tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post2683749831692849276..comments2024-03-29T01:07:22.708+11:00Comments on The Adventurers Guild: Interview: Mike Marecek - Sierra Convention 2014The Tricksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-32853557045091907022019-01-27T17:40:54.805+11:002019-01-27T17:40:54.805+11:00It's escaped my attention, not evaded.It's escaped my attention, not evaded.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03515363016654169224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-21510678394000114992015-07-10T09:58:42.850+10:002015-07-10T09:58:42.850+10:00So much cat hair in that first picture...So much cat hair in that first picture...DialMforMarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05991827182885226471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-56607977876659550252013-02-21T08:34:11.436+11:002013-02-21T08:34:11.436+11:00Wayne Gretzky Hockey is another classic as well. I...Wayne Gretzky Hockey is another classic as well. I would classify it almost as a hockey simulator (especially when compared to the arcade style of other hockey games of the era - and as far as I know, even today..) It was quite realistic and allowed you to create different strategies, e.g. for powerplay, and the AI surprisingly good as the computer guided players also followed those formations quite well.<br /><br />The downside was, that it was damn difficult to control! You could lose the puck just by turning too quickly while holding the puck..<br />Fenrushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17119088094426124666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-48738932794674433882013-02-17T04:40:14.661+11:002013-02-17T04:40:14.661+11:00Oh my, I used to play tons of Wayne Gretzky Hockey...Oh my, I used to play tons of Wayne Gretzky Hockey (so strange to think that Bethesda started out by making sports games!) with a friend. It could get very... animated. Fortunately by that time I had TAC-2:s, they were pretty much unbreakable :-)unimuralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06987909304909067445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-9447906192481623882013-02-16T22:26:22.313+11:002013-02-16T22:26:22.313+11:00I can't think of a hint that wouldn't just...I can't think of a hint that wouldn't just make it obvious! All will be revealed when we get close to the appropriate year.Andy_Panthrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231815646876343380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-84265775170024910812013-02-16T22:24:57.989+11:002013-02-16T22:24:57.989+11:00It's been a while since I played it, so I can&...It's been a while since I played it, so I can't quite remember. But I'm pretty sure they made quite a few changes, with religion, cultural victories and so on.Andy_Panthrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231815646876343380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-75331587524782188592013-02-16T17:54:01.179+11:002013-02-16T17:54:01.179+11:00Not in particular order:
Desperados: Wanted Dead ...Not in particular order:<br /><br />Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive - One of the most fun games to play, ever. The gameplay's emergent the same way roguelikes are; there's many ways to play it and strategies to use. The characters and story are very entertaining, too.<br /><br />Ancient Domains of Mystery - The only roguelike I've really put time into or won. It has so much content and depth, and its maker has recently resurrected its development and making new releases with lots of new content and bug fixes!<br /><br />Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers - The best adventure game in my opinion. I love all the various twists and turns in the plot. Really good characters and art direction, too.<br /><br />Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars - The second best adventure game in my opinion. Very similar go Gabriel Knight in some ways, and also has many twists and turns that I enjoy.<br /><br />The whole Monkey Island series - The most nostalgic for me. I even like the fourth one! I've replayed them so many times I've almost gotten tired of them.Laukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-50329918975235588002013-02-16T16:07:24.261+11:002013-02-16T16:07:24.261+11:00I missed that one. Correcting it right now!
