ISHAR – A Forgotten RPG Gem from the DOS Era
The first half of the 1990s saw the release of many unusual RPGs. One of them was Ishar, a series created by the French studio Silmarils, which today remains a somewhat forgotten gem of the DOS era. The first game, Ishar: Legend of the Fortress, was released in 1992. Players…
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Retro Gaming Is Making a Comeback
Retro gaming is experiencing a real renaissance today. The Commodore 64, Amiga, and classic DOS systems, which for many people were their first introduction to computer gaming, are once again attracting a lot of attention. But it is not just about nostalgia. Old games can still be incredibly addictive, while…
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Maxell UD-60U Is Back! The Iconic Cassette Tape Returns to Production
Anyone who remembers the days when you had to “record music onto a cassette” will certainly remember the Maxell brand. The Japanese manufacturer has decided to revisit its own history and, together with the music store chain Disk Union, has released a new version of the iconic UD-60U cassette tape.…
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Ascendancy – Conquering the Galaxy in the World of DOS
In the mid-1990s, space strategy games were enjoying their golden age. One of the more interesting, though somewhat forgotten today, titles in the genre was Ascendancy, released in 1995 by The Logic Factory. The game was developed for MS-DOS and stood out primarily for its impressive graphics, especially by the…
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Montezuma’s Revenge – Treasures, Traps and Pixelated Adventure
Montezuma’s Revenge is one of those retro games that could keep players hooked for hours despite its simple graphics. Created by Robert Jaeger and published by Parker Brothers in 1984, it quickly became a classic of the early home-computer era. The Hunt for Treasure You play as Panama Joe,…
Continue readingZorro (1985) – Black Mask, White Cape, and Absolutely No GPS
Before superheroes had cinematic universes, smartphones had maps, and getting lost was considered a minor inconvenience, there was Zorro. In 1985, Datasoft released Zorro, a retro action-adventure game inspired by the legendary masked swordsman created by Johnston McCulley.… Continue reading
Karateka – Love, Kicks, and No Save Game (aka ’80s Hardcore)
*Karateka* (1984) is one of those games that proves that back in the day, all you needed was a few pixels, a little drama, and absolutely no save option to create something truly iconic. Created by Yale student Jordan Mechner, it was his first step toward the success that would…
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How DOS Games Were Made in the 1990s – Step by Step
If you remember games from the DOS era, you probably immediately think of the iconic startup screen displaying:
It was the unmistakable sign that you were about to enter a world of pixels, sprites, and sound effects coming from an 8-bit sound card. But… Continue readingDOS/4GW Protected Mode Run-time Version X.X