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Random thoughts on various new and old games (indie, classics, abandonware)
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Zeppelin: Giants of the Sky (1994)
Many years ago, at a friend's place, I briefly saw a small bit of this game. A game about zeppelins? How cool is that? I recently remembered it and took it for a spin. We can safely shove it in the "great idea, lousy execution" pile. There's just not a lot you can do. You play as a German zeppelin bigshot. You make and research your zeppelins, fly them around, establish regular (automated) routes, transport cargo and passengers, etc. At the start, the only real way to make money is to snag a contract to build zeppelins for a client. As the game progresses these contracts will peter out and you'll rely more on scheduled routes. Once you research everything, taking a zeppelin for a flight will bring you the most cash.
The game starts in 1901 and your zeppelins can't fly very far. Took one over the ocean and it crashed very nicely. By the end of 1903, I got married, researched everything, and was drowning in cash. Supposedly, the game ends in 1940, but I really saw no point in continuing. Once in a while, der Kaiser will pop in and pin a medal on you, or congratulate you, or butter you up for a good zeppelin price for the fatherland. There's also some races to race and records you can break for some extra cash. Your scheduled flights never get into trouble. When you fly your zeppelins the occasional storm could always be just flown around. Like I said, not much to do.
Oh, the humanity
99 Luftballons
Many years ago, at a friend's place, I briefly saw a small bit of this game. A game about zeppelins? How cool is that? I recently remembered it and took it for a spin. We can safely shove it in the "great idea, lousy execution" pile. There's just not a lot you can do. You play as a German zeppelin bigshot. You make and research your zeppelins, fly them around, establish regular (automated) routes, transport cargo and passengers, etc. At the start, the only real way to make money is to snag a contract to build zeppelins for a client. As the game progresses these contracts will peter out and you'll rely more on scheduled routes. Once you research everything, taking a zeppelin for a flight will bring you the most cash.
The game starts in 1901 and your zeppelins can't fly very far. Took one over the ocean and it crashed very nicely. By the end of 1903, I got married, researched everything, and was drowning in cash. Supposedly, the game ends in 1940, but I really saw no point in continuing. Once in a while, der Kaiser will pop in and pin a medal on you, or congratulate you, or butter you up for a good zeppelin price for the fatherland. There's also some races to race and records you can break for some extra cash. Your scheduled flights never get into trouble. When you fly your zeppelins the occasional storm could always be just flown around. Like I said, not much to do.
Oh, the humanity
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Ecstatica (1994)
One of those games I played back in the day, but for some reason or another never beat. Returning to it after such a long time I immediately thought of Little Big Adventure (because of ellipsoid graphics) and Dink Smallwood (because of the hero's ponytail - I actually thought he was a woman when I originally played Ecstatica). Anyway. A sorcerer's maid summons a demon, things go horribly wrong, a lone wanderer stumbles into the village and tries to solve the mystery and save the day… and to find some water, the man is parched.
My favorite thing about the game is the way you're ambushed while wandering around the village. Either the little mace-wielding pygmies or the werewolf surprise you. The werewolf is very tough, so your choice is to run, hide, or smack it a bit till it backs off. Apparently, it can be killed, but it requires a lot of time and effort. While the village and the surrounding area is devastated, there are plenty of people who you can meet and talk with - from the bratty little girl, the cowardly old knight, all the way to the amorous witch. The game's also amusing at times, which I definitely did not expect.
Two memorable parts for me:
Getting transformed into a squirrel and getting chased by snakes and pygmies.
Getting turned into a frog by the sorcerer and turned back to normal by a fat witch's kiss (You can also steal her broom, which you can very slowly ride as it sputters).
The little things in life
Welcome to the village.
An uppity table.
A drinking, burping, flatulent bear.
Fun fact. You can knock this dude out of the tower.
Hang in there.
This armor is useless. You'll move like a snail.
She'll try to hug and kiss you no matter what form you are.
Stop and smell theroses flower, wolfie.
Tarzan pygmies
And then you get a flame-spewing bone.
So what's January? "I got a lobotomy"?
The pissing cupid.
If you get killed, the monsters share a hearty laugh at your dumb ass.
Rope-swinging pygmy knocks you down. Most impressive.
Lady of the Lake
Coming out of thecloset wardrobe.
She doesn't give you that sword back, though.
Gimp masks
I will not be distracted from my quest.
Very Alone in the Dark-ish.
This overgrown gopher is the final boss.
The bad ending. An eternity of pleasure.
The good ending. You and the dumb girl who summoned the demon ride away.
Given the full frontal nudity, I wonder if the game outraged moral guardians back in the day.
One of those games I played back in the day, but for some reason or another never beat. Returning to it after such a long time I immediately thought of Little Big Adventure (because of ellipsoid graphics) and Dink Smallwood (because of the hero's ponytail - I actually thought he was a woman when I originally played Ecstatica). Anyway. A sorcerer's maid summons a demon, things go horribly wrong, a lone wanderer stumbles into the village and tries to solve the mystery and save the day… and to find some water, the man is parched.
