oh man, Captain Comic - This was among some shareware games my dad purchased soon after the first family computer. I probably had 80+ hours into that game before I finally finished it due to the lack of saving, level codes, or continues.
Captain Comic, i remember we had a 486 with the small floppy so my parents asked on the store if the game was on the new floppy and the clerk told it was. At home we open it and was the old big floppy disk... i had to wait a year so my dad got a older 386 PC with the older floppy drive to play the game.
It's funny you mentioned that, I was thinking of the same game while watching this video. I got it on CD at some point around 97 or 98 and never got far in it. I just remember killing bugs... lots of bugs.
You're not alone with that thought. I think most people associate shareware with early Apogee and ID games, which does make sense since they did kick off the episodic model used in many games. However, there were a few PC(and Mac) Shareware games in the late 80s even if most of them aren't really any good. 1990-1995 was probably the "golden age of shareware" with literally thousands of games and programs being released and passed around.
Overkill was a fairly shameless clone of Xenon II, which came out 3 years prior. Continuing the tradition of successful shareware games that are essentially clones of other games. Enjoyed the video; keep up the good work.
As a kid I played alot of overkill on the family computer. I remember mum had a glass cutter i was playing with and I couldn't understand how the thing could cut glass.... so i used it on the computer monitor.... I used that mark in the monitor for years after that to line my ship up for overkill =P One that I remember playing and it confused the hell out of me as a kid but still really enjoyed was Cyber Bykes. I spent better part of 15 years searching for that game with the little amount of information I had. I was so happy when i finally find out the name of it again haha
Is there a followup game to Crusher? It reminds me of a super similar game where you also control a...face-block; but the background is grey instead of black
My buddy and I played the CRAP out of the shareware release of Overkill on his trusty 386. The Adlib music for that game sounded spectacular, and the action felt just as frantic as it did in Raptor or Tyrian (which I also adore). It's a shame that the sounds are pure PC speaker bleeps and bloops, although I'm sure that made the game easier to develop with a tiny team back in Ye Olden Times.
Not really all that many obscure ones. For starters there was heretic and doom, which I'm not even sure they were shareware. One other is Jazz Jackrabbit. Only the first episode was available. Next one is Eggbert. Yup. I played that too. Messed with the editor for God knows how much. There was also a game called operation inner space. I think you didn't have access to other ships or something. Off course there was skyroads holiday edition, and I remember I could play only one level. Lastly(though I'm not sure) is in search of doctor riptide where you pilot a sub sidescroll style.
I actually didn't play Doom and Heretic until much later, but I played a ton of Blake Stone if you have ever heard of that one. However, Jazz Jackrabbit was a big one for me as well and I played the heck out of that first episode. I also have really good memories playing the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 shareware/demo.
@@RetroAmateur1989 In the game it is listed as "shareware demo" in the episode list but I know what you mean. Shareware in the late 90s was losing it's meaning a bit since games were getting larger in size making them harder to technically share with the tech of the time.
oh man, Captain Comic - This was among some shareware games my dad purchased soon after the first family computer. I probably had 80+ hours into that game before I finally finished it due to the lack of saving, level codes, or continues.
It is a brutal game indeed.
Loved that game. It really seems to be forgotten nowadays
Yeah it is pretty unforgiving, and It has some nasty jumps later in the game.
Captain Comic, i remember we had a 486 with the small floppy so my parents asked on the store if the game was on the new floppy and the clerk told it was.
At home we open it and was the old big floppy disk... i had to wait a year so my dad got a older 386 PC with the older floppy drive to play the game.
That shade thrown at Lawnie. 😆
Just to clarify, Lawnie is awesome! Just not at platformers. 😁
@@DOSStorm or puzzle games. Though his Tetris game has improved recently. 😀
@@Vanessaira-Retro It was bound to happen with the hundreds of Tetris-based DOS games kicking around!
I went "ohhh!" when I saw that xD
Amulets and armour looks like a mysterious unknown game that begs to be explored.
Absolutely. I think its still worth playing!
