Evolution of All 80s Graphic Adventure Games - compilation of every popular 80s adventure game Classic Game Sessions 2024-05-23 | Evolution of All 80's Graphic Adventure Games - compilation of ALL notable 80's adventure games - Vol ITimestamps are below in pinned comment due to length (could not fit here in description)Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#adventuregame #pointandclick #sierraonline #lucasarts #adventuregames No commentary. Thanks to all contributors. Adventure games featured in this video are in the "graphic adventure game" sub-genre which doesn't include text-based or other sub-genres of adventure games. While the lines can blur a bit for some adventure game sub-genres, we've done are best to include the most notable by definition. youtu.be/tst8rJL9JhgMore on graphic adventure games (from Wikipedia): Graphic adventures are adventure games that use graphics to convey the environment to the player. Games under the graphic adventure banner may have a variety of input types, from text parsers to mouse input. Graphic adventure games will vary in how they present the avatar. Some games will utilize a first-person or third-person perspective where the camera follows the player's movements, whereas many adventure games use drawn or pre-rendered backgrounds, or a context-sensitive camera that is positioned to show off each location to the best effect.More on text-and-graphics adventure games (from Wikipedia): Text-and-graphics adventure games combine interactive fiction-style text descriptions with graphic illustrations of locations. These games sometimes use a text parser, as in the Magnetic Scrolls games; a point-and-click interface, such as the MacVenture games; or a combination of both (e.g., Tass Times in Tonetown; Enchanted Scepters and other World Builder games).More on point-and-click adventure games (from Wikipedia): Point-and-click adventure games are those where the player typically controls their character through a point and click interface using a computer mouse or similar pointing device, though additional control schemes may also be available. The player clicks to move their character around, interact with non-player characters, often initiating conversation trees with them, examine objects in the game's settings or with their character's item inventory. Many older point-and-click games include a list of on-screen verbs to describe specific actions in the manner of a text adventure, but newer games have used more context-sensitive user interface elements to reduce or eliminate this approach. Often, these games come down to collecting items for the character's inventory, and figuring when is the right time to use that item; the player would need to use clues from the visual elements of the game, descriptions of the various items, and dialogue from other characters to figure this out. Later games developed by Sierra On-Line, including the King's Quest games, and nearly all of the LucasArts adventure games, are point-and-click-based games.Point-and-click adventure games can also be the medium in which interactive, cinematic video games comprise. They feature cutscenes interspersed by short snippets of interactive gameplay that tie in with the story. More on adventure games (from Wikipedia): An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, such as literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of genres. Most adventure games (text and graphic) are designed for a single player, since the emphasis on story and character makes multiplayer design difficult. Colossal Cave Adventure is identified by Rick Adams as the first such adventure game, first released in 1976, while other notable adventure game series include Zork, King's Quest, Monkey Island, Syberia, and Myst.Adventure games were initially developed in the 1970s and early 1980s as text-based interactive stories, using text parsers to translate the player's commands into actions. As personal computers became more powerful with better graphics, the graphic adventure-game format became popular, initially by augmenting player's text commands with graphics, but soon moving towards point-and-click interfaces. Further computer advances led to adventure games with more immersive graphics using real-time or pre-rendered three-dimensional scenes or full-motion video taken from the first- or third-person perspective. Currently, a large number of adventure games are available as a combination of different genres with adventure elements.For markets in the Western hemisphere, the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1980s to mid-1990s when many considered it to be among the most technically advanced genres, but it had become a niche genre in the early 2000s. Since then, a resurgence in the genre has occurred spurred on by the success of independent video-game development.
Paperboy - full playthrough - by Eastridge / Mindscape, 1988 - NES - Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Game Sessions 2025-01-29 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#paperboy #nesgames #arcade #nes No CommentaryMore about Paperboy (from Wikipedia): Paperboy is an action game developed and published by Atari Games and released as an arcade video game in 1985. The player takes the role of a paperboy who delivers a fictional newspaper called The Daily Sun along a street on his bicycle. The arcade version of the game featured bike handlebars as the controller.The game was ported to many home systems beginning in 1986. A sequel for home computers and consoles, Paperboy 2, was released in 1991.PortsElite Systems produced a version for the ZX Spectrum which was released in the United Kingdom in September 1986, and went on to release versions for the Commodore 64, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 16 and Commodore Plus/4 over the following months.In the United States, a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version was developed by Eastridge Technology and published by Mindscape in December 1988. Coverage of the NES version abruptly began at the Summer CES 1988 as a last-minute replacement for a port of the computer title Bad Street Brawler, which was about to be ported to the NES. In October 1989, Elite released versions for the Atari ST and MS-DOS in the United Kingdom, followed by an Amiga version later that month.In the United Kingdom, a Game Boy version by Mindscape was released in October or November 1990. A Master System version, by Sega and U.S. Gold, was released in the United Kingdom in November 1990. Atari released a version of Paperboy for the Atari Lynx in 1990. By March 1991, an NES version by Mindscape had been released in the United Kingdom.ReceptionUpon its debut at London's Amusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI) show in early 1985, Computer and Video Games magazine gave the arcade game a mixed review, praising the controls but criticizing the difficulty. The arcade game was runner-up for Computer Gamer magazine's best coin-op game award, which was won by Capcom's Commando. In 2007, Spanner Spencer of Eurogamer rated the arcade version 9 out of 10 and praised its gameplay, graphics, and music.The ZX Spectrum port topped the UK monthly sales chart in September 1986, and the release of the Commodore 64 version took the game to the number one position again in November. It went on to become the seventh best-selling video game of 1986 in the UK.Advanced Computer Entertainment (ACE) offered praise for the Atari ST version, awarding it a score of 850 out of 1,000, while Zero gave it a score of 86 out of 100. ACE and Zero noted that the Atari ST version looked and played like the arcade version. Computer Gamer gave the ZX Spectrum version a rating of 16 out of 20, considering it to be a faithful conversion of the arcade game, while noting that some people may find the gameplay to be repetitive. For the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC versions, ACE gave the game a rating of 5 out of 5, noting the "extremely well executed" graphics and referring to the game as a "budget classic." UK magazine Computer and Video Games (CVG) gave the Commodore 64 version a 52 percent rating, criticizing its music and "blocky and ill-proportioned" sprites; the magazine gave the ZX Spectrum version an 83 percent rating. Ken McMahon of Commodore User reviewed the Commodore 16 and Commodore Plus/4 version and rated it 6 out of 10, noting that it was too easy.Crash gave the ZX Spectrum version an 88% rating with the general rating "Another slick, playable conversion from Elite", while Zzap!64 was less enthusiastic for the Commodore 64 version giving it 44%. In 1993, Zzap!64 rated the Commodore 64 version a 60 percent score, calling it repetitive. Richard Leadbetter of CVG reviewed the Lynx version and stated, "Looks good, but simply isn't enough fun to play." STart's Clayton Walnum similarly praised the Lynx version's graphics and sound effects but deemed the game "just another shoot-em-up without the shooting." Raze offered praise for the clear and colorful graphics of the Lynx version, but stated that the game "is too old and tired for the exciting and new Lynx." AllGame's Kyle Knight criticized the Lynx version for its simple sound effects and music, as well as its repetitive gameplay.Leadbetter praised the Master System version, calling it "one of the best arcade conversions" available for the system, while noting that the game's only "slight downer" was the music. Mean Machines praised the Master System version for its graphics and similarities to the arcade game, while Raze wrote a mixed review for the Master System version. Mean Machines was critical of the NES version for its graphics, sound, and controls, and concluded that it was, "A highly offensive product which weighs in as a sadly derisive conversion of a classic coin-op." Brett Alan Weiss of AllGame stated that Mindscape did a good job of porting the game to the NES.