We sh...I missed that one. Correcting it right now!<br /><br />We should all get on this one too! It looks fantastic and the Kickstarter video is one of the best I've seen. Very, very funny!!!The Tricksterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-27971111633946993392013-02-16T15:53:39.725+11:002013-02-16T15:53:39.725+11:00Wow! I've only played one of these games, whic...Wow! I've only played one of these games, which is Rogue. It feels like blasphemy to admit it, but I've never played a Civilization game. Thought about it a few times, but I'm just not much of a strategy guy. Heroes of Might and Magic III and Homeworld are about as strategy as I get.<br /><br />Maybe one day I'll do a strategy blog just to make myself play the classics!The Tricksterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-32020850392858153112013-02-16T15:50:16.799+11:002013-02-16T15:50:16.799+11:00@Fenrus: Yes, one of the tables had an undead them...@Fenrus: Yes, one of the tables had an undead theme. It was called Nightmare, and I think that was the one I played the most along with Ignition (a space themed table).<br /><br />I still know the music for three of the four tables (didn't play the wild west themed table much)!!!!The Tricksterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-11218951086897400432013-02-16T14:49:39.009+11:002013-02-16T14:49:39.009+11:00No, different game. You're thinking of Epic Pi...No, different game. You're thinking of Epic Pinball. Pinball Dreams was better, but I spent a lot of time on both myself.Cush1978https://www.blogger.com/profile/09176113111548747865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-66355444674094127642013-02-16T13:17:11.545+11:002013-02-16T13:17:11.545+11:00Was that the one with Android and Cybergirl, or wa...Was that the one with Android and Cybergirl, or was that another pinball game? They looked a lot like the Space Cadet game included with Windows 2000 and buried in Windows XP.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-27858878480187555332013-02-16T13:16:19.369+11:002013-02-16T13:16:19.369+11:00I'm in the same position, though I never got B...I'm in the same position, though I never got Beyond the Sword, just the base game. Did it change a lot?Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-48826686621372786312013-02-16T13:12:09.786+11:002013-02-16T13:12:09.786+11:00Give us a hint as to what that will be? Give us a hint as to what that will be? Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-8789245862153861622013-02-16T13:05:53.965+11:002013-02-16T13:05:53.965+11:00I've not tried FreeCiv, my Civ fix has come fr...I've not tried FreeCiv, my Civ fix has come from Civ4:Beyond the sword in recent years. I do have Civ5 though, which I haven't tried yet.Andy_Panthrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231815646876343380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-12445448149342168622013-02-16T12:57:48.748+11:002013-02-16T12:57:48.748+11:00Andy_Panthro: Have you tried FreeCiv? It is based ...Andy_Panthro: Have you tried FreeCiv? It is based on Civ II, but with a modern UI and a lot of shortcuts and ideas that make it easier to play, based on the experience of people who have played the same game for way too many years, plus a couple UI ideas from later games.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-77281473978279943582013-02-16T11:24:29.601+11:002013-02-16T11:24:29.601+11:00Yes, I agree completely what Jarikith. And before ...Yes, I agree completely what Jarikith. And before starting with Ultima IV, you can always read Mr. Addict's posts about I-III (If you haven't already). I just wish I was as lucky as you, and could still experience the Ultima's for first time..<br /><br />And regarding U2, I think Lord British himself is ashamed of that creation. It really doesn't fit to the Ultima lore in any way..Fenrushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17119088094426124666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-47003978228518598092013-02-16T11:10:25.338+11:002013-02-16T11:10:25.338+11:00It's so funny to read other comments now - so ...It's so funny to read other comments now - so many similar memories, and others have managed to put my thoughts into better words!<br /><br />I just have to add one more game to my list. The original EA Sports NHL Hockey 93/94, played against a friend who is as skilled as you are. That was a game we really mastered, and we used to know all the stats of the players while optimizing the line-ups. The only flaw in the game was that other was forced to play with a mouse, which gave a slight disadvantage (to be honest there are other flaws as well but I don't mind them). Nowadays we still play it each time we meet (my friend lives across the world), although not the DOS version but with an SNES emulator (allowing both to use keyboard..).Fenrushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17119088094426124666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-87565639181442482872013-02-16T10:52:36.132+11:002013-02-16T10:52:36.132+11:00Wow, Pinball Dreams! Were there four different tab...Wow, Pinball Dreams! Were there four different tables in it, the last having an undead theme? Had forgotten totally about that, invested lots of hours into it competing with my friends on the high score!Fenrushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17119088094426124666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-58265178692121751572013-02-16T10:39:14.028+11:002013-02-16T10:39:14.028+11:00Too hard to name specific games, but quite easy to...Too hard to name specific games, but quite easy to name my favorite series. I think what all have in common is a great game universe, overarching storyline, protagonists easy to identify with, and a memorable score and good graphics.