Dude I love e your shareware videos. As a PC owner since waaaay back, this Era was exciting and made me feel like I was part of something special
Thank you! I will continue making them as long as people are enjoying them.
I have never subbed to a channel so quickly. Thanks for this.
You're quite welcome! Thank you for your support.
Captain Comic? Do they call him Capcom for short? :P
I always enjoyed the shareware demo of Entomorph. I only got the full version last year.
Never heard of that one. It looks interesting based on the screenshots.
It's funny you mentioned that, I was thinking of the same game while watching this video. I got it on CD at some point around 97 or 98 and never got far in it. I just remember killing bugs... lots of bugs.
This is interesting because I always associated the dawn of shareware with Doom and Wolfenstein. I didn't know about shareware from the late 80s.
You're not alone with that thought. I think most people associate shareware with early Apogee and ID games, which does make sense since they did kick off the episodic model used in many games. However, there were a few PC(and Mac) Shareware games in the late 80s even if most of them aren't really any good. 1990-1995 was probably the "golden age of shareware" with literally thousands of games and programs being released and passed around.
Overkill was a fairly shameless clone of Xenon II, which came out 3 years prior. Continuing the tradition of successful shareware games that are essentially clones of other games.
Enjoyed the video; keep up the good work.
Wow you're right it looks very similar judging from the screenshots and even the "megablast" in the name!
@@DOSStorm Yeah, pretty shameless. The music in Overkill is better than Xenon 2 on PC (but the Xenon 2 original Amiga music is iconic).
As a kid I played alot of overkill on the family computer. I remember mum had a glass cutter i was playing with and I couldn't understand how the thing could cut glass.... so i used it on the computer monitor.... I used that mark in the monitor for years after that to line my ship up for overkill =P
One that I remember playing and it confused the hell out of me as a kid but still really enjoyed was Cyber Bykes. I spent better part of 15 years searching for that game with the little amount of information I had. I was so happy when i finally find out the name of it again haha
OMG, a glass cutter and a CRT monitor seems like a recipe for disaster. lol
@@DOSStorm goes without saying my parents were not impressed
Is there a followup game to Crusher?
It reminds me of a super similar game where you also control a...face-block; but the background is grey instead of black
They made a sequel called "Crusher Castle 2". Soleau also made a few other games very similar to it.
Major Stryker and KiloBlaster were my jam
My sister loved Captain Comic. I think she beat the game a few times too.
Thank you for unlocking some core memories
That's what I'm here for. 😁
My buddy and I played the CRAP out of the shareware release of Overkill on his trusty 386. The Adlib music for that game sounded spectacular, and the action felt just as frantic as it did in Raptor or Tyrian (which I also adore). It's a shame that the sounds are pure PC speaker bleeps and bloops, although I'm sure that made the game easier to develop with a tiny team back in Ye Olden Times.
The only thing that I think overkill lacks is boss fights at the end of the levels.
1st Game I played it but the others I missed out on.
Not really all that many obscure ones.
For starters there was heretic and doom, which I'm not even sure they were shareware.
One other is Jazz Jackrabbit. Only the first episode was available.
Next one is Eggbert. Yup. I played that too. Messed with the editor for God knows how much.
There was also a game called operation inner space. I think you didn't have access to other ships or something.
Off course there was skyroads holiday edition, and I remember I could play only one level.
Lastly(though I'm not sure) is in search of doctor riptide where you pilot a sub sidescroll style.
I actually didn't play Doom and Heretic until much later, but I played a ton of Blake Stone if you have ever heard of that one. However, Jazz Jackrabbit was a big one for me as well and I played the heck out of that first episode. I also have really good memories playing the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 shareware/demo.
@@DOSStorm oh yes I played the jazz Jackrabbit 2 demo as well, but I don't know, I don't really view it as a shareware.
@@RetroAmateur1989 In the game it is listed as "shareware demo" in the episode list but I know what you mean. Shareware in the late 90s was losing it's meaning a bit since games were getting larger in size making them harder to technically share with the tech of the time.
I remember Overkill!
Oh… forgot. It says forgot.