Street Rod - by California Dreams, 1989 - PC / DOS #shorts #retrogaming #gaming Classic Game Sessions 2025-01-17 | Street Rod - PC / DOS, 1989#shorts #retrogaming #dosgames
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - PC / DOS, 1992 #shorts #retrogaming #gaming Classic Game Sessions 2025-01-12 | Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - PC / DOS, 1992#shorts #retrogaming #shortsfeed
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Enhanced - longplay fullplay - Broderbund, 1989 - PC / DOS Classic Game Sessions 2025-01-07 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsWhere in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Enhanced, Broderbund, 1989 - PC / DOS#whereintheworldiscarmensandiego #edutainment #dosgamesNo Commentary More about Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (from Wikipedia): Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? is an educational video game released by Broderbund on April 23, 1985. It is the first product in the Carmen Sandiego franchise. The game was distributed with The World Almanac and Book of Facts, published by Pharos Books. An enhanced version of the game was released in 1989, which did not have the almanac-based copy protection and instead used disk-based copy protection. A deluxe version was released in 1992, and featured additional animation and a reworked interface from the original version. Some of the bonus features included digitized photos from National Geographic, over 3200 clues, music from the Smithsonian/Folkways Recordings, 20 villains, 60 countries, and 16 maps. CD-ROM versions for DOS and Macintosh were released in 1992, and a Windows version was released in 1994.In the game, the player takes the role of a rookie in the fictional ACME Detective Agency, tasked to track down crooks from the V.I.L.E. organization who have stolen famous works from around the world. They do this by using their knowledge of geography (aided by the Almanac) to question witnesses or investigate clues to track down where the crook has gone. Successfully solving these crimes increases the player's rank in ACME, leading to more difficult cases and later tasked to find the leader of V.I.L.E. and namesake, Carmen Sandiego.The game was initially developed as a menu-driven interface to replace the text-driven interface of adventure games like Colossal Cave Adventure for graphic-enabled computers like the Apple II. Along the way, the idea of introducing geography as part of the game and distributing the Almanac with the game shifted its approach. While it was not intended as an educational game at release, the game proved very successful as an educational tool for schools. By 1995, over four million copies of the game had been sold, and established the Carmen Sandiego franchise. This game is not to be confused with the 1996 rebooted version sometimes mistakenly called the "Deluxe" version.
SimCity Enhanced CD-ROM, 1993 - longplay gameplay - Maxis / Interplay - PC / DOS - city building Classic Game Sessions 2025-01-02 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#simcity #citybuilding #citybuildinggames No CommentarySimCity Enhanced CD-ROM, 1993 - PC/DOS versionMore about SimCity (from Wikipedia and MobyGames): In 1994, Interplay Productions developed and published under license from Maxis a version of the game titled "SimCity Enhanced CD-ROM" for DOS, which included 256 color graphics and FMV movies that would trigger events.This expanded release of the original SimCity includes a refreshed interface, as well as live-action cutscenes during events which affect the city or when advisors wish to comment on the current situation.SimCity, also known as Micropolis or SimCity Classic, is a city-building simulation video game developed by Will Wright and released for a number of platforms from 1989 to 1991. SimCity features two-dimensional graphics and an overhead perspective. The objective of the game is to create a city, develop residential and industrial areas, build infrastructure and collect taxes for further development of the city. Importance is put on increasing the standard of living of the population, maintaining a balance between the different sectors, and monitoring the region's environmental situation to prevent the settlement from declining and going bankrupt.SimCity was independently developed by Will Wright beginning in 1985, and would not see its first release until 1989. Because the game lacked any of the arcade or action elements that dominated the video game market in the 1980s, video game publishers declined to release the title in fear of its commercial failure, until Broderbund eventually agreed to distribute it. Although the game initially sold poorly, positive feedback from the gaming press boosted its sales. After becoming a best-seller, SimCity was released on several other platforms, most notably on the Super NES in 1991, in which its gameplay was significantly improved with Nintendo's involvement.SimCity was commercially successful, selling 300,000 units for personal computers and nearly 2 million units for the SNES. The game was recognized as a new phenomenon within the gaming industry, and it broke the widespread belief that computer games were primarily intended for children. SimCity was met with critical appraisal for its innovative and addictive gameplay in spite of the absence of platformer or shooter elements. Reviewers considered the game to be instructive and helpful toward the player's understanding of the basics of urban planning, politics and economics. SimCity received numerous awards from various news publishers and associations. The success of SimCity marked the beginning of the urban simulation genre of video games, as well as publisher Maxis' tradition of producing non-linear simulation games, one of which – The Sims – would surpass all its predecessors in popularity and become one of the best-selling franchises in the video game industry. It is considered one of the greatest video games ever made.
The Oregon Trail - longplay fullplay - MECC, 1991 - Macintosh black & white - educational gaming Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-26 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsThe Oregon Trail, MECC, 1991, Mac black & white version, #theoregontrail #edutainment #dysentery No Commentary More about The Oregon Trail (from Wikipedia): The Oregon Trail is a series of educational computer games. The first game was originally developed by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971 and produced by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) in 1974. The original game was designed to teach 8th grade schoolchildren about the realities of 19th-century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail. The player assumes the role of a wagon leader guiding a party of settlers from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon's Willamette Valley via a covered wagon in 1848.These are the original core gameplay concepts which have endured in every subsequent version: initial supply purchase; occasional food hunting; occasional supply purchase at forts; inventory management of supplies; variable travel speed depending upon conditions; frequent misfortunes; and game over upon death or successfully reaching Oregon.The game was popular among American and Canadian elementary school students from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, as many computers came bundled with the game. The phrase "You have died of dysentery" has been popularized on T-shirts and other promotional merchandise. Another popular phrase from the game is "Here lies andy; peperony and chease", which is a player-generated epitaph featured on an in-game tombstone saved to a frequently bootlegged copy of the game disk, and likely a direct reference to a popular Tombstone pizza television commercial from the 1990s.MECCIn 1974, the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC), a state-funded organization that developed educational software for the classroom, hired Rawitsch. He retyped the game from a printout of the 1971 BASIC code into the organization's time-sharing network. Then, he modified the frequency and details of the random events that occurred in the game, to more accurately reflect the accounts he had read in the historical diaries of people who had traveled the trail. In 1975, when his updates were finished, he made the game titled OREGON available to all the schools on the timeshare network. The game became one of the network's most popular programs, with thousands of players monthly.Rawitsch published the source code of The Oregon Trail, written in BASIC 3.1 for the CDC Cyber 70/73-26, in Creative Computing's May–June 1978 issue. That year, MECC began encouraging schools to adopt the Apple II microcomputer. John Cook adapted the game for the Apple II, and it appeared on A.P.P.L.E.'s PDS Disk series No. 108. A further version called Oregon Trail 2 was adapted in June 1978 by J.P. O'Malley. The game was further released as part of MECC's Elementary series, on Elementary Volume 6 in 1980. The game was titled simply Oregon, and featured minimal graphics. It proved so popular that it was re-made under the same title, with substantially improved graphics and expanded gameplay, in 1985. The new version was also updated to more accurately reflect the real Oregon Trail, incorporating notable geographic landmarks as well as human non-player characters with whom the player can interact.By 1995, The Oregon Trail generated about one-third of MECC's $30 million in annual revenue. An updated version, Oregon Trail Deluxe, was released for DOS and Macintosh in 1992, as well as Windows in 1993 (under the title of simply The Oregon Trail Version 1.2) followed by Oregon Trail II in 1995. The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition in 1997, and 4th and 5th editions. As of 2011, more than 65 million copies of The Oregon Trail have been sold.
