posted February 23, 2001 02:14 PM            

At least good games still get made, if not always in the genre of your choice, and sometimes you have to hunt for them.

I find Alpha Centauri to be almost as fun as the original Civilization (and am eagerly awaiting Sid Meier's return for Civ III).

I haven't found anything I loved as much as XCom yet, although I hear there are a few.

First Person Shooters have dominated the market. The one I enjoyed the most was Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight. I hear Deus Ex and Half-life were even better, but so far I haven't played them.

Real time strategy games are okay. StarCraft remains a classic, and I hear Red Alert II is good. Too much of this and FPS are crap though.

Role Playing games, thankfully, have made a comeback. Baldur's Gate for the classic AD&D, Return to Krondor..Even the new Monkey Island game.

I dunno. I think the real problem with games this days is the rapid development cycle. Too much crap gets shoved out before it's ready. Too many cheap knockoffs to make a buck.

It hurts me, deep in my geeky soul, to see things like Alpha Centauri sharing shelf space with "Deer Hunter 3".

On the other hand, I read about how developers are starting allocate more and more of the processor to things like AI. Licensing of engines allows more focus on gameplay and smoother, more bug free play.

I guess my favorite games are a mix of old and new. Starcraft and Jedi Knight versus Starflight, Civilization and The Secret of Monkey Island...

posted February 23, 2001 05:51 PM            

Civ is also a great game. I even liked Civ: Call to Power. It may not be Sid's creation, but any game that allows you to blow up entire cities using hippiefied ty-dyed suicidal VW bug hovercrafts in the name of environmentalism gets my vote. Also, Civ II helped me stay up for 30 hours in preperation for a trans atlantic flight (I was trying to preemptively adjust to the new time zone and figured I'll have my gaming addictions work for me for once).

As far as the really old games go, when I started playing PC games it was mostly the old text & picture adventure games (Farenheit 451, Wizard of Oz, etc.), which was a gateway addiction to harder crack-like games (like the old quest games). It all went downhill from there.

posted February 23, 2001 10:27 PM         

But nothing has beaten Starflight for "Coolest Game Hisao Has Ever Played".

I never even got very far, either, more's the pity. If anyone has a copy of the diskette around I'd love to try it again, I know I have a codeweel program around here somewhere.

I dug up Master of Magic again recently. Microprose abused the Civ engine and came up with a game that's stupid amounts of fun -- Magic: The Gathering and Civ mixed together.

The whole Mechwarrior series so far has been really nice. I'm playing with Mechwarrior 3 right now, having more fun with the LB/X autocannons than anyone has a right to have.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto has a lot of really good strange humour in it. I'm really enjoying it so far.

Cataclysm does strange things with the Homeworld engine, but I like it intensely right now. See my post about dumb moments, though... ^_^

If any of you liked Heros of Might and Magic or Master of Magic, I strongly suggest you find a game called "Age of Wonders" and give it a try. It's a nice mix of the two games.

Asheron's Call and Everquest are both constant background addiction for me, I recommend either one (though I prefer Asheron's Call, for a number of reasons), or even Ultima Online, although that game's been sliding backwards a lot lately.

-Hisao (game geek)

[Edited over due]
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'Well, if the BDSM thing falls under "Goth", then dip me in white paint and call me "Julian Myndfyre".' (DaveInACar)

[This message has been edited by Hisao Ichikawa -San (edited February 23, 2001).]

IP: Logged

posted February 23, 2001 10:54 PM            

And stop it! You're all going to make me break out my roommates almost mint copy of Master of Magic and X-Com: UFO Defense!

posted February 23, 2001 11:15 PM         

Sorry.

My MOO disc snapped. I haven't aquired MOO2. But I DO have Space Empires IV if anyone wants to take me and my fleets on...

-H1s40 (l33t3rh0s3n?)

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'Well, if the BDSM thing falls under "Goth", then dip me in white paint and call me "Julian Myndfyre".' (DaveInACar)

posted February 23, 2001 11:47 PM            

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life (lf)
n., pl. lives (lvz.)

posted February 24, 2001 06:54 AM            

I wasn't a huge fan of MOO 1, but for some reason MoM totally entered my brain and took residence.

Maybe it was just that it was the first computer game that I really got into. . . maybe it was nailing down Doom Bolts and using Invisible Flying Warships.

I'm just a mad wizard intent on conquering the worlds.

posted February 24, 2001 09:31 AM            

I got Fallout 1 and 2 for £9.99, which is about $15.99 (I'm guessing). Which isn't too bad either. Though I suck at both of them.

