Dungeons & Dragons Games Vol. 11: Silver Box - War of the Lance (MS-DOS)

Developer:

SSI

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Release Date:

1989

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Systems:

Apple II, DOS, C64

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This week on Super Adventures, I'm checking out the PC port of SSI's fantasy wargame War of the Lance!

I know what the title screen looks like, but I promise you that this is an official Dungeons & Dragons game that you can buy in the Silver Box Classics collection on Steam. It's even by Strategic Simulations Inc., the folks who had already developed Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds by this point. But there is a perfectly good explanation for why it looks so basic: this is just what wargames looked like at the time, especially when they were made for the Apple II.

Wargames have never really been my thing, but from what I can tell, SSI had been in the business longer than anyone and had earned a reputation for knowing what they were doing. Their first game, Computer Bismarck, had been developed for the Apple II (and TRS-80) way back in 1980, which is about the same time that genre-defining RPGs like Ultima and Wizardry were released for the machine.

But by 1989 the Commodore 64 and IBM PC compatible had taken over as the dominant US computers, and I think this is the last time SSI made the Apple II their lead platform. They were really going back to their roots here. Plus Dungeons & Dragons was originally inspired by tabletop wargames, so they were going back to its roots too. 

You can tell they were going old school with this one as they skipped the 16/32-bit Amiga entirely. Other than PC, Amiga was the only system to get all the regular Gold Box RPGs, but it only got three out of four Silver Box games. Though by the look of the game, the machine could probably emulate it.

Super Adventures in Delisted Games Part 4: Race Driver: GRID, Anthem, Poker Night

It's Super Adventures' 15th anniversary today and to celebrate I'm taking a break from Dungeons & Dragons! None of this week's games are an RPG, they don't have dark elves, or clerics, or magic missile spells. One of them had actual missiles I think, but it's not really the same.

This week on Super Adventures, it's been 19 months since Delisted Games Part 3, so it seemed like a good time to get back to whining about games being removed from online stores due to licensing issues. And not just racing games this time! (To be honest, I'm just using this as an excuse to write about some games I probably couldn't get a full length article out of.)

I've found some fun covers here. The first game has Games for Windows on the top, the second has 'DOWNLOAD ONLY' written on it and a bunch of tiny text warning you that a persistent internet connection is required, and the third didn't even get an empty box with a download code in it. As far as I know.

But things aren't as bad as they seem! GRID doesn't have the actual Game for Windows Live DRM on it, that logo only means that the game runs in Windows. Meanwhile, Anthem and Poker Night... actually things really are bad for those two. They're really really bad.

Anyway, the first game is Race Driver: GRID, sponsored by eBay.

Dungeons & Dragons Games Vol. 10: Silver Box - Dragons of Flame (MS-DOS)

Developer:

U.S. Gold

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Release Date:

1989

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Systems:

DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, C64, ZX Spectrum, CPC, FM Towns, PC-98, NES

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This week on Super Adventures, I'm checking out the next Dungeons & Dragons game on my list: Dragons of Flame. Though you don't need me to tell you that, you can see it yourself on that beautiful title screen up there.

Dragons of Flame was the second of the 'Silver Box' Dragonlance games... or maybe the third. I did the research for this, I tried to pin it down, but it was released so close to War of the Lance I really don't know which comes next. At least I can be sure that it's the second chapter of the story that began in Heroes of the Lance, and that it's by the same developer, U.S. Gold.

I also know that the game was ported to many of the same systems, though not quite all of them. Fans with 8-bit machines like the MSX, Master System, PC-88 and Sharp X1 would've had to upgrade to see what happened next. Either that or bought the novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. It did get a ZX Spectrum port though! In fact this was the second and final D&D game released on the computer, and on the Amstrad CPC as well. I'm experiencing the end of an era here.

Okay, I'm going to put the game on and see how far I get. It's probably short, but it's probably also really difficult, so don't get your hopes up.

Dungeons & Dragons Games Vol. 9: Gold Box - Curse of the Azure Bonds (MS-DOS) - Part 2

This week on Super Adventures, I feel like I should write a little more about Curse of the Azure Bonds. It's a big complicated RPG, so one article wasn't really doing it justice. You could argue that two isn't enough either and I should really finish it, but... I don't want to.

Like Pool of Radiance, the game was released on a ton of systems: IBM PC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, the venerable Apple II, Apple Macintosh, NEC PC-98. Not the NES this time though; the Gold Box RPGs never returned to the console. And D&D was done with the Sharp X1 and PC-88 entirely by this point.