Defender of the Crown, Cinemaware, 1987 - full playthrough - longplay - PC / DOS strategy game Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-21 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#defenderofthecrown #dosgames #strategygames No Commentary More about Defender of the Crown (from Wikipedia): Defender of the Crown is a strategy video game designed by Kellyn Beeck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games.In 1987 it was ported to MS-DOS, the Atari ST and the Macintosh and a conversion was done for the Commodore 64. Later it was ported to the CDTV, CD-i and Atari Jaguar and conversions were made for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Amstrad CPC, Apple IIGS and Intellivision. Unofficially a ZX Spectrum version was also made. A sequel, Defender of the Crown II, was released in 1993 for the CDTV and Amiga CD32. Two remakes have been released: Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown in 2003 and Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever in 2007.The first public demonstration of Defender of the Crown occurred at the Los Angeles Commodore Show in September 1986, before its November release, and attracted a huge crowd. The game amazed those who saw it for the first time:Screenshot of a raid with graphics in the 1986 Amiga version.Mical saw artist Jim Sachs push the Amiga to its full potential. "Jim Sachs, what a god he is," marvels Mical. "Jim Sachs is amazing. These days everyone sees graphics like that because there are a lot of really good computer graphics artists now, but back then, 20 years ago, it was astonishing to have someone that good."The final game was a landmark in video game production values. As game designer Bob Lindstrom recalls, "The shock of seeing Defender for the first time was one of those experiences that changed the gaming stakes for all of us."Compared to other video games of the time, Defender of the Crown established a new level of quality. IBM had Kings Quest by Sierra On-Line, a decent but primitive adventure game. The Macintosh had games like Checkers or Backgammon, or board games like Risk. Defender of the Crown had richer graphics than any computer, console, or even arcade game could boast in 1986. It was a revelation.Defender of the Crown became a commercial hit. In 1989, Video Games & Computer Entertainment reported that it had been purchased by "almost three-quarters of a million gamers worldwide". Sales had surpassed 1 million units by 2001.Info gave the Amiga version four stars out of five, stating that its "graphics have set new standards for computer games". The magazine praised the "breathtaking" animation and "impressive" color, but hoped that future Cinemaware games would improve on the "adequate" gameplay, which was "the weak link". The Australian Commodore Review gave the Commodore 64 version of the game a total score of 96 out of 100, while Commodore User said that it was "totally brilliant and one of the best games to date on the 64." Computer Gaming World praised the Amiga version of Defender of the Crown's graphics and animation, calling the game "a showcase program to demonstrate the power of the Amiga to your friends." Although the gameplay was not as complex as other strategy games of the time, the reviewer was still exceptionally pleased with Cinemaware's first game. That year the magazine gave Defender of the Crown a special award for "Artistic Achievement in a Computer Game", but in 1990 and 1993, surveys of wargames in the magazine gave the game two-plus stars out of five.Compute! also stated that Defender of the Crown effectively demonstrated the Amiga's graphics, but stated that its gameplay was oversimplified. CU Amiga stated that "there are not many areas in which Defender of the Crown could be improved ... the graphics are sophisticated with lush colours and visual effects." Amiga Format were less kind to the CD rerelease of the game, stating that it "hasn't stood the test of time simply because the gameplay is somewhat weak." Power Unlimited gave the CD-i version a score of 87% writing: "Defender of the Crown is a very varied game. All sorts of things come your way, including tactics, action and romance. Graphically it is also beautiful.."Versions:The versions of Defender of the Crown, notably for DOS and the NES, resulted in an enormous loss in graphic and audio quality due to those systems' inferior abilities compared to the Amiga. But these versions featured more in-depth strategic elements compared to the unfinished original version. The Apple IIGS, Atari ST, and Commodore 64 versions were done with better success, the IIGS, Macintosh, and ST versions' graphics coming quite close to the Amiga version. A version for the Sharp X68000 was in development by Bullet-Proof Software but never released.All versions:Amstrad CPCAtari STApple IIGSCommodore 64Game Boy AdvanceNintendo Entertainment SystemMacintoshDOS CGA (4 color) and EGA (16 color)ZX Spectrum (unofficial)CD-iAtari JaguarIntellivision
Centurion: Defender of Rome - PC / DOS, 1990 #shorts #retrogaming #gaming Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-19 | Centurion: Defender of Rome - PC / DOS, 1990#shorts #retrogaming #shortsfeed
Might And Magic 3: Isles of Terra - New World Computing, 1991 #shorts #retrogaming #mightandmagic Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-15 | Might And Magic 3: Isles of Terra - New World Computing, 1991#shorts #retrogaming #mightandmagic
The Crimson Diamond, Julia Minamata, 2024 - full playthrough - longplay - no commentary Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-12 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#thecrimsondiamond #adventuregame #indiegame No Commentary 05:25:13 "Yes" diamonds ending05:47:17 "No" diamonds endingGet The Crimson Diamond on Steam or GOG:gog.com/en/game/the_crimson_diamondstore.steampowered.com/app/1098770/The_Crimson_DiamondMore about The Crimson Diamond:The Crimson Diamond is an EGA text parser mystery adventure game where you play as amateur geologist and reluctant detective Nancy Maple. Nancy is born and raised in Toronto, Canada, where she works as a clerk for the Royal Canadian Museum. She dreams of attending university to study geology and mineralogy, and she's prepared to venture into the unknown to achieve her goals!Follow Nancy as she travels north to the ghost town of Crimson, Ontario to investigate the discovery of a massive diamond in the area. Eavesdrop on conversations to learn more about the eccentric cast of characters who find themselves gathered at Crimson Lodge. Explore the lodge and its environs to evaluate the diamond claim, and maybe solve a mystery or two along the way! The Crimson Diamond is a cozy mystery that encourages reading and engaging in the story over devious arcade challenges.--------------------------------------------Review: If you love the old murder mystery games like the Laura Bow Mystery Series, you will enjoy this game by Julia Minamata – The Crimson Diamond. The art style will give you that sentimental feel of the first Laura Bow Mystery, The Colonel’s Bequest. If you relish the nostalgia of the ‘old games’ -- perhaps taking you back to your childhood – this game will do it for you! It has the requisite feel of an Agatha Christie novel, set in the early 20th century. It even has a parser interface, so that you can question the other characters that you meet, develop your hunches, and write your notes along the way . It’s an observational, detective-type of game, and for those who love mysteries and suspense, you should really give this game a chance. To coin an old phrase: It’s the ‘bee’s knees!’Roberta Williams – Director & writer of The Colonel’s Bequest, co-founder of Sierra On-Line--------------------------------------------Game design, programming, art, and writing by Julia Minamata.Julia is a Toronto-based game dev and artist. She made art for Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, Witch Strandings, and Recommendation Dog!! (which she also art directed).Music by Dan Policar. Dan is a internationally-touring (more than a decade with Sean Paul's Baddabanz) Grammy-nominated musician, composer and teacher. His music can be found in Empire of Sin, the Colossal Cave Adventure Trailer, and in The Crimson Diamond!Awards & Recognition:"WordPlay Showcase" - Toronto, Canada 2018"Ubisoft Toronto Indie Series Finalist" - Toronto, Canada 2019"AdventureX Official Selection." - London, UK 2019"Indie Cup Canada Rising Star Award nominee." - Toronto, Canada 2023Selected Articles:"It nails the spirit of those adventurous point and clicks.”