The Top 50 Underappreciated Commodore Amiga Games

This article originally appeared at Den of Geek UK.

The Amiga was a brilliant 1980s home computer that was ahead of its time, thanks to its custom architecture. By the middle of the 1990s, its parent company, Commodore, had gone bust, and the Amiga was left behind. However, what remains is the glorious legacy of a distinctive computer with a broad library of great games.

Famous Amiga releases include Lemmings, Sensible Soccer, Speedball II, The Chaos Engine, Populous, Worms, Hunter, Another World, and Cannon Fodder. You won’t find them on this list, though. These are the underappreciated Amiga games. And every one of them is a corker.

Screenshots courtesy of the Hall of Light.

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50. Resolution 101

Resolution 101 is a decree that allows criminals to earn their freedom by tracking down other criminals. So much for the plot, which is just an excuse for a lot of shooting.

The game world is a city constructed of 3D objects for the buildings and 2D sprites for the multitude of foes. It’s a very fast-paced shooter where the player’s vehicle zips around the city. It’s like Battlezone on steroids.

The cheesy music is good but gets a bit repetitive and can be turned off. While Resolution 101 doesn’t have much longevity, it’s good for a quick blast.

49. Alcatraz (1992)

Predating Michael Bay’s The Rock by four years, Alcatraz sees the former prison taken over by drug cartel boss Miguel Tardiez. As a commando, you must infiltrate Alcatraz without the help of Sean Connery.

The action is split into various sub-games, each of which is pretty good in their own right. A horizontally scrolling exterior section allows both action and stealth approaches, with numerous hiding places in the shadows. There’s also a rope-climbing section with searchlights and a first-person section.

If you like Alcatraz, check out its predecessor, Hostages.

48. Conqueror (1990)

The Acorn Archimedes gave the Amiga David Braben’s Zarch, which was released under the name Virus, but also a tank simulator called Conqueror that used the same game engine.

Unlike the futuristic, alien invasion setting of Virus, Conqueror is set during World War II with a selection of American, Russian, and German vehicles. As World of Tanks players know, trundling around in a tank and shooting at other tanks is very enjoyable.

There’s a strategy option as well as a more basic arcade mode. Controlling the tank takes some practice, with four keys used to control track movement forward and backward, and another four to control turret elevation and rotation.

47. The Gold of the Aztecs (1990)

This adventure is so difficult that it would make Indiana Jones hang up his hat and whip and return to his university. On the first screen, after parachuting into the jungle, the protagonist is trampled by an elephant. After that, death comes in many ways, from snakes and dangerous plants to belligerent tribesmen and falling from great heights.

It’s worth persevering, if only for the challenge or getting farther than your friends, who will have usually given up by then. The Gold of the Aztecs eventually heads underground, where a giant octopus dwells in the depths. In one excellent scene, a horrific monster chases the player through a dark cavern.

At the time, The Gold of the Aztecs was promoted on the strength of its graphics and animation, which were constructed with a tool called Animator on a Mac connected to an Amiga. The game is ambitious, but quite fiddly to control.

46. Birds of Prey (1991)

This flight simulator from Electronic Arts contains an excessive number of aircraft. Amiga flight simulators usually concentrate on one or two types of planes or a wider selection from a specific era, but Birds of Prey features forty aircraft, including the X-15 experimental rocket plane, the B-52 Stratofortress, the F-117 Nighthawk, the Hercules, and the Jumbo Jet.

The list of mission types is extensive, with air interception, air superiority, long range bombing, bomber escort, close support and ground attack, border/sea patrol, reconnaissance, troop drop, supply drop, stealth bombing, stealth reconnaissance, and test pilot operations.

Birds of Prey’s developer, Argonaut, was also known for the 3D Starglider games and later went on to develop Star Fox for Nintendo.

45. Citadel (1995)

Citadel, or Cytadela in the original Polish version, was one of a number of Doom clones that appeared on the Amiga. The basic Amiga models were not well suited to the kind of fast texture mapping required for these types of games, but plenty of developers decided to try anyway.

The best Amiga Wolfenstein 3D and Doom clones included Alien Breed 3D and the original Gloom, but unlike those games, Citadel works on an Amiga 500, albeit with a screen size that is best described as "postage stamp." On faster Amigas and a bigger screen size, Citadel looks better.

When played in the hard difficulty mode, the player loses a small amount of health by running into a wall. Citadel must be the only first person shooter where the player can die by head-butting his surroundings.

