Topic: Old Computer Games

[hpmons]

I've been messing about with old games again recently (<1996) and I wondered if anyone has any recommendations.

Two of my favorite old games are Beneath a Steel Sky which I played a second time recently.  There's a new remastered version for the iPhone, don't know how different it is though.  Funny, good storyline and excellent voice acting.


The other brilliant game is Floor 13, oh its just heavenly.  You run a secret agency and you get sent reports on suspicious goings-on or potential scandals and have to prevent them. Like most old games its pretty hard, you have to get the balance between doing what the PM wants, but without attracting undue attention (kidnapping and killing too many people). Else you'll end up like the previous Director General and falling out of your office window...Its all played through menus and the background pictures are a bit drab though.


I'm guessing I'll try Neuromancer some point soon, since it seems popular.

Tell me about all the old games you loved or have recently discovered.

[biggytitbo]

I'm still of the belief that the follow up to Beneath a Steel Sky - Broken Sword, is still one of the best games every made. I played it through recently and it still holds up, as an example of narrative storytelling within an interactive game its virtually without equal.

[An tSaoi]

Does anyone remember Cannon Fodder and Blood?

[Detective John Kimble]

Floor 13 is bloody amazing, I'll second that one.  It may not be much of a looker, but it certainly made me feel like the world's most sinister bastard.  I always overreacted to situations in that game though.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I desperately want to play Floor 13. Where can I get it?

[Jemble Fred]

Armstrong & Miller is just starting, so I think I'll have another go at http://rickdangerousflash.free.fr

My adolescent memorybanks have so far failed to last beyond the first screen, but I swear I completed it once....

Ah, also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game_nolan.shtml

[hpmons]

I'm still of the belief that the follow up to Beneath a Steel Sky - Broken Sword, is still one of the best games every made. I played it through recently and it still holds up, as an example of narrative storytelling within an interactive game its virtually without equal.

I was going to post that I should check that out, but I looked it up and...Ive already played it! How could I have forgotten? Yes that was great, Ive only played the first one though, Ill have to check out the others.

I desperately want to play Floor 13. Where can I get it?

http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/140/Floor+13.html

[Backstage With Slowdive]

GHOSTBUSTERS

[Jemble Fred]

GHOSTBUSTERS

WAHAHAHAHAHA!

[biggytitbo]

I was going to post that I should check that out, but I looked it up and...Ive already played it! How could I have forgotten? Yes that was great, Ive only played the first one though, Ill have to check out the others.
http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/140/Floor+13.html

Its funny that 13 years later nobody has really approached the level of narrative storytelling in the first Broken Sword Game. It was a very tightly structured story, like a film, but it was designed in such a way to make you feel like you were an integral part on the enfolding plot. The stories in most games are still shite. Half life 2 is perhaps the exception, but its brilliant story is really fragmented amongst much open ended gameplay.

[hpmons]

Its funny that 13 years later nobody has really approached the level of narrative storytelling in the first Broken Sword Game. It was a very tightly structured story, like a film, but it was designed in such a way to make you feel like you were an integral part on the enfolding plot. The stories in most games are still shite. Half life 2 is perhaps the exception, but its brilliant story is really fragmented amongst much open ended gameplay.

I did love Broken Sword (though apparently it didnt stick in my memory) but I wouldnt say nothing has beaten it since.  Planescape: Torment is by far the best computer game for storyline, and anyone who disagrees should be shot. I really liked The Longest Journey's storyline as well (one of the rare times a female main character isnt as annoying as hell).  And The Witcher.

[biggytitbo]

I did love Broken Sword (though apparently it didnt stick in my memory) but I wouldnt say nothing has beaten it since.  Planescape: Torment is by far the best computer game for storyline, and anyone who disagrees should be shot. I really liked The Longest Journey's storyline as well (one of the rare times a female main character isnt as annoying as hell).  And The Witcher.

I not played either of those games so im speaking from a position of CGI ignorance. Although in terms of computer games narrative, I have to shout out a virtually forgotten but amazingly influential game called the 'Last Express'. I remember playing this for hours, it has a genuine in depth plot, brilliant characters and a well realized story. All knitted together in incredibly well done rotoscoped graphics. Does anyone remember it? I don't think many of today's narrative driven games would be possible without it.

[hpmons]

There's various games I played as a child that have taken on some holy significance, I'd love to play them again but I worry they won't be as good as they are in my memory.  Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame is the only game which I even enjoyed watching someone else play it for hours.  My sister was brilliant at it (I was dreadful, I rarely even jumped onto the boat near the beginning), but we never knew what to do when we got to the statue of the horse (although we knew he had to jump onto it somehow...). 

Riven was brilliant, gorgeous, divine, I used to jump go back and forth in the transports over the air because I loved the videos so much. It was the best feeling when I discovered a new area.  Though later when I looked on the Internet, I realised how much of the world I had missed...I really, really want to go back to it, because I barely remember the second half to it.  Its definitely the best game in the series though.

When I played Zoombinis: The Logical Journey at my friend's house once, it seemed so brilliant that it stuck in my head for years.  I finally bought it again when I was 18. I declare it to be the best educational game ever.  Every so often, for no reason at all, I say to myself: "Fleens? You're not fleens! Whatever you are...MAKE ME A PIZZA!"

