A game that stands out as a classic in my mind is Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. Yes, one hell of a title, but also one hell of a game. Borrowing the look and feel of Quake, Dark Forces II brought a semi-RPG element to the game, with two separate ways that one could go; light side or dark side, depending on one's actions (which really meant, depending on whether or not one pointlessly killed the harmless NPCs). Depending on which direction one went, they would become increasingly darker or lighter, and the live-action cutscenes would reflect this, either depicting you betraying your friends and taking over the galaxy, or defeating the bad guys for the good of all.
Speaking of the live-action cutscenes, that is something that the game was sometimes criticized for, but I actually liked them quite a lot. Sure, the CGI effects weren't exactly realistic, but I never had a problem with that (maybe I was just too young), and as far as the acting goes, unlike the Command and Conquer games, it wasn't at all bad. I've never been one for blaming bad acting, unless it's so outstandingly horrible you can hear the monotone in the actor's voice. No, the actors tried hard and did well, and it's fun to see the different paths that the game takes.
The game itself was a pretty typical FPS--walk through the linear levels and you'll find your goal. There are occasionally puzzles, like having to press a button to get somewhere, but I don't recall anything overly complicated. Though the game was truly 3D, it didn't actually use much in the way of shading technology, so a level was often only as dark as its textures, which usually wasn't that dark. "Dark Forces 2" was a pretty bright, primitive game, but damn was it fun. Also,if you swing your lightsaber right, you can cut off the stormtroopers' arms! Bad-ass.
Windows 95
90 Mhz Processor
16 MB RAM
PCI Video Card
16-bit Sound Card
If you'd like to have a taste of this great classic, I recommend the demo, which allows you to play through the first level.
I didn't actually come across Fallout and Fallout 2 until they had been out on the market for some time. I got them in a dual-CD discount game case at Wal-Mart, and it was probably the best ten bucks I've ever spent. The games are a testament to how good sprite-based CRPGs can be. The stories are deep, the side-quests are engaging, the gameplay is fun, the graphics (even now) are quite pretty, and, most of all, the atmosphere is wholly immersive.
Having been introduced to the culture of the 30s to 60s musicales and soforth early on in life, it was easy for me to get into Fallout's retro-future style. I've always liked how, during the economic golden age that existed just after World War II, there was a lulling sense of America being a utopia. Even with the fears of the Cold War, people seemed comfortable and happy, and their culture depicts that. Fallout combines that with a post-apocalyptic theme, to make a retro-future post-utopian dystopia.
The game has a gigantic cult following, including a team working to create a fan-made expansion pack for Fallout 2 and webcomic. I can't say that I'm a part of that following, as I have a poor history with some of the guys in charge of some of the biggest forums, websites, etc. Regardless, I highly recommend the Fallout games to anyone who loves a good story, deep atmosphere, and just plain fun.
Oh, and it's deliciously violent.
Another thing that was pretty neat about Fallout were the "talking heads" of certain NPCs. I'm not exactly sure how it was done, but I assume that they were pre-rendered videos of some kind that were clipped together as you chose options, as I'm certain that real-like 3D rendering wasn't this good in '97. However it was done, these talking heads managed to lip-sync with surprising accuracy and respond to the dialog choices that were made with emotions, such as looking angry, sad, happy, etc. Yet another great feature to add to the immersion of a great game. It really helped make already-memorable characters even more so.
With Bethesda Softworks working on Fallout 3, rather than the original Interplay team, some are pretty worried that they are going to completely botch an amazing universe. Personally, I'm pretty enthusiastic about how they are doing, and I'll discuss why soon.
Fallout & Fallout 2
DOS or Windows 95
Pentium 90 MHz
16 MB RAM (32 MB for DOS)
600 MB available HDD space
DirectX-compatible SVGA card
DirectSound-compatible sound card
DirectX 3.0a or 5.0
That's the beauty of sprite-based CRPGs: if done well, it looks great, and it's extremely easy on the hardware
First of all, let me just say that I was very young when Star Wars: Episode 1 came out, so nostalgia has managed to overcome what would probably otherwise be hatred for the movie and characters (for instance, I had no problem with Jar Jar). With that said, the first 3D action game I ever played was the game by LucasArts, which was released slightly before the movie itself.
The game was praised for its high-quality sound effects and the use of music from the movie (and, in the case of the PC version that I had, I particularly liked that the title screen had some clips of the movie that would loop) and for its action sequences, but was faulted for many of these sequences being flawed. A review by Movies2GamesReviews points out a lot of the flaws, but in a particularly searing light. Personally, I didn't have a problem with the relatively simple style of the graphics, the lack of some music from the score (such as Duel of the Fates--I liked the Droid Invasion theme much more, anyway, and that's the song they kept reusing). Being 11 at the time, I didn't notice, or care. It's really funny to hear critics complaining about the difficulty of the game when I, as a prepubescent child, beat it over and over again.