Baldur's Gate is amazing. It was like, the first game I ever played (relatively new game geek, right here) and it's by far my favourite, and adding TOTSC made it even better (cos I could play for longer). BG2 is awesome as well, but I hate (hate HATE) the inventory dolls. They bug me because they look so rushed and horrible.

Icewind Dale is good for a dungeon crawl, and I want the add-on (Heart of Winter?) but it's not released here yet.

Planescape:Torment is my favourite game. Ever. The storyline's great, the interaction with the NPCs is great, the only quibble I have is it's lacking in replay value, because once you've played it, you know what's happening (which I suppose you can say for any linear game, but PS:T relies on you not knowing anything about the character).

I've generally stayed away from the Final Fantasy games, but the part of one I played made me think they weren't for me.
My view here may be slightly biased, since I only ever played FF8, but it was so crap. So, so crap. Ugh.

I like sim-type games as well. Rollercoaster Tycoon and Theme Hospital are the ones that spring to mind. I'm avoiding getting The Sims because I doubt I'd ever surface from it.

I do have King's Quest (The Princeless Bride? The Brideless Prince? Something like that), but I can't get past where you have to climb through the floorboards in the witch's house. The dog always eats me, so I gave up.

Dungeon Keeper games are cool, though I don't like the mana system.

Heroes of Might and Magic got a bit boring after I finished all the maps, and then I discovered the wonder of downloading maps other people made! (Because my maps sucked, since I knew what was coming.)

Most recent acquisition was Discworld Noir, because I love PTerry books. It's a good game so far (not too far in), and the interpretation of Nobby is just how I imagined him.

The older games I have, that I picked up cheap are some awful, awful awful thing called Tlon. It's so bad I don't even want to go into it. Pizza Express which I love, but the disc is scratched and it won't run (but there's a new game that looks a lot like it just out, which I may have to grab). And Warcraft. Damn I love those orcs.

Hmmm. I'm more of a game geek than I thought.

On a slight tangent, is the new Alice game, that I can't remember exactly what it's called but you're Alice from Alice in Wonderland and you kill people, worth getting? Inquiring minds wish to know...And failing that, how about Escape From Monkey Island?

Wheeee new hard disc (40 gigs) arriving to be filled with gamey goodness!

edited because gah! How could I forget my longing for Neverwinter Nights? Want it NOW. And it's not being released in America till September. Which means we won't get it here until like 2006.

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Go do my questionnaire! Now!

posted February 24, 2001 10:48 AM            

I think my main complaint is that they revealed all of the technologies that you could study, what they did, and how to get them, in the book.

It completely ruins the expierence for me. I like the mystery.

posted February 24, 2001 02:43 PM            

Age of Wonders is interesting, I find that the computer AI tends to be incredibly stupid, but maybe that's just me.

Dungeon Keeper is also nice, I like the spell system in the second one better than the first, but it still needs tweaking.

Half-life is a very cool game.

As for RPGs my favourite ones are Quest for Glory, though I haven't figured my way through most of them.

Also Kings Quest, but less nifty.

As for old, the old Mario Bros. (for Apple 2) or Burger Time are perhaps the best remembered.

posted February 24, 2001 03:49 PM         

Sorry, I KNEW I'd forgotten something.

-Hisao (who apologizes for trying to be leet earlier)

posted February 24, 2001 08:41 PM            

It was a really original game, and fun.

if this were ratings I'd give it an A-

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life (lf)
n., pl. lives (lvz.)

posted February 25, 2001 01:26 PM            

*has to go because he's re-addicted to solar jetman*

posted February 25, 2001 07:41 PM         

Gak.

I think I was thinking of something else. My apologies.

(Roguelikes own all doorgames.)

-Hisao

posted February 25, 2001 08:27 PM            

Hours of green-and-black fun. I forgot how huge this game is. I'm going to have to draw another map for it, like I did in '86...

The only problem is the eye-strain. After staring at nothing but green pixels my normal screen does look refreshingly smooth and colorful, though.

posted February 26, 2001 11:24 AM            

Dead or Alive 2 for PS2 is IMO the greatest fighting game ever...

Perfect dark is probably my favorite FPS... at least until Red Faction comes out. Yay for being able to blow up terrain. That sounds so freaking cool.

SSX is the only sports game I've ever bought... and it kicks major ass...

Yes, I've got a ps2. Neener neener.

Oh, and Laser chess, with the 2001 HAL samples... too sweet.

And I can't believe no one has mentioned lemmings. Frigging lemmings. nuke 'em kill 'em.... no other game makes losing so much fun.

