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Penguin Tower

Posted: by fgasking

2000 Problemchild Productions

Platform: PC

Way back in 2000, Games That Weren’t had got in touch with Jani Hirvo regarding his lost Commodore 64 game – Penguin Tower. But did you know there was also a PC version?

You see – the game was reviewed in Commodore Format, scoring a decent percentage and was due for release by Visualize Software in the UK. Sadly, it never happened – but after almost 30 years, it finally got finished off and released.

pt 004

At the time – Jani told GTW that the game was almost finished at the time and there wasn’t much to do, suggesting one day he could finish it. However, Jani was also working on a PC edition of the game which he was focusing on instead of the C64 game and provided us with a 10 level preview. Continue reading →

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Various C64 educational titles preserved

Posted: , last updated: by fgasking

A huge thank you to Allan Pinkerton, who has preserved several educational titles from Micro Labs and Cymbal Software for the Commodore 64.

As they are not unreleased game entries, we have just made this post to make them available to all, and hopefully over time they will get integrated into various other digital archives, including Gamebase64.

Here are the links below and a huge thanks once more to Allan for all his hard work!

Downloads

Posted in: Commodore 64, Features, GTW64 news | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Star Trek: A World For All Seasons

Posted: , last updated: by fgasking

1994 Spectrum HoloByte

Platform: 3DO

Or as its full title: ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation – A World For All Seasons’. This early 3DO title was to be a ground-breaking interactive adventure game from Spectrum HoloByte, based on the famous franchise.

star trek640 2

The game was a sort of “Choose-your-own-adventure” game, with many different options available that could lead you to other clues (or traps), with cinematic clips dropped in at various key points. A feature piece on the game in Electronic Gaming Monthly also indicates that there would have been real-time action sequences in space too. Continue reading →

Posted in: 3DO, Reviews | Tagged: | 4 Comments

Dactyl Joust footage surfaces

Posted: , last updated: by fgasking

With thanks to Ross Sillifant for the heads up (with KidGameR186496 flagging up on the AtariAge forums), new footage of Dactyl Joust’s intro from the Atari Jaguar has surfaced thanks to The Obscure Media Archive:

How was it found? The Obscure Media Archive reported that their dad was the VP of the art department at High Voltage, and the footage was found whilst clearing out the basement.

It’s a great finding, and hoped that more (including something of the game itself) can be found in the future.

Posted in: Atari Jaguar, News | Leave a comment

Confuzion

Posted: , last updated: by fgasking

1985 Incentive Software

Platform: Dragon 32

This is a short entry to extend our Dragon 32 entries into the Games That Weren’t archive, with what was to be a conversion of the popular C64 game – Confuzion.

The conversion was announced as being underway at the 6809 show and reported by Dragon User in April 1985.

It is unknown whether any development was ever started, as the Dragon port of the game was due to start once “The Ket Trilogy” had been completed.

It seems that sadly the conversion got caught up in the demise of the Dragon 32 commercially. Was it ever started though and could anything be found of it?

With thanks to Simon Hardy for highlighting.

Posted in: Dragon 32, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Channel 8 Software games

Posted: by fgasking

1985 Channel 8 Software

Platform: Dragon 32

This is a short entry to extend our Dragon 32 entries into the Games That Weren’t archive, though for three titles which were announced, but there is no evidence at this stage that development was ever started on the Dragon 32 versions at least:

The titles in question were:

  • After The Fire
  • Beyond The Infinite
  • Midwinter

All three games were being created by Brian Howarth, and were mentioned as about to be converted to the Dragon 32 by Dragon User magazine in January 1985 from their 6809 Show Highlights.

For After the Fire, CASA Solution archive has Brian mention that he came up with the title, along with any advertising synopsis associated, but never got any traction on the project. It was a similar story for Midwinter, and for Beyond the Infinite, nothing really more was heard about the game.

Was anything ever started for any of the Dragon 32 versions and does anything still exist today which could be saved and preserved?

With thanks to Simon Hardy for highlighting.

Posted in: Dragon 32, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Questprobe 2 – Spiderman

Posted: by fgasking

1985 Adventure International

Platforms: Dragon 32, Commodore Plus 4

This is a short entry to extend our Dragon 32/Plus/4 entries into the Games That Weren’t archive, with what was suggested as being a new Adventure International title that was being released for the Dragon 32 and also Commodore Plus 4.

Questprobe 2 – Spiderman has been incorrectly listed as being available on the Dragon 32 by various websites, but there is no evidence according to Simon Hardy that the game was ever converted. A potential conversion was mentioned in the April 1985 issue of Dragon User magazine, but that was about it.

It is possible that a conversion was on the cards, but the dwindling Dragon 32 market was felt to be a reason to put the stops on one. Was anything ever started? Hopefully Scott Adams can shed more light in the near future.

As for the Plus/4 edition – Luca/FIRE from plus4world mentioned they also felt there could be a version for that platform too released as a secret b-side (which has been seen via Sharedata/Green Valley releases and has been seen for Questprobe 3: Fantastic Four. So was it the same for Spiderman too?

With thanks to Simon Hardy for highlighting and Luca/Fire for flagging about the potential Plus/4 edition.

Posted in: C16 + Plus/4, Dragon 32, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Secret of the 7th Labyrinth

Posted: , last updated: by fgasking

1993 MicroProse

Platform: PC

PC Review magazine in August 1993 described Secret of the 7th Labyrinth as requiring you to “Zoom around killing things and make sure you do it fast”. There were also comparisons to Wolfenstein, which the whole segment (see gallery) was highlighting overall across a number of upcoming titles.

seventh2

Extras however within the game would include stairs, angled walls built into the scenery – which apparently you would be able to build up or dismantle in a map editor and create your own labyrinths. Continue reading →

Posted in: PC, Reviews | Tagged: | Leave a comment

Linkword German (C64) preserved

Posted: , last updated: by fgasking

Just a quick post to share some preservation work by our friend Allan Pinkerton, with Linkword German by Artworx on the Commodore 64.

As it was released, it doesn’t warrant creating a GTW64 entry, so we’ve done a post with it instead for people to grab.

With thanks to Allan Pinkerton for preserving and passing on.

Download

Posted in: Commodore 64, GTW64 news | Tagged: | Leave a comment