My favorite thing about the game is the way you're ambushed while wandering around the village. Either the little mace-wielding pygmies or the werewolf surprise you. The werewolf is very tough, so your choice is to run, hide, or smack it a bit till it backs off. Apparently, it can be killed, but it requires a lot of time and effort. While the village and the surrounding area is devastated, there are plenty of people who you can meet and talk with - from the bratty little girl, the cowardly old knight, all the way to the amorous witch. The game's also amusing at times, which I definitely did not expect.
Two memorable parts for me:
Getting transformed into a squirrel and getting chased by snakes and pygmies.
Getting turned into a frog by the sorcerer and turned back to normal by a fat witch's kiss (You can also steal her broom, which you can very slowly ride as it sputters).
The little things in life
Welcome to the village.
An uppity table.
A drinking, burping, flatulent bear.
Fun fact. You can knock this dude out of the tower.
Hang in there.
This armor is useless. You'll move like a snail.
She'll try to hug and kiss you no matter what form you are.
Stop and smell the
And then you get a flame-spewing bone.
So what's January? "I got a lobotomy"?
The pissing cupid.
If you get killed, the monsters share a hearty laugh at your dumb ass.
Rope-swinging pygmy knocks you down. Most impressive.
Coming out of the
She doesn't give you that sword back, though.
I will not be distracted from my quest.
Very Alone in the Dark-ish.
This overgrown gopher is the final boss.
The bad ending. An eternity of pleasure.
The good ending. You and the dumb girl who summoned the demon ride away.
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Millennia: Altered Destinies (1995)
An alien species abducts you, gives you a time-travelling ship, and charges you with saving a galaxy from the evil Croids. You do that by seeding the galaxy with four different species and guiding them over 10,000 years.
They are:
The polar bear-looking Slothoids
The insectoid Entomons
The militaristic Reptoids
The aquatic Piscines
These races have their own unique traits and problems to solve. For example, Slothoids are spiritual and most of their problems will involve religion in some way. Reptoids need constant struggle, so you'll have to prevent them from wiping themselves out in constant wars. And at the same time also prevent them from going pacifist, since they won't advance and will happily remain peaceful, primitive farmers for the whole 10,000 years. You solve problems by talking to the species' representative and coming up with a solution, giving or taking away a technology, using a dropship to attack things on the planet, or by battling in space. Example: Piscines were choosing a leader among three candidates: a religious one, a would-be king, and a strongman. The manual said they're pro-democracy and individualistic, so I picked the religious one. It ended with Piscine sacrifices and cannibalism. Picking the strongman resulted in dictatorship, slavery, and eventual anarchy. The king was the best choice, as the monarchy eventually gave way to democracy. Another time, the Entomons were having trouble with an airborne predator, but had developed only spears. So I took the bow & arrow developed by the Reptoids and gave it to the insects. Problem solved.
Some solutions might bite you in the ass much later down the line. But thankfully, you can see the entire timeline, how your decisions will end up, and travel back in time and change your actions. I swear, these fellas can't go a hundred years without a problem ending up in slavery, revolution, genocide, military coups, system collapse, and the like.
Complicating matters are the Croids, who will expand quickly and try to conquer all the planets in the galaxy. Your evil alter ego will also go back in time and mess up your species' development, and you'll have to fix it ASAP and try to blow him away. When your races are developed enough, you can give each of them a specific schematic to research. These are vital for you to return to your own time and space. But before you do, you have to ensure that each race controls about a quarter of the galaxy. This is a massive pain and I eventually got tired of trying to balance the scales.
All in all, I haven't played anything quite like this before. Really should be better known.
Ad astra
Taking a tech from a species can go horribly wrong.
Highlander
Not a star. Just a planet being nuked.
Slothoids invent TV
The opium of the people
An alien species abducts you, gives you a time-travelling ship, and charges you with saving a galaxy from the evil Croids. You do that by seeding the galaxy with four different species and guiding them over 10,000 years.
They are:
The polar bear-looking Slothoids
The insectoid Entomons
The militaristic Reptoids
The aquatic Piscines
These races have their own unique traits and problems to solve. For example, Slothoids are spiritual and most of their problems will involve religion in some way. Reptoids need constant struggle, so you'll have to prevent them from wiping themselves out in constant wars. And at the same time also prevent them from going pacifist, since they won't advance and will happily remain peaceful, primitive farmers for the whole 10,000 years. You solve problems by talking to the species' representative and coming up with a solution, giving or taking away a technology, using a dropship to attack things on the planet, or by battling in space. Example: Piscines were choosing a leader among three candidates: a religious one, a would-be king, and a strongman. The manual said they're pro-democracy and individualistic, so I picked the religious one. It ended with Piscine sacrifices and cannibalism. Picking the strongman resulted in dictatorship, slavery, and eventual anarchy. The king was the best choice, as the monarchy eventually gave way to democracy. Another time, the Entomons were having trouble with an airborne predator, but had developed only spears. So I took the bow & arrow developed by the Reptoids and gave it to the insects. Problem solved.
Some solutions might bite you in the ass much later down the line. But thankfully, you can see the entire timeline, how your decisions will end up, and travel back in time and change your actions. I swear, these fellas can't go a hundred years without a problem ending up in slavery, revolution, genocide, military coups, system collapse, and the like.
