Home of Retro PC Gaming
Currently hosting 19 simulation games!
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Home of Retro PC Gaming
Currently hosting 19 simulation games! |
| Bang! Bang! 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | Win16 Shareware (full version) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by David B. Lutton II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by David B. Lutton II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A very simple ballistics game that was one of the first popular games for Windows 3.0. Playing against a human opponent or the computer, two cannons take turns selecting an angle and velocity and firing a cannonball at each other. The flags indicate which way the wind is blowing, and the wind speed is listed at the bottom of the screen. The wind and terrain are selected at random each round. The impact from cannonballs alters the terrain. Despite the game being so small and so simple, it appeared on so many shareware disks and CD-ROMs that almost everyone has played it, so it simply has to be considered a classic. Mentioned as a possibility in the documentation of v1.00, Lutton developed Bang! Bang! 2.0 which had a modem-to-modem multiplayer capability and gave it to a friend to post on BBSes, but he believes that it was never uploaded. Downloads
AvailabilityDavid B. Lutton II still accepts shareware registration of this game.
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| Bow and Arrow - In Search of the Greatest Archer 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 6 | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by John Di Troia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by John Di Troia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A challenging archery adventure in which the hero must shoot targets and enemies to advance through the levels and eventually face the Black Archer. The right mouse button draws the bow, and the left mouse button allows the archer to move up and down. Some enemies attack indiscriminately, while others are harmless unless you accidentally shoot them. As you advance through the game, you acquire feathers in the top left corner indicate hit points, which represent the number of times you can be hit by an enemy. Saving your game at several points is a good idea, since some levels can't be beaten unless you do something critical in a previous level. The game can be played with three specific playing field sizes, or maximize to fill the screen. The larger the playing field, the harder the game becomes, which makes it almost impossible to play while maximized on a large monitor. There are three save game slots in v1.0 and five in v1.1. There are no sound effects in the Abridged version. Originally registering the Unabridged version cost $12, which was increased to $15 with v1.1, but also included two bonus programs. There are 22 levels in this game, with only the first 12 playable in the shareware version. Downloads
AvailabilityI have found no ordering information for this game.
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| Chopper Commando 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 9 | DOS Shareware-turned-freeware | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Mark Currie | Compatibility guide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Mark Currie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics: CGA 320×200×4c | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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An old favorite of mine. This simple chopper game has a number of missions, sarcastic dialog, and beautiful 4-color graphics. Man that takes me back. Using your helicopter's bullets, missiles, bombs and nukes, destroy other helicopters, transport planes, missiles, some weird looking tanks, and any buildings that you're not fond of. Even when you're walking around outside of your chopper you can still throw grenades. The documentation with v2.0 mentioned that for $5, the author would send you the source code for v2.5 which added new missions to a new "Very Hard" category, but was never distributed compiled and was not to be mass distributed or uploaded to BBS. He was kind enough to send me a compiled copy that includes the source code, and this may be the only site that has it. DownloadsChopper Commando v2.56 and source code in Borland Turbo Pascal 5 (154k) Play online AvailabilityAuthor Mark Currie has generously released this game as freeware.
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| Corncob 3D 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 9 | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Pie in the Sky Software | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by MVP Software | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Corncob 3D is possibly the only shareware flight simulator for DOS. The premise is a bit strange, though. Adolf Hitler's demise at a young age prevented World War II, but aliens invaded in 1938 and colonized the planet at will until 1949. The world has finally coordinated a plan to attack the invaders on all fronts, and you must fly missions or all will be lost. Your airplane is equipped with guns, missiles and bombs, and you can get out of your plane and navigate on foot with just a pistol. EGA graphics mean that the graphics aren't very realistic, but a lot of people enjoyed this game. The full version has missions on other worlds in other solar systems. DownloadsCorncob 3D v3.42 Shareware Episode (350k) Play online AvailabilityI have found no ordering information for this game, and it is not listed on MVP's website.
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| Detroit 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Impressions Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Sierra On-Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics: VGA 320×200×256c | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Detroit is a business simulation game where you control every aspect of an automobile company. You design cars and trucks, build factories, choose where and how much to advertise, fund research and development of new parts, and control production, all while competing against three other car companies. You can take out a loan or put money in a savings account. Despite the large number of things that you have to control, this game is surprisingly addictive and a classic of the genre. The shareware demo isn't appear to be crippled in any way, except that you can only play for 60 months, which should take several hours. Downloads
AvailabilityI have found no ordering information for this game.
