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Mirrorsoft
Mirrorsoft was a British video game publisher founded by Jim Mackonochie as a division of Mirror Group Newspapers. The company was active between 1983 and 1991, and shut down completely in early 1992. History In the early 1980s, Jim Mackonochie worked as development manager for British communications company Mirror Group Newspapers. On a trip to the U.S., Mackonochie got a hold of a Commodore PET personal computer, alongside a copy of VisiCalc, a spreadsheet application for the system. This combination led him to believe that Mirror, as a communications company, should be working more closely with computer software, wherefore he approached Mirror's board of directors in 1983, suggesting that they launch a software label under Mirror Group's name, and thereby diversifying the group's non-newspaper operations, which already included Mirror Boats and Mirror Books. The division, named Mirrorsoft, was officially launched in late 1983, and Mackonochie was allowed to task several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sai Combat
''Sai Combat'' is a 1986 fighting video game published by Mirrorsoft for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Gameplay ''Sai Combat'' is a one-on-one fighting game. The sais in the game don't refer to the stabbing weapons but rather long wooden poles. The player has to defeat eight opponents before becoming the Sai Master. In order to win a fight, the opponent has to be knocked down three times. The game includes a two-player multiplayer mode. Reception ''Aktueller Software Markt'' called it the best fighting game on the Spectrum. ''Amtix'' called it " competent fighting game that's worth looking at". The reviewers compared the game to ''The Way of the Tiger'' and '' The Way of the Exploding Fist''. ''Computer and Video Games'' said the game is "good fun" and "graphically excellent". ''Crash'' said the game is better than ''International Karate ''International Karate'' is a fighting game developed and published by System 3 for the ZX Spectrum in 1985 and ported to various ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dynamite Dan
''Dynamite Dan'' is a platform game written by Rod Bowkett for the ZX Spectrum and published by Mirrorsoft in 1985. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and MSX. A sequel, '' Dynamite Dan 2'', was released the following year. Gameplay The game starts where Dan lands his airship on the top of the evil Dr Blitzen's hideout. The aim of the game is to find eight sticks of dynamite that are placed randomly around the playing area whilst avoiding the perils of the game such as moving monsters, drowning and falling from great heights. Once Dan has all eight sticks of dynamite, the player must make their way to the central safe to blow it open and steal the plans for the evil doctor's Death Ray and escape to his airship. The playing area is one large building split up into multiple screens that wrap around a central elevator. Each screen contains a number of moving monsters that, once the player moves into them, are destroyed but take off a life in return. The only exception ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dynamite Dan II
''Dynamite Dan II: Dr Blitzen and the Islands of Arcanum'' is a platform game and the sequel to 1985's ''Dynamite Dan''. It was written for the ZX Spectrum by Rod Bowkett and published by Mirrorsoft. An Amstrad CPC port was released the same year. Reception ''CRASH'' gave a 93% review Readers chose it as the best platform game of the year. ''Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History Th ...'' rated it 9 out of 10. review from ''Your Sinclair'' issue 9, September 1986; retrieved from The Your Sinclair Rock 'n' Roll Years Reviewers were impressed with the graphical and sound effect improvements over the origin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Mackonochie
Jim Mackonochie (died 23 April 2013) was a British Royal Navy officer who became a leading figure in the development of combat flight simulation video games. He founded the game publisher Mirrorsoft in 1982. At The Fighter Collection and Eagle Dynamics, he was instrumental in the development of ''Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...'' (1984 and later), '' Su-27 Flanker'' (1995), '' Lock On: Modern Air Combat'' (2003), '' Digital Combat Simulator'' (2008) and other games. References 2013 deaths Royal Navy officers Video game developers Year of birth missing {{videogame-bio-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boulder Dash
''Boulder Dash'' is a 2D maze-puzzle video game released in 1984 by First Star Software for Atari 8-bit computers. It was created by Canadian developers Peter Liepa and Chris Gray. The player controls Rockford, who collects treasures while evading hazards. ''Boulder Dash'' was ported to many 8-bit and 16-bit systems and turned into a coin-operated arcade game. It was followed by multiple sequels and re-releases and influenced games such as '' Repton'' and direct clones such as '' Emerald Mine''. As of January 1, 2018, BBG Entertainment GmbH owns the intellectual property rights to ''Boulder Dash''. Gameplay left, Rockford drops a series of boulders on butterflies which explode into diamonds and fall down the shafts. ''Boulder Dash'' takes place in a series of caves, each of which is laid out as rectangular grid of blocks. The player guides the player character, Rockford, with a joystick or cursor keys. In each cave, Rockford has to collect as many diamonds as are needed a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Samurai