What so many apparently overlooked was the various quirks of the game. For instance, as you can see in the above video, if you walk over the dung worms for awhile in the Tatooinecity, everyone in the city will comment on how much you smell like crap. What was a completely unnecessary game aspect, but they added it just to make the game come alive. You've got to admire that. Another neat thing about the game is that it didn't hold your hand, for better or worse. Sometimes this meant some platforming puzzles that meant lots and lots of reloading (and on the old Pentium II, it meant a minute or two of an impatient kid waiting for the game to load), particularly in a later level where Obi-Wan has to jump between some kind of weird turbo-lift platforms in that oversized area where Qui-Gon and Darth Maul fight. It also meant that you could attack and kill an ally, and you would lose the game. The game didn't stop you from doing what you wanted, but it did have consequences.
Also, I should mention that destroying droids in the first level and slaughtering Mos Espa and everyone at the Boonta Eve Race is loads of fun.
True, the platforming is difficult, the fights can be hard, the light sabers don't automatically deflect bolts back to their source, some of the puzzles can be annoying, the levels where you have to guard another character piss me off, and some of it felt rushed, but I still like the game. I guess that's the burden of nostalgia.
If I recall, Star Wars: Droidworks was the first game my parents purchased for me on our brand new Gateway computer ("4GB HDD! WOW! How can you fill SO MUCH SPACE?!") in '98. Since before that point, I'd only played early side-scroller computer games (with the exception of a brief taste of Wolfenstein 3D), Droidworks really captured my fascination. Besides, at that point, we only had some very weak television (just enough to get PBS) and Star Wars was the only science fiction I knew of.
The game consists of one creating "droids" by combining various parts and then painting them as you desired. There were a number of missions that one needed to complete, some requiring very specific droid specs, such as being magnetic. And here Maxis thought that they did it first.
Quaint as the game may now appear to be, I loved it, and I believe that I learned quite a bit from it as well. Note, this is back when I was just beginning to really read (and before I found any fascination in books), and still had but very rudimentary mathematics skills (so in order to finish the puzzles concerning angles and such things, I had to devise a system to work out the correct answer without actually understanding how it all worked--or use trial and error). The game also helped initiate my love for sci-fi and robots.
System Requirements:
Windows 95 or 98
Pentium 133MHz
16MB RAM; 32MB recommended
Minimum 34MB hard disk space
4X IDE or SCSI CD-ROM
100% Direct X compatible PCI graphics card
100% DirectX compatible 16 bit sound device
If you'd like to give the game a whirl, try out the demo or buy it.
So the other day I was going through Drow Tales (a [fantastic] comic I've mentioned in a previous post), trying to catch up, and I came across a certain flash video made by the artists to celebrate the new year. I was stunned.
Why? Well, because it reminded me so much of the kinds of opening cutscenes that played a huge part in making the Thief series freakin' fantastic!
As a frequent reader would know from a previous post, there are a few themes that really snatch my fascination. Let me lay them out here, along with how I got them:
5. Steampunk - Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, Thief, Bioshock
Now, on to Thief itself.
One of the most fantastic aspects of the series (the first and second in particular, especially Thief 2: The Metal Age, as that was the first I played) was the immersive atmosphere. Its gothic themes (in particular the mix of magic and technology) really brought the game to life for me. Each level (of Thief 1 and 2) would be preceded with a cutscene where Garrett, the protagonist that one plays as, would discuss what needed to be done. The music, the style of the intro art, it all works together to help one feel that they are a true part of this world (and when the graphics look like this, you need great gameplay, a fascinating story, and deep immersion to keep the player intersted).
The series was developed by Looking Glass Studios (rest in peace) for Thief: The Dark Project/Gold and Thief 2: The Metal Age (the creators of the System Shock series) and Ion Storm (rest in peace) for Thief: Deadly Shadows (also the creators of the Deus Ex series). It was the first "first person sneaker" game ever, making use of a heavily-modified version of the firstUnreal engine (from the originalUnreal Tournament) to create shadows one could "hide" in, as well as the unprecedented "AI hearing" capability (depending on what surface you walked on and how quickly you walked, your footsteps would make a certain amount of noise which could alert nearby AI to your presence). Now, I've Splinter Cell series and tried sneaking part of the Elder Scrolls series, and let me tell you, none of them hold a candle to these classics.
Of the Thief series, Thief 2: The Metal Age was, hands down, my favorite. Thief: The Dark Project/Gold, while loads of fun, were a lot more about being spooked (which is cool) and fighting hordes of monsters, and Thief: Deadly Shadows was much more about the action, choices, etc. In contrast, not only did Thief 2 have the steampunk theme that the others lacked, but it also pitted the player against mostly human enemies, which meant real sneaking. There is very little more satisfying than successfully sneaking through a Thief 2 level, stealing loot, without any of the AI noticing.
By the way, that's another thing that added a lot to the immersion; the AI dialog.
Is there some Monty Python reference in here? I've never seen the movie, so I can't say. Regardless, it's these kind of conversations and situations that one "stumbles upon" that really makes it come to life. That and, of course, the dark, gothic atmosphere.
As seen in the above video, enemies can sometimes really surprise you, and while the shadows and directional audio can help you in your sneaking, it can also obscure enemies and make you unsure of exactly where those loud moans are coming from.
I'm not alone in my love of the Thief series. In fact, even ten years after the series began, there is still a thriving fan community for this game, mostly making fan missions.
