It's time to set the Way-Back Clock to the early 80s (that's 1980s), when little plastic boxes with fake wood trim ruled the video gaming landscape. In Atari 2600 Action Pack, Activision relives its early glory with 15 of its most popular game cartridges. These aren't PC ports--this package includes a 2600 emulator and the actual cartridge ROMs. -- Moby Games
There is one playable demo from each Action Pack. Pitfall, Keystone Kapers, and Breakout.
Al Unser Jr. Arcade Racing by Mindscape
As the game title implies, Al Unser is an arcade style racer for Windows. Doesn't offer much to the simulation freak, but if you're looking for a simple race-around-a-track game with fast smooth graphics, then this might be just right for you. The controls seem to get a bit too responsive on faster computers. -- Moby Games
Command Aces of the Deep(Video demo) by Sierra On-Line Inc
An excellent Windows conversion of Aces of the Deep. In addition to keeping the same riveting gameplay from the first game intact, Command Aces of the Deep adds a lot of great bells & whistles that take full advantage of CD-ROM capacity, including computer-rendered images of all vessels, U-Boat history, interviews, and a photo tour.
Arcade America by 7th Level Inc
Arcade America is a humorous platform game where you control the rather overweight Joey. Each level consists of a couple of smaller micro-levels and is set in an iconic location within the States, such as Alcatraz or Las Vegas, and has its own specific enemies. The goal on each level is to rescue one of the monsters. -- Moby Games
Battle Beast by 7th Level Inc
Battle Beast is a beat-em-up fighting game in the style of Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter. The only difference is that you use small animals to battle one another. But beware because these cute, little animals become deadly when they transform into pumped up robots.
Battle Beast features cartoon-like graphics and several mini-games mixed in between the fights such as races through mazes and secret bonus rooms to collect goodies. -- Moby Games
Beavis and Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity(Video Demo) by Viacom New Media
Mtv's succesful Beavis & Butt-head series is brought to the pc in a surprisingly good point-and-click adventure. The game follows you as Beavis & Butt-Head (not Beavis OR Butt-Head) in their quest to join Todd's gang and well... be cool.
Extremely faithfull to the series spirit, the game feels like it was ripped from the TV, and offers plenty of medium difficulty puzzle solving. -- Moby Games
Activision's Commodore 64 15 Pack by Activision
Because of the popularity of the 3 Atari 2600 Action Packs, and of emulation technology in general, Activision took the next step and brought out an emulation package featuring the most popular home computer of all time- the Commodore 64. The 15 games are: Hacker, Beamrider, Portal, Little Computer People, The Activisions Decathlon, Zenji, Top Fuel Eliminator, Toy Bizarre, Zone Ranger, Rock n' Bolt, Park Patrol, The Great American Cross-Country Road Race, and Master of the Lamps. -- Moby Games(revised slightly)
The only playable demo on the disk is Hacker.
The Daedalus Encounter(Video Demo) by Virgin Interactive & Mechadeus
You and your fellow Spacefarers stumble over a huge alien Starship. Your friends and you (you are just a brain!) have to solve a lot of puzzles and even one or two action sequences. -- Moby Games
Dogz by Virgin Interactive
The first in a franchise that includes the likes of Catz and Babyz is Dogz. A simulation of a pet dog that you adopt and that live on your computer screen. A substitute for the real thing that lets you feed them, play with them, scold them, and teach them tricks. -- Moby Games
Doom 95 by id Software
id Software's follow-up to their genre-defining Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM is another first person shooter: full-on action seen from the space marine's perspective. Like Wolfenstein, the game consists of distinct episodes, playable in any order. The first episode, Knee-Deep in the Dead, takes place in the Phobos base and is freely available as shareware. The full game continues on Deimos in The Shores of Hell and culminates in Inferno, the final episode which takes place in Hell itself. Each episode consists of nine levels, one of which is a hidden level. -- Moby Games
Double Switch by Digital Pictures
Double Switch is one of Digital Pictures' many full-motion video games from the mid 90s. In this "cinematic mystery" you must watch your serveilance cameras in order to trap intruders in the Edward Arms mansion. -- Moby Games
Santa Fe Mysteries: The Elk Moon Murder(Non-Playable Demo) by Activision
The Elk Moon Murder is a full motion video adventure game. You take on the part of rookie detective with the Santa Fe police. Anna Elk Moon, a famous native American artist, has been murdered and you have five days to solve the mystery, before "the big boys muscle in", as your chief inspector tells you.
