Gaming nostalgia

[Sanis Prent]

I spent a good amount of time last semester going through the bleeding nightmare that is System Shock 2 all over again, and its really rekindled my love for the games I grew up on. Right now, I'm finding myself desperately wanting to dig up Fallout, Fallout 2, X:COM UFO Defense, and X:COM Terror from the Deep.

These games formed 75% of my PC Gaming from 7th to 11th grade. I cannot emphasize enough how amazingly awesome they are. Maybe I'm just a sucker for turn-based games, but in terms of small-unit combat games and RPG's, these games are beyond fantastic.

[Pierce Tondry]

I've never played them. Who developed them?

[Morgan Evanar]

Microprose did X:COM and Fallout was by Black Isle Studios, AFAIK. Interplay's retarded management recently burried Black Isle. Microprose has sort of fallen appart since they were aquired by Microsoft, I think.

System Shock 2 was made by Irrational Games, something of a splinter from Looking Glass Software who made the Thief games, Flight Unlimited, and Terra Nova. Irrational also did Freedom Force and is working on something really exciting, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was.

There is a Russian developed squad sized turn based game thats something WW2 esque, I can't recall what its called off the top of my head. There were big threads on it at both Ars and SA. Its supposed to be totally awesome, I'll let you know what its called when you get your new hardware.

I "wasted" a lot of my youth playing Quake DM, Quake 2 LMCTF/ Action Quake 2, Team Fortress Classic and Counter-Strike. That was highschool and middle school for me. Not to mention hours of C&C Red Alert + Counterstrike expansion, Alpha Centauri, Civ 1, 2. I wasted afternoons at a time playing Falcon 3.0 when I was 10.

[Shawn]

Originally posted by Morgan Evanar
Irrational also did Freedom Force and is working on something really exciting, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was. The Lost, maybe? Seems like Vaporware, at this point. Haven't seen a screenshot in years.

Most of my gaming fundaments come from the likes of Doom (Doom 2, et al), HeXen, Heretic, Ultima 8, King's Quest 6, Phantasmagoria, Shivers and various other id / Sierra games. And, of course, Blood Omen. ;) Perhaps it's just nostalgia speaking, but it seems like games from that era had much better art direction than they do now. Each game I mentioned was so very immersive at the time, with distinct worlds to explore. I'm definitely going to throw together a legacy box to play all of them again one of these days.

[Sanis Prent]

Hexen and Heretic were very very fun. The others, I really didn't get into.

[Tear]

Fallout 2 is still probably one of the best Rpg's out there imho. Sheer freedom and variety of choice is what makes games great..I think thats why online mmorpgs are so effective because they give you freedom in a world of your own.

Like in Diablo you would walk into town to static merchents that werent effected by you whatsoever..

Fallout on the other hand..

[Sanis Prent]

Fallout was almost exactly the same. The only difference was the scope of the game. Fallout 1 took place in mainly the Los Angeles area. Fallout 2 was everything from LA up to Washington, to the Mississippi River and then out in the Pacific somewhere.

[Tear]

In diablo you couldnt blow away the merchents if you didnt like their prices though :p or steal from them..or use charisma or any sort of talents..or do anything except talk and give them gold...

[Garrett Blade]

After playing Call of Duty, I've got a newfound interest in the Second World War. So Medal of Honour: Allied Assault has been re-installed. Also, I dug out my Close Combat Trilogy pack and installed the second and third games (the original doesn't work on my OS).

I much prefer The Russion Front to A Bridge Too Far - in the latter I barely touch the mouse and all of a sudden I'm looking at the other side of the map. Only a little minus point but its enough to make me really dislike playing the game. Plus, Close Combat 3 is a nice refreshing change to the traditional RTS recipe of base-building and overwhelming assaults. It's all about tactics and strategy.

As for old turn-based games, (I don't really class these as that old to be honest, but in the gaming world a few years is considered to be really old) Alpha Centauri and Birth of the Federation were my fave's. Most turn-based gamers quote Civi, which I think is a great game. But these were the ones I played first and really got me into the genre. BOTF's USP was that it was Star Trek, allowing you to go the traditional choices of Federation and Klingons, as well as (imho) cooler ones like the Romulans (Tal Shiar!) and Cardassians. And Alpha Centauri - well I just thought that was coolness all over! Being able to customize units almost endlessly was a nice touch. And I loved the very alien ideologies the factions developed throughout the game. I thought it was a nice way to carry on from Civi. Also, I think AC looks much better than the post-spaceship objective game in Civi 2: Test of Time so I prefer the former to the latter for more than one reason.

Red Alert's got to be on there too - first strategy game I ever played! That caused me to seek out the original C&C, as well as StarCraft which had been recommended to me. Then I went on to play WarCraft and WarCraft 2.

Okay, so it does't look much nowadays, and it probably didn't in its day either, but Star Wars Supremacy/Rebellion was/is a fantastic game. Very addictive in my opinion, it's probably my second favourite Star Wars game after KOTOR. If only they made an updated version akin to Homeworld or Imperium Galactica 2. And I don't think there was at all a learning curve for me. I went from being absolutely hopeless on it to a Grand Admiral overnight. Something just clicked and I could suddenly play the game without having my resources deplete and maintenance shortfalls by day 150. Nowadays I can have the game timer reach day 6000 and still play it happily. Sooner than find the rebels/obliterate the Empire ASAP, I prefer to go system-by-system and gain control of every planet. And I don't move from a sector 'til its all mine. Another good thing about it was that it was open to a degree. You never had missions allocated with timerframes to copmplete them in, or have to do something to get to the next stage. The game just ran and you played it. If a situation came up in the game, you sorted it out how you wanted to. Say you found a planet that was moderately garrisoned by enemy forces. You couls go in and obliterate them with an orbital bombardment courtesy of your armada. Or you could send in your coverts like Han and Chewwie and sabotage the defences/garrisons and then send in your troops with no hassle at all. Yep - time to install that methinks! :)

[Silus Xilarian]

IMO, Diablo, Diablo 2, and D2 LoD are good intros into RPG gaming. You get the basics of character building, without having to learn the more complex aspects of other games.

