Uprising X (PlayStation)

Uprising X was a game released exclusively on the PlayStation in 1998. It is a sort of hybrid first person shooter, tank simulator and real time strategy game. This combination of genres makes it relatively unique but it also made it a hard sell.

The plot of the game is just a thinly veiled excuse to blow stuff up but that isn't really a problem. This isn't really a story driven game. You get to control a futuristic tank armed with weapons such as lasers and guided missiles. In addition to controlling the tank, you can also call for any available reinfocements when needed such as infantry, more tanks or aircraft. While driving your tank around, you must search for good places to build on. In each location you build, you will first construct a large building with a turret on top. Once this is build you can enter the turret and control the gun or build other structures and factories.

Uprising X also offers a split screen two-player mode with three types of games: challenge, death match and seige. The first two are about killing the other player directly while the last one involves protecting your base from enemy assault.

Uprising X was actually a sequel to Uprising, a Windows game, and offered the same genre combination. While Uprising got mostly positive reviews, it didn't sell as well as they would indicate. Part of the problem was that gamers just didn't really know what kind of game to expect. While the combination of genres made for a unique and interesting game, RTS fans would often be turned off by the action or action fans by the strategy aspects. Despite selling below expectations, Uprising X followed. Other than another sequel on the PC (Uprising 2) and despite critical acclaim, there have been no further games in the series nor have there been any remakes. However, if you are a fan of either or both genres, this is a series worth giving a shot. All three games in the series are good but Uprising X is the only one of them to be released on a console.

The ad above is from the February 1999 issue of The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine and the screen shot are from Moby Games.

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 41 (Water, Hops and Malt)

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 41 (Water, Hops and Malt)

Computer Warehouse (1985)

Computer Warehouse (1985)

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 40 (Pasterz)

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 40 (Pasterz)

MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat

There have been a lot of mech games over the years. There are only few I have spent serious time playing and MechWarrior 2 is one of those. In my opinion, it is still one of the best.

MechWarrior 2, like the other MechWarrior games, is part of the BattleTech universe. MechWarrior 2 was originally written as a DOS game in 1995 but was ported to Windows and Macintosh as well as to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. As the player you must choose one of two clans that are at war with each other. After making your choice, you will pilot a mech in a variety of missions with various goals. As the game progresses, you can further modify your mech and can eventually issue commands to your own squad. MechWarrior 2 is a cross between a tactical simulator and first person combat. It really plays much like a flight simulator only with mechs instead of planes and it is awesome.

Unfortunately, they went in a little different direction with the console ports. The arcade aspects were emphasized more and the game was simplified somewhat. Some will no doubt like this better but to me it ruined the game. I loved the simulation aspect of the original computer versions and to change that makes it a much different game.

So if you want to give this one a try, the DOS or Windows versions are definitely the ones you want to chose from. The problem is that these are relatively difficult to get working on modern hardware. MechWarrior 2 has not been re-released for modern hardware and is not available via distributors like GoG or Steam. Getting this game to work is complicated by the fact that there were different versions released for different 3D accelerators as well. There are tutorials out there for getting the Windows version to work on a modern system and I suspect that you can get the non 3D accelerated version to work via DOSbox but I haven't tried it (and you would lose out on some textures). However, despite the dated 3D graphics and extra effort required to get this one up an running on modern hardware, it is well worth it. Whenever you see a list of top 100 games this one is typically in it and for good reason. Hopefully it will show up on GoG one of these days...

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 39 (Town Gates)

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 39 (Town Gates)

RUN (September 1985)

RUN (September 1985)

MegaCon 2018: CELEBRITY Q&A WITH THE PRINCESS BRIDE'S STAR CARY ELWES

MegaCon 2018: CELEBRITY Q&A WITH THE PRINCESS BRIDE'S STAR CARY ELWES

Electronic Fun with Computers & Games (November 1982)

Electronic Fun with Computers & Games (November 1982)

Ahoy! (June 1984)

Ahoy! (June 1984)

MegaCon 2018: CELEBRITY Q&A WITH XENA HERSELF, LUCY LAWLES

MegaCon 2018: CELEBRITY Q&A WITH XENA HERSELF, LUCY LAWLES

Games For Windows (January 2008)

Games For Windows (January 2008)

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 37

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 37

Amiga Plus (December 1990)

Amiga Plus (December 1990)

MegaCon 2018: CELEBRITY Q&A WITH CHEWBACCA HIMSELF JOONAS SUOTAMO

MegaCon 2018: CELEBRITY Q&A WITH CHEWBACCA HIMSELF JOONAS SUOTAMO

Tips & Tricks (March 1997)

Tips & Tricks (March 1997)

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 36

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 36

Games for Windows (June 2007)

Games for Windows (June 2007)

Games for Windows was the successor to Computer Gaming World and at just over a decade old, it barely fits the criteria for "retro" (my criteria anyway). The June 2007 issue includes:

• Editorial - You may wonder why we're doing another World of WarCraft cover. Our senile editor-in-chief tries to focus long enough to explain why. However, deep inside, he's really just thinking about chocolate. And marbles.