Complicating matters are the Croids, who will expand quickly and try to conquer all the planets in the galaxy. Your evil alter ego will also go back in time and mess up your species' development, and you'll have to fix it ASAP and try to blow him away. When your races are developed enough, you can give each of them a specific schematic to research. These are vital for you to return to your own time and space. But before you do, you have to ensure that each race controls about a quarter of the galaxy. This is a massive pain and I eventually got tired of trying to balance the scales.
All in all, I haven't played anything quite like this before. Really should be better known.
Ad astra
Taking a tech from a species can go horribly wrong.
Not a star. Just a planet being nuked.
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Indeed. I still can't believe the ruckus people raised about that tiny dick in Dreamweb. Little did they know that nine years later you'd have a guy stabbing a glass shard in someone's face in Manhunt.
lightbane
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2008
- Messages
- 10,624
Gotta love FMV graphics, they have their charm that is now lost.
That's violence, which is totally fine compared to nudes. Wasn't there some hysteria due that level of violence though? The sequel was censored IIRC.
Either way, nowadays's Rockstar isn't capable of making such kind of games anyway.
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
The Lost Patrol (1990)
Vietnam 1965. A US chopper crash leaves only seven soldiers alive. You must guide them over 58 miles of hostile terrain to Du Hoc outpost. You encounter minefields, booby traps, VC patrols, scouts, snipers, machine gun nests, friendly and unfriendly villagers. Morale has to be kept high, supplies must be found, and fatigue be kept as low as possible. Rest often above all else. How you travel is up to you. Scout and travel cautiously and you might spot and avoid a VC patrol. Double time and you'll cover vast distances quickly and maybe stumble into a minefield and get everyone killed. It's real easy to screw up. Once I was happily blasting away a patrol and then a grenade landed in my lap. Guess I shoulda ducked behind that wall in time, huh. Retreat is an option, but it usually ends up in one of your guys getting wounded, so it's better to fight. You can also set your own booby traps, but I have no idea what effect they actually have in the game.
A few more encounters and this coulda been a much more interesting game. Are those villages hiding weapons? Is the food you're being offered poisoned? Do you go My Lai on them?
R&R cancelled
Near the crash site.
Section 8
One shot, one kill.
Lone scout waiting to get kicked in the face.
Foxtrot, Uniform, Charlie, Kilo.
'Sup, friend? Nice day, innit?
Punch, kick, and headbutt.
Didi Mau
Moral dilemma. Shoot one villager to make the rest talk?
Just before reaching Du Hoc. Man, that would suck.
Vietnam 1965. A US chopper crash leaves only seven soldiers alive. You must guide them over 58 miles of hostile terrain to Du Hoc outpost. You encounter minefields, booby traps, VC patrols, scouts, snipers, machine gun nests, friendly and unfriendly villagers. Morale has to be kept high, supplies must be found, and fatigue be kept as low as possible. Rest often above all else. How you travel is up to you. Scout and travel cautiously and you might spot and avoid a VC patrol. Double time and you'll cover vast distances quickly and maybe stumble into a minefield and get everyone killed. It's real easy to screw up. Once I was happily blasting away a patrol and then a grenade landed in my lap. Guess I shoulda ducked behind that wall in time, huh. Retreat is an option, but it usually ends up in one of your guys getting wounded, so it's better to fight. You can also set your own booby traps, but I have no idea what effect they actually have in the game.
A few more encounters and this coulda been a much more interesting game. Are those villages hiding weapons? Is the food you're being offered poisoned? Do you go My Lai on them?
R&R cancelled
Near the crash site.
One shot, one kill.
Lone scout waiting to get kicked in the face.
'Sup, friend? Nice day, innit?
Punch, kick, and headbutt.
Moral dilemma. Shoot one villager to make the rest talk?
Just before reaching Du Hoc. Man, that would suck.
Last edited:
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
DragonStrike (1990)
Ride your dragon and fight in a war against evil. Either blast your foes from far away or get up close and personal, where you can slash them with the sword or skewer them with the lance. Or your dragon can bite and claw them. Your enemies can do the same to you, of course. You should be careful not to fly under your foes, since they can knock you off your dragon. Your scaly buddy will sometimes rescue you before you splat on the ground… sometimes not. At two points of the game, you'll be offered to join a more prestigious knightly order. This means better dragons, but also tougher missions. You'll also have to donate some magic items to the order. As you blaze through the skies and win battles, you'll gain promotions and various magical goodies.
Good news. You'll occasionally have allies. Bad news. Friendly fire is a thing. Two groups of dragons fight. Lightning, acid, cones of cold and fire, and all sorts of gases fly around. Good luck staying unscathed. Hardest missions were always those where I had backup. Three out of five times when I died, it was because one of my friends zapped me. Apart from dragons, you'll be facing manticores, draconians, wyverns, flying citadels, archers, and ships. The weirdest thing is when your dragon says it's hungry and demands you land, so it can feed on some poor bastard. In the middle of battle. At least it doesn't ask for a toilet break.
Dragon jousts
No jetpacks
The hell is that? A tuning fork?
Should have packed that parachute.