''First Samurai'', alternatively titled ''The First Samurai'', is a 1991 beat 'em up platform game developed by Vivid Image and published by Image Works. ''The First Samurai'' was originally released in September 1991 for the Amiga and Atari ST, and was later ported to the Commodore 64, MS-DOS and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was followed by a sequel, '' Second Samurai'', in 1994. In 2011 a port was released for iOS. Plot In ''The First Samurai'', the protagonist undertakes a quest as the first samurai in the history of feudal Japan, and must compete against rival swordsmen. Gameplay Eating food and drinking sake will help the player get stronger, while fire and enemy contact will weaken the samurai. The main objective in a level is to collect a set of four items which must be used to get access to the area with the end of level boss. Magic pots serve as checkpoints and are activated with the energy of the player's sword. Killing a monster releases a portion o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TheFreeLibrary
''The Free Dictionary'' is an American online dictionary and encyclopedia that aggregates information from various sources. Content The site cross-references the contents of ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', the ''Collins English Dictionary'', the ''Columbia Encyclopedia'', the ''Computer Desktop Encyclopedia'', the ''Hutchinson Encyclopedia'' (subscription), and Wikipedia, as well as the Acronym Finder database, several financial dictionaries, legal dictionaries, and other content. It has a feature that allows a user to preview an article while positioning the mouse cursor over a link. One can also double-click on any word to look it up in the dictionary. Site operator The site is run by Farlex, Inc., located in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. Farlex also maintains a companion title, ''The Free Library'', an online library of out-of-copyright classic books as well as a collection of periodicals of over four million articles dating back to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PR Newswire
PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases headquartered in Chicago. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, using teleprinters at first. The founder, Herbert Muschel, operated the service from his house in Manhattan for approximately 15 years. The business was eventually sold to Western Union and then United Newspapers of London. In December 2015, Cision Inc. announced it would acquire the company. On January 1, 2021, Cision formally merged PR Newswire into the company, ending its status as a legal entity after 66 years. Cision plans to continue utilizing the brand name for the foreseeable future in the United States, as well as in Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. History PR Newswire was founded in March 1954 by Herbert Muschel, who ran the business from his town house in New York City for the first 15 years of its operation. The company used telecommunications lines and teleprinters owned by Wes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide development team through a series of acquisitions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. After poor financial returns in their 2003 fiscal year, Acclaim filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in September 2004. Properties owned by Acclaim were subsequently auctioned off to various parties. History In the early 1980s, Greg Fischbach was employed by American video game company Activision, where he worked together with Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki. He left Activision to join RCA Records, which was subsequently acquired by Bertelsmann and Fischbach found himself unemployed. In 1987, he met with Scoroposki in Oyster Bay, where Scoroposki owned a sales rep company, to discuss a possible shared venture. After Scoroposki suggested that the two should ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to as “New Year’s Eve”. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinking, and watching or lighting fireworks. Some Christians attend a watchnight service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year's Day, 1 January. The Line Islands (part of Kiribati) and Tonga, in the Pacific Ocean, are the first places to welcome the New Year, while American Samoa, Baker Island and Howland Island (part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands) are among the last. By region Africa Algeria In Algeria, New Year's Eve (french: Réveillon; '' ar, Ra’s al-‘Ām'') is usually celebrated with family and friends. In the largest cities, such as Algiers, Constantine, Annaba, Oran, Sétif, and Béj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Management Buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1980s business economics. These so-called MBOs originated in the US, spreading first to the UK and then throughout the rest of Europe. The venture capital industry has played a crucial role in the development of buyouts in Europe, especially in smaller deals in the UK, the Netherlands, and France. Overview Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company. The particular nature of the MBO lies in the position of the buyers as managers of the company and the practical consequences that follow from that. In particular, the due diligence process is likely to be limited as the buyers already have full knowledge of the company available to them. The seller is also unlikely to give any but the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MicroProse
MicroProse is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization'' and '' X-COM'' series. Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation and strategy games. In 1993, the company lost most of its UK-based personnel and became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte. Subsequent cuts and corporate policies led to Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds leaving and forming Firaxis Games in 1996, as MicroProse closed its ex-Simtex development studio in Austin, Texas. In 1998, following an unsuccessful buyout attempt by GT Interactive, the struggling MicroProse (Spectrum HoloByte) became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hasbro Interactive and its development studios in Alameda, California and Chapel Hill, North Carolina were closed the following year. In 2001, MicroProse ceased to exist as an entity and Hasbro Interactive sold the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