• Letters - Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to reader mail.


• Start - We've got the scoop on Hellgate: London's MMO-style subscription scheme - and why it's not an MMO - along with Mythos, the free online game that Hellgate spawned. Plus: Spore goes under the microscope; flight-sim wizard Oleg Maddox shares his secrets; and how to score some free games.


• GFW Live - We sit down with Microsoft Games head honcho Peter Moore to discuss bringing Live to the PC. Is there more to it than Halo 2 Achievements and Shadowrun?


• Inside Blizzard's World of WarCraft - Behind closed doors at Blizzard, we learn stories about the creation of the most successful MMO to date. Plus, get the early word on the game's newest content.


• Extend - Our angry reviews editor offers up some constructive criticism of Guild Wars, our casual-games columnist gets hooked on PopCap's Preggle Deluxe, and our favorite dueling duo wages war in Command & Conquer 3.


• Reviews - At long last, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl makes its way out of development hell...and it's worth the wait. Also this month: The Elder Scrolls IV world gets a little bit bigger thanks to the all-new Shivering Isles expansion, and Christmas comes early for flight-sim geeks in the form of IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946.


• Tech - Eager to play PC games on the go? This month, our second installment in a three-part series breaks down everything you need to know before you buy a mobile gaming rig.


• Greenspeak - The world's foremost expert on fun finally shares his theories on the subject. We're expecting a Pulitzer.

MegaCon 2018: CELEBRITY Q&A WITH FAN FAVORITE JEWEL STAITE

MegaCon 2018: CELEBRITY Q&A WITH FAN FAVORITE JEWEL STAITE

Omega (1989)

>p>Omega (not to be confused with Omega Race) by Origin was really a game ahead of its time given that it was released in 1989. The goal was to build a tank with a certain budget, program it, and then pit your tank against others. As you win battles, your budget increases and you can build better tanks for more difficult challenges. You could even create your own battlefields.

Omega was ahead of its time in a couple of ways. Part of the game involved actually programming your tank. There were various AI script commands that could be used that were reminiscent of BASIC. There were instructions that allowed control of various functions of the tanks as well as others that allowed communication and coordination between tanks. The code used to program the tanks was cross-platform so Omega players from different platforms could still compete with each other. For a while there was even an official Omega BBS to facilitate this.

Omega was available for several platforms including the Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIgs, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS and Macintosh. The ad above mentions all of these with the Apple IIgs and Macintosh versions "coming soon". This game has never had a sequel or been remade but I think it would be an excellent candidate to remake today. I'm not aware of anything quite like it. If you want to give this one a try, any of the versions are pretty good and there really isn't a significant difference in terms of game play. The 16-bit versions will have somewhat better graphics in most cases but it isn't a big deal for this game. Pick your favorite platform and give it a try.

The above ad is from the December 1989 issue of VideoGames & Computer Entertainment.

Compuserve (1994)

CompuServe was the first major online service provider in the U.S. with its origins going all the way back to 1969. It reached its peak in the early 1990s when it was surpassed by AOL. Of course, both were surpassed by the rise of the Internet and more generic Internet Service Providers soon after. CompuServe peaked around 1995 with about 3 million users.

Like all such services of the 1980s and 1990s, CompuServe was a proprietary service. Internet service started to a limited degree in 1989 with e-mail being gated to and from the Internet. Web access became available in 1995. By 1997 CompuServe started converting its forums to HTML and in 2004 the proprietary interface was finally discontinued completely. CompuServe’s forums did not cease altogether until the end of last year (2017) after 36 years. Some of the active ones have found homes elsewhere on the Internet.

The above ad is from 1994. $8.95 got you unlimited connect time and included various features including 60 e-mail messages a month. Some services cost extra.

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 35

Brevard Renaissance Fair 2018 - Stary Olsa - Part 35