Societas Draconistarum
Ride your dragon and fight in a war against evil. Either blast your foes from far away or get up close and personal, where you can slash them with the sword or skewer them with the lance. Or your dragon can bite and claw them. Your enemies can do the same to you, of course. You should be careful not to fly under your foes, since they can knock you off your dragon. Your scaly buddy will sometimes rescue you before you splat on the ground… sometimes not. At two points of the game, you'll be offered to join a more prestigious knightly order. This means better dragons, but also tougher missions. You'll also have to donate some magic items to the order. As you blaze through the skies and win battles, you'll gain promotions and various magical goodies.
Good news. You'll occasionally have allies. Bad news. Friendly fire is a thing. Two groups of dragons fight. Lightning, acid, cones of cold and fire, and all sorts of gases fly around. Good luck staying unscathed. Hardest missions were always those where I had backup. Three out of five times when I died, it was because one of my friends zapped me. Apart from dragons, you'll be facing manticores, draconians, wyverns, flying citadels, archers, and ships. The weirdest thing is when your dragon says it's hungry and demands you land, so it can feed on some poor bastard. In the middle of battle. At least it doesn't ask for a toilet break.
Dragon jousts
The hell is that? A tuning fork?
Should have packed that parachute.
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2015
- Messages
- 13,370
The cover of DL5 Dragons of Ice by Larry ElmoreDragonStrike (1990)
...
The cover of DL9 Dragons of Deceit by Larry Elmore
The AD&D 2nd edition Dungeon Master's screen cover by Jeff Easley
AD&D gamebook #10 Lords of Doom cover by Larry Elmore
The cover of DL4 Dragons of Desolation by Keith Parkinson
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Random Amiga Mix
Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O'Fun (1989)
An indebted circus must repay a 10,000 loan or find itself bankrupt. Perform in six events to raise the cash. The diving was my favorite one; you jump and perform various stunts, taking care to land in ever smaller containers - from a wooden tub to a beer mug. Fiendish Freddy will try to sabotage every event, so you have to deal with that. Loved the humor and the graphics.
Broke
You juggle bombs, babies, swords, anvils,...
Clowning around
The judges
Geisha (1990)
Weird and hilariously bad. The samurai have kidnapped your astrophysicist girlfriend and now you must go to Japan and seek help from the yakusa (sic). They're just throwing words related to Japan around. Something, something, sushi, bakemono, something, arigato, sake. All sorts of minigames and naked women all around. A card game with Battle Chess-like animations being the most amusing of the bunch.
Ladies still have unshaved pubic hair
Santa Paravia en Fiumaccio (1988)
Originally released in 1978 and later ported to all sorts of platforms. Lead an Italian city state during the Renaissance and rise up through the ranks until you get crowned king. Shows agriculture as the bedrock of the economy and you must prepare yourself for bad harvests. Higher classes bring more in taxes and trade, but they also eat much more than the serfs. On the toughest setting, you've got about sixty years to become king before you die of old age.
Can't eat money
Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O'Fun (1989)
An indebted circus must repay a 10,000 loan or find itself bankrupt. Perform in six events to raise the cash. The diving was my favorite one; you jump and perform various stunts, taking care to land in ever smaller containers - from a wooden tub to a beer mug. Fiendish Freddy will try to sabotage every event, so you have to deal with that. Loved the humor and the graphics.
Broke
You juggle bombs, babies, swords, anvils,...
The judges
Geisha (1990)
Weird and hilariously bad. The samurai have kidnapped your astrophysicist girlfriend and now you must go to Japan and seek help from the yakusa (sic). They're just throwing words related to Japan around. Something, something, sushi, bakemono, something, arigato, sake. All sorts of minigames and naked women all around. A card game with Battle Chess-like animations being the most amusing of the bunch.
Ladies still have unshaved pubic hair
Santa Paravia en Fiumaccio (1988)
Originally released in 1978 and later ported to all sorts of platforms. Lead an Italian city state during the Renaissance and rise up through the ranks until you get crowned king. Shows agriculture as the bedrock of the economy and you must prepare yourself for bad harvests. Higher classes bring more in taxes and trade, but they also eat much more than the serfs. On the toughest setting, you've got about sixty years to become king before you die of old age.
Can't eat money
Last edited:
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Flashback (1992)
Flashback's been part of my backlog for ages. Kinda odd, since I was so fond of Another World.
Sponsored by the Utah Office of Tourism
Sweet lasery goodness
Ah yes, Another World by Delphine Software. A game where a ginger soft drink connoisseur gets teleported to Utah. Red Hair almost immediately gets captured and put in a cage by baldies. Upon escape from said cage, he picks up a laser gun in a cool cutscene. Now, Delphine liked this very much and decided there will be many such cutscenes in Flashback. From picking up keys to picking up diaries, teleporters, and whatnot. It kinda loses its magic. But Delphine went even further and also added cutscenes for giving and receiving stuff - ID, atom bomb, work permit, etc. That's right, ain't no welfare in Flashback. You work for your credits.