Speaking of fan missions, some fans got together and created an unofficial expansion pack for Thief 2: The Metal Age called Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age, which is, in my option, the absolute best fan-made work ever. It is a great example of professional quality in amateurs, and, honestly, almost as good as Thief 2 itself. Even the Thief2X website looks great; I love that gothic design. The expansion pack is free to download, though it requires an installation of Thief 2 in order to work.
Thief: The Dark Project
Windows 95
166 MHz CPU
32 MB RAM
4 MB PCI or AGP Direct 3D graphics accelerator
42 MB available HDD space
DirectX 6.0
Thief 2: The Metal Age
Windows 95
266 MHz CPU
48 MB RAM
8 Mb PCI or AGP Direct 3D graphics accelerator
250 MB available HDD space
DirectX 7.0
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Windows XP
1.5 GHz CPU
256 MB RAM
64 Mb Video Card with Pixel Shader 2.0
3 Gb available HDD space
DirectX 9.0b
In summary, if you haven't played these fantastic games, buy them (or even download them) and do so. If the games themselves aren't enough, then the (literally) hundreds of fan-made missions should be. At the least, try one of the demos.
Ah, the Pink Panther. The cartoon was my first introduction to swing, and I'm pretty damn fond of the genre since. Although the Pink Panther was just the name of a certain gem stone in the film, the animated short at the beginning was so popular, it spawned a number of similar animations completely unrelated to the film. Like the classic Loony Toons, they are great entertainment, and I particularly like the style of the below episode.
The same kind of style shows up in Grim Fandango, a classic adventure game which I have only recently played. Along with its film noir themes, art deco style, and clever caricature, the game features some fantastic music of the 30s swing style (with Hispanic jazz roots as well, which I also enjoy).
I'll be sure to discuss Grim Fandango in more detail in the near future.
Next, I began playing Duke Nukem, a fun game whose story I never really understood during childhood, due primarily to my limited ability to read the words on the screen. For a game of its time, it is pretty impressive, with certain items being affected by laser gun blasts, ceilings one can cling to, walls that can be shattered, etc. Although I never truly played any of the later games (save for in passing), I know that I loved Duke Nukem, the original. Particularly, I had a fondness for the machines, liking how they would smoke when near destruction, and how the choppers would come crashing down when fully damaged. From what I recall, it was a relatively easy game, but still one that I can enjoy even today.
The game itself was loads of fun, and I am sure that I have beaten it at least a dozen times during my childhood. At its core, the game is a typical side-scrolling shooter; you see something move, you shoot it (though not everything is dangerous). The goal is to find and save the oracles (that is, old guys with long beards and red robes) so that they may join together and set you off on the second part of your quest. I actually found a bug in the game that allows one to beat a level without actually finding the oracle if one dies far enough to the edge of the level that Commander Keen bounces off the right side of the screen, though this means that one cannot collect the oracle and thus is unable to beat the game, thereafter.
Secret of the Oracle (the fourth Commander Keen game) also introduced the Dopefish, which has become a bit of a video game in-joke. Personally, I despised him, because he made for many, many hours of frustrations as a child as I tried to outrun his insatiably hungering jaws.
Ah, yes; the first game I ever recall playing. Midnight Rescue! was a fun game (at the time), though I had a tendency to become frustrated with its gameplay, seeing as I was too young to read at the time (about three to four years old). The game itself consists of matching up "clues" read in various rooms to pictures taken by using film on the robots that try to attack one within the Shady Glen school. It's relatively simple, and I would sometimes get lucky enough to actually beat it simply buy guessing. The game itself was made by The Learning Company, and I later played some other games of the Super Solvers series. It's amusing to recall that, at the time, I was playing the game on an old Windows 3.1 computer, and I cannot help but grin upon going over the system requirements of this game:
Windows® 3.1
486DX/66 MHz processor (or faster)
2 MB free hard disk space
4 MB RAM
2x CD-ROM drive or faster
SVGA display and 256 colors
Windows®-compatible sound card
Note, though, that the above are the system requirements for the CD version (released later). The floppy version, which is what I played, only requires a maximum of 512 Kb of RAM (640 Kb on a Tandy 1000).
A game that stands out as a classic in my mind is Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. Yes, one hell of a title, but also one hell of a game. Borrowing the look and feel of Quake, Dark Forces II brought a semi-RPG element to the game, with two separate ways that one could go; light side or dark side, depending on one's actions (which really meant, depending on whether or not one pointlessly killed the harmless NPCs). Depending on which direction one went, they would become increasingly darker or lighter, and the live-action cutscenes would reflect this, either depicting you betraying your friends and taking over the galaxy, or defeating the bad guys for the good of all.
Quaint as the game may now appear to be, I loved it, and I believe that 
The series was developed by 
Of the Thief series, 
) so that they may join together and set you off on the second part of your quest. I actually found a bug in the game that allows one to beat a level without actually finding the oracle if one dies far enough to the edge of the level that Commander Keen bounces off the right side of the screen, though this means that one cannot collect the oracle and thus is unable to beat the game, thereafter.
