What's in the box

All from this Series



2 variantsMore from this Universe







The artist behind this box art
The box art of WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness was done by Justin Carroll.

Related Posts from the Blog
Latest Pick-Up: multiple Ultima games, System Shock, WarCraft II and Lode Runner
Got the following games today:
- Ultima: The Second Trilogy
- Ultima Underword: The Stygian Abyss (Yay! Finally got the bag of runes!)
- Ultima VII Part Two: The Silver Seed (Can't say no to a backup copy, right?)
- System Shock
- WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness
- Lode Runner: The Legend Returns
They're all in fantastic condition and — except for Silver Seed which is missing its manual — all complete.

Books: Game Breaker Solutions Vol.1
I'm not really a fan of using strategy guides and walkthroughs although I have of course consulted them over the years, but I do enjoy browsing through them a lot.
Yesterday, a buddy of mine handed me the Game Breaker Solutions Vol.1 pictured below. The book covers nine games in the genres of Action and Strategy on two platforms — PC and PSX which is kind of weird — and comes with tons of tables, stats, maps and even short story details:
- Diablo
- MDK
- Resident Evil DC
- Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
- Command & Conquer
- Command & Conquer II: Red Alert
- WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness
- Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat
- Z
While browsing through the book, it does become apparent how drastically the genre of play guides have changed over the the last two decades: for Diablo, the look-up tables for the various stats the game's item generator is built upon are pretty neat, while the step-by-step description of how to beat a jump'n run stroll like Oddworld referencing hand-drawn maps feels archaic. Regarding C&C, Z and WarCraft II, those could be written a day ago main strategies for the single maps isn't something that would be done differently today , however, a guide for MDK? Really? All the mechanics are explained in game, all maps are straightforward, combat is straightforward, "puzzles" are straightforward too, well, in short, the game is a perfect example of what a game should play and feel like and sure, a guide to all its easter eggs is handy but if you'd need a guide to play through it, we're in trouble.







































![Might and Magic: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum (Apple ][, 1986, US)](MightMagic1.webp)






















































![Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World (Apple ][, 1988, US)](MightMagic2.webp)












![Times of Lore (Apple ][, 1988, US)](TimesOfLore.webp)






![Wizardry: Heart of the Maelstrom (Apple ][, 1988, US)](Wizardry5.webp)
































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