Now, your job is to save Earth from the dumbest aliens possible, the Morphs. These shapeshifting reptilian creeps figure out that you've found out about their evil plan. Do they kill you? Nah, just erase your memory. Aaaand of course you escape. You restore your memory and get captured again. Now do they kill you? Nah, they just imprison you. And you escape. Again. Because the Morphs are morons.
The one shot, one kill laser gun from Another World is replaced with a gun that has unlimited ammo. Felt the combat had more in common with Blackthorne with all the rolling around, really. Don't know why it took me so long to play this. Better late than never. And now I can't get the theme track out of my head.
Main theme PC version
Main theme Amiga version
Some cutscenes
Amnesia: The Humid Jog
Blade Runner
Brainless Morphs
Glory to Arstotzka!
What is this happy horseshit? Bubble gum walls?
PS. Since we're on the subject of Another World, Flashback, and Blackthorne, I'll post an intro from Bermuda Syndrome. Just because.
Flashback's been part of my backlog for ages. Kinda odd, since I was so fond of Another World.
Sponsored by the Utah Office of Tourism
Sweet lasery goodness
Ah yes, Another World by Delphine Software. A game where a ginger soft drink connoisseur gets teleported to Utah. Red Hair almost immediately gets captured and put in a cage by baldies. Upon escape from said cage, he picks up a laser gun in a cool cutscene. Now, Delphine liked this very much and decided there will be many such cutscenes in Flashback. From picking up keys to picking up diaries, teleporters, and whatnot. It kinda loses its magic. But Delphine went even further and also added cutscenes for giving and receiving stuff - ID, atom bomb, work permit, etc. That's right, ain't no welfare in Flashback. You work for your credits.
Now, your job is to save Earth from the dumbest aliens possible, the Morphs. These shapeshifting reptilian creeps figure out that you've found out about their evil plan. Do they kill you? Nah, just erase your memory. Aaaand of course you escape. You restore your memory and get captured again. Now do they kill you? Nah, they just imprison you. And you escape. Again. Because the Morphs are morons.
The one shot, one kill laser gun from Another World is replaced with a gun that has unlimited ammo. Felt the combat had more in common with Blackthorne with all the rolling around, really. Don't know why it took me so long to play this. Better late than never. And now I can't get the theme track out of my head.
Main theme PC version
Main theme Amiga version
Some cutscenes
Amnesia: The Humid Jog
Glory to Arstotzka!
What is this happy horseshit? Bubble gum walls?
PS. Since we're on the subject of Another World, Flashback, and Blackthorne, I'll post an intro from Bermuda Syndrome. Just because.
Last edited:
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Budokan: The Martial Spirit (1989)
The International Karate formula was two men in pajamas beating the snot out of each other. Budokan adds nunchuks and sticks for your guy, and spears, tonfas, naginatas, kusarigamas for your opponents. And ninja stars. Stamina determines if you'll be able to perform all the cool moves or if you'll be barely able to raise your arm. Or you can wait for your ki to charge and beat your challenger with one hit. The tournament has you facing a dozen fighters. You've get three chances to beat them. If you fail, you get to fight the previous opponent again. Thing is, you've got four styles and four points in each one at the start. One fight, one style point spent. Still, it's much more forgiving than starting from scratch if you lose. I only ever got to the ninja when playing this in the past. She throws ninja stars and uses smoke bombs to appear behind your back in her quest to turn you into a hedgehog. To my surprise, I beat her on the second try this time round. Turns out I needed the right tactic and the right tool for the job. "My, what a long stick you have," said the ninja. The better to clobber you with, my dear.
Do you hear the grasshopper that is at your feet?
Godzilla in the background.
More luck than skill
If he gets a spear, I should get a halberd.
Also, my reflexes weren't good enough to beat Shadow of the Beast, but the graphics and especially the music deserve to be mentioned.
Yeah, I know.
Remix
The International Karate formula was two men in pajamas beating the snot out of each other. Budokan adds nunchuks and sticks for your guy, and spears, tonfas, naginatas, kusarigamas for your opponents. And ninja stars. Stamina determines if you'll be able to perform all the cool moves or if you'll be barely able to raise your arm. Or you can wait for your ki to charge and beat your challenger with one hit. The tournament has you facing a dozen fighters. You've get three chances to beat them. If you fail, you get to fight the previous opponent again. Thing is, you've got four styles and four points in each one at the start. One fight, one style point spent. Still, it's much more forgiving than starting from scratch if you lose. I only ever got to the ninja when playing this in the past. She throws ninja stars and uses smoke bombs to appear behind your back in her quest to turn you into a hedgehog. To my surprise, I beat her on the second try this time round. Turns out I needed the right tactic and the right tool for the job. "My, what a long stick you have," said the ninja. The better to clobber you with, my dear.
Do you hear the grasshopper that is at your feet?
Godzilla in the background.
If he gets a spear, I should get a halberd.
Also, my reflexes weren't good enough to beat Shadow of the Beast, but the graphics and especially the music deserve to be mentioned.
Yeah, I know.
