Oliver Tiwns, as they were the specky people.

Graphics are the best seen on a dizzy game and so is the sound, in my view this game is not really worth the floppy disk it came on.

Music:
Just HAD to put this in, the music is great! The tunes stick in your head for years.

Conclusion:
Defiantly worth getting, even if you’re not a fan of platformers. Gords
statement: ” Whoopee Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Boing Ahh crap I jumped in the water”

Bad things about Dizzy:
Yes there are some bad things about these games :O. Basically the controls are one, as you can sometimes jump too far or to short and you die, you can lose all of your lives on one small part like jumping over a lake. After you have got real far and that happens, you get pissed off quite a bit.

Ah Coolspot. You might remember him off television, the 7-Up mascot. He is the little red dot dude with cool shades, funky attitude and Mickey Mouse gloves to match.I think the only part of this game that I actually found easy was the yo-yo playing part. Then again, that did happen after you left it idling and he got bored (like Commander Keen and his book hehe). The difficulty I had can be blamed on the fact that I’m lame when it comes to some games that require me to move around fast and jump things. Jumping is not my forte.

So anyway, the game is fun. It’s a side-scrolling platform, consisting of many levels, rather interesting enemies, and a whole lot of jumping. You collect clocks for time extensions, as you’re racing against time to get through the levels. You can also collect other stuff for points, and red dots that float and look magical for bonus things. In the top right hand corner is his cool meter, and you have to collect 7-Up to keep him from turning into a totally Uncoolspot.

I can’t really say too much, as I didn’t get very far. I did enjoy the levels I played, and apparently it’s a great game. So download it and have a play. If you also want to write a more insightful review you’re also very welcome

Everyone remembers Alf the alien from Melmac. Gracing our TV’s every evening at around 5.30pm =). You might recognise some famous quotes such as “hey Willy!” and “No problem!”. And the ‘lets eat fluffy the cat’ problem that would arise a fair bit. Hehe, I still even have an Alf soft toy at home! This game is based on the TV show (duh), and I happened to think it was pretty groovy indeed.

Basically Alf came to earth in his spaceship, which is a jet scooter. The problem is, he’s out of gas can’t get home again. There is a pawnshop in this game, which lets him sell stuff and get money to buy some gas for his jet scooter. So his job is to go exploring around and find things to sell to the pawnshop. (I think that they should have named THIS game Thief, don’t you Hehe).

It’s not as simple as finding stuff and then selling it. Some things you need to buy from the pawnshop in order to use in other parts of the game to obtain even bigger stuff to sell. The same goes with some things you find. You don’t sell them, as you need to use them in other parts of the game. Alf is kind of like a puzzle game in that sense.

The graphics and the sound sadly leave a bit to be desired. Considering this is a 1994 game I would have expected much better. The sound might make you want to slit your wrists, and the graphics are a bit hard on the eyes and make gameplay a tad difficult. But you should still have some fun playing this game. We all love Alf, the one alien that we could be around as kids and not get frightened, (except ET of course, although I’d probably need a clean pair of pants if I saw him face to face at the age of 22 even!)

Aethra’s Chronicles was supposed to be the first game of a three part sequel. Unfortunately, the 2nd and 3rd parts were never released.

As any shareware, the graphics of the game are under standards, which is not a big factor when you consider the playability and the depth that this game offers.

The Aethra’s Chronicles is the only game ever made based on the Role-Master system, a pencil&paper game similar to AD&D but based on percentage instead of dice. Note that the publisher of the Role-Master system have closed their doors, which provides to Aethra’s Chronicles a double taste of nostalgia.

The plot of the game is quite cliche (a newborn prince has been kidnapped and you must find by who and why) and some bogs are quite annoying (like quests completion when you haven’t completed it) but the originality of the game system help to forgive such things quite easily.

You make two main characters (a hero and his friend) and two henchmen at the beginning of the game. Henchmen are part of your party but they are very less powerful than your hero and his friend.

Be warned : the combats are hard, be prepared to die often before learning the basic tactics to survive in fights. It can be frustrating for the casual RPGer.

The game offers over a hundred different creatures to fight, from wild animals to Red Dragons. Like in almost all RPGs, as your characters progress in the quest, you will face stronger monsters. Combats are though from the beginning to the end : a good tactic and a good strategy according to the strengths and weakness of your party and of the monsters you are facing is required.

This game cannot be recommanded for the casual RPGer for many reasons but can be enjoyed by the hardcore RPGers who are looking for something different. Aethra’s Chronicles is the best shareware RPG ever made IMO. The work of Michael Lawrence is simply incredible and the Role-Master system is very well implemented. Its a game that deserve to be more known by RPGers.

An ignorant person would claim that Tides of Darkness was the first game in the Warcraft series. They would be wrong !!! But, of course, it doesn’t stop hundreds of websites refering, to the above as Warcraft, as though it was the original. Just look in any search engine (I used MSN, Google and Altavista) and type Warcraft, or even Warcraft 1. You’ll be amased by the number of websites that talk about Warcraft 2, and yet seem to miss out the classic game I’m taking a close look at in this review Over the years I’ve become increasingly irritated by the situation described above, and as a purchaser of the original warcraft I can honestly say that most people overlook this game when they think of the great games. Who could deny Warcraft the honour of being one of the patriarchs of modern games ? Especially when it won 9 awards for the game (see bottom of the following webpage for details: http://www.blizzard.com/inblizz/awards.shtml), and all at a time when a half hour plus install wait wasn’t the norm !!The game is really fun, but I guess I would say that, considering that I’m a real time stratagy fanatic. You start the game as a low ranked servant of either the Orcish hordes or the Human kingdom of Azeroth. You can increase your rank, and the number of units you can command, by achieving the goals of the stage you are on. The ultimate goal is to rid Azeroth of the oposite race, whose tactics get better as you progress through the stages.

The graphics are excellent, especially considering the game was released in 1994. The trees and terrain are believable and realistic. Sometimes, though, the animation of the units in the game turns into blury blobs of flesh. This happens a lot when the peons or peasants are choping trees. But, I still love playing the game.

The sound effects and music are characteristically millitaristic, and add to the war admosphere and realism of the game. They are also very high quality. I think that this game (along with others) helped steer modern sounds effect and music in the right direction. Warcraft’s sounds were an important development in turning the irritating bleeps and screeches of the early games, to the music we hear in modern games. Sounds, like the ones heard in this game, don’t make you want to reach for the mute button. They are a bit repetitive, but I don’t think that the game becomes irritating or monotonious because of it.

Overall Warcraft 1: Orcs vs Humans is a classic game. It’s only flaws are ones that it’s decendants (Tides of Darkness and Reign of Chaos) have only just corrected. It’s a real shame that there aren’t that many warcraft 1, cause it really is a great game.