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| Drum Blaster 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware-turned-freeware | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Larry Tipton | Compatibility guide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Epic MegaGames, Larry Tipton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics: EGA 640×350×16c | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I had to decide if this is actually a game or if it's music software. I've decided that it's a game, because it's fun to play. Drum Blaster is a music and noise maker with quite a few options, as well as different animated musicians. Although there are no goals or challenges to overcome, this could be entertaining for younger players. Epic became the publisher for Drum Blaster version 3.0. The registered version has 4 add-on packs. Pack 1 - Cool Drums Downloads
AvailabilityAuthor Larry Tipton generously released this game as freeware under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license on 7 October 2007.
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| EGA Trek 1988 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (full version) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Arcanum Computing | Compatibility guide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Arcanum Computing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A PC adaptation of one of the first computer games ever written. I first played a game like this on a Kaypro 4 running CP/M. The concept is simple, but enjoyable. You command a starship in a galaxy divided into 8×8 quadrants which are divided into 8×8 sectors. Use warp drive to move between quadrants and impulse engines to move within them. EGA Trek takes advantage of EGA graphics to display most of the important statistics and maps without having to request them a command at a time. The enemies are called Mongols and you command the U.S.S. Lexington, a Union starship. Attack with lasers and torpedoes, defend with shields, map the galaxy with scanners, and repair and reload at starbases. An unusual feature is that there are also planets, some of which have energium which you can use to power the ship in an emergency, as long as shuttle craft or transporters are working. 5 difficulty levels ensure a good challenge for newcomers and veterans. DownloadsComplete version history:
AvailabilityArcanum Computing still sells the registered version of this game for $15 on floppy disk.
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| Gazillionaire 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 10 | Win16 Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by LavaMind | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by LavaMind, Spectrum HoloByte | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gazillionaire is a business simulation game where you control every aspect of an interplanetary trading company. Each turn, you buy products on one planet and choose another planet to go to, hoping to sell for less than you bought for. You can check the supply and demand for each of the seven planets, choose how much to pay for advertising, and whether or not to buy insurance. You can take out a loan or put money in a savings account. Despite the large number of things that you have to control, this game is surprisingly addictive and a classic of the genre. The registered version features complete graphics, voices, sound effects, music, warehouses, weather reports, news updates, facilities, and planet histories. Downloads
AvailabilityI have found no ordering information for this game.
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| Moraff's Flygame 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Freeware (always) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by MoraffWare | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by MoraffWare | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A map with landscape features of various altitudes, such as mountains and valleys, is randomly generated. You can fly only up and down on the screen, at a fixed rate of speed, and you play until you crash into a mountain. I'll be honest, this game isn't likely to hold anyone's attention for more than a few minutes, but it is a classic piece of MoraffWare software and is interesting as a history curiosity. This game was mentioned in the ordering information of most other Moraff games, but there was never a registered version. Moraff's Flygame was always freely distributable. Moraff's Flygame Freeware (10k) AvailabilityThis game was originally released under a freeware license.
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| Robot Crusades 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware-turned-freeware | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by RederWare (Tactical Neuronics) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by RederWare (Tactical Neuronics) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In the 22nd Century athletes have reached their limits in traditional sports and records are no longer broken, so people have turned to robots for their entertainment. In this complex strategy game, you must design an army of robots with varying abilities to battle an opposing army. Victory is achieved when either side destroys the other side's satellite, but this isn't just Capture the Flag. Robots fight and destroy each other, you can hide mines, and some robots can act as minesweepers, adding an element of Stratego or Admirals. The satellite is also the means by which the robots communicate with each other, so the robots can only receive orders while they're within range of the satellite. The catch is that you don't get to control the robots. Once you've created your army, the robots fight without human intervention, so everything depends on the strength of your planning. John Reder originally published Robot Crusades under the name RederWare. Registered robots could not be used in the shareware version. Robot Crusades v1.0 Registered Version (661k) AvailabilityAuthor John Reder has generously released this game as freeware.
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| Scorched Earth 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Wendell Hicken | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Wendell Hicken | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Mother of All Games! That's how the author describes this game, and when I was in high school, it was true. In this turn-based simulation, up to 10 humans or computers can use tanks to blow each other up with anything from small missiles to thermonuclear weapons. Shields and parachutes allow players to withstand the destruction from weapons, environmental damage and the occasional tank falling on top of you. Use guidance to seek and destroy your friends and enemies, or unleash multiple projectile weapons on everyone on the screen. Weapons and armor must be purchased, and money is awarded based on kills. Despite extremely simple concept and gameplay, you can customize settings for everything from the effect of the walls around the screen to gravity, wind and economics. One of the most addictive multiplayer games of all time. Originally a small freeware game, Wendell Hicken started distributing the game as shareware when he received an unsolicited payment for the game! The registered version enables the triple-turreted tanks for users, and adds 25 new scanned mountains. Complete version history:
AvailabilityWendell Hicken still sells the registered version of this game for $20 on CD-ROM.
