Games

Ten years have passed since the events described in Pool of Radiance, and the heroes return to the city where it all started, Phlan. The city is thriving, and looks quite idyllic; but a sinister force is lurking deep in the shadows... After the heroes leave to escort the council member Sasha on a diplomatic assignment, the evil Lord Bane sends four of his most feared lieutenants to destroy the cities of Faerun and twist our dimension. The goal is clear: explore the land and rid it of the evil, by taking on Bane's minions one by one... Pools of Darkness is the fourth of Gold Box series of classic-style AD&D-based role-playing games. The gameplay is quite similar to other games of this type. At the start of the game, the player creates a party of characters (up to 6). Classic AD&D races (dwarf, elf, half-elf, gnome, etc.), character classes (fighter, paladin, monk, wizard, etc.), alignments (Good/Evil and Lawful/Chaotic axis), and statistics (strength, intelligence, wisdom, etc.) are there for the player to choose and adjust. Once the party is created, the player begins the exploration of the city of Phlan. Upon exiting the city, the player explores a top-down map, visiting dungeons and other locations of interest, as well as engaging in combat. The turn-based combat is done in similar style as other Gold Box games: the player navigates characters one by one on the top-down battle field, assigning various commands. Experience points are gained after successfully defeating enemies. Enemies appear randomly on the world map as well as in dungeons.

The Heroes of Ascore have been magically summoned to help old dwarven allies retake the city of Llorkh from the foul Zhentarim legions. After that, there are more dangers that lurk in the wilds of the Savage Frontier... The sequel to Gateway to the Savage Frontier is a role-playing game using SSI's standard Gold Box gameplay system. You can import existing characters from playing the first game. The game is viewed form above, as you move your party into mystery, buildings and combat. The game now includes weather changes that affect movement and NPC interaction.

The party of adventurers has just escorted a caravan from the dwarven-ruled citadel Adbar to the city of Yartar. Now it's time to relax - the heroes head to the nearest tavern for food and drinks. However, somebody slips a drug into their food, and they all pass out. Upon awakening, they discover that they have been robbed of nearly all their possessions. The heroes must now begin everything from scratch. Investigating the matter, they unravel a much bigger and more sinister plot, which involves the evil organization Zhentarim and their plans for conquering the land. Gateway to the Savage Frontier is a Gold Box Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game set in a Forgotten Realms area known as the Savage Frontier. The gameplay is very similar to other games in the series, including creating and managing a six-member party of adventurers following the AD&D rules, first-person view for exploration, and turn-based combat. A new addition is a world map travel mode, which includes enemy encounters, and character-specific side quests, which can be undertaken by finding and talking to certain non-playable characters.

Actual Sunlight is a short interactive story about love, depression and the corporation. The game puts you in the role of Evan Winter, a young professional in Toronto, as he moves through three distinct periods of his life. The story is linear, unavoidable and (hopefully) thought-provoking. You experience his perceptions, fall under the consequences of his decisions, and meet everyone who didn't change him. Gameplay is minimal, and serves only to move from one part of the (admittedly) text-heavy story to the next. The game fiercely attempts to be worth it.

Actua Soccer Club Edition is a re-edition of Actua Soccer, released with the 20 teams of the English Premiership instead of international competitions. New commentary was recorded and some Premiership historical data was included. All remaining aspects of the game were unchanged or just tweaked. The rest of the game is well known to fans of the genre - it was the first fully polygonal football game on the market, which allowed an unprecedented graphical realism and (technically) unlimited camera angles.

The last of the series, Actua Soccer 3 arrived in late 1998. For the first time, both club and national teams were present, plus other teams (such as Arsenal LFC) and various joke teams. While its predecessor had been criticized for the absence of club teams, Actua Soccer 3 featured a total of 25 leagues with 450 national and international teams, more than any game of the time except the earlier Sensible World of Soccer as well as over 10000 players. The graphics used a slightly improved version of the Actua Soccer 2 engine with much improved weather effects. Trevor Brooking was replaced by Martin O'Neill as Barry Davies' commentary partner. "Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams was the only ingame soundtrack the classical operatic theme Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) by Pietro Mascagni was played during the game's introduction video.

Actua Soccer 2 or sometimes Actua Soccer 98 due to its capitalization on the 1998 FIFA World Cup was one of the many football titles released to capitalize on the 1998 World Cup, and once again included national teams, but a more polished engine (optimized in the PC version for 3D graphics cards), (in some versions) the full Italian Serie A league, and a new "scenario" mode assured good sales and mostly positive reviews. It also included a team creator mode, which enabled the player to make up to 128 custom teams. Barry Davies was joined by Trevor Brooking on the commentary, and the game featured England football team captain and striker Alan Shearer not only on the cover, but also providing interviews about the game in the press. Michael Owen and Simon Tracey provided motion capture for the players. The game also featured menu music and a cameo appearance from Welsh rockers, Super Furry Animals, which could only be activated after entering a cheat code. Actua Soccer 2 was also bundled with Creative Technology's Voodoo 2 graphic cards, which helped to achieve widespread distribution and popularity.

Actua Golf 3 is a golf simulation game featuring eight courses. You can completely customize your own character. With a new character you start with amateur tournaments until you have removed your handicap. Then you can participate in the pro tournaments. To hit the ball in this game the player will have to use his analogue stick and swing that much like a real club.

Actua Golf is a golf simulation with full 3D terrain and characters. It comes with two courses to play at (country and tropical), customizable characters and multi-view shot tracking and action replays. Actua Golf uses similar game controls as older golf titles did. With a swing meter, where you have to time correctly to hit the ball right.