The game features a point & click interface. You have eight hours a day, while almost every action you take decreases 15 minutes of your time. Puzzle solving is not part of the game really. Instead you have to listen to the usual suspects, order forensics and shoot photos. Your goal is to come up with an arrest warrant at the end of the game. -- Moby Games
Endorfun by Time Warner Interactive
In this puzzle game you must move what is known as the light-bodied cube around to pick life forces which help you to progress to the next level. However it is not as easy as it sounds as other squares on the board are lighting up which makes it harder to move the cube around. On certain you also have a time limit and if you don't collect the required number of life forces to progress to the next level in time the game is over. -- Moby Games
Earthworm Jim(Non-playable demo) by Activision
A crow is chasing a worm named Jim while in outer space Psy-Crow is chasing a renegade ship. The ship's captain has stolen an ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit and Queen Slug-for-a-Butt has ordered Psy-Crow to get it, since it can make her more beautiful than Princess-What's-Her-Name. Psy-Crow blasts the captain and the suit falls to Planet Earth. -- Moby Games
Exos Powerstick Advertisement by Exos
Full Tilt Pinball v0.006 by Maxis
Maxis's first pinball simulation game. This one includes 3 boards: Space Cadet, Skulduggery, and DragonÆs Keep. Each featuring the usual amount of bumpers, targets, ramps, etc. as well as a big payoff for the successful completion of each table, such as slaying a dragon on Dragon's Keep, or creating a black hole on Space Cadet. -- Moby Games
This is officially the earliest demo I currently have for Full Tilt. If you have a version below .006, let me know. I'd be interested in getting a copy from you.
Fury3 by Microsoft
Terrans have won the war for the Coalition, but at a terrible price. It has unleashed the powers of the Bions, warriors bred for battle and victory. After the war ended, Bions started their own war against Humanity... And humanity managed to win again, but Earth was decimated in the process. We thought we had destroyed all the Bions, but apparently we are wrong. A few Bions have survived... and they are rebuilding on the planet named Fury... As a councillor in Council of Peace, the premier peacekeeping force, you will take the advanced fighter and repel the Bion invasion, and eventually destroy the Bion threat once and for all. Fury3 is basically a Windows adaptation of Terminal Velocity where you pilot a super fighter and kill bazillion targets from first person (default) or third-person viewpoints. The action is fast and furious, with plenty of air and ground threats plus structures to shoot. -- Moby Games
Havoc (Non-Playable Demo) by Reality Bytes
Destroy tanks, turrets, and other enemies in a future world controlled by powerful corporations. It's quite similar to Battlezone. Your play ranges through multiple worlds that feature different terrains, enemies, and powerful weaponry. The game also has network play available over modems and networks. Up to 16 gamers on both Windows and MacOS can play against each other. -- Moby Games
The Hive by Trimark Interactive
The Hive is very similar to Rebel Assault. All levels are rendered, with limit interactive influence by the user (works best with mouse). At the beginning, the game seems to be cool because of the different level designs, but later it gets repetitive, the designers ran out of ideas. -- Moby Games
HyperBlade(Non-Playable Demo) by Activision
HyperBlade introduces the 3D battlesport of the future. Players engage in a futuristic street-hockey style game played out on the interior of an elongated ellipsoid arena. Body-checks (weapons are included) go for blood in this game as players can be gruesomely eliminated from the game. Power-ups, speed boosts, ramps, and simple team management (for substitutions) are all part of the experience. Some strategy is required for play, but it's mostly pure action. -- Moby Games
Ice & Fire by GT Interactive Software Corp.
Fly a spaceship around pre-arranged paths to enter areas where you dismount and take on aliens in a first person shooter using weapons based on ice and fire. -- Moby Games
Locus by GT Interactive Software Corp.
Locus is a virtual reality sports game where you race at break-neck speed through the unimaginable geometries that compose the Locus arenas. With next gen 32-bit game engine and first-person fast game action you make your way though 12 challenging levels, using laser weapons and gadgets. Surrounded by Gouraudshaded graphics, digital and MIDI music and specialized sound effects, you must score against two opposing teams in a game of cut-throat elimination. -- Moby Games
The Dig(Non-Playable Demo) By LucasArts Entertainment
A group of scientists discovers an asteroid that is on its way to a collision with the Earth. Is there any way to prevent the disaster? Boston Low, a NASA veteran, is sent to command a space expedition on the asteroid. Accompanied by the journalist Maggie Robbins and the archaeologist Brink, Boston investigates the asteroid and finds a strange structure that undoubtedly belongs to an alien civilization. During the course of investigations, the team finds itself on a seemingly deserted planet. They have no knowledge of the planet and no possibility of going back. Will they ever discover the secret of this strange world and find a way to get home?