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| Shooting Gallery 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Arcanum Computing | Compatibility guide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Arcanum Computing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics: VGA 320×200×256c | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A surprisingly well-rounded shooting simulation. There are seven rounds of shooting, two each of a traditional carnival "duck shoot" game, skeet shooting, and target practice, and it concludes with a western-style shootout mode. The graphics are quite nice, and there are SoundBlaster sound effects. The registered version includes a much larger sound effects library.
AvailabilityArcanum Computing still sells the registered version of this game for $16 on floppy disk.
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| SimCity 1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Maxis | Compatibility guide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Broderbund, Interplay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics: Hercules 720×348 mono CGA 640×200 mono Tandy 320×200×16c EGA 320×200×16c EGA 640×350 mono EGA 640×350×16c | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The original city-building simulator from this legendary series, later sold as SimCity Classic. In SimCity, you create residential, commercial and industrial zones and watch them develop. To be successful, they need roads and power. Industry does better when there is a sea port, and commerce improves when there's an airport. Create police departments to reduce crime and fire departments to put out fires when disasters occur. A map screen allows you to see where there is crime, pollution, traffic, police coverage, fire coverage, and see the land value, population density and population growth throughout the city. You determine the rate of taxation, and how well funded your police, fire and transportation departments are. All of these things determine how successful each neighborhood is, and creating a thriving city can be quite addictive. As in life, there are no goals. You may want to get the largest possible population, or perhaps a smaller community that has no pollution or crime. There are also eight scenarios that can be played with specific goals to achieve. You can't run power lines over roads in the demo for some reason. The game can only be played for 3 minutes in the shareware demo. SimCity Shareware Demo (568k) Play online AvailabilityCopyright holder Electronic Arts no longer sells this game. It can be ordered from Amazon: SimCity or SimCity for Windows 3.0 or SimCity Classic or SimCity Enhanced for CD-ROM or SimCity Enhanced Multimedia Edition, or as part of Sim Classics 3-in-1 Pack or Maxis Collections 1 or Maxis Collections 2 or Maxis Collections 3 or SimMania Pack or Interplay All-Nighter Collection.
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| SimCity 2000 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Maxis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Maxis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics: SVGA 640×480×256c | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SimCity 2000 is a huge upgrade over SimCity. It is vastly more complex, but still very easy to play. Whereas zones in SimCity had to be 3×3, 4×4, or 6×6, zones can be created with any dimensions in SimCity 2000, and you can specify light or heavy development. The landscape has become three dimensional, allowing hills and valleys, and land can be raised or lowered. You can create connections to neighboring cities. There are a lot more types of power plant, there are highways and subways, you can build schools, universities, libraries, hospitals, prisons, military bases, bus stops and subway terminals. In addition to power, zones need water. Water pumps draw water, while water towers can hold excess water during wet months and supply water during dry months. There is an underground view that lets you create water pipes and subways. Some items don't become available until they are invented (unlike SimCity, there are no nuclear power plants in 1900). In the future, massive self-contained cities called arcologies can be added that can hold up to 65 000 people. New graphs allow you to see your city's life expectancy and education. Your city has a credit rating and you can take out loans. There are also a number of scenarios that can be played with specific goals to achieve. The game can only be played for 20 minutes in the shareware demo, and many items, including power plants, are unavailable. SimCity 2000 Shareware Demo (1055k) Play online AvailabilityCopyright holder Electronic Arts no longer sells this game. It can be ordered from Amazon: SimCity 2000 or SimCity 2000 Special Edition, or as part of The Kids Fun Pack or Family Mega Hits.
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| SimCity 3000 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 5 | Win9x Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Maxis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Electronic Arts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SimCity 3000 introduced significant visual improvements to the SimCity franchise. Featuring DirectX graphics, SC3000 looks quite beautiful, but is otherwise very similar to SimCity 2000. Small improvements include having three levels of zone density instead of two, over 350 landmarks to add to your cities, and 3D sound. Time is now measured in days instead of just months. Farming and waste management are new to SimCity 3000, adding a new layer of complexity to an already complex simulation. The good news is that there's a much smaller learning curve when moving from SC2000 than there was from SimCity to SimCity 2000. The game can only be played until a certain level of development is achieved in the shareware demo, and many items and options are unavailable. DownloadsSimCity 3000 Shareware Demo (121 035k) AvailabilityCopyright holder Electronic Arts no longer sells this game.
