Abandonware DOS title

It Came from the Desert

It Came from the Desert is an abandonware action-adventure game developed by Cinemaware and released in 1990 for PC (DOS) and Amiga. It Came From the Desert is an action-adventure game with a peculiar flavor: it's set in the 50s, in the USA, and it's based on those old monster movies like Them! (also involving killer ants).
It Came from the Desert screenshot
it-came-from-the-desert-06.jpg - DOS
it-came-from-the-desert-01.jpg - DOS
it-came-from-the-desert-03.jpg - DOS
it-came-from-the-desert-04.jpg - DOS
it-came-from-the-desert-07.jpg - DOS
it-came-from-the-desert-08.jpg - DOS
Genres:
platforms:
released in:
publisher:
developer:
designers:
themes:
graphics:
Game modes:
single-player
Rate this game!
4.08 / 5.00 (36 votes)

Share your love for this game

It Came from the Desert downloads

Do you have trouble running this game on Windows? Read this guide.

DOS games can't run on Windows. You need a DOS emulator like DOSbox or D-Fend Reloaded. Follow these instructions to play DOS games on Windows 10 or later systems.

It Came from the Desert reviews

Zero Magazine issue 3 (1990) - "Desert has a brilliant atmosphere and tons of effort has gone into making sure that everything is correct. It's funny and spooky in turn and the music (an excellent pastiche of the kind of soundtrack you find on all those old black and white movies) is perfect. Added to that are the in-game sound effects, which are the usual high quality samples.
I played it with a hint sheet for about three hours and even then I felt that I had only scratched the surface of the game and it will be quite a while before anyone actually saves Lizardbreath from the rampaging ants."

Computer Gaming World issue 70 (1990): "Unless you disliked past Cinemaware releases such as Rocket Ranger or Lords of the Rising Sun, you will undoubtedly like Desert. Fans of 50's science fiction films will, of course, be delighted with the "authentic" atmosphere of the game. They should not think, however, that this is just another pretty set of sounds and graphics. It Came From The Desert is a very playable and compelling game with many enjoyable hours to be experienced."

Collector's corner:

It Came From the Desert was followed by an expansion pack called Antheads: It Came from the Desert II in 1990. Antheads was made available in the United States through mail order directly from Cinemaware, and on store shelves in Europe. Antheads is not a standalone game; it requires ownership of the original chapter in order to play.

Search on eBay

Video

Video courtesy of Squakenet.com.

Additional info about It Came from the Desert

Status: freeware
Input: keyboard, mouse, joystick
Distributed on: 3,5 floppy disk, 5,25 floppy disk
Also published for: Amiga
Abandonware DOS views: 13228

Comments

  • RetroMan 03/07/2022 08:03
    Never seen the movie but the game has an unmistakable retro feeling. Also, it's one of those games that defies genres. Thank you Cinemaware!
Write a comment
Have you ever played It Came from the Desert? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Write something about it: share your experience, give us hints on how to properly run this game or simply say how much you loved it.