Im still learning new stuff about the DnD rules from NWN.

[Tear]

Same here Sil ever since i got balduers gate 2 thinking..kewl more complex Diablo..was pretty wrong on that one. Baldurs gate is fun though i jut gotta get the hang of all the rules.

[imported_Grev Drasen]

I remember in like 7th grade I spent 30 bucks on a three-pack which included StarCraft, WarCraft II, and Diablo. Now I can honestly say that was the best 30 bucks I've ever spent in my life.

I've been a Blizz fanboy since the days of Rock 'n Roll Racing, Lost Vikings, and Blackthorne which is one of my all-time favorite SNES games.

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Tear
Same here Sil ever since i got balduers gate 2 thinking..kewl more complex Diablo..was pretty wrong on that one. Baldurs gate is fun though i jut gotta get the hang of all the rules.


I never really cared for the original Baldur's Gate. I tried to play it a half-dozen different times, but it moved at such a ridiculously slow pace, even for an RPG. Baldur's Gate II was better, based upon the short time that I played it.

By contrast, I really liked Neverwinter Nights, and absolutely love Knights of the Old Republic. I'm convinced part of the reason is the change in the ADnD rules. The newer games use 3rd Edition rules, which IMO, are much better for a video gaming environment. They're a bit more intuitive and generally make it easier to handle character growth.

The Diablo games are great for "hack & slash" RPG-type fun. Blizzard found a great balance between action/adventure and roleplaying, enough to bring in fans of both and still be accessible to the casual gamer. Got give them a lot of credit.


Most of my gaming in middle school and high school was centered around consoles, particularly the SNES. I really didn't get into PC gaming heavily until I got to college.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I don't think I'm old enough to have 'nostalgia' about games, per say, but I spent most of the first half of my life glued to my Sega Megadrive, playing Sonic 1/2/+Knuckles and Streets of Rage. I think the first PC game I ever bought was Need for Speed or NBA 1999, something awful like that.

The first PC game I ever remember getting hooked on, though, was 'Toonstruck', the most amazing point and click game you will ever play ever. It's challenging and totally hilarious. You play as a cartoonist (the doc from back to the future), who gets sucked into the world of his cartoons where Nefarious, the villain (Tim Curry!), is using this raygun to turn the cute cartoon world into a twisted sadist hell.

You have to build a gun to counter it, and as you progress through the world more and more of the places you've been and characters you've met turn evil - for example, the cow and sheep who were just your average barnyard inhabitants earlier on turn into something quite frightening: the cow ends up in bondage gear, whipping the sheep.

You get to meet a lot of fairytale characters (I remember the Big Bad Wolf in particular) and get to play lots of cool little games too. Just a real shame that, despite having a copy, I can't get it to run on my PC.

[Charley]

Hahaha I remember that game. Good times.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I must have spent about two months trying to solve the one puzzle where you had to pull books out of a bookcase in a certain order to open a door :headache

[Charley]

Originally posted by Dasquian Belargic
I must have spent about two months trying to solve the one puzzle where you had to pull books out of a bookcase in a certain order to open a door :headache


Myst's bookcase puzzle was much more evil.

[Zasz Grimm]

Originally posted by Shawn


Most of my gaming fundaments come from the likes of Doom (Doom 2, et al), HeXen, Heretic, Ultima 8, King's Quest 6, Phantasmagoria, Shivers and various other id / Sierra games. And, of course, Blood Omen.

Phantasmagoria owned. just. owned. It was the stepping stone to my playing diablo. And then of course, almost everyone knows my former addiction to diablo 2, and LOD. 6-12 hour sittings.

They're awesome games, the new patch has opened new things for it, but I just don't play it much anymore. And I agree with Grev, Blizz is just... $.

Can't wait for Starcraft:Ghost, and am anxiously awaiting WoW.

[Alpha]

lol. I'm still working on wasting my youth on video games. :D I found a new favorite for now though. American McGee's Alice. :D Something about taking a butcher knife to Wonderland appeals to me...

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by Zasz Grimm
They're awesome games, the new patch has opened new things for it, but I just don't play it much anymore.



yeah, too bad some of the cooler additions are for Ladder-only games. Like being able to fight Uber-Diablo.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Originally posted by Alpha
lol. I'm still working on wasting my youth on video games. :D I found a new favorite for now though. American McGee's Alice. :D Something about taking a butcher knife to Wonderland appeals to me...

I really want to play that, but I can't find it in any local shops :(

[Alpha]

It's getting harder and harder to find for some reason...

[Kyle Krogen]

I actualy dug out Fallout today but I can't intall it on my comp because of the versoin of windows im using.......never played the second one.....

[Johnny Spade]

Originally posted by Dasquian Belargic
I really want to play that, but I can't find it in any local shops :(

Das,

I just saw a copy of Alice at my local Walmart last week. If you have Walmart you should check there! (not to sure where you're from.) If not I could prob. get it for you and mail it if you'd send me the money.

(BTW this is Kyle aka Kack Mebuff)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm in England, and I've searched most of the local game shops. I think Shawn said he was going to mail me it, though thanks for the offer :)

[Johnny Spade]

Oh, alrighty then. :D Enjoy! I hear it's one hell of a game!

[Charley]

My copy of discworld noir never came :(