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Ford, there's an infinite number of monkeys at the door who want to talk to us about this script for hamlet they've worked out.

posted February 26, 2001 11:57 AM            

Terry Prachett once mentioned Lemmings. He enjoyed it so much, and played it so often, that he'd not only erased it, but reformatted the drive so it couldn't be gotten back.

posted February 26, 2001 12:13 PM            

By the By Spatch has some fairly cool text based games.

Ed. to ask if Anyone else plays Scorch, and if they want to find a server to play on.

posted February 26, 2001 02:32 PM            

(Second, of course, to "pick up phonebooth".)

[edited to not spoil]

[This message has been edited by ThePet (edited February 26, 2001).]

posted February 26, 2001 05:35 PM            

I brought it out a little while ago when I was looking for something to code. I might be interested in a game at some point in time.

I'm also surprised no one mentioned Zork. So... ZORK!!!

posted February 26, 2001 10:13 PM            

I thought that while the graphics for each Civ got better, the gameplay got progressively worse with each version. And what's with that lawyer shit in the third Civ? My tank should trump his suit.

posted February 27, 2001 08:22 AM            

Red Baron
Tie Fighter
Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries
Jedi Knight
Starsiege:Tribes
EverQuest

posted February 27, 2001 09:24 AM         

Gerald: while I don't want to pick a fight with anyone over a matter of opinion, I would have to disagree with you about Half-Life. I think an AI that allows units to shout "grenade" and scatter when you chuck one at them is okay. I was also impressed with the soldiers' squad tactics, moving around behind you, using cover, etc.

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"...I can only hope that [it] will be insanely intricate and make me run screaming around the room with flames shooting out of my eyes in frustration. Now THAT'S a game.

posted February 27, 2001 08:30 PM         

Monkey Island I and II were just plain too much fun, though. Guybrush Threepwood (Thorpwad? "It's Threepwood.") made a good Bumbling Hero and none of the games took itself too lightly OR too seriously. (The clock on Melee that always read 10 PM was a kick, especially when they handed you a reservation stump for 2 AM) MI2 ended very oddly, but they pulled it into CMI nicely. (Super-Secret Direct3D Mega Monkey Mode!)

Does that division of Lucasarts still exist with any of the old people?

-Hisao (Loom was FUN the first time, dammit.)

posted February 28, 2001 05:47 AM            

Well, what's YOUR name?

...Mancomb Seepgood.

I already had a thread for quest games (and I think the LucasArts adventures fall under that classification).

posted February 28, 2001 08:01 AM            

I suppose it's a life balance thing. When I was contracting in Iowa and generally restless as hell, Carmageddon was the thing. Now, a nice restful relaxing strategy game is just the thing.

I've thought about Baldur's Gate or the Icewind Dale game (like Salvatore a lot), but haven't bothered so far. Though I'm no fan of D&D in general, I do seem to have liked their computer games. BG has scared me off for fear of it being too much style and not enough substance, plus I just prefer turn-based combat.

Carmageddon 3 was a big disappointment. They put much energy into animating little bits flying off all the cars but turned every other mission, apparently, into Find The Switch. I hate Find The Switch. It's so fact-based.
Fact: There's a switch. Fact: you can't get anywhere in the game until you find it. Fact: I am not very interested in your switch. It lacks character development. I have gotten bored and uninstalled your game. This, plus lack of taste for first-person shooting, keeps me from really getting into a lot of the current crop of games.

I tend to like games where they lay out a system and a problem, and the implementation is up to me.

Asteroids fits this: Fly around, sit in one spot, hunt spaceships or don't. Whatever you do, there are a bunch of rocks and the occasional spaceship, and it's all free-form tactics from there.

Civ fits this: Go for a peaceful technologically superior society (I tend towards this), grab all the land you can get paws on, systematically destroy everyone as soon as possible. Whatever. The more choices I get, the better, and nothing I can think of works as well as Civ for this.

Even Civ II has gotten a little too visual, though. I turn off all the animated crap and get down to the serious business: do I need a road here or a city there? Planning. Ahhhh...

Hums and directs the operations. There is never enough time to build all the roads...Mongols? Who invited Mongols? Get off my roads! Happily dispatches invaders, humming.

[Edited because their chariot pillaged my post.]

[This message has been edited by GuardianLion (edited February 28, 2001).]

IP: Logged

posted February 28, 2001 08:28 AM            

This has been your vaguely helpful hint of the day, from someone too tired to know any better. You must play the games....

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Go do my questionnaire! Now!