"Dig" is a point-and-click adventure game with a simple one-cursor interface and more complex puzzles than usually encountered in LucasArts' adventures. Despite having a serious story, the game follows in many ways the tradition of LucasArts' humorous adventures. -- Moby Games
Rebel Assault II - The Hidden Empire(Non-Playable Demo) by LucasArts Entertainment
Rebel Assault II is a rail-shooter "interactive movie" featuring a variety of action sequences. Rookie One will fly sequences in an X-Wing, the Millennium Falcon, speeder bikes and being on foot. His only real ability is the precise targeting and shooting of laser weapon and occasionally the chance to take cover and avoid obstacles. Rookie One will team up with other characters who will aid him and need to be defended in turn. Occasionally different paths can be chosen in the animation and different events triggered, but for the most part the game is a closed environment. -- Moby Games
MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat By Activision
Mechwarrior II was developed in-house by Activision as the successor to their original Mechwarrior. While this time there are no dynamic campaign and mercenary actions, the Clan culture is integrated into the two campaigns. Different clans have different mechs and different rules, even different weapons. You can customize your mechs in order to use less than the "par" force in order to get a higher rating. The full 3D environment wasn't pretty as this was before the 3D accelerators made their debut, but it's still better than anything that came before. Let addition of NetMech allowed users to fight each other online. When 3D cards came along, special versions were created to take advantage of 3D texturing. While not QUITE as replayable as Mechwarrior, it's nonetheless a classic. -- Moby Games
Magic The Gathering(Video Demo) by MicroProse
In single player mode, you start with a small deck of cards/spells, wander the land exploring dungeons and battling monsters (and their spefic spell decks). Along the way, you win/lose spell cards, go to markets to trade or buy new ones, and pick up world magics and more life. The game ends when you defeat the 5 powerful elemental wizards. -- Moby Games
Virtual Karts(Video Demo) by MicroProse
Race in the little leagues, except these Karts are anything but slow! With the fastest going up to 130 MPH, these karts are what professional race drivers drive to keep their edge in the off-season! -- Moby Games
Sid Meier's CivNet(Video Demo) by MicroProse
Multiplayer version of the original Civilization. Single player is still available, but there are a lot of multiplayer connection options. Gameplay is exactly the same as in the original. Beginning 4000 BC with only a few settlers, you build up your civilization by building cities, making discoveries and competing with your rivals. A map editor is included. -- Moby Games
Meltdown by Monolith
This one is actually difficult to describe. If you were to add some scrolling text it would make an interesting scene-demo. Basically I think this was Monolith's attempt to see what they could do with the amazing new technology that was DirectX. Check it out and enjoy.
Muppet Treasure Island(Non-Playable Demo) by Activision
A children's adventure game that is fun for all ages. The game is based on the Muppet Treasure Island movie. The game is divided into 4 parts. In each part there are a number of tasks to complete which are fairly simple. There are 2 hours of full-screen video featuring live-action characters - Tim Curry and Billy Conolly from the movie.
Pressure Drop Starhill Productions
Use your Chromagun to beat the twenty Zones by destroying the descending bricks. To destroy the bricks you must alter the color and tone of each brick in the block so that they all match. To change the color of the bricks, rotate the Chromagun to the color of your choice then shoot them by pressing the Spacebar.
Information:
Release date: Jan, 1995
Developer: Misc. companies
Publisher: Microsoft / Monolith
Genre: Compilation
Players: Single Player
Operating System: Windows 95 / 98 (partial XP)
Torrent Contents:
CD.jpg - CD scanned by me
ODYSSEY.zip - An MDS file of the game disk
Virtual_PC_Instructions - Instructions to install Windows 98 in MS
VirtualPC
Information.nfo - This file
Disk review:
Since very few reviews or websites ever pay any mind to compilation CDs like this, I will endeavor to write one myself. Having little background writing formal reviews I'm going lay down a set of guidelines before I start looking at the games contained on the disk. For purposes of a fair review I won't hold bad games against the disk, but will count good ones towards a favorable review. There will be 3 main categories I examine. First, I'll look at the front-end of the disk. Second, I'll rate the variety of the games. Third, how much fun the games are overall(not individually). Finally, I'll hand out bonus points for every game included on the disk that I think should be considered a true gem. If the disk contains more than 20 gems total or 25%(whichever is smaller) I'll call it an excellent buy regardless of the other scores. Rating will be done on a percent scale with the scores broken down as follows:
Front-end 20% (20 points max)
Variety 30% (30 points max)
Fun Factor 50% (50 points max)
Plus 1% bonus for every gem on the disk
Now let's boot it up.
