Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Name: Addictive
Item: Addictive
Author: Retro Replay

Addictive offers an impressive smorgasbord of gameplay experiences, bundling together classic board games, an old-school role-playing adventure, and a submarine simulation. The centerpiece is the Colossus Collection, which brings four time-honored board games—Bridge, Chess, Backgammon, and Draughts—to your PC. Complementing that cerebral challenge, Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity provides party-based RPG exploration, while Silent Service II drops you into the murky depths of World War II submarine warfare. This three-pronged approach keeps play sessions fresh and varied, catering to strategy enthusiasts, story-driven adventurers, and simulation buffs alike.

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The Colossus Collection shines with its flexible AI settings and multiplayer support. You can fine-tune difficulty levels, handicaps, and time controls, making Chess and Backgammon challenging even for seasoned players. Bridge enthusiasts will appreciate the robust bidding system, and Draughts (checkers) remains faithful to tournament rules. The interface is clean, with drag-and-drop piece movement and optional notation display—small touches that keep classic board gaming both authentic and accessible.

In stark contrast, Ishar 3’s gameplay focuses on exploration, puzzle-solving, and tactical combat. You manage a party of up to five characters, each with specialized skills—warriors, mages, thieves—navigating interconnected worlds through the legendary Seven Gates. The tactical turn-based battles demand careful positioning and resource management, while the dialogue trees and side quests flesh out the world. Though inventory management can feel dated at times, the variety of spells, equipment, and NPC interactions offsets any minor tedium.

Silent Service II turns the spotlight to the precise, high-stakes micro-management of a WWII Gato-class submarine. Every control—from periscope adjustments and torpedo targeting to engine silent running—demands player attention. The mission planner and briefings ground you in historical scenarios, and the real-time encounters with enemy convoys reward patience, stealth, and well-timed attacks. While steep learning curves await new sub captains, the gradual unlock of advanced tactics and the thrilling payoff of a successful convoy interception make it deeply satisfying.

Graphics

Visually, the Colossus Collection takes a minimalist approach, leaning on clean board textures and crisp piece sprites. The classic wooden and marble board backgrounds evoke a tournament hall vibe, while subtle highlights guide valid moves. Animations are limited to smooth piece transitions and simple capture effects, but this restraint ensures readability and keeps the focus on strategy rather than spectacle.

Ishar 3’s graphics represent the peak of early-’90s VGA artistry. Its isometric environments are richly detailed, from moss-covered ruins to luminescent caverns. Character sprites are colorful and expressive, and spell effects range from crackling lightning to swirling enchantments that light up dark corridors. Inventory screens and dialog boxes are framed by ornate borders, reinforcing the high-fantasy aesthetic. While some textures appear pixelated on modern monitors, the overall visual design remains charmingly evocative.

Silent Service II dazzles with its cockpit-style instrumentation panels and photorealistic sea and sky backdrops. The periscope view offers grainy, high-contrast visuals reminiscent of period newsreels, heightening immersion. Damage models and sonar overlays flicker convincingly under duress, and dynamic weather and sea swell add unpredictability to each patrol. Though the polygon counts are modest by today’s standards, the game’s graphical fidelity still conveys the claustrophobic tension of undersea warfare.

Across all three titles, the CD-ROM format allows for quick access to art assets without painful loading pauses. The consistent use of palette-rich VGA and 256-color modes ties the compilation together visually, even as you shift from a polished chessboard to a haunted dungeon or a U-boat helm.

Story

Strictly speaking, the Colossus Collection has no overarching narrative—it invites players to craft their own stories through every checkmate and perfect bridge hand. That open-ended engagement is an unspoken plot: the pursuit of mastery, the thrill of competition, and the satisfying logic puzzle of each turn.

Ishar 3 centers on the quest for the mythical seven gates, forged by the ancient wizard Morgoth to contain dangerous artifacts. You begin as Zubaran, an up-and-coming warrior tasked with restoring peace to the fantasy realm of Kendoria. Along the way you gather allies, decipher cryptic runes, and confront Morgoth’s surviving minions. The world-hopping premise keeps the story brisk, offering diverse locales—floating islands, underground temples, and dragon-guarded peaks—and memorable side stories that breathe life into townsfolk, rival factions, and hidden cults.

Silent Service II frames each mission in the honor-bound tradition of submarine captains. Briefings outline historical convoy routes, enemy strength, and strategic objectives—intercepting troop transports, scouting enemy harbors, or laying minefields. After-action reports debrief you on tonnage sunk, depth charge attacks survived, and commendations earned. This documentary-style storytelling roots every patrol in real-world stakes, making each successful torpedo *thunk* feel earned rather than arbitrary.

While the narrative threads in Ishar 3 and Silent Service II differ widely—from high fantasy to historical simulation—they both emphasize player agency. Your tactics, dialogue choices, and mission prioritization directly influence outcomes, weaving a personalized tale of triumph, cunning, or even narrow escapes.

Overall Experience

Addictive stands out for its exceptional value, delivering three distinct genres in one neat package. It’s rare to find a single CD-ROM that simultaneously caters to board-game strategists, RPG adventurers, and simulation enthusiasts. Whether you have a few minutes to outwit an AI at Backgammon or several hours to delve into a sprawling quest, this compilation has you covered.

Installation is straightforward, with a single setup utility that registers each title in your program menu. Manuals are included in searchable PDF form on the disc, complete with strategy tips, historical notes, and troubleshooting advice. Audio cues range from the satisfying clack of chess pieces to atmospheric dungeon soundtracks and sonar pings, creating an immersive backdrop without overwhelming your system.

Some modern PCs may require tweaks—such as running in a DOS emulator or adjusting display scaling—but for the dedicated retro gamer, these minor hassles pale in comparison to the breadth of content. Addictive’s generous mix of puzzle, narrative, and simulation experiences makes it an excellent purchase for anyone seeking variety without bulk. It’s a time-tested compilation that still holds up, offering countless hours of mental challenge, strategic planning, and deep immersion under the sea and beyond.