44. Infestation (1990)

Opening with a flashy, animated intro, as most Psygnosis games tended to do, Infestation first appears to be a Battlezone-style shoot-'em-up, with bugs instead of tanks on a planet's surface. In fact, the bulk of the game is set in an underground base.

Once inside the base, the game is about exploration and puzzle solving. The player can remove his helmet for a wider view and access blueprints of the levels. The infestation is a large number of alien eggs that must be destroyed with cyanide gas.

Infestation is hard and requires some commitment from the player. Let’s look at all the ways that the player can die: asphyxiation, starvation, overheating, freezing, radiation poisoning, an attack by robots, tripping on a wire, the base core reaching critical mass, falling, egg secretion contamination, being crushed by a closing door, general head injuries, being poisoned by vicious moon marauders, electrocution, cyanide gas poisoning, a collision with one's own drop ship, and a head explosion caused by rapid depressurisation. It’s a good thing that in space no one can hear you scream in agony.

43. Cavitas (1992)

Hiding in the depths of Amiga obscurity is a rare game called Cavitas, which, appropriately enough, involves exploring a gloomy cave system. There are six levels to navigate, and it is the kind of game that would have been at home on the Spectrum. Think Starquake or The Ice Temple.

An interesting characteristic of Cavitas is that the caverns are dark but illuminated by two beams on the ship and other light sources throughout the levels. Progress is made by exploring, finding keys, destroying enemies, and locating parts of a spaceship.

Nite Time Games, the developer, would go on to create a quirky maze game called Mean Arenas.

42. Midwinter II: Flames of Freedom (1991)

In the late Mike Singleton’s Midwinter, the world was covered in snow at the dawn of a new Ice Age. In the follow up, Flames of Freedom, the ice has melted and barbecues are an option again, but sadly, all is not well. As part of the Atlantic Federation, you must liberate a group of islands from the clutches of the dastardly Saharan Empire.

Midwinter II is incredibly jam-packed with the kind of character customization options later seen in the Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, a massive area to explore, a series of missions, and enough air, sea, land and amphibious vehicles to satisfy even the A-Team.

The original game was perhaps more focused and the similar Hunter is better, but Midwinter II is a good example of the kind of epic scope that can be achieved with limited technology.

41. Blob (1993)

"Imagine a universe of a different dimension—a dimension of height, of ground, of gravity and time." So proclaims the box for Blob, a platform game that is viewed from above. The camera zooms into the screen as Blob falls and zooms out as he climbs.

The platforms on which Blob gambols are suspended in space with what appears to be an infinite drop below. Certain floating tiles affect Blob in different ways, with some collapsing, some preventing his progress, and others causing him to hover.

Although only a blob, the central character is expressive and responsive, and the concept is original. The developer, Jonnathan Hilliard, programmed Blob at university, was recruited by Core Design, and so started his career in the games industry.

40. Shadowlands (1992)

Shadowlands’ unique selling point is light. A system called Photoscape casts light upon the environment, leaving shadows in the unlit areas. Light is not just a visual effect, but actually affects the gameplay. For example, it changes the behavior of creatures and plays a part in solving puzzles.

The game itself is a role-playing game set in the usual fantasy world. Commands are issued by clicking on the appropriate body parts in character portraits. For example, the head is used to read and eat, the hands are for combat and manipulating objects, and the legs are for moving. At the time, it was seen as a logical interface, but it’s still a step away from simple context-sensitive controls.

A decent sequel called Shadoworlds retained the lighting system but changed the setting altogether to a futuristic space station.

39. Storm Master (1992)

Silmarils, a French publisher mainly known for RPG and adventure games like the Ishar trilogy, released this imaginative kingdom simulator. Storm Master is an action strategy game set in a fantasy land where wind is important and battles are fought with flying sailing ships.

The strategy portion is coordinated from a map of the island of Eolia. The aim is to conquer the enemy island Sharkaania. Various scenarios are available: The Realm of Eolia, The Golden Age, The Decline, The Great War, The Great Famine, and The End of a World. A council advises on things such as production, religion, trade, and science.

The flying ships are designed using Leonardo da Vinci-style blueprints before being launched to do battle in the sky in the optional 3D combat sequences. Badly designed ships won’t make it off the ground.

