SNEG continues their effort to preserve classic PC titles by releasing another long list of Strategy Simulations Inc. (SSI) and Mindscape games on Steam and GOG.
This latest drop of games runs a wide gamut of genres and timeframes. The first title listed is the Phantasie Collection which combines Phantasie (1985), Phantasie 2 (1986), and Phantasie III: The Wrath of Nikademus (1987). While we’re on the topic, there was a Phantasie IV: The Birth of Heroes in 1990, but that was released exclusively on Japanese home computers despite the series being originally by an American developer. That’s not included here.
The next up is the Great Naval Battles Collection, which brings Great Naval Battles: North Atlantic 1939-1943 (1992), Vol. II: Guadalcanal 1942-43 (1994), Vol. III: Fury in the Pacific 1941-44 (1995), Vol. IV: Burning Steel 1939-1942 (1995). You can probably guess that these games are all WWII naval strategy games.
Continuing the theme of collections, we have Wargame Construction Set Collection. This includes the 1986 original, followed by Wargame Construction Set II: Tanks! (1994) and Wargame Construction Set III: Age of Rifles 1846-1905 (1996). These kind of sound like they should be about handling the production of various implements of war, but they’re actually customizable strategy games.
Onto a la carte titles, we first have Star Command (1988), a sci-fi RPG. Then there’s Prophecy of the Shadow (1992), a fantasy RPG that came around after SSI lost the DND license to Interplay. Next is Renegade: Battle for Jacob’s Star (1995), which is technically a sequel to Renegade Legion: Interceptor (1990), which hasn’t been re-released yet. Both are space combat games. Interestingly, both games are adaptations of a FASA (Shadowrun, Battletech) board game. Savage Warriors (1995) is up next, and it’s a fighting game, of all things. Finally, we have Warbreeds (1998), which is a typical ‘90s RTS, but with the ability to modify your units’ DNA to create new configurations.
I’ve played exactly none of these games, which is why I appreciate SNEG making them available. While some of them are simply using DOSBox in the background, they’re configured in a way that makes them easy to jump into. Their most impressive effort was to re-release all of SSI’s D&D games, but the fact that they’re jumping deeper into the back catalog really warms my heart. I didn’t get to experience much of the PC landscape throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, so I’ve always found it interesting what got buried behind the console and arcade scene.
Maybe I’ll make it a point in 2024 to explore some of SNEG’s SSI re-releases.
The games and collections outlined above are now available on GOG and Steam.