<br /><br />Ultima - Ultima 6 was actually my first CRPG, and the open game world was something I had never encountered in a computer game before. I fell immediately in love with the series (and still am). My favorites are definitely U7 & SI, along with UW2. UW1 was groundbreaking as a game (engine), although it feels quite forced into the Ultima universe. But still a great game. And UW2 is a strong candidate to be my all time favorite game, if I had to name just one. Also liked the spinoff Martian Dreams.<br /><br />Quest for Glory - I guess this one needs no explanations.. Shadows of Darkness and Hero's Quest EGA being my favorites (I guess I am not the only one)<br /><br />Gabriel Knight - Great characters, story, dialogue and puzzles. Impossible to say which chapter is the best. I also like that each game is really different in game play and technology.<br /><br />System Shock - The atmosphere and the music is so creepy - I remember being scared while playing it at night.. I also liked how the story progresses through the log files found across the station. I had really big expectations on SS2, and it did not fail me<br />..<br />Wing Commander - WC1 was really groundbreaking to me with it's graphics, and WC2 even improved with the cinematic feel. The introduction just blew my mind off (having speech and all!). I can still remember all the dialogue in it, watched it for a million times. Although I have to admit, that X-Wing and Tie Fighter are far better as space sims,. but still t prefer WC over them.<br /><br />Origin and Sierra seem to dominate the list.. liked of course all the classic Lucasfilm/-Arts games, but somehow they do not make to the very top.<br /><br />Bubbling under: Star Control 2, Gateway 2, Shadow of the CometFenrushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17119088094426124666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-60897145673214829192013-02-16T09:05:48.031+11:002013-02-16T09:05:48.031+11:00I'm never good at Top 'However many lists&...I'm never good at Top 'However many lists' but I'll give it a whirl. Note these are in no particular order, just the cream of my crop of gaming experiences, often by genre.<br /><br />Space Combat Simulator game: Privateer: This game took everything that was awesome about Wing Commander and put it into a open galaxy where there was more to do than simply following the main story, having that freedom made the world feel more alive than games set on rails even if there wasn't that much depth to what else you could do within the game. (Really looking forward to Star Citizen!)<br /><br />RPG: Ultima Worlds of Adventure: Martian Dreams. Taking the Ultima VI engine which was pretty much perfection itself for the time, Martian Dreams was the second Worlds of Adventure offering the Ultima series (and much more narratively successful than Savage Empire). Blending Ultima lore and mechanics with an adventure to Mars with historical figures created a truly unique and memorable adventure that I still remember with nothing but fondness to this day. (Savage Empire and Martian Dreams are both FREE offering from GoG seriously if you haven't played them you have no excuse not to!)<br /><br />Adventure Game: There's far too many supremely excellent adventure games to pick just one! Ask me another day and I may have a completely different and still valid answer, for today it is... Monkey Island II everything Monkey Island was but just that much better thanks to the wider scope offered by multiple islands to visit and the interlocking nature of the puzzles offered on each.<br /><br />Simulation: Sim City 2000. I've always enjoyed building. I still collect cool Lego sets that strike my fancy, I enjoy jigsaw puzzles, etc, so naturally enough a game that allows you to build up an entire city certainly stuck my fancy from the first. Sim City 2000 is the one I spent the most time with, playing again and again, building new and different cities each time, it refined everything the original Sim City offered without becoming to mired down with a glut of options, details, and difficulty that later entries offered. (Really looking forward to the new Sim City in March!)<br /><br />Licensed Game Property! Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Sure it's another RPG but it was and still is the best use of a licensed property for a video game that I can think of. Bioware struck gold with the story and the twist in the middle that changed everything you thought you knew about the character you invested yourself in building up. Sadly KotOR 2 was rushed to sorta kinda completion and didn't recapture that same magic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-37557575886867593062013-02-16T08:44:36.819+11:002013-02-16T08:44:36.819+11:00For Ultima neophytes I generally recommend startin...For Ultima neophytes I generally recommend starting with IV, you can pretty much safely skip for I-III as they're pretty much standard save the world by killing the big bad tales, everything pertinent is covered in the lore offered up by the game manuals, or within the latter games themselves. IV is where the series took a dramatic turn into true world building and sometimes more introspective adventures as well as showcasing one of the early examples of a morality system within an RPG. Once you know the world offered up by IV and onwards, if you feel the itch to explore its beginnings certainly give I-III a try, if not, well you're not missing too much by skipping them entirely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-4174554321679474442013-02-16T07:59:02.368+11:002013-02-16T07:59:02.368+11:00Also worth a mention, the Ken Allen kickstarter:
