PixelatedArcade News

We're still in the midst of the Coranavirus pandemic; originally my plan to was to come up with a few virus related games and write some mini-reviews for each to keep a theme going with Virus Rage being the first in the list, but as this disaster continues the premise started to look less interesting. Instead, I took the time to do some code updates which have just been released! This time around the update features the usual array of backend fixes and enhancements and also adds some changes to the release information layout. There is also, of course, a lot of work that is still in progress but not quite complete.

As of this writing, the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading with everything from sporting events to concerts being cancelled or re-scheduled and it's recommended you stay in, avoid crowds, and so forth. So, why not take the opportunity to review an obscure, appropriately themed IBM PC game? For this mini-review I'm inviting you take a look at Virus Rage which was published by Fantasy Research, Inc. in 1983! The game is rather tough to find and I'm sure sold few copies so there's a pretty good chance you've never heard of it. As an early IBM PC action game the technical limitations can make it a little frustrating to play, but the idea is decent enough and it can even be fun to try out for a while.

Back in the late 1980's, a small company from Eugene, Oregon known as Dynamix was working on ways to bring more narative and a more cinematic quality to their games. One of their first self-published titles, alongside A-10 Tank Killer, was the half 3D simulator / half James Bond movie mish-mash David Wolf: Secret Agent. This oddball game was a bit ambitious for the time, especially for a quasi-small company; Billed as an “Interactive Movie”, the game's attempt to mix action and story (with live actors) was an interesting experiment. However, despite a few nice ideas and a decent enough high-level concept, the ultimate combination is rather disappointing.

To start off 2020, I just pushed live the first code update of the year! There's always a lot of work going on behind the scenes, even though it may not always be immediately visible. For this update a number of minor bug fixes are included such as layout tweaks, especially to improve pages on mobile devices. There are also some new features that are still in the works even if there isn't a completed version that has been released at this time. A new feature that did make it, and was long overdue, is the ability to tag games that are, in some abstract way, related.

Happy holidays everyone! It's been a busy year here with lots of classic gaming fun. We acquired numerous new games to document on the site, deployed several code revisions including a new, more responsive layout, added this news feature (including the first two rambling game reviews), and numerous bug fixes and behind the scenes updates. We're looking forward to 2020 with plenty more to come; there's still a stack of boxes that haven't been scanned and screenshots to be captured so look for more images, games, credits, features, and possibly even a few new platforms to be added....

Released in 1989 for IBM and compatible computers (and later ported to the Commodore 64 and SEGA Genesis), Tongue of the Fatman is a unique and odd game. A one on one fighting game, few titles of this variety existed for the PC at the time and, in my opinion, it wouldn't be until years later when the genre was refined enough to make some truly solid games (e.g. SoulCalibur). I am not exactly a fighting game aficionado so keep that in mind if you are; however I always thought this was actually an original and fun title a little ahead of it's time...

Golf games have existed nearly as long as video games themselves, and nearly every system has had some variation of the sport released as a game. Nintendo is no exception, and their 8-bit offering of the sport has gone through numerous releases and revisions! Over at the Nerdly Pleasures blog, Great Hierophant has meticulously chronicled Nintendo's 8-bit Obsession with Golf.

Not many people remember the movie Willow these days it seems, and perhaps for good reason; in retrospect, it was rather mediocre. Despite some big names associated, it was met with mixed reviews when it came out and time hasn't helped its cause. Still, at the time, I was young and absolutely adored the film regardless of any shortcomings; so when Mindscape came out with their computer adaptation of the movie I immediately plunked down my hard earned cash. Unfortunately, while the movie may had some redeeming qualities even if it's not a cinematic masterpiece...