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| Slam! 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 9.5 | Win16 Shareware-turned-freeware | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Robert Epps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Robert Epps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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After all these years, Slam! is still the best air hockey game I've ever played. The puck moves smoothly, the speed is intense, and the sound effects are perfect. This game just looks, sounds and feels like air hockey. The computer's skill can be adjusted to make the game challenging for any player. Even the colors can be customized. The game is first to 11 points, which is one of the few settings that can't be adjusted from within the game – though an unpublished variable called "PointsToWin" can be added to the .ini file. Fun for all ages. Slam! v1.0 Freeware (44k) AvailabilityAuthor Robert Epps generously released this game as freeware on 5 February 2008.
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| War-8}! 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: No rating | DOS Shareware (full version) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Jake Firth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Jake Firth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics: EGA 640×350×16c VGA 640×480×16c | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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War-8}! is a tank wars game for two human players. The author gave it an odd name to differentiate it from all of the other games called "war", and because it represents a smiley emoticon. The terrain is randomly generated before each battle and some buildings are placed on the map, which provide a small amount of cover. Each side gets five tanks and may use one of them to fire each turn. There are three types of weapon: rocket-propelled grenade, amplified light pulse, and pyrotechnic missile. The RPG requires creates a small explosion and is fired by choosing the angle and power. The amplified light pulse is a laser which fires in a straight line from the chosen angle and travels until it hits something, bouncing off the walls and ceilings. It gradually loses power as it moves, and can fizzle out if it never hits anything. The pyrotechnic missile is the most power weapon, and the most difficult to use. It requires angle, power, and the amount of fuel to use to deliver it to the target. The player must press D to make it detonate, and the timing is important to get the maximum yield. If timed properly, the explosion can be huge and will usually destroy any tank with a direct hit. The catch to all three weapons is that angle, power, and fuel levels must be selected from moving gauges, so getting your shot to travel at the angle and distance you want requires proper timing, making this a game of reflexes as well as skill. War-8}! Shareware (46k) Play online AvailabilityI have found no ordering information for this game.
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| WinTrek 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 3 | Win16 Shareware (full version) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by TSoft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by TSoft | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Screenshot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A number of games based on the old Star Trek game for minicomputers were named WinTrek. This is one is notable for being developed by TSoft, the company that later made Football for Windows. The game is simple: you command the Enterprise and search a grid of 8×8 sectors, each of which are made up of 8×8 coordinates, trying to destroy a certain number of Romulans with a certain number of days. There are a couple of frustrating factors: when you put energy in the shields, it doesn't add it to whatever energy was already there, so the existing energy is just wasted; and when you lower your shields to go to warp, the energy doesn't go back into your reserves, again being wasted. Wasted energy is factored into your final score, but it's still annoying. As in other versions of the game, your various systems are sometimes damaged, but in WinTrek systems can fail for no reason when you're not even in battle! The classic gameplay of the original is still present, but this is one of the harder versions I've played. There are three difficulty levels in this game.
AvailabilityI have found no ordering information for this game.
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| Worms 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| User rating: 8 | DOS Shareware (partial game) | Simulation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developed by Team17 Software | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by Ocean Software | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics: VGA 320×200×256c | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The first game in the famous Worms series. Two to four teams command units of heavily armed worms and try to blow up all of the enemy worms. Each worm has 60 seconds to move as far it can, and select and fire a weapon. The worms have bazookas, grenades, cluster bombs, uzis, homing missiles, and they can call in air strikes, among many other lethal attacks. The worms are killed if they run out of hit points or get knocked off of the playing field, such as being blown into the water or lava that surrounds the terrain. Far from being reprehensibly violent, the cute little worms say funny things when they die. It's the kind of cartoon violence that made it so much fun to blow up lemmings or let them splatter after a great fall. An expansion pack called Worms Reinforcements was released, and they were also sold together as Worms and Reinforcements United. There are only two landscapes, and a number of weapons are missing, in the preview demo. Downloads
AvailabilityCopyright holder Team17 Software no longer sells this game. It can be ordered from Amazon: Worms, or with expansion pack, Worms and Reinforcements United.
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