Sega 1989
Genre: Simulation, Action
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

A conversion of an immensely popular arcade game, Afterburner does everything in its power to deliver the same feeling, but fall short. A long time ago, when I still visited arcade halls, Afterburner was one of my favorite games, but also one of the hardest to play, due to the long line of people waiting for their turn. It was one of those games where you sat down into a seat, which moved with you as you turned the airplane, flew up or down. The soundtrack, a cheap copy of the Top Gun music, blasted from all sides.

Ocean 1989
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 4/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Yay, it's summer! Dig out your bathing shorts / suit, jump in the car and head for the beach. And hope you are one of these good-looking sport-types to avoid being laughed about. Or alternatively, hope there are even fatter people than you to keep the attention away from the result of your beer sessions. Hiring some people with visible mutations could also help...

Image Works 1989
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Blasteroids, along with Phobia and Spidertronic, was one of the first three original games I owned. Ironically enough, I owned it before I even got an Amiga. Oh well - looking at a box cover can be fun, too.

Tynesoft 1989
Genre: Action, Sport
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Summer Games, California Games - you all know these games which consist of somehow sports-related mini games. Then there was was Circus Games - we're already getting a little more obscure here - and later, the same company released Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. And once again, the title says it all, so let's quickly go through the events of this game.

Ocean 1989
Genre: Sport, Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Chase H.Q., which first got into the arcades in 1988, is a racing game with a twist. Instead of just using the basic 'driving faster than the opponents', it adds another goal: catching another vehicle. The simple background story tells us something about a 'futuristic' police department called 'Chase H.Q.'. The player sits around in his sports car all day until he gets a call from Nancy from the headquarters, telling him about an escaped criminal who has to be caught again.

CDS 1989
Genre: Strategy
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Chess might be the most known strategy games in existence. Who knows? One thing is for sure though: it is one of the simplest. At least the rules are simple. It's easy to learn how to play. Reminds my of the time back when I was working in the kindergarten where I taught this game to a bunch of interested children between 4 and 6. That was the time in my life when I played chess most frequently. Almost every day someone challenged me. Yeah, that was fun! At last some real competitors

Icom Simulations 1989
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 5/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

This time, the player indeed gets a deja vu: This sequel is so similar to its predecessor that it's hard not to get some flashbacks. You're even going to visit some of the old locations and meet some of the old people again! That doesn't mean it's a useless game only to make profit off its 'good name', but without anything new. It is just a sequel in a very strict sense: it picks up right after the first part.

Elite 1989
Genre: Action
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: Amiga

Steve Bak had already ported both Commando and Ikari Warriors to the Amiga for Elite, and apparantely building on that experience, he followed that up with his original creation Dogs of War. The use of 'original' in the previous sentence being limited to the meaning of 'not being a conversion', because Dogs follows Commando's footprints very closely, but it has become a minor classic on its own right.

Accolade 1989
Genre: RPG
Rating: 3/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

An old mansion, a lost grandfather and plenty of monsters in what at firsts looks like another dungeon crawler, but that hide within a few things which make it different. But don't get your hopes high.

FTL 1989
Genre: RPG
Rating: 6/6
Licence: Commercial
System: PC

If there ever is a list of computer games that changed the world of gaming forever, Dungeon Master would figure prominently on the top, among such classics as Civilization and Doom. Dungeon Master was not the first roleplaying game to be viewed from a first person perspective; that honor goes to Akalabeth by Richard Garriot. It wasn't the most difficult game, either. However, by combining a very unique spell casting system with real-time combat, unprecedented graphics and awesome sound, the game managed to create such an authentic atmosphere that only Ultima Underworld, many years later, was able to match it.