- Tom Sykes, PC Gamer"How an Illustrator Made the Mystery Game The Crimson Diamond by Mistake"- Samantha Nelson, Escapist"It’s Never Been Easier to Make an Adventure Game"- David Barr Kirtley, Wired"Screenshot Saturday Mondays: Like clicking fish in a bucket"- Alice O'Connor, Rock Paper ShotgunMore about The Crimson Diamond (from Wikipedia):The Crimson Diamond is a mystery adventure video game developed and published by Julia Minamata for the PC. The game features a text parser, requiring players to solve a mystery through inputting instructions via text to the game. Solo developer Julia Minamata designed the game featuring an EGA color palette, inspired by the adventure games she enjoyed in her youth like The Colonel's Bequest.Reception to The Crimson Diamond has been positive, with reviewers praising it as a strong homage to past adventure titles with modern features, despite noting that some puzzle solutions could be too challenging.ReceptionThe Crimson Diamond received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Reception to the game has been positive from critics, who praised the text parser's flexibility in particular. Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun called The Crimson Diamond a "beautiful piece of work" and praised the modern implementation of old systems while lamenting some specifically difficult puzzles that she struggled with. Kenzie Du of Adventure Gamers praised the game's depth and the game's unique graphical style, calling it a "wonderful game." In a review of his impressions of the game's opening, Kevin Purdy of Ars Technica praised the game's visuals and sound design, noting that the EGA graphic restrictions created a beautiful visual for the game's story. A PC Gamer review of the game's demo by Tom Sykes praised the game's more modern text parser system.
Final Fantasy - by Square / Nintendo - 1987 - NES #shorts #retrogaming #finalfantasy Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-11 | That nostalgic intro music for the original Final Fantasy!#shorts #retrogaming #finalfantasy
Age Of Empires, 1997 #shorts #retrogaming Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-07 | Age Of Empires, 1997 on hard#shorts #retrogamingtimes
The Elder Scrolls: Arena - by Bethesda Softworks - 1994 - PC / DOS #shorts #retrogaming #gaming Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-04 | The Elder Scrolls: Arena - by Bethesda Softworks - 1994 - PC / DOS #shorts #retrogaming #gaming
Police Quest III: The Kindred - by Sierra On-Line, 1991 #shorts #dosgames #retrogaming Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-03 | Police Quest III: The Kindred - by Sierra On-Line, 1991#shorts #dosgames #retrogaming
Ivan Ironman Stewarts Super Off Road - Leland / Virgin Games, 1990 #shorts #superoffroad #arcade Classic Game Sessions 2024-12-01 | Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road - Gameplay - Leland / Virgin Games, 1989/1990 - DOS, Amiga, Atari, C64, NES, Arcade#shorts #retrogaming #superoffroad
Powermonger, 1990 - real-time strategy classic by Bullfrog Productions #shorts #powermonger #rts Classic Game Sessions 2024-11-28 | Powermonger, 1990 - real-time strategy classic by Bullfrog Productions #shorts #powermonger #rts
Kings Quest VII commercial - 1994 - Sierra On-line #shorts #kingsquest #retrogaming Classic Game Sessions 2024-11-23 | Kings Quest VII commercial - 1994 - Sierra On-line #shorts #kingsquest #retrogaming
Mega Man - Capcom, 1987 - NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) #shorts #shortsfeed #megaman Classic Game Sessions 2024-11-20 | The original Mega Man (Capcom, 1987) for the Nintendo Entertainment System!#shorts #shortsfeed #megaman
Sid Meiers Civilization - MicroProse, 1991 - PC / DOS #shorts #shortvideo #civilization Classic Game Sessions 2024-11-19 | Sid Meier's Civilization - MicroProse, 1991 - PC / DOS #shorts #shortsgame #civilization
Evolution of All Early 90s Graphic Adventure Games - Every Popular Adventure Game from 1990 to 1993 Classic Game Sessions 2024-11-16 | Evolution of All Early 90's Graphic Adventure Games - Notable Adventure Game from 1990 to 1993 - Vol IITimestamps are below in pinned comment due to length (could not fit here in description)Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#adventuregame #pointandclick #sierraonline #lucasarts #adventuregames No commentary. Thanks to all contributors. Adventure games featured in this video are in the "graphic adventure game" sub-genre which doesn't include text-based or other sub-genres of adventure games. While the lines can blur a bit for some adventure game sub-genres, we've done are best to include the most notable by definition. youtu.be/Ge3331xv-lwMore on graphic adventure games (from Wikipedia): Graphic adventures are adventure games that use graphics to convey the environment to the player. Games under the graphic adventure banner may have a variety of input types, from text parsers to mouse input. Graphic adventure games will vary in how they present the avatar. Some games will utilize a first-person or third-person perspective where the camera follows the player's movements, whereas many adventure games use drawn or pre-rendered backgrounds, or a context-sensitive camera that is positioned to show off each location to the best effect.More on text-and-graphics adventure games (from Wikipedia): Text-and-graphics adventure games combine interactive fiction-style text descriptions with graphic illustrations of locations. These games sometimes use a text parser, as in the Magnetic Scrolls games; a point-and-click interface, such as the MacVenture games; or a combination of both (e.g., Tass Times in Tonetown; Enchanted Scepters and other World Builder games).More on point-and-click adventure games (from Wikipedia): Point-and-click adventure games are those where the player typically controls their character through a point and click interface using a computer mouse or similar pointing device, though additional control schemes may also be available. The player clicks to move their character around, interact with non-player characters, often initiating conversation trees with them, examine objects in the game's settings or with their character's item inventory. Many older point-and-click games include a list of on-screen verbs to describe specific actions in the manner of a text adventure, but newer games have used more context-sensitive user interface elements to reduce or eliminate this approach. Often, these games come down to collecting items for the character's inventory, and figuring when is the right time to use that item; the player would need to use clues from the visual elements of the game, descriptions of the various items, and dialogue from other characters to figure this out. Later games developed by Sierra On-Line, including the King's Quest games, and nearly all of the LucasArts adventure games, are point-and-click-based games.Point-and-click adventure games can also be the medium in which interactive, cinematic video games comprise. They feature cutscenes interspersed by short snippets of interactive gameplay that tie in with the story. More on adventure games (from Wikipedia): An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, such as literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of genres. Most adventure games (text and graphic) are designed for a single player, since the emphasis on story and character makes multiplayer design difficult. Colossal Cave Adventure is identified by Rick Adams as the first such adventure game, first released in 1976, while other notable adventure game series include Zork, King's Quest, Monkey Island, Syberia, and Myst.Adventure games were initially developed in the 1970s and early 1980s as text-based interactive stories, using text parsers to translate the player's commands into actions. As personal computers became more powerful with better graphics, the graphic adventure-game format became popular, initially by augmenting player's text commands with graphics, but soon moving towards point-and-click interfaces. Further computer advances led to adventure games with more immersive graphics using real-time or pre-rendered three-dimensional scenes or full-motion video taken from the first- or third-person perspective. For markets in the Western hemisphere, the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1980s to mid-1990s when many considered it to be among the most technically advanced genres, but it had become a niche genre in the early 2000s. Since then, a resurgence in the genre has occurred spurred on by the success of independent video-game development.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, 1993 PC / DOS #shorts #shortvideo #indianajones Classic Game Sessions 2024-11-12 | Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is a point-and-click adventure game by LucasArts #shorts #shortsvideo #indianajones
