Midwinter - Atari ST (1989)
Midwinter is an action role-playing game with strategy and survival elements released in 1989 on Atari ST.
The game is set in 2099 when the entire world is covered in snow and ice in a post-apocalyptic scenario, on the 160,000-square-mile (410,000 km2) isle of Midwinter. The game package includes a lengthy manual narrating its backstory in a short novella. It describes a cataclysmic meteorite strike in Burma around 2040 which caused impact winter. The ensuing diamond dust covering the Earth caused a global cooling and consequently major economical, political and military tumult. Populace of the northern areas died of glaciation and famine whereas the more temperate zones became overcrowded because of migration. As the glaciers advanced, the sea level lowered, providing more habitable space.
Midwinter island formed following massive volcanic activity in the Azores island group; Pico Island, Sao Jorge Island and Terceira Island became its mountains. The manual describes how the island was settled between 2060 and 2081 by waves of survivors and refugees from the mainland, and the formation of the local militia called Free Villages Peace Force (FVPF). At the start of the game, despotic General Masters is attempting to take over the island by force.
The player takes control as the protagonist, FVPF commander John Stark, is ambushed by one of General Masters' units of missile-armed snowmobiles. Stark, initially armed only with a handful of grenades, a sniper rifle and a pair of skis, must initially make his escape and alert the rest of islanders, and resist the invasion. This is done by travelling around Midwinter, recruiting civilians and other members of FVPF available, and mounting a guerrilla warfare campaign to stem the tide of Masters' troops and ultimately stop him by destroying his headquarters in Shining Hollow, in the extreme south-east of the island, before his forces capture all of the major settlements on the island.