PC Games of the 1990's: 1992

I hope to bring some old games back for discussion by mentioning them here. I will also give a description of the games current status, with regard to current distribution and remakes. If you want to replay any of these old games and discuss the experience, please let me know in a comment (or in some other way).

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is the seventh game to use the SCUMM engine, the first game being Maniac Mansion. SCUMM actually means Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion. Even if Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was released 1992, it wasn't until 1993 before it was re released as an improved version with voice acting and sound effects. The game is played in one of three game modes, or paths: Team, Wits or Fist. In the Team path, Indiana will get help through the game from Sophia Hapgood. In the Wits path there are a lot of complicated puzzles, and in the Fist path focuses a lot on action and in particular fist fighting. Fist fighting is completely optional in the Team and Wits paths.
Today:
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is available on Steam.
There is a somewhat inactive fan project to create Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis 2 over at Amber Fish Arts.

Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty

Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty was released by Westood Studios, and titled Dune II: Battle for Arrakis in Europe. It was one of the first games to support the general MIDI standard. It is based on the 1984 movie Dune, which is in turn based on the novel Dune written by Frank Herbert. Dune II set the standard for what an RTS (Real Time Strategy) game should look like that lasted for a very long time. Dune II was for example the first RTS with unique factions with at least some different units, resource gathering for building units and that some building had to be constructed in a certain order. The AI for Dune II isn't very sharp. Interestingly, investigations into the game engine have shown the AI to be capable of more advanced behavior then what is shown in the game. Unfortunately repeated mistakes in the mission scripts left those capabilities unused.
Today:
OpenDUNE is an open source remake.
Dine II: The Golden Path is a multiplayer remake.


Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Ultima Underworld was also released in 1992, making it a good year for Ultima fans. Ultima Underworld takes place in the Great Stygian Abyss, a large cave system that you never leave during game play. It was the first 3D game where the player could look up, down, and jump. It's classed as a dungeon simulator by the developer Origin rather then an RPG. It might just be marketing, but you can get a feeling for what they mean from the non-linear gameplay, and all the things that you can find and do that doesn't actually do much to further the plot. A cool part of the game is the mantras that can be used at shrines to give you benefits. Only some of these are mentioned in the manual, the rest have to be found while playing the game. The same goes for the rune based magic system. Some runes have to be found, and then you have to find out how to combine them to get a certain magic effect such as flight. Combat takes place in real time, and you can use both melee and ranged weapons. You attack by mouse clicks, the longer you hold down the button before you release it, the more powerful attack. Different weapons have different attacks that are activated depending on were in the screen you click.
Today:
Ultima Underworld I and II can be bought at Good Old Games.

Ultima VII: The Black Gate

Ultima VII includes several improvements. It's the first completely mouse driven Ultima game, and the first one that doesn't use a tile based system. It's also the first game where you can actually hear the Guardian. Ultima VII is the first one in the series that takes place in real time, something that mostly affects combat. That isn't to say that you can't use items in combat, the game pauses while you uses items from the inventory. This new way of doing combat is greatly helped by the introduction of the party AI system. Something that feels unusual when playing the game now is that manual control of the Avatar during combat is optional. It's also the first game in the main Ultima series to use dialogue trees for NPC interaction. All these improvements might be why Richard Garriot himself said that the game "was the most masterfully executed of the Ultima series." in an interview with GameSpot. Ultima VII later got an expansion called Forge of Virtue that allowed you to visit The Isle of Fire, where Castle Exodus was located in Ultima III.
Today:
You can get Ultima 7: The Complete Edition on Good Old Games.
Exult is the most popular recreation of Ultima VII.

Alone in the Dark

Alone in the Dark is a survival horror game based on the writings of HP Lovecraft. It's listen in the Guinness World Records: Gamers Edition 2008 as First Ever 3D Survival Horror Game, which seems like a very specific record. The game starts with the main character unarmed in the attic of the haunted house, and you have to find your way out. You start unarmed, but there are weapons to be found throughout the game. That said, the number of monsters in the game is quite low, and a large number of them can't be killed, but have to be outsmarted or avoided. Even the monsters that can be killed can sometimes be avoided by solving a puzzle. The game places a large focus on exploring to advance the story, and to figure out what happened in the house before the player arrived.
Today:
Alone in the Dark can be bought on Good Old Games.
The "spiritual continuation", Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare can be bought on Good Old Games.

Wolfenstein 3D

Wolfenstein 3D was created by id Software and released by Apogee Software. It's inspired by Castle Wolfenstein and Beyond Castle Wolfenstein by Muse Software. id Software could get the trademark since Muse had let it expire. It was released as a shareware version that had one episode that contained ten missions (levels). The retail version contained two additional episodes with ten missions each. Later versions of Wolfenstein 3D includes the mission pack The Nocturnal Missions, bringing the game to a total of six episodes and sixty missions. In each episode there is a secret level, the most notable one being the one on the third episode. This secret mission recreates Pacman in a first person shooter with the player taking the role of Pacman. Each episode ends with a different boss that has to be killed in order to proceed. An interesting trick used by the programmers is that while normal enemies have eight possible sides(back, side front, etc), bosses only have one, the front. That means that a boss is always facing you, and can't be snuck up on. The game engine for Wolfenstein 3D was inspired by a technology demo for Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, that John Carmack saw in 1991. The engine lacks some functions from the Abyss engine such as floor and ceiling height changes and lighting, but it ran quicker on old computers.
Today:
The source code have been released by id Software, but other resources like music, data and tools are still under copyright.
You can get the Shareware version here.
The full version can be bought on Steam.

If you start playing any of these games again, please let me know how. I would love to replay some of these games and then discuss the experience. Did it turn out that you still love the game, or were you disappointed?

The first post in the series: PC Games of the 1990's: 1990.