Remix
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2015
- Messages
- 20,983
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (1995)
Lead a mercenary company and battle furry rodents and greenskins in your valiant quest to pile up mountains of cash. Battles can be tough, gold scarce, and reinforcements might not be available for several missions. Men need to be paid. The more you bring to a battle, the easier it is to win, but it might bankrupt you in the long run. One must learn to do more with less. Those who sit the battle out still need to be paid a small amount. The more enemies a regiment kills, the tougher it gets. Your Grudgebringer cavalry will be harder than a coffin nail by the end - and if your manage to snag a magical item or two it'll punch through enemies with gusto.
Wizards are powerful, but you might not get enough mana to cast a single spell. Artillery blasts entire enemy regiments, but can misfire and be destroyed. Seriously, cannon and mortar bombardment in this game is incredibly satisfying. Archers are a reliable way to decimate foes from afar and will never be obsolete. Cavalry can charge and flank or lead half the enemy army on a merry chase while you blast and pepper them with your archers and artillery. And infantry… Well, it's almost useless. Picture this: rows of valiant swordsmen stand on guard. Orcs approach, roar, and charge. Swordsmen turn around and run. You bastards! What do I pay you for?! I mean, I get legging it when facing giants, trolls, rat ogres, and other monsters. But fleeing before ordinary enemy troops? Shameful display.
Cutscenes are nice, the Skaven are great villains, Dietrich the paymaster is delightfully avaricious, and the UI is absolutely horrible.
Furry fiends
Have at thee, furball!
Save the beer
What a badass.
All these fine regiments, just waiting to be blasted by mortars.
A monster of my own.
Goliath toppled
Ceridan, the Elven tit, gets no respect from anyone.
My precious.
The wonders of gunpowder
Lead a mercenary company and battle furry rodents and greenskins in your valiant quest to pile up mountains of cash. Battles can be tough, gold scarce, and reinforcements might not be available for several missions. Men need to be paid. The more you bring to a battle, the easier it is to win, but it might bankrupt you in the long run. One must learn to do more with less. Those who sit the battle out still need to be paid a small amount. The more enemies a regiment kills, the tougher it gets. Your Grudgebringer cavalry will be harder than a coffin nail by the end - and if your manage to snag a magical item or two it'll punch through enemies with gusto.
Wizards are powerful, but you might not get enough mana to cast a single spell. Artillery blasts entire enemy regiments, but can misfire and be destroyed. Seriously, cannon and mortar bombardment in this game is incredibly satisfying. Archers are a reliable way to decimate foes from afar and will never be obsolete. Cavalry can charge and flank or lead half the enemy army on a merry chase while you blast and pepper them with your archers and artillery. And infantry… Well, it's almost useless. Picture this: rows of valiant swordsmen stand on guard. Orcs approach, roar, and charge. Swordsmen turn around and run. You bastards! What do I pay you for?! I mean, I get legging it when facing giants, trolls, rat ogres, and other monsters. But fleeing before ordinary enemy troops? Shameful display.
Cutscenes are nice, the Skaven are great villains, Dietrich the paymaster is delightfully avaricious, and the UI is absolutely horrible.
Furry fiends
Have at thee, furball!
What a badass.
All these fine regiments, just waiting to be blasted by mortars.
A monster of my own.
Ceridan, the Elven tit, gets no respect from anyone.
My precious.
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2009
- Messages
- 6,733
The Lost Patrol (1990)
Vietnam 1965. A US chopper crash leaves only seven soldiers alive. You must guide them over 58 miles of hostile terrain to Du Hoc outpost. You encounter minefields, booby traps, VC patrols, scouts, snipers, machine gun nests, friendly and unfriendly villagers. Morale has to be kept high, supplies must be found, and fatigue be kept as low as possible. Rest often above all else. How you travel is up to you. Scout and travel cautiously and you might spot and avoid a VC patrol. Double time and you'll cover vast distances quickly and maybe stumble into a minefield and get everyone killed. It's real easy to screw up. Once I was happily blasting away a patrol and then a grenade landed in my lap. Guess I shoulda ducked behind that wall in time, huh. Retreat is an option, but it usually ends up in one of your guys getting wounded, so it's better to fight. You can also set your own booby traps, but I have no idea what effect they actually have in the game.
A few more encounters and this coulda been a much more interesting game. Are those villages hiding weapons? Is the food you're being offered poisoned? Do you go My Lai on them?
R&R cancelled
Section 8
Near the crash site.
Foxtrot, Uniform, Charlie, Kilo.
One shot, one kill.
Lone scout waiting to get kicked in the face.
Didi Mau
'Sup, friend? Nice day, innit?
Punch, kick, and headbutt.
Moral dilemma. Shoot one villager to make the rest talk?
Just before reaching Du Hoc. Man, that would suck.
I remember reading comments in some youtube video from someone claiming to be one of the original devs that they got pretty much screwed by Ocean and didn't get the royalties should've gotten. I wouldn't be surprised if true, Ocean was afaik pretty notorious for being scummy.