Futureland 7 is a game which...apparently no one else ever played.  I can't find it mentioned anywhere on the Internet. Maybe Ive got the name wrong.  It was also an educational game, I think you played a pink dragon with jet packs.  There were 5 different games in it: One was a very basic city simulation, but my favourite was the English one. You had to get keys and open doors and answer grammatical questions, but...er...somehow it was great.

Oh! Oh! and The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System and The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body.  They were FANTASTIC! God I really want to play them again now.  It never really occurred to me that these games were educational, they were just too much fun, loads of brilliant mini games and dashes of humour.

[Uncle TechTip]

If you can extend the remit ever so slightly to remakes, you've got your classic Civilization series of games, but better is the remake Freeciv which supports many rules from all versions and is highly configurable, offers Internet play and so on. Naturally it's free to download.

Search online for "freeciv".

Also if you look around there are quite a few remakes of old 8-bit games mostly for Windows, many of these are better than the originals.

[hpmons]

If you can extend the remit ever so slightly to remakes, you've got your classic Civilization series of games, but better is the remake Freeciv which supports many rules from all versions and is highly configurable, offers Internet play and so on. Naturally it's free to download.

Does it have live action animations for your council though? that was the best thing about Civilization 2, along with the throne room.  The more recent ones don't seem to have these nice little flairs.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Civilization II is perfect. All the sequels just introduced more things they could fuck up. Plus I remember 10 years ago it being the only software I could run on safe-mode due to my spectacularly fucked up PC.

Oh and thanks hpmons, you're a darling of goliath proportions.

[Lee Van Cleef]

Civ II was great, but I absolutely loved the original Colonization, fabulous game that really was a lot of fun.  Great music too!

But my favourite old game (maybe not terribly old) is TES II: Daggerfall, at that time I'd never played a game that was so immersive and had such a huge game world.  Sequels never quite lived up to it.

[biggytitbo]

Here's still from the last express.


I seem to remember there was some lezzyness in it too.

[hpmons]

But my favourite old game (maybe not terribly old) is TES II: Daggerfall, at that time I'd never played a game that was so immersive and had such a huge game world.  Sequels never quite lived up to it.

From what I've read, it seems great - much more varied than the sequels and several ways to approach the main plot.  Yet whenever I try to play it, it just feels...clunky.  I don't know how else to put it.  Combat feels awkward, and the visuals seem too repetitive.  Also the randomness slightly puts me off as then characters and quests are less detailed.  The dungeon design is much better than in the sequels though, and I like the fact that you have a different rating with different members of society, and can't simply join every guild from the start.  And its huge, of course. Huge is good.

Darklands is another sandbox RPG that I keep meaning to play but can't quite muster up the energy.  It uses a slightly odd mix of menus and 2d gameplay.  The menus have lovely backgrounds though, which change during night time, and theres a lot of variety in character creation.  It has pretty much no plot though, your basic goal is just to amass fame, though according to wikipedia there is an actual ending if you defeat a demon called Baphomet.


EDIT: Betrayal at Krondor, theres another RPG I mean to play, but...haven't.  I got stuck in the first or second chapter, then deleted it.  According to wikipedia:

Although neither the dialog nor narrative were written by Feist himself, the game is considered canon as it has been novelized by Feist as Krondor: The Betrayal and events in the game were subsequently written into his later Riftwar novels.

How odd.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Just had my first go on Floor 13, cocked everything up and got fired. It was great.

[Geraint]

Just had my first go on Floor 13, cocked everything up and got fired. It was great.

this will also be your report of your 2nd go. and your 3rd, 4th etc. fucking great game

[Marty McFly]

Does anyone remember Cannon Fodder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDxCBx9Xb1I&feature=related

amazing game!

[dredd]

Dungeon Master:

http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/585/Dungeon+Master.html

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Even though the graphics are old and crappy ^ that still scares me.

[El Unicornio, mang]

Anyone remember Lost Patrol?



At the time me and a couple of friends were massively into Vietnam films, so this was a game we played endlessly. Never seemed to get further than about 1/3 of the map before someone put a grenade in my rucksack though :-(

[Lt Plonker]

I've been messing about with old games again recently (<1996) and I wondered if anyone has any recommendations.

Two of my favorite old games are Beneath a Steel Sky which I played a second time recently.

I've started playing through BASS recently, having given up about three times before because it never really grabbed me. But here's to finally completing it. Cheers for the Floor 13 recommendation, I'll give that a go later.

I've been using Boxer for mac to play a load of old DOS games recently - Transport Tycoon is lots of fun, but stupidly easy if truth be told. Once you start buying out your rivals, there isn't really much left to do. Theme Hospital is getting a good going over too, but by CHRIST is it a frantic game.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Anyone remember Lost Patrol?



At the time me and a couple of friends were massively into Vietnam films, so this was a game we played endlessly. Never seemed to get further than about 1/3 of the map before someone put a grenade in my rucksack though :-(

Aye, I loved that, if I remember correctly it came with a tape version of Smokey Robinson's Tracks of My Tears which I listened to endlessly whilst playing the game. Fraid I never completed it either, due to it being incredibly difficult.

[Lt Plonker]

Does it have live action animations for your council though?

Out of all the strategy games with advisers and councils in them, none have ever made me feel as worthless and as emasculated as the traffic adviser from Sim City 2000.



Nothing I ever did made him happy.

[An tSaoi]

[El Unicornio, mang]

Quite an obvious one, but this brings back so many good memories for me



In fact I might have to put it on my PSP to indulge in some rampant girls school invading