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link commercial - 1989 - Nintendo of America #shorts #zelda #retrogaming Classic Game Sessions 2024-11-09 | Interesting to hear to Links voice in this nostalgic commercial from 1989 for Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.#shorts #zelda #retrogaming
Star Wars: X-Wing - LucasArts, 1993 - PC DOS #shorts #xwing #starwars Classic Game Sessions 2024-11-06 | As close as it gets with Star Wars lore and X-Wing space combat! #shorts #xwing #starwars
Baldurs Gate, 1998 - taking it back to the OG original #shorts #baldursgate #rpg Classic Game Sessions 2024-11-04 | Taking it back to the OG/original RPG of the Baldur's Gate Series!#shorts #baldursgate #rpg
Vancouver Canucks win Stanley Cup - NHL 94 for PC #nhl94 #stanleycupplayoffs #canucks Classic Game Sessions 2024-10-28 | Vancouver Cups winning the Stanley Cup in NHL 94!#nhl94 #stanleycupplayoffs #canucks
Dragon Warrior commercial - 1989 - Nintendo of America #shorts #dragonwarrior #dragonquest Classic Game Sessions 2024-10-26 | Dragon Warrior, 1989 - when RPGs hit the masses in North America#shorts #dragonwarrior #dragonquest #retrogaming
Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood #shorts #adventuregame #robinhood Classic Game Sessions 2024-10-25 | Classic point-and-click adventure game by Sierra On-line#shorts #adventuregame #retrogaming
Sid Meiers Pirates! (2004) - All the hallmarks of a great pirate game #shorts #pirates #retrogaming Classic Game Sessions 2024-10-24 | Plundering and looting my way to the top pirate in the Caribbean in a matter of 10 minutes!#shorts #pirates #retrogaming
Red Baron, World War I air combat - dogfight - Sierra On-line #shorts #redbaron #sierraonline Classic Game Sessions 2024-10-23 | Red Baron - Dynamix / Sierra On-Line, 1990 - gameplay and retrospective - PC / DOS, Amiga, MacWorld War I air combat - dogfight#shorts #redbaron #sierraonline
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant - intro & gameplay - Sir-Tech, 1992 - PC / DOS - CRPG RPG Classic Game Sessions 2024-10-22 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#wizardry #dungeoncrawler #dosgames #crpg #rpg More about Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (from Wikipedia): Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (originally known as Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant) is a role-playing video game developed and published by Sir-Tech. It is the seventh title in the Wizardry series and is a sequel to Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge. It is also the second entry in the 'Dark Savant' trilogy. The game was originally released in 1992 for DOS. A port for the PlayStation developed by Sony Computer Entertainment was released in 1995 only in Japan. In 1996 it was remade into Wizardry Gold, designed to work on Windows and Macintosh, and distributed by Interplay.The setting is a science fiction/fantasy universe, featuring interplanetary space travel and cybernetic androids, alongside high fantasy arms, armor and magic. The story picks up where its predecessor left off. The recovery and subsequent theft of the magical artifact known as the Cosmic Forge in Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge has revealed the planet Guardia, the hiding place of another power artifact, the Astral Dominae. Multiple factions have converged on Guardia attempting to locate this artifact, including a party of adventurers controlled by the player, and the principal adversary, the eponymous Dark Savant.The game is notable for featuring an early example of a well developed diplomacy mechanic. It features multiple competing factions with different interests in the world of Guardia. The player may engage in diplomacy when key NPCs of the factions are encountered, and may attempt to bribery, peaceful negotiations, or threaten force. It is also an early game to feature NPC competition with the player; as time progresses NPCs may beat the player to obtaining certain quest items, forcing the player to change their priorities. It was also the first game in the Wizardry series to feature 8-bit VGA color graphics.ReleaseThe first main difference between the original Crusaders of the Dark Savant and Wizardry Gold is that they are designed for different computer platforms. While Crusaders of the Dark Savant can be played on Windows 3.1, Windows NT, and Windows 95 computers (and beyond), Wizardry Gold will not work in DOS by itself. A major development in the Wizardry Gold version was the introduction of speech, primarily in the form of a narrator. Wizardry Gold was included as part of Interplay's Ultimate RPG Archives, that was released in 1998, and an enhanced version is available in the Ultimate Wizardry Archives that contains the first seven Wizardry titles. Gamepot re-released Wizardry Gold bundled with Wizardry VI for Windows on May 13, 2013, and for OS X on November 15, 2013, in GOG.com. On September 10, 2013, Night Dive Studios released a port for Windows, OS X and Linux on Steam, although the Gold edition is only available for Windows.ReceptionScorpia of Computer Gaming World in 1993 stated that Crusaders of the Dark Savant was "the first Wizardry that has a real-world feel to it ... there are towns, ruins, wilderness, mountains and even a small sea" with the player interacting with multiple races that cooperated and competed with each other. She approved of the improved inventory management, but criticized the small automap. More seriously, she called the open world design "deceptive" as backtracking and "hours in a fruitless search" were often necessary to solve a puzzle. She nonetheless concluded that "Crusaders of the Dark Savant is certainly an improvement over the last couple of games", and recommended it to "Wizardry fans and experienced gamers (who are willing to put up with some of the frustrations)". Later that year, she stated that the game "should not be missed, especially not by Wizardry fans", and named it Role-Playing Game of the Year. In 1996, the magazine named Wizardry VII the 105th best game ever.In PC Magazine, Barry Brenesal remarked, "When it comes to an interesting, complex plot, Crusaders handily beats the rest [of the series]." He wrote that the game "gets high marks for its humor, its excellent characterization, and its thorough and well-detailed documentation."PCGames and Computer Games Strategy Plus both named Wizardry VII the best role-playing game of 1992. The latter magazine's Joan McKeown wrote, "As grand an experience as that provided by Ultima Underworld could hardly be topped by anything short of the best game ever: Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant from Sir-Tech has topped everything out there, including Underworld."Chris W. McCubbin reviewed Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant in Pyramid #1 (May/June, 1993), and stated that "Despite its flaws, Wizardry remains far and away my favorite FRPG series. If you're looking for a state-of-the-art gaming experience big enough to keep you busy through the whole summer vacation, look here first."