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Rock Star Ate My Hamster (1988)
I love that name. First you pick up to four rockstars from a roster of more than fifty, ranging from Frank Zappa to Eric Clapton (under different names, of course). You've got a year to go platinum with your chosen artist or group. You practice, record singles and an album, do publicity stunts. You perform in pubs, clubs, stadiums, and universities. To win you've got to record an album and then release singles with music videos to push said album to the top of the charts and keep it there. Singles need to be at six or higher in the charts to make the album move up. Single in first place? Album jumps up three spots. Single drops under sixth place? Album goes down one spot. There can only be one single at a time in the charts, so you have to time it right. Selling out stadiums is irrelevant - they're only used to generate cash and popularity. The charts are all that matters. Thing is, to succeed publicity is vital. Every now and then you'll get a phone call to do a charity gig, but won't be told which charity. Refuse the gig? If it's a genuine charity, you get a popularity hit. Accept the gig? It could be an insane scam like Nuke Your Granny. Again, popularity hit. Also, a rockstar can die during a publicity stunt. This makes the game unwinnable without save scumming. Tried winning it without using publicity stunts. No dice. You need them stunts. Via save scumming I did manage to go platinum once, but sadly failed in my quest to turn Rick Astley into a megastar. Came close, though.
Sex, drugs, and tabloids
Fun fact: Phil Collins charges 30,000 per week.
Raking it in.
Spectacular way for Rick to check out.
Always pick tits.
Fuck yeah.
Almost. ALMOST.
Fame and fortune
What'slove cash got to do with it?
Well, fuck.
I love that name. First you pick up to four rockstars from a roster of more than fifty, ranging from Frank Zappa to Eric Clapton (under different names, of course). You've got a year to go platinum with your chosen artist or group. You practice, record singles and an album, do publicity stunts. You perform in pubs, clubs, stadiums, and universities. To win you've got to record an album and then release singles with music videos to push said album to the top of the charts and keep it there. Singles need to be at six or higher in the charts to make the album move up. Single in first place? Album jumps up three spots. Single drops under sixth place? Album goes down one spot. There can only be one single at a time in the charts, so you have to time it right. Selling out stadiums is irrelevant - they're only used to generate cash and popularity. The charts are all that matters. Thing is, to succeed publicity is vital. Every now and then you'll get a phone call to do a charity gig, but won't be told which charity. Refuse the gig? If it's a genuine charity, you get a popularity hit. Accept the gig? It could be an insane scam like Nuke Your Granny. Again, popularity hit. Also, a rockstar can die during a publicity stunt. This makes the game unwinnable without save scumming. Tried winning it without using publicity stunts. No dice. You need them stunts. Via save scumming I did manage to go platinum once, but sadly failed in my quest to turn Rick Astley into a megastar. Came close, though.
Sex, drugs, and tabloids
Fun fact: Phil Collins charges 30,000 per week.
Raking it in.
Spectacular way for Rick to check out.
Always pick tits.
Fuck yeah.
Almost. ALMOST.
What's
Well, fuck.
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Dark Seed (1992)
H.R. Giger's creepy extravaganza. Help Mike Dawson solve his headaches and stop the evil Ancients from destroying our world. Time limits, deaths, and pixel hunts abound. Now, I remembered the deaths and the pixel hunts, but I completely forgot about the time limits. You have three days to save the world and the clock is constantly ticking. Screwed a lot of progress the first time I replayed it. But Giger's weirdness is worth it in the end. I don't remember much about the sequel apart from some greaser popping up constantly. And that I absolutely hated it. Fonzie prolly played some part in that. Despite this being a horror game it's without gore and jump scares and relies on atmosphere alone. It also has some unintentionally (?) funny moments. As far as the creepy atmosphere is concerned, I think nothing beats the first two parts of Sanitarium. Nothing.
All this got me thinking. Shame there hasn't been an adventure game about Hellraiser. Cenobites in digital form would be pretty sweet. "What's your pleasure, Mr. Cotton?"
Need an aspirin
Black and white
Sleeps fully dressed and with his shoes on. I love it.
Waste of booze, if you ask me.
I shall name this house Derceto.
Not in Kansas anymore
Delbert shouldn't be bending over in front of strange men.
Delbert needs a stiff drink after being molested.
Mirror, mirror
H.R. Giger's creepy extravaganza. Help Mike Dawson solve his headaches and stop the evil Ancients from destroying our world. Time limits, deaths, and pixel hunts abound. Now, I remembered the deaths and the pixel hunts, but I completely forgot about the time limits. You have three days to save the world and the clock is constantly ticking. Screwed a lot of progress the first time I replayed it. But Giger's weirdness is worth it in the end. I don't remember much about the sequel apart from some greaser popping up constantly. And that I absolutely hated it. Fonzie prolly played some part in that. Despite this being a horror game it's without gore and jump scares and relies on atmosphere alone. It also has some unintentionally (?) funny moments. As far as the creepy atmosphere is concerned, I think nothing beats the first two parts of Sanitarium. Nothing.
All this got me thinking. Shame there hasn't been an adventure game about Hellraiser. Cenobites in digital form would be pretty sweet. "What's your pleasure, Mr. Cotton?"
Need an aspirin
Sleeps fully dressed and with his shoes on. I love it.
Waste of booze, if you ask me.
I shall name this house Derceto.
Delbert shouldn't be bending over in front of strange men.
Delbert needs a stiff drink after being molested.
Last edited:
Riskbreaker
Guest
The game looks dope for sure, I much prefer its visuals to those of its sequel (and they aged better too).
