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Stars!
''Stars!'' is a turn-based strategy, science fiction 4X video game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate), originally developed by Jeff Johnson and Jeff McBride with help from Jeffrey Krauss ("the Jeffs") for personal use, initially released as shareware for Microsoft Windows in 1995. A retail version was later produced for, and published by Empire Interactive, with developer Jason Gaston added to the team for quality assurance testing, although the shareware version continued. The game focuses on players developing their empires, engaging in diplomacy, and conquering the galaxy. It begins with race design, and features 2D graphics and a grid-based battle system. The game is well-adapted to Play-By-Email and also supports AI opponents, blitz games, and duels. Stars! is compatible with most Windows versions and can run on Linux systems through Wine. While it received generally positive reviews for its depth and multiplayer focus, its complexity and single-player appeal were crit ...
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Empire Interactive
Empire Interactive was a British video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in London. Founded in 1987 by Ian Higgins and Simon Jeffrey, it was acquired by Silverstar Holdings in 2006 and collapsed in 2009. History Empire Interactive was founded by Ian Higgins (chief executive officer) and Simon Jeffrey (managing director) in 1987. In November 2000, the company acquired development studio Razorworks. As well as full priced titles, Empire also had a budget range of titles, Xplosiv, for PC and PS2. Initially launched for PC in January 2000, Xplosiv also published titles in Europe from third parties such as Sega and Microsoft. Later, in 2003, Empire began launching titles for PS2. In March 2002 Empire acquired music creation software eJay. The company sold internal development studio Strangelite, responsible for ''Starship Troopers (video game), Starship Troopers'' (2005) and various PC ports of Sega games, to Rebellion Developments on 1 June 2006. Silverst ...
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4X Game
4X (abbreviation of ''Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate'') is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and includes both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay generally involves building an empire. Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of military and non-military routes to supremacy. The earliest 4X games borrowed ideas from board games and 1970s text-based computer games. The first 4X computer games were turn-based, but real-time 4X games were also common. Many 4X computer games were published in the mid-1990s, but were later outsold by other types of strategy games. Sid Meier's ''Civilization'' is an important example from this formative era, and popularized the level of detail that later became a staple of the genre. In the new millennium, several 4X releases have become critically and commercially successful. In the board (and card) game domain, 4X is less of a distinct genre, in part becaus ...
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1995 In Video Gaming
1995 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as '' Dragon Quest VI'', '' Mega Man 7'', '' Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'', '' Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'', and '' Tekken 2'', along with new titles such as '' Mario's Picross'', '' Battle Arena Toshinden'', '' Chrono Trigger'', '' Rayman'', ''Twisted Metal'', '' Star Wars: Dark Forces'', '' Destruction Derby'', '' Wipeout'' and '' Jumping Flash!'' The year's highest-grossing arcade game in Japan was '' Virtua Fighter 2'', while the best-selling arcade video games in the United States were ''Daytona USA'' (for the second year in a row) and '' Mortal Kombat 3''. The home video game with the highest known sales in 1995 was ''Dragon Quest VI'', despite only releasing in Japan. The Super Famicom was the best-selling game console in Japan, while the North American Super Nintendo was the best-selling console in North America. Hardware releases *Nintendo releases: **March 20 – Game Boy Play It Loud ...
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GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition to the information produced by ''GameSpot'' staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. In 2004, ''GameSpot'' won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV's second ''Video Game Award Show'', and has won Webby Awards several times. The domain ''GameSpot.com'' attracted at least 60 million visitors annually by October 2008 according to a Compete.com study. History In January 1996, Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein quit their positions at IDG and founded SpotMedia Communications. SpotMedia then launched ''GameSpot'' on May 1, 1996. Originally, ''GameSpot'' focused solely on personal computer games, so ...
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PC Gamer UK
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries. The magazine features news on developments in the video game industry, previews of new games, and reviews of the latest popular PC games, along with other features relating to hardware, mods, "classic" games and various other topics. ''PC Gamer'' and parent Future began digital ''PC Gaming Show'' at E3 2015. Review system ''PC Gamer'' reviews are written by the magazine's editors and freelance writers, and rate games on a percent scale. In August 2023, ''Baldur's Gate 3'' became the first game to receive a rating of 97% in the UK edition. Prior to this, no game was awarded more than 96% by the UK edition (''Kerbal Space Program'', '' Civilization II'', ''Half-Life'', ''Half-Life 2'', ''Minecraft'', ...