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos - longplay - Westwood / Virgin, 1993 - 94 - PC / DOS - CRPG RPG Classic Game Sessions 2024-10-13 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#landsoflore #dungeoncrawler #rpg #dosgames #crpg More about Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (from Wikipedia): Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is a 1993 role-playing video game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Games for MS-DOS, the NEC PC-9801, and FM Towns. It was the first installment of the Lands of Lore series. The player travels around various environments, collecting items and battling monsters in an attempt to save the kingdom from a witch named Scotia, who has acquired shape-shifting abilities.Westwood wanted to create something new after being acquired by Virgin, and it was intended that the game outperform Eye of The Beholder II. Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos received generally positive reviews, with reviewers complimenting the graphics and the skill system, but some criticized its combat and repetitiveness. In 1994, the game was re-released on CD, adding voice-overs, including some by Patrick Stewart. Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos was followed by a sequel, Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny, in 1997.GameplayThe game is a dungeon crawler, presented in a real-time, three-dimensional view from the character's perspective similar to the interface used on the Dungeon Master game and the Eye of the Beholder series. The player can move around and interact with the world by performing actions such as picking up items, throwing them, and using them on objects. Features such as locks and switches (which affect the world by triggering events such as walls appearing or disappearing) are abundant, and the latter can be interacted with directly. The player can obtain a map showing the player's current location, as well as important points on the level.Development and releaseAfter Westwood Studios was acquired by Virgin Interactive, the decision was made to drop the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons license to focus on a new property. Producer Rick Gush said that the executive producer Brett Sperry, was involved in the decision. Gush explained that Sperry knew about the benefits of such a venture, and Gush believed that creating a new brand was a good move for the studio's promotion. According to Joseph Hewitt, an artist for Westwood, Westwood wanted to develop their own properties instead of games for other publishers to profit from.Westwood already had the engine and experience from the Eye of The Beholder series, but it was known that creating a new game was going to be difficult. Gush said that the lead programmer Philip Gorrow proposed the ideas for the new game. Bill Crum was hired and became the designer. Westwood's intention was to outperform Eye of The Beholder 2, which included increasing the story's depth. One concern was making the game accessible so it could reach a wide audience. Hewitt said that Sperry wanted to make the game user-friendly.During development, the team knew the game was going to be "special", but Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, which used 3D graphics, was released. Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos was too far into development for the team to rework its 2D engine, so the team worked hard to tweak it. Blurred movement was added to give the game a 3D effect. Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos was developed from the engine of Eye of the Beholder, and the user interface was also updated from that game.Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos was released for MS-DOS in September 1993. An Amiga version with 32 colors was planned.The game was re-released on CD-ROM in 1994, which featured voice-overs, some of which were performed by Patrick Stewart. It also features an additional narrative history read by Stewart. According to Gush, the team was "really impressed" with Stewart's professionalism, and he stated that they had paid $30,000 for him to be with the team for three hours. Stewart finished the voice-overs in less than three hours, and the team received a cardboard cutout of him in a Star Trek uniform. This version features 130 MB of digitized speech.The game was re-released on GOG.com in November 2011, bundled with the sequel.
Sid Meiers Civilization - longplay - MicroProse, 1991 - PC / DOS - original turn-based strategy 4X Classic Game Sessions 2024-10-07 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#sidmeierscivilization #civilization #strategygames #dosgames #4x More about Sid Meier's Civilization (from Wikipedia): Sid Meier's Civilization is a 1991 turn-based strategy 4X video game developed and published by MicroProse. The game was originally developed for MS-DOS running on a PC, and it has undergone numerous revisions for various platforms. The player is tasked with leading an entire human civilization over the course of several millennia by controlling various areas such as urban development, exploration, government, trade, research, and military. The player can control individual units and advance the exploration, conquest and settlement of the game's world. The player can also make such decisions as setting forms of government, tax rates and research priorities. The player's civilization is in competition with other computer-controlled civilizations, with which the player can enter diplomatic relationships that can either end in alliances or lead to war.Civilization was designed by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley following the successes of Silent Service, Sid Meier's Pirates! and Railroad Tycoon. Civilization has sold 1.5 million copies since its release and is considered one of the most influential computer games in history due to its establishment of the 4X genre. In addition to its commercial and critical success, the game has been deemed pedagogically valuable due to its presentation of historical relationships, and one of the greatest video games ever made by several publications. A multiplayer remake, Sid Meier's CivNet, was released for the PC in 1995. Civilization was followed by several sequels starting with Civilization II, with similar or modified scenarios.GameplayCivilization is a turn-based single-player strategy game. The player takes on the role of the ruler of a civilization, starting with one (or occasionally two) settler units, and attempts to build an empire in competition with two to seven other civilizations. The game requires a fair amount of micromanagement (although less than other simulation games).[4] Along with the larger tasks of exploration, warfare and diplomacy, the player has to make decisions about where to build new cities, which improvements or units to build in each city, which advances in knowledge should be sought (and at what rate), and how to transform the land surrounding the cities for maximum benefit.Civilization's critical success created a "golden period of MicroProse" where there was more potential for similar strategy games to succeed, according to Meier. This put stress on the company's direction and culture. Stealey wanted to continue to pursue the military-themed titles, while Meier wanted to continue his success with simulation games. Shelley left MicroProse in 1992 and joined Ensemble Studios, where he used his experience with Civilization to design the Age of Empires games. Stealey had pushed MicroProse to develop console and arcade-based versions of their games, but this put the company into debt, and Stealey eventually sold the company to Spectrum HoloByte in 1993; Spectrum HoloByte kept MicroProse as a separate company on acquisition.ReceptionCivilization has been called one of the most important strategy games of all time, and has a loyal following of fans. This high level of interest has led to the creation of a number of free and open source versions and inspired similar games by other commercial developers.Computer Gaming World stated that "a new Olympian in the genre of god games has truly emerged", comparing Civilization's importance to computer games to that of the wheel. The game was reviewed in 1992 in Dragon #183 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. They commented: "Civilization is one of the highest dollar-to-play-ratio entertainments we've enjoyed. The scope is enormous, the strategies border on being limitless, the excitement is genuinely high, and the experience is worth every dime of the game's purchase price."Jeff Koke reviewed Civilization in Pyramid #2 (July/Aug., 1993), and stated that "Ultimately, there are games that are a lot flashier than Civilization, with cool graphics and animation, but there aren't many - or any - in my book that have the ability to absorb the player so totally and to provide an interesting, unique outcome each and every time it's played."Civilization won the Origins Award in the category Best Military or Strategy Computer Game of 1991. A 1992 Computer Gaming World survey of wargames with modern settings gave the game five stars out of five, describing it as "more addictive than crack ... so rich and textured that the documentation is incomplete". In 1992 the magazine named it the Overall Game of the Year, in 1993 added the game to its Hall of Fame, and in 1996 chose Civilization as the best game of all time.
