Four PC Games from 1995

K. Fields
2017-03-31T19:18:23-04:00
Video Games

Continuing my chronological walk through PC gaming’s past, I recently played four titles from 1995. However, I really only played one of them for a significant amount of time. Here is the rundown.

Terminal Velocity - This was a 3D shooter in which you pilot a starfighter. Your job is to defend Earth against an alien race. I only completed one mission before bailing on it. It reminded me a bit of Descent, another game that never really grabbed me.
Realms of Chaos - Published by Apogee, this was a side-scrolling platform game with a fantasy setting. The gameplay had one twist—the ability to switch between characters. Available to you were Endrick the warrior and Elandra the sorceress. Each character is useful, depending on the situation. I liked this game better than Terminal Velocity. However, I didn’t play it long enough to finish a complete episode.
Kingdom: The Far Reaches - Out of these four games, this was the only one not published by Apogee or 3D Realms. It originated as a laserdisc game before it was ported to other platforms such as the PC. Created by Rick Dyer, it had a similar feel to his more famous creation, Dragon’s Lair. Like Dragon’s Lair, it gave you the same feeling of being in an animated movie or a Saturday morning cartoon. Unfortunately, playing Kingdom: The Far Reaches involved a lot of dying and repetition. Although I was extremely impressed with the visuals of Dragon’s Lair back in the heyday of arcades, I never really enjoyed playing it. For me, it is more fun to watch someone else play these games than it is to play them myself. There were two play options, apprentice mode and wizard mode. I wimped out and played apprentice, mainly because I wasn’t sure how long the full game would take to complete. Apprentice mode kept the game pretty short and I played it to the end.
Xenophage: Alien Bloodsport - This one on one fighting game was the biggest disappointment of the lot. Although it looked pretty cool with good graphics for its time, it was a letdown. The fighting game genre has always been more popular on consoles. This game did nothing to advance the genre on PCs. I only played a few fights before uninstalling it. Compared to classics like Mortal Kombat, Tekken, and my favorite SoulCalibur, Xenophage was completely forgettable.

Lathan Kandor meets Princess Grace Delight in Kingdom: The Far Reaches