38. Statix (1994)

Tetris is a perennially popular game that has appeared across numerous formats. Sometimes, it's transformed into a variant such as Welltris, which is viewed in 3D from above, or Faces: Tris III, which involves building rows of portraits.

Statix has a much better idea and places the shape-matching action on top of a seesaw. As well as matching the right shapes, you have to stop the seesaw from tilting too far in either direction. When shapes are combined, they will disappear and thus upset the balance.

This sounds rather stressful, but some mellow music helps to turn Statix into a relaxing experience. Alternatively, try a two-player duel game against a friend and try to overload their side of the seesaw.

37. Apocalypse (1994)

This game is Apocalypse Now without the "Now." In fact, the game's cover art looks suspiciously similar to the VHS cover of Francis Ford Coppola’s war film.

In this update of the 8-bit game Choplifter, a helicopter pilot must rescue hostages and bring them back to base. The action is set in a jungle, on a battleship, and inside an ancient temple. The graphics are updated for 16-bit, with some nice fiery explosions.

Apocalypse is a tough game. For example, in the first level, a giant gun will quickly destroy your helicopter if you don’t take it out as soon as possible. With only five levels, it’s not a long game, but is fun while it lasts.

36. RoboCop 3 (1992)

Ocean was the king of games based on films, and their traditional method was to create different sub-games based on key cinematic scenes. The result was usually lots of inferior mini-games rather than one good one, with notable exceptions such as Batman: The Movie and Robocop 3.

The developer of RoboCop 3 took the sub-game approach. However, Digital Image Design was known for flight simulator F29 Retaliator and 3D space game Epic, so the developer abandoned the 2D graphics of the previous RoboCop games for a 3D engine.

There are sections where RoboCop drives, fights, flies, and shoots, but they all have a similar feel and are knitted together with atmospheric cutscenes. The shooting sections are the highlight, as Robocop wanders around corridors killing criminals using his H.U.D. interface.

This one was also notorious for introducing a piracy-battling dongle system. One that Ocean abandoned shortly afterwards...

35. Pacific Islands (1992)

In the near future of 1995 (well, it was in 1992), “disaffected renegade Soviet communists, backed by North Korea, have invaded the Pacific atoll of Yama.” It’s up to your American tank platoon to bring swift justice to these invading ne'er-do-wells.

A group of sixteen tanks is split into four units that are each controlled in a separate quarter of the screen. In order to concentrate on one unit, each quarter can be expanded to fill the whole view. It’s easier to play than it sounds. The game engine is interesting, with 3D buildings and flat sprites for the tanks. Beyond the tactical battles, there is also a strategic section.

Pacific Islands is the second game in a trilogy that started with Team Yankee and ended with War in the Gulf.

34. Fireforce (1992)

This update of Green Beret provides everything that the military enthusiast could want, including a good selection of weaponry, helicopters, hostages to rescue, medals, terrorists to kill, and a virtual career path with retirement (or death) at the end.

One of Fireforce’s key influences is Vietnam films of the 1980s. There’s an M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon that can be used to blow up watchtowers in a suitably cinematic way. A Rambo-style knife can be used to silently cut the throat of unsuspecting bad guys.

Fireforce is not a perfect game and the intelligence of the enemy leaves a lot to be desired, but it’s very memorable. Just don’t miss the helicopter at the extraction point.

33. Deliverance (1992)

Deliverance is a sequel to Hewson game Stormlord. Although originally meant to be a straight port of the Commodore 64 version, Amiga developers Peter Verswyvelen and Kim Goossens had grander plans that involved large levels, massive sprites, and detailed graphics.

The most obvious influence on Deliverance is the Bitmap Brothers’ Gods. A butch warrior called The Stormlord hacks and slashes his way through weird monsters, bats, and spiders crawling up the walls and along the ceilings.

The ambitious vision eventually caused the developers to run out of time, and Deliverance became a little less impressive by the fourth and final level, which is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up.

32. Cybercon III (1991)

Cybercon III is the name of a “Super Defense computer gone mad” in a scenario that will be familiar to anyone aware of Skynet and SHODAN. Cybercon III is actually kind of similar to the later System Shock.

As with a lot of early games of this ilk, it takes some time to learn how to play. Each game tended to implement very custom interfaces, which made Amiga games wonderfully diverse but also a little baffling to newcomers.

Exploration of the 3D world, which was sometimes described as a "virtual reality" at the time, is through the visor of a power armor. Learning to control the suit’s systems is necessary to progress in the game.