Street Rod 2 - longplay - California Dreams, 1991 - PC / DOS - American muscle cars racing Classic Game Sessions 2024-09-27 | Street Rod - Longplay fullplay - California Dreams, 1989 - PC / DOS / Amiga Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#streetrod #racinggame #dosgames #amigagames No CommentaryMore about Street Rod 2 (from Wikipedia): Street Rod 2 is a video game developed by P.Z. Karen Co. Development Group and Logical Design Works as a sequel to Street Rod, based on an original concept by Magic Partners and published by California Dreams for Amiga and MS-DOS. Street Rod 2 exclusively features American muscle cars, specifically those from GM, Ford, and Chrysler. In December 2012, MK Consultancy, a Dutch company, acquired the copyright ownership of the Street Rod games and re-released Street Rod 2, as well as the original game and an updated version, as freeware in 2014.Changes from Street RodThe game is set in the summer of 1969, beginning on June 14, the first day of summer vacation. (Street Rod was set in 1963).A largely different set of cars is available, most of them dating from the 1960s.There are now two variants of each car available to buy - an abused one (cheaper, with worn parts) and one in good condition. All cars can only be bought once during the game.The differential, muffler and exhaust manifold can be replaced.The engine is shown in the engine bay and tuning takes place on the same screen.Car stickers are unavailable.Races are arranged outside of "Burgers Bungalow" instead of "Bob's Drive-In".There are two road tracks: Mulholland Drive, largely based on the Road race from Street Rod, and a completely new track, the Aqueduct, which resembles the aqueduct in the movie Grease.A car crash can result from hitting rocks, drains, barriers and bridge supports at any speed, or from passing through roadworks on the Mulholland Drive track at speeds greater than 50mph. Travelling too far up a sloped wall on the Aqueduct at high speed results in the car flipping over.The King drives a 1967 Shelby GT500 (erroneously labeled as a 1969 one), with a unique supercharger that is unavailable as an upgrade within the game.Every Wednesday night, the player can compete in a bracket racing drag competition called "Grudge Night". For a small entrance fee, the player is required to set a "breakout time" down the drag strip, after which the player must defeat all opponents without running faster than that time.SequelsStreet Rod 3 was an unfinished, unofficial sequel to the series. It was being developed for Windows and Linux with the aim of recreating a game similar to Street Rod 2. It aimed to add more cars and parts and also to transition the series from 2D to 3D graphics. The latest alpha release, version 0.4.4.1, is available under the GNU General Public License. Development of this version seems to have ceased.ReceptionMike Weksler reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "after several hours of reliving 'hot rod' memories, the player may end up cruisin' down to his old hangouts on a Wednesday night. He'll most likely see a new generation of cars lined up at the local burger joint with hoods open, chrome glistening and terms like 'four bolt main' and 'camelback heads' floating in the air. The player may also be surprised to see fresh rubber streaking the pavement at the old drag strip, but if he doesn't, he can always come home and fire up Street Rod II: The Next Generation!"
Darklands - longplay gameplay - Microprose MPS, 1992 - PC / DOS - alchemy medieval Germany RPG CRPG Classic Game Sessions 2024-09-24 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#darklands #crpg #dosgames #retrogamingNo CommentaryMore about Darklands (from Wikipedia): Darklands is a historical fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by MicroProse in 1992 for MS-DOS. The game is set in the Holy Roman Empire during the 15th century. While the geographic setting is historically accurate, the game features many supernatural elements.Darklands received mixed reviews upon release, with praise for its historical detail and open-ended gameplay but criticism directed at its numerous bugs and repetitive nature. In recent years the game's reception has been more positive. It was later re-released on GOG.com and Steam with support for Linux, MacOS, Windows OS.Darklands features an early example of open world gameplay in role-playing video games. The player is free to complete quests that will give them a positive reputation, or to pursue a negative reputation by performing evil deeds. The player's reputation may vary across geographic boundaries, allowing the player to be simultaneously hated in one region and exalted in another.The setting for Darklands is medieval Europe. All of the cities that one's party may visit in the game are real places that existed in the Holy Roman Empire of the 15th century. Most are in modern-day Germany, but some are within the modern borders of other countries in Western and Central Europe, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. The cities are referred to in the game by their Old German names, some of which are now exonyms; the new local names are given in parentheses.There are no other species available in character creation—all players are human and are differentiated by occupation. Any party member is capable of performing what are known as class-based feats in many other role-playing games, but skillful players usually improve the party member's skills only in the appropriate area. Thus, the equivalent of a cleric in this game would be someone who specializes in religious studies as well as healing skills. That the character specializes in the above, however, does not preclude him or her from learning artifice skills, such as lock picking. Age is a factor, as characters will begin to lose physical prowess as they age. However, the older the player is when the character is generated, the more skills and better equipment he or she starts with.While the majority of the game uses text-based menus enhanced with hand-painted illustrations describing the player party's available actions, the party's movement between cities and during battle uses a graphical user interface. The real-time combat is dependent not only on the characters' skills, but also the type and quality of weapons used against the enemy and the enemy's armor. For example, using swords against plate armored foes is less effective than using hammers or maces.
Sid Meiers Pirates! Gold - longplay - MicroProse, 1993 - PC / DOS - SVGA adventure strategy game Classic Game Sessions 2024-09-16 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#sidmeierspirates #pirates #adventuregames #strategygames No CommentaryMore about Sid Meier's Pirates! Gold (from Wikipedia): Pirates! Gold is a 1993 computer game, a remake to Sid Meier's 1987 release, Sid Meier's Pirates!DevelopmentMicroProse developed this 256-color version for MS-DOS, Macintosh, Sega Genesis, Amiga CD32 and Windows 3.x featuring a MIDI score and mouse support (in MS-DOS and Windows versions).GameplayPirates! Gold features Super VGA graphics including hand-painted screens, and a more-detailed playing environment than the original. The update also includes 3-D modeled ship and flag animations, and graphic depictions of items that were menu choices in the original game.The player can play as a pirate, privateer, or a pirate hunter. It features sword fighting, ocean-faring battles, and land battles as its three main arenas of action, connected by role-playing which allows the player to court the favor of local politicos, romance women, and recruit pirates in the local pub. Players have the opportunity to go on quests, but must also strategically plan raiding excursions and trading routes.The PC versions contain a copy protection scheme requiring the player to identify the flag of a pirate ship sighted on the horizon (similar to the 1987 Commodore 64 port). Sea and sea-to-land combat are played in real-time while land battles are done in turn-based strategy. Sun sighting is not present in this version, and there are no special items. The game does, however, include several new features.ReceptionPaul C. Schuytema for Compute! was positive to the game and called it "addicting".In 1993, Computer Gaming World described Pirates! Gold as adding "three disks of graphical gold" to "a great game engine". The magazine stated that the game "has much to offer a new player and comes with the highest of recommendations", but warned those familiar with the original that it was "not a significantly revised game with fresh game play".In 1994, PC Gamer US named Pirates! Gold the 39th best computer game ever. The editors wrote: "We're recommending the new version of this old classic, because it looks so darn good and it'll be easier for most of you to get your hands on. But the award really goes out to the gameplay that made the original Pirates! great". In 2018, Complex ranked Pirates! Gold 26th among "The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games".According to Microprose, Pirates! Gold sold in excess of 450,000 copies by September 1997.
