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Into the Eagle’s Nest

World War II and video games have gone together like peanut butter and chocolate during the medium’s existence. Interpretations of the historic war range from serious strategy games & detailed simulators to the high-flying fare of Wolfenstein 3D or the Call of Duty series. Interceptor Micros, a publishing studio riding the wave of British microcomputers, had their take with Into The Eagle’s Nest, released in 1987, on a host of computing platforms of the time. Its setup and pedigree had potential to be something quite thrilling, but the finished product leaves much to be desired.

The Dark Crystal

1981 was quite the year for Jim Henson. Fresh off directing The Great Muppet Caper, Henson decided to push the boundaries of what Muppets could do with The Dark Crystal, a dark fantasy feature inspired by the whimsical paintings of Brian Froud. Co-directing the flick with his colleague Frank Oz, Henson shot a weird fantasy movie that plays like a stoner silent film. In spite of being light on plot and heavy on mood, The Dark Crystal terrified and delighted adults and children alike.

Over at Sierra On-Line Inc, game designer and Sierra co-founder Roberta Williams needed a hit. Her last game, Time Zone, failed to please critics and gamers alike with its large quest and $99 price point. Wanting to work on a shorter project, Williams jumped at the chance to adapt The Dark Crystal into a text adventure game with graphics. A literal, if short, translation of its source material, The Dark Crystal (the sixth and final game in their Hi-Res Adventure series) lets gamers play the movie with graphics that have quite a bit more character than their usual fodder (Mystery House, The Wizard and the Princess).

Electrician

Even in the early 1980s, Mario was a big time video game star, and part of his appeal lied in his everyman, blue collar work ethic, putting him in roles of a carpenter (Donkey Kong), a plumber (Mario Bros.) and a construction worker (Wrecking Crew). One job he didn’t undertake was an electrician, and that role was fulfilled by Synapse’s obscure 1984 release, rather unimaginatively called Electrician.

NYC: The Big Apple

In Synapse’s NYC: The Big Apple, developed by Russ Segal, you control a tourist who simply wants to see the sites of Manhattan. It would be straightforward, if not for two major issues: New York City is not only incredibly expensive, but also (at least in the early 1980s, fairly dangerous.

Shamus: Case II

The follow-up to Shamus tries something completely different, shedding its Berzerk-esque gameplay for something a little bit more original. It’s actually a side-scrolling (sort of) action-shoot-em-up-platformer hybrid, while still maintaining the light exploratory elements of its predecessor.

Shamus

Synapse Software was only alive for a few years in the early-to-mid 1980s, but during their brief existence, they developed a reputation for publishing excellent software, primarily for Atari 8-bit computers. One of their hallmark games was Shamus, developed by Cathryn Mataga. While the title suggests something to do with investigative work (a “shamus” is slang for a detective), it’s actually a little misleading, considering it stars a knife-flinging robot in a hat and trench coat, infiltrating the lab of his evil counterpart, Shadow. The title screen features a rendition of the tune “Funeral March of a Marionette”, more widely known as the song that accompanied Alfred Hitchcock movies.

Questprobe Featuring Spider-Man

The second Questprobe game focuses on Spider-Man. It’s yet another treasure hunt, as Peter Parker must scour The Daily Bugle office building to collect 18 gems and give them to Madame Web. The coolest gimmick that takes advantage of Spider-Man’s abilities is that you can climb on the ceilings of certain rooms, which rotates the screen so it’s viewed upside down. An early puzzle also involves collecting chemicals and creating web solution, which is used in more than a couple of puzzles. In many of the rooms, you’ll run into assorted villains, including the Sandman, Doctor Octopus, the Lizard, Mysterio, and Hydro-Man. The perspective here is rather interesting too, because you’re not technically Spider-Man, but rather some kind of unseen being, making Spider-Man do your every command (at least, every command that the parser understands). Every command begins with the line “SPIDER-MAN, I want you to” and then you fill in the blank.

Questprobe Featuring The Human Torch and the Thing

The third and final Questprobe text adventure features one-half of the Fantastic Four: Human Torch and Thing. The whole treasure hunt thing has been ditched, and instead, the ultimate goal is to find and rescue Alicia Masters from Doctor Doom’s castle.

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