Last time out we had a look at our favourite top 10 SEGA Megadrive games, one of our favourite consoles of the 90s. There was however a computer which we loved, and we know that you did too…The Amiga! From the Amiga 500, A500+, 1200 and even the little 600, we owned them all and they probably ruled out childhood even more than the SNES and Megadrive did. The Amiga era was simply amazing, and it kicked off so many genres and franchises of games which we are still playing today. Those days are the inspiration behind many of the 90s T Shirts which we’re doing, inspired by gaming as well as music and pop culture of the day. Here’s a breakdown of our favourite games, the top 10. We cannot put them in an order because each one brings back so many good memories, so this is a very much unordered list.
Our Favourite 90’s Amiga Games
Championship Manager Series
We were first hooked on Championship Manager End Of Season 94, and have played every game since. I remember losing the EOS update and had to go to CM93 which was just as amazing, even though it was obviously from the season before! You could only manage in the English leagues, but that all changed in 1995. CM Italia was launched and gave us the chance to play Serie A and manage in Italy. Playing with teams such as AC Milan and Juventus, it was an iconic and probably still the best ever era in Italian football, with players like Baggio, Ravanelli, Vialli, Del Piero and more! Saturday mornings watching Gazetta Football Italia while playing CM Italia was the norm. for quite a while! 😀
Sensible Soccer Series
The most addictive football playing game there was, we consider ourselves lucky to have been a kid in the 90’s. Sensible Soccer or Sensi Soccer as we called it was amazing. It was the football game to play with your friends, you could create and edit teams and league, and it was so much fun. Later came Sensible World Of Soccer, allowing management and opening up more teams. It was never going to replace Champ Man, and we did not want that. The gameplay in SWOS was improved, and we’ll always love it.
Jaguar XJ220
A racing game which was so good to play as a co-op. You and your friend would drive Jaguar XJ220 cars and battle with each other while both driving for the same team. The computer players would be driving for other teams, and leaderboards were published at the end of each race. There was real damage to your car, and you had to spend your winnings on fixing it up so you were competitive in the next race.
Microprose Grand Prix
Way ahead of it’s time and loved by many was the best racing sim, Microprose Grand Prix. All fans of F1 with an Amiga would have played this game, and it was epic. Geoff Crammond was the brainchild of this game, which saw you play on every F1 track including legendary Monaco. The sequels GP2, 3 and 4 later followed on the PC, and although the games are not officially being updated, it has a core community online who are making updates for GP4.
Speedball 2 – Brutal Deluxe
The Bitmap Brother hit a home run with Speedball 2, Brutal Deluxe. It was a mix of a football style game with a futuristic hockey type of gameplay. You could score goals and injure your opponents, get power-ups and more. It provided hours of fun, and there’s nothing like it in the gaming world any more which is sad.
Lemmings
Little purple guys which you had to control and tell what to do otherwise they’d die. Yes, we’re talking some real lemmings here! 😉 It was a game which is iconic, not one of our favourites of all time, but we did play this to death (literally) and it was loved by many.
Desert Strike
Looking back at computer games, Desert Strike does not seem to have the depth, and kids of today would probably not like it. It was, however quite a favourite of ours. Shooting rockets, cannon and Hellfire missiles at the enemy was great, and controlling a helicopter gunship was something fresh and original. It’s a game we fondly remember, the sequels Jungle and Urban Strike not so much! 😀
Cannon Fodder
The game which started an entire genre? That’s what we think of when we think Cannon Fodder. Developed by Sensible Software, the same group behind Sensible Soccer, this game was an instant hit. Control your platoon and defeat the enemy in this top down game, it blazed the trail for games like Command & Conquer.
Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge
An arcade style racing game in your bedroom, it must be Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge. Our favourite incarnation was Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge II, and spent hours playing this arcade style game.
Theme Park
Hours and hours were spent constructing the perfect amusement park, of course that can only mean Theme Park. It was such an immersive experience, not only creating the perfect theme park but a full business sim, with a stock market and having to battle against other park owners. This was the most fun, from the small rides to large rollercoasters, ice cream parlours, fast food vendors and who can forget those horrible staff who would keep asking for a raise.
That’s our little roundup of some of our favourite games for the Amiga, we have left out a few so we may have to do a part 2 of this 😉 What were your favourite games?