...Also worth a mention, the Ken Allen kickstarter:<br /><br />http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrkenallen/under-the-half-dome-an-album-by-sierra-composer-ke<br /><br />and also I got my Alpha key for the new Leisure Suit Larry remake, and it's looking good! (very rough at the moment though, plenty of missing animations and almost no voice acting and such).Andy_Panthrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231815646876343380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-29780478616390111992013-02-16T07:55:51.059+11:002013-02-16T07:55:51.059+11:0011. Civilization II: I was going to choose Civ4:Be...11. Civilization II: I was going to choose Civ4:Beyond the Sword, but it can feel a little over-complicated at times. Civ2 was pretty much as perfect as it could be for the time, and introduced me to that "just one more turn" feeling. A true classic, I must have sunk endless days into it, trying to carve out my own empire or just win the space race.<br /><br />12. UFO: Enemy Unknown (a.k.a X-COM: UFO Defence): A game I'm replaying right now, this game mixes larger strategic goals with tense turn-based combat. It has been imitated many times, but there has yet to be a game which I feel has truly continued in the same spirit (Big hopes for Xenonauts here!).<br /><br />13. Sim City 2000: I really enjoyed the first Sim City, but I was a little young to really get to grips with it. By the time SC2k was released, I was a little older and a little wiser. I knew what I was doing, and yet still failed miserably most of the time. Somehow though, this city planning game kept drawing me back in for more, as I desperately tried to balance my budgets.<br /><br />14. Command & Conquer: Dune II might have been the first RTS that I played, but C&C did it better. From that gloriously cheesy sci-fi setting (who can ever forget those FMV mission briefings?), to the perfect Frank Klepacki music, I found it amazing. The gameplay was top notch too, with classic base building and two entirely separate branching campaigns.<br /><br />15. Championship Manager 3 (1999-2002): Three games here, but they were all really just updates of each other. Now known as Football Manager, these provided the perfect fantasy football experience. The later games might have added more features, but they also added perhaps a bit too much complexity (at least for me). This was the sweet spot for the series in my opinion, where you could get through a season in a weekend and play a match in minutes.<br /><br />I've missed SO MANY games from this list, like Day of the Tentacle, Diablo II, Half-Life, Neverwinter Nights, Jedi Outcast, The Witcher, Max Payne, Anachronox, Final Fantasy VII, Thief, System Shock 2, Fragile Alliegiance, Police Quest, King's Quest, Master of Orion 2, Caesar II, Sanitarium, The Stanley Parable, Heroes of Might and Magic II, Doom and so on. These lists are impossible! Even now I want to change it, and you could ask me next week and I would give a different answer. (and I haven't even mentioned console or handheld games!)Andy_Panthrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231815646876343380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-4246312512974511182013-02-16T07:55:22.763+11:002013-02-16T07:55:22.763+11:006. Space Quest IV: Sci-Fi and comedy, a good mix! ...6. Space Quest IV: Sci-Fi and comedy, a good mix! Space Quest was great right from the start, with it's relatable slob hero (relatable to me, anyway!) and mixture of parody and solid adventure gaming. I picked SQIV in particular because of those great VGA graphics and the music (You might have noticed how much I appreciate good music in a game!), not to mention that staple of Sci-Fi, the crazy time-travel plot. I like to think it inspired Futurama too, since they have a few things in common.<br /><br />7. Jagged Alliance 2: Surely the king of turn-based tactics games. It improved massively on the first game in the series, and I've played this quite a few times over the years. No game yet has come close to the sorts of tense gunfights that I've had with JA2, and it should really have had more influence on gaming than it did. The marvellous modding community have made massive improvements too, with the 1.13 patch being a personal favourite.<br /><br />8. Ultima Underworld: I could so easily have chosen Labyrinth of Worlds (especially how it ties in with U7), but I think that the first game deserves a lot of recognition. It was amazingly advanced for it's day, with full 3D environments to explore. It used this new technology to it's fullest, with intricate maps, unique locations and environmental puzzles. The plot may have been slightly generic, and it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the series, but it's a great game in it's own right.<br /><br />9. Alone in the Dark: That Lovecraftian horror rears it's head yet again, with the first and best in a long running series. While the awkward new 3D characters don't sit well with the 2D backdrops at times, it still managed to get across so much tension and mystery. It draws you in well, compelling you to investigate the strange goings on at the mansion. Top musical score too, as well as suitably creepy voice acting.<br /><br />10. Fallout: I'm choosing the first in the series for the list, because I feel it portrayed the world and used the mechanics best. The second is better in several ways, but a little less focused, and I'm not overly fond of Fallout 3 or New Vegas. The first game ejects you into a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-style hellscape, with nothing but a few supplies and your wits. It can be hard, even unfair at times, but this ties in so well with the narrative about how inhospitible the world has become. It then layers on various retro-futuristic science-fiction elements and plenty of nods to pop culture. A thoroughly enjoyable experience, that has quite a lot of replay value.Andy_Panthrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231815646876343380noreply@blogger.com