On the plus side, the Atari ST got a port this time! Their first and only Gold Box game. It's a shame that ST owners were left out after this, as it was one of the higher spec machines of the '80s and its weakness with scrolling backgrounds wasn't a problem for these turn based RPGs.

Alright, if you want to return to part one then CLICK HERE. If you want to see a list of all the Dungeons & Dragons games I've covered CLICK HERE. And if you want some Curse of the Azure Bonds spoilers then you're already in the right place.

Dungeons & Dragons Games Vol. 8: Gold Box - Curse of the Azure Bonds (MS-DOS) - Part 1

Developer:

SSI

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Release Date:

1989

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Systems:

DOS, C64, Apple II, Amiga, Mac, Atari ST, PC-98

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This week, it's my first Super Adventures game of 2026: Curse of the Azure Bonds! 

The game came out in 1989, which means I've still got three more years of Dungeons & Dragons games left to get through before I've finished the first decade. That doesn't sound so bad, but this is the point where they begin to get abundant.

Strategic Simulations Inc. had the licence at this point and their tactic to increase game sales was to give people more games to buy. They released an average of six D&D games a year, half of them proper Gold Box RPGs.

To make things more straightforward, or more confusing, the Gold Box games alternated between three different series. Well, three plus the Neverwinter Nights MMO. And the Buck Rogers games I suppose, but they're something else.

Anyway, this is A FORGOTTEN REALMS Fantasy Role-Playing Epic, Vol. II, which makes it the second volume of the Pool of Radiance saga. It's also a sequel to the novel Azure Bonds so there are two sagas intersecting here. Though you'd be forgiven for thinking it was an adaptation as it has basically the same name and the same cover. I know most/all the early D&D games used recycled art for their boxes, but they were taking the piss a bit with this one.

I'm going to play the game for a few hours, probably spoil a bunch of early twists for you, and show off screenshots. I won't be playing enough of the game to form a proper informed opinion (ie. all of it), but I'll try to hang in there long enough to get what it's doing.

Super AiG Screenshots of the Year: 2025

This year on Super Adventures, I almost forgot to do the Screenshots of the Year article! I've been so focused on getting through these Dungeons & Dragons games at a reasonable pace that I wasn't even thinking about other things I should be writing about.

I struggled a bit last year with my 2024 article as I'd only played 11 games and half of them were racing games, but this year I was determined to do better. Unfortunately I got distracted with writing about Doctor Who for my sci-fi site and ended up only covering... about 11 games. But they weren't racing games this time! Not that there's anything wrong with the genre, I just don't think anyone wants to see 30 pictures of the back end of a car.

Plus I did take a quick look at some '80s RPGs in preparation for the D&D games, so that boosts the number a fair bit. I'm sure I must have something here worth showing off.

Dungeons & Dragons Games Vol. 7: Hillsfar (MS-DOS)

Developer:

Westwood Associates

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Release Date:

1989

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Systems:

DOS, Amiga, C64, Atari ST, PC-88, PC-98, NES

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This week on Super Adventures, my Dungeons & Dragons quest has reached the year 1989 and I'm playing... whatever this is. It's not a Gold Box game, I know that much, but it is an official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons licenced product and it is linked to Pool of Radiance, so we're back in the Forgotten Realms again for this one.

The game's called Hillsfar and it's by Westwood Associates, the guys who would later go on to make real-time strategy legends like Dune II and Command & Conquer, along with adventure games like Legend of Kyrandia and Blade Runner. I'm considering this to be a good sign. Though at this point Westwood were mostly in the business of porting games to other systems, typically 8-bit titles to 16-bit machines like the Amiga and Atari ST, and they were apparently quite good at it.

Hillsfar itself was ported across to a fair number of computers, though it was released on fewer systems than Pool of Radiance (9) and Heroes of the Lance (13). This means that we've already said goodbye to the Master System, MSX and Sharp X1, which never got another D&D game, and the PC-88 is dropping out here as well. The Apple II and Mac aren't out yet but they both skipped Hillsfar, so their owners missed out on its big selling point: it can import characters from Pool of Radiance and export them into the next game in the saga, Curse of the Azure Bonds. 

All the major Western computer RPG franchises of the time let you import saves, it was nothing exclusive to the Gold Box games. In fact The Bard's Tale lets you import from Wizardry and Ultima III, and then you can import from that game into Deathlord or Centauri Alliance. But what makes Hillsfar different is... actually I have no idea, I haven't played it yet.