31. Historyline 1914-1918 (1993)

Ace German developer Blue Byte was the company behind The Settlers and Battle Isle, a science fiction themed wargame that provided the game engine for Historyline. Swapping the futuristic setting for the trenches of World War I proved to be an interesting choice.

The Great War was characterized by stationary armies in trenches, and most World War I games on the Amiga, such as Knights of the Sky and Wings, are about the more mobile war in the air. World War II was much more common in games.

Although an intro sequence covers the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the origins of the war, Historyline also contains a good amount of period information in the game itself. Although the combat is hex-based, like most wargames of the time, it’s much more accessible than most.

30. Thunderhawk AH-73M (1991)

“Things are getting desperate… Yes, Mr President.” Thunderhawk opens with an impressive cinematic introduction that involves a thunderstorm, a helicopter, the White House, and a man running down a corridor to meet the President. This helicopter simulator was a game from Core Design, of Tomb Raider fame, who clearly decided that a Psygnosis-style introduction was in order.

Thunderhawk takes an arcade-style, action-based approach to helicopters, but uses the mouse rather than the joystick for basic flight controls. This is one simulation that doesn’t require a degree and a hefty tome to play. See Shuttle: The Space Flight Simulator and ProFlight for simulators that do.

The game engine is fast and fluid, and there are six campaigns, from Europe to Alaska, with a wide selection of weapons and aircraft. Thunderhawk late became successful on the Sega CD/Mega-CD system, although that version is quite different to the original computer release.

29. Escape from Colditz (1990)

Colditz Castle was a World War II prison for POWs who had a tendency to escape from other camps. It is debatable whether it was a wise decision to house all the best escapees in the same place.

Based on a board game from Gibsons Games, Escape from Colditz tasks you with helping British, American, French, and Polish POWs exit the castle. Each of the four men are housed in their own quarters and need to explore German areas to find the necessary escape items.

The isometric view engine and graphics build a sense of location. and exploring restricted areas is tense. There are disguises, a daily routine, keys, men acting as lookouts, solitary confinement, and, of course, tunnels. Whistling The Great Escape tune during play is optional but recommended.

28. Corporation (1990)

Somehow, Doom appeared in 1990, and it was called Corporation. Admittedly, Corporation isn’t a fast-paced shooter, but rather a kind of action-adventure in first-person 3D with 2D sprites.

The idea is to penetrate a multi-storey building as a secret agent with James Bond gadgets, including a jet pack. The corridors and rooms of the building are populated by robots and monster holograms. A time bomb can be used to destroy many of the floor’s walls in a single explosion, so Corporation has some rudimentary destructible scenery, a feature that would later be a key part of the Red Faction series.

Corporation came with an offer to digitize your face and load it into the game via a floppy data disk. It’s unclear how many players took this offer.

27. Sabre Team (1992)

Sabre Team takes its inspiration from the SAS’s 1980 rescue of hostages in the Iranian embassy siege in London. One of the game’s missions is similar, with a rescue attempt in the American embassy in London. The others involve a mountain fortress, a cruise ship, and a missile factory in the desert. The gameplay is similar to Laser Squad and UFO: Enemy Unknown with carefully equipped squads first deploying and then making turn-based moves based on a limited number of action points.

The original 1992 version of Sabre Team for the Amiga 500 was slow to process turns, but the 1994 version for the Amiga 1200 and CD32 resolves that problem. It also starts with the embassy assault instead of a jungle mission and includes some professional voiceover work that sounds like it’s from a TV news channel.

Special forces missions are always gripping, and games like Sabre Team and Hostages live on today in the form of tactical first-person shooters like Rainbow Six.

26. Lamborghini American Challenge (1994)

In the beginning, there was Crazy Cars and it was bad. Then there was Crazy Cars II and it was bad, too. Eventually, there was Crazy Cars III and it was pretty damn good, actually. However, that wasn’t enough for French publisher Titus. Crazy Cars III was given an official licenced name and re-released as Lamborghini American Challenge. Now it could race alongside the Lotus games and Jaguar XJ220.

Apart from the licenced name change, the major difference between Crazy Cars III and Lamborghini American Challenge is the split-screen mode that allows two players to race against each other.

The driving model feels fluid and the races are spread across the U.S.A., with some good weather effects to accompany the scenery. There are cops, gambling, car upgrades, and everything else you might expect from a street racing game.