Star Wars: X-Wing - longplay - LucasArts, 1993 - PC DOS Star Wars space combat flight sim - rebels Classic Game Sessions 2024-09-08 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#starwars #xwing #spaceflightsimulatorNo CommentaryMore about Star Wars: X-Wing (from Wikipedia): Star Wars: X-Wing is a space simulation video game, the first of the X-Wing combat flight simulation games series. The player's character flies starfighters, including the X-wing, for the Rebel Alliance. The narrative precedes and parallels the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.Designed by Lawrence Holland and Edward Kilham's Totally Games for LucasArts, X-Wing is one of the first games to use 3D polygon graphics for spaceships and the first non-adventure game to use the iMUSE music system. The game was updated and re-released several times, and was followed by three sequels. X-Wing became a best-seller with critical acclaim.Until 1992, Brøderbund held the license for Star Wars computer games. When the license reverted to LucasArts, designer Lawrence Holland decided to develop a Star Wars game to take advantage of his prior experience developing World War II air combat simulators. X-Wing's game engine is one of the first to use higher-detailed 3D polygonal graphics, rather than bitmap sprites.The game's MIDI musical score includes pieces from John Williams's Star Wars score in addition to original compositions. X-Wing is the first non-adventure game to use the iMUSE (Interactive MUsic Streaming Engine), although the system's level of interactivity is reduced from previous iterations. For X-Wing, iMUSE provides musical cues in response to in-game events, such as the arrival of friendly or hostile ships. Music designers Michael Land, Clint Bajakian, and Peter McConnell used familiar elements of Williams's music to create these cues. The musical cues were designed to blend seamlessly with the rest of the in-game music soundtrack.X-Wing was originally released on floppy disks in February 1993. Later that year, LucasArts released the Imperial Pursuit and B-Wing expansion packs on floppy disk. A sixth tour of duty, set during the Rebel Alliance's time at Echo Base, was planned but never produced; the medals case of the game was also designed to hold a sixth campaign ribbon row and medal. Some of the material for the sixth tour of duty was later incorporated into the X-Wing special edition and also the later game TIE Fighter.LucasArts released the TIE Fighter space combat simulator in 1994. That year, it released the Collector's CD-ROM Edition of X-Wing. This edition runs on the TIE Fighter game engine, based on the X-Wing engine. The newer engine supports Gouraud shading and other rendering enhancements. The Collector's CD-ROM Edition includes the base game, both expansions, some adjustments to missions, redesigned cutscenes, bonus missions, and voiceovers for the mission briefings and in-game radio messages. Erik Bauersfeld reprised Admiral Ackbar from Return of the Jedi. Clive Revill, who voiced Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back (pre-2004 version), portrayed Admiral Dodonna. The floppy disk version could be redeemed for a fee to LucasArts, and be upgraded to Gold Edition of the CD-ROM version, with a golden CD-ROM and a free gift.In 1998, LucasArts released the X-Wing Collector Series Edition. This product again changed the game engine, this time to the engine behind X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. This update added 3D hardware acceleration and texture mapping to the game engine, and further changed some of the visuals before and during operation briefings. The game was designed to run under Windows 9x rather than DOS. Additionally, the MIDI-based iMUSE soundtrack was replaced with looping Red Book audio recordings of the Star Wars score.On October 28, 2014, X-Wing and TIE Fighter were released for download online for the first time. The original MS-DOS and Windows editions were updated for modern PCs.Star Wars: X-Wing became a commercial hit that surpassed the predictions of LucasArts. Its launch shipment of 100,000 units sold out during its debut weekend; nearly 500,000 units in total were ordered by retailers by December 1993.X-Wing, which one author later stated "skillfully captured the feel" of the Star Wars films, was a best-seller in 1993. In its 1992 preview of the game, Computer Gaming World wrote that the developers "are taking aim at Chris Roberts and his megahit Wing Commander series". The magazine said in its 1993 review that some of the missions were imbalanced, and criticized the need to identify and execute precise "solutions" to them. It praised the flight model as "excellently executed and a joy to play", however, and concluded "I enjoyed the experience tremendously" and looked forward to expansion disks and sequels. A 1994 survey in the magazine later gave the game four stars out of five, stating that it was "A superb rendition of the Star Wars universe, albeit victory conditions in the scenarios are a bit too structured and rigid".
Eye Of The Beholder I, II, III Intros & Character Generator Eye Of The Beholder Series Westwood SSI Classic Game Sessions 2024-09-02 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#eyeofthebeholder #dungeoncrawler #rpg #dungeonsanddragons #dosgamesNo Commentary0:00 Eye Of The Beholder I - 1991 (Intro)3:16 Eye Of The Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon - 1991 (Intro)7:10 Eye Of The Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor - 1993 (Intro)Released for DOS, Amiga, Sega Genesis, FM Towns, NEC PC-9801More about Eye Of The Beholder I, II, III (from Wikipedia): Eye of the Beholder is a role-playing video game for personal computers and video game consoles developed by Westwood Associates. It was published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1991, for the MS-DOS operating system and later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD and the SNES. The Sega CD version features a soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro. A port to the Atari Lynx handheld was developed by NuFX in 1993, but was not released. In 2002, an adaptation of the same name was developed by Pronto Games for the Game Boy Advance.The game has two sequels, Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon, also released in 1991, and Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor, released in 1993. The third game, however, was not developed by Westwood, which had been acquired by Virgin Interactive in 1992 and created the Lands of Lore series instead.The lords of the city of Waterdeep hire a team of adventurers to investigate an evil coming from beneath the city. The adventurers enter the city's sewer, but the entrance gets blocked by a collapse caused by Xanathar, the eponymous beholder. The team descends further beneath the city, going through Dwarf and Drow clans, to Xanathar's lair, where the final confrontation takes place.Once the eponymous beholder is killed, the player would be treated to a small blue window describing that the beholder was killed and that the adventurers returned to the surface where they were treated as heroes. Nothing else was mentioned in the ending and there were no accompanying graphics. This was changed in the later released Amiga version, which featured an animated ending.Eye of the Beholder featured a first-person perspective in a three-dimensional dungeon, very similar to the earlier Dungeon Master. The player controls four characters, initially, using a point-and-click interface to fight monsters. This can be increased to a maximum of six characters, by resurrecting one or more skeletons from dead non-player characters (NPC), or finding NPCs that are found throughout the dungeons.The possibility to increase the size of the player's party through the recruiting of NPCs was a tradition in all of the Eye of the Beholder series. It was also possible to import a party from Eye of the Beholder into The Legend of Darkmoon or from The Legend of Darkmoon into Assault on Myth Drannor; thus, a player could play through all three games with the same party.
Ikari III: The Rescue - full play - by SNK, 1990 - NES arcade run & gun shoot em up beat em up Classic Game Sessions 2024-08-08 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#ikari3 #nesgames #arcade #nes No CommentaryThis is a fun play through on the first take, thanks to this arcade port on the NES having unlimited restarts from where you die! :) What would otherwise be a incredibly challenging NES game to beat! An interesting arcade run & gun (punch) shoot 'em up beat 'em up. More about Ikari III: The Rescue (from Wikipedia): Ikari III: The Rescue (also known as Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue), simply known as Ikari III (怒III) in Japan, is a 1989 arcade run & gun shoot 'em up beat 'em up game developed and published by SNK. It was ported to the NES, IBM PC compatibles, and Commodore 64. It is the third and final installment of the Ikari Warriors series after Ikari Warriors and Victory Road. The NES version was shown at the 1991 CES. Plot: The presidential candidate's child has been kidnapped by the terrorist organization Crime Ghost masterminded by Faust. Top officials have asked the 2 best soldiers to infiltrate Crime Ghost's base and liberate the child.The NES console version maintains the characters design and basic gameplay from the arcade version with a variety of enemies and weapons and life bars for the players. The 1989 IBM version box art "Ikari III" was produced for SNK by Marc Ericksen following his earlier renditions for SNK's Guerrilla War and P.O.W. releases, and as in the arcade version, the kidnapped child is a young boy. The NES version plot is slightly different from the arcade version with an expanded background, the Ikari Warriors are named Paul and Vince, the kidnