Est. 1998
Playing Out of Control Gaming

Retro reviews, vintage hardware, classic PC builds, and modern ways to keep old games alive.

Home Games Machines
Machines
The Vault · 1999

Machines

An RTS that lets you climb inside the fight.
DeveloperCharybdis
Released1999 (PC)
Players1-8 (Multiplayer)
ActionReal-Time StrategyStrategy
First-Person View3D BattlefieldRobotsMultiplayer

Machines is a real-time strategy game developed by Charybdis and published by Acclaim for Windows in 1999. Set in a futuristic industrial world of warring robots, it distinguishes itself from contemporaries by building the entire battlefield in full 3D and letting the player drop from the overhead command view directly into any unit for first-person or third-person ground-level combat. The combination of top-down RTS management and on-the-ground action was unusual for the genre in 1999 and remains the game's defining feature.

Screenshots4 shots
Machines screenshotMachines screenshotMachines screenshotMachines screenshot
In the News3 mentions
Aug 62026
PS3 emulation just got 60 percent faster on ARM, and it started with one busy-wait bug
Six months of ARM64 work in RPCS3 lands 60 percent more performance at 25 percent less power. One timer bug was worth a quarter of it on its own.
Preservation
Aug 62026
Mangmi prices the Air Y and Air Y Pro, and the cheap one walked into a bad week
Pre-orders open August 12 at $89.99 for the Air Y and $145.99 for the Pro. The Snapdragon 865 Pro is the interesting one, and the 662 model has a problem.
Hardware
Jul 162026
A Cult 1999 PlayStation Shmup Disguised as a Robot Anime Is Finally Leaving Japan
Geppy-X, a 1999 Japan-only PS1 shmup built like a 70s super-robot anime, gets a fully localized global remaster today, its cutscenes restored from the original Betacam masters.
Release
How to Play TodayYour options for running this game in 2026
Original Hardware
Requires a Windows 95/98 PC. Original CD copies available on eBay.
Modern Re-release
No official digital release on GOG or Steam.
Emulation / Other Options
PCem or 86Box with a Windows 98 configuration is the recommended route.
Game Record
PlatformPC (Windows)
Released1999 (PC)
DeveloperCharybdis
PublisherAcclaim Entertainment
GenreAction, Real-Time Strategy, Strategy
Players1-8 (Multiplayer)
ReviewedJuly 5, 1999
RestoredJune 5, 2026