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Computer Game Review
''Computer Game Review'' was a print monthly magazine covering both computer gaming and video gaming. The magazine was started in 1991. Also known as ''Computer Game Review and 16-Bit Entertainment'', and then later as ''Computer Game Review and CD-Rom Entertainment''. The headquarters of the magazine which was part of Sendai Publication Group was in Lombard, Illinois. Reviews typically consisted of a short, impartial synopsis of plot and gameplay, with separate scores assigned subjectively by each of three reviewers. Games were rated out of 100, and if the game received a high enough ranking it would receive either a Platinum or Golden Triad Award. The magazine folded in 1996, when Sendai Media Group was bought by Ziff-Davis, owner of the competing ''Computer Gaming World''. References External links Archived ''Computer Game Review'' magazinesat Video Game History Foundation The Video Game History Foundation is a non-profit foundation founded by Frank Cifaldi. The pri ...
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1996 In Video Gaming
1996 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as '' Super Mario 64'', ''Duke Nukem 3D'', '' Street Fighter Alpha 2'', ''Super Mario RPG'', '' King's Field III'', '' Virtua Fighter 3'', along with new titles such as '' Blazing Heroes'', '' NiGHTS into Dreams...'', '' Crash Bandicoot'', '' Pokémon Red/Green/Blue'', ''Resident Evil'', ''Dead or Alive'', '' Soul Edge'', '' Quake'' and ''Tomb Raider''. The year's best-selling video game console worldwide was the PlayStation, while the best-selling consoles in Japan were the Game Boy and Sega Saturn. The year's best-selling home video game worldwide was ''Super Mario 64'', while highest-grossing arcade games in Japan were '' Street Fighter Zero 2'' (''Street Fighter Alpha 2'') and '' Virtua Fighter 2''. Events *March – Swedish video game magazine "Super Power" changes name to Super Play. *15 July – Tom Kalinske announces he will leave his position as president for Sega of America on 1 October. *May 16–18 – The se ...
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VirtualBox
Oracle VirtualBox (formerly Sun VirtualBox, Sun xVM VirtualBox and InnoTek VirtualBox) is a hosted hypervisor for x86 virtualization developed by Oracle Corporation. VirtualBox was originally created by InnoTek Systemberatung GmbH, which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2008, which was in turn acquired by Oracle in 2010. VirtualBox may be installed on Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Solaris (operating system), Solaris and OpenSolaris. There are also ports to FreeBSD and Genode. It supports the creation and management of guest virtual machines running Windows, Linux, Berkeley Software Distribution, BSD, OS/2, Solaris, Haiku (operating system), Haiku, and Hackintosh, OSx86, as well as limited virtualization of guests on Apple hardware. For some guest operating systems, a "Guest Additions" package of device drivers and system applications is available, which typically improves performance, especially that of graphics, and allows changing the resolution of the guest OS automati ...
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VirtualPC
Virtual PC is a discontinued x86 emulator software for Microsoft Windows hosts and PowerPC-based Mac hosts. It was created by Connectix in 1997 and acquired by Microsoft in 2003, after which the program was renamed Microsoft Virtual PC. In July 2006, Microsoft released the Windows version free of charge. The Mac version was discontinued following the transition to Intel processors that same year. In 2009, Microsoft released Windows Virtual PC, which is only compatible with Windows 7 hosts, and is the technical foundation for the latter's Windows XP Mode. Windows Virtual PC does not officially support MS-DOS or operating systems older than Windows XP Professional SP3 as guests. Virtual PC was discontinued in 2011 in favour of Hyper-V. History and versions Connectix Virtual PC, Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, and Windows Virtual PC are successive versions of the same software. Versions of Virtual PC by Microsoft runs on several versions of Windows, beg ...
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Windows 7
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly three years earlier. Windows 7's Windows Server, server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released at the same time. It sold over 630 million copies before it was succeeded by Windows 8 in October 2012. Extended support ended on January 14, 2020, over 10 years after the release of Windows 7, and the operating system ceased receiving further updates. A paid support program was available for enterprises, providing security updates for Windows 7 for up to three years since the official end of life. Windows 7 was intended to be an incremental upgrade to Windows Vista, addressing the previous OS's poor reception while maintaining hardware and software compatibility as well as ...
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