It's hellish to play without walktrough tho, and the story is a pretty basic bitch SF fare. If you look at the other gravestones alongside that nod to MI you'll find nods to a number of old SF authors. Which speaks a lot of the writer's tastes and sensibilities. It's not something that really utilizes the art, if fact the writing detracts from it.
It's hellish to play without walktrough tho, and the story is a pretty basic bitch SF fare. If you look at the other gravestones alongside that nod to MI you'll find nods to a number of old SF authors. Which speaks a lot of the writer's tastes and sensibilities. It's not something that really utilizes the art, if fact the writing detracts from it.
The battery still works !
The battery still works !
The battery still works !
Nice looking game indeed, even if the horror landscape full of nightmares and the properly groomed hero strolling around have always felt mismatched to me.
Oh, and quality thread all around. I've read it quite entirely recently and it was a blast.
Morpheus Kitami
Liturgist
- Joined
- May 14, 2020
- Messages
- 2,713
I want to say there is one floating around somewhere on the Amstrad CPC. I thought I saw one but I haven't been able to find it again ever. It was unofficial if it does exist, and French. Surprisingly high number of unlicensed French horror movie adaptations from around that time, including two based off the Amityville Horror for some reason. There was also one that was in progress during the '90s, but it never got finished or anywhere close to being finished.
I remember that. Giger wanted it to have a proper resolution, which on DOS computers meant 16 color 640x400 pictures instead of the usual 256 320x200 they used back when VGA became the standard. Which is ironic that when they went to make the sequel, Giger wanted nothing to do with a system that could do a better job of meeting his original requirements. Also, nobody who worked on the original went onto working the sequel.
Binky
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
- Messages
- 453
Gorky 17 (1999)
Before the Witcher there was Gorky 17.
A Canadian, a Frenchman, and a Pole walk into abar Polish city. Your NATO squad of three has been sent to find out what happened to the first NATO squad. They battle many biomechanical freaks. Bashing, chopping, and stabbing them creeps in the beginning is fun. The Pole makes smartass remarks or babbles about demons - until the Canadian finally tells him to shut the fuck up already, the Frenchman acts like a pansy, and the Canadian acts like an American. You keep getting and losing extra party members: an old man, a medic, a museum curator turned mutant, a journalist, and an Adidas tracksuit-wearing gangster (really).
It's cool how every other fight is a boss fight. Some have intro cutscenes. Bullets are rare, but healing items are plentiful. By the end I was swimming in bandages, painkillers, and the like. Difficulty also goes out the window once you get the taser and the attraction kit - monsters (and humans) don't attack you and just beeline for the kit while you shoot and beat on them with bats and crowbars. Stun also works on some bosses, including the final one, which is fucking stupid.
The story is just pants on head silly. Your commanding officer shows up at the end, calls you boy 'bout twenty times, then tries to kill you. He fails, and monologues a bit before croaking. Something about a dormant killer gene, mutation, teleportation, virus. Good lord.
OST
Gorky park
Fearless
You get a missile strike that wipes this group in one shot.
Adidas power
Pippy Longstocking over here is a mutant.
...Russia
Adidas + ion rifle = win
Burn, freeze, stun, poison, and lure. They don't stand a chance.
Bite me, sir
Tune fits Gorky's atmosphere nicely
Before the Witcher there was Gorky 17.
A Canadian, a Frenchman, and a Pole walk into a
It's cool how every other fight is a boss fight. Some have intro cutscenes. Bullets are rare, but healing items are plentiful. By the end I was swimming in bandages, painkillers, and the like. Difficulty also goes out the window once you get the taser and the attraction kit - monsters (and humans) don't attack you and just beeline for the kit while you shoot and beat on them with bats and crowbars. Stun also works on some bosses, including the final one, which is fucking stupid.
The story is just pants on head silly. Your commanding officer shows up at the end, calls you boy 'bout twenty times, then tries to kill you. He fails, and monologues a bit before croaking. Something about a dormant killer gene, mutation, teleportation, virus. Good lord.
OST
Gorky park
You get a missile strike that wipes this group in one shot.
Pippy Longstocking over here is a mutant.
...Russia
Adidas + ion rifle = win
Burn, freeze, stun, poison, and lure. They don't stand a chance.
Tune fits Gorky's atmosphere nicely
jackofshadows
Arcane
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2019
- Messages
- 5,225
Yeah, what a great game. Shame that difficulty drops off kinda too early, although it's still have enough of tacticoolness. Damn barrels before it was mainstream (that was fine tho)! And I'd say aside from suggested tune game's own tracks are very, very good I like this one the most:
lightbane
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2008
- Messages
- 10,624
Ah, Gorky 17, it was such a combination of insanity, Polish weirdness, RE-style gameplay (complete with prerrendered cool backgrounds and inane puzzles) and cool tactical battles with some JRPG elements (as in, completely silly attacks like a fucking airstrike that only affects enemies). The story was indeed batshit insane and nonsensical, but the ambience was awesome.
Shame it never got a proper sequel, probably because it was a product of its time.
Shame it never got a proper sequel, probably because it was a product of its time.
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