Front-End
Since Virtual PC doesn't have 3D acceleration I had to run the front-end in XP, despite the fact that almost all the games needed to be run in VPC. You might be asking yourself, "why would the front-end use 3D acceleration?" That's a good question to ask. The answer is simple, this is the most awesome front-end ever created for a demo disk. When I reviewed the "40 Best Windows 95 Games" front-end I said it was everything I looked for in a front-end for a disk like this. I was wrong. This is the only demo-disk that I have ever owned where I was just as entertained by the front-end as I was by the games themselves. And that's no lie. The front-end is a 3D(Doom ray-casting style) space station with various platforms being the games. But it's not just that, there's a fairly large complex outside of those platforms to explore complete with hidden doors and weird robots running around. There is also a 2D menu for those of us without proper 3D accelerators(blast you VPC). The 2D menu leaves a lot to be desired though. It's difficult to navigate since all that's shown on the buttons is the marketing company's logo and not the title of the game. If you've looked through the list of games you'll notice that most of them are made by the same 3-4 companies. Which makes for a lot of the same logos. All in all, I was genuinely entertained by this program, and that's pretty impressive for something like this. 19 out of 20.
Variety
This disk has Tetris-esque puzzle games, Doom 95, Beavis and Butthead, army games, Earthworm Jim, flight simulators, and arcade style games to name a few. With only 37 games on the disk it manages to have quite a bit of variety. There seems to be something on here for everyone. My only major complaint is that out of those 37 demos, 17 of them are not playable demos. They're either video trailers or multimedia presentations(read: glorified power-point presentations) about the games. Absolutely none of the FMV games introduced on the disk are playable. I understand that it would have taken up quite a bit of room, but I think Monolith could have added 50Mb more to the disk and had one room of The Daedalus Encounter included on the disk. Also, with the 'multimedia presentation' demos, there seems to be no variety whatsoever. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but after I see the Activision logo swirl onto the screen and then spin around for the ten-millionth time...I get the urge to hit the escape button. An action which, sadly, ends the multimedia presentation. When I had to dig through every single (fucking) one to make sure there wasn't any game content, that got pretty annoying.
25 out of 30
Fun Factor
This was actually one of the most fun afternoons I've had sitting at my computer in years(plus I don't feel dirty about it). The games are varied and enjoyable. My only complaint is that there are so many unplayable games, and there's no way to tell if a specific game is playable before you try to run it. Most of the playable demos are quite good. However, there is one addition to the playable demos that I could have done without. And I know I said I wouldn't hold bad games against the disk, but I'm going to make an exception to that rule. 'Beavis & Butthead in Virtual Stupidity' was the dumbest 5 minutes of my life. I was retarded for a half-hour as a result of watching the intro to this demo. Granted, I never liked Beavis and Butthead, but still. *sigh* I suppose it's the fecal matter buried in the pile of gems. Hold on for one second while I check something out. Alright...now my eyes are bleeding and I have a concussion from slamming my head into the desk. I just googled an episode of Beavis and Butthead and watched the entire thing. I really do hate it. 40 out of 50
Extra Credit(The Gems in the pile of filth)
Arcade America
Full Tilt Pinball
Fury3
MechWarrior 2
Meltdown
Pressure Drop
Total:
Front-end 19 out of 20
Variety 25 out of 30
Fun Factor 40 out of 50
Bonus 6
For a grand total of 90% giving this collection a grade of A-
Other than that one game which shall not be named, I really did enjoy this disk. It's creative, it's charming, and it's got a very nice style that I don't think I've ever seen before.
References:
Game info & screenshots
http://www.mobygames.com -- Moby Games for each description
http://anandasim.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!ED4D5DC800CD99CF!362.entry -- Virtual PC Tutorial
http://web.archive.org/web/20010722153211/http://rpm.spinn.net/TechArts.htm -- One of the only web pages I can find which references this disk
http://blood.wiki-site.com/index.php/Monolith_Productions -- Information about Monolith
The front-end for this game has been tested in Windows XP SP2 and the games in virtualPC running Windows 98.
The scans has been inspected by hand. If you see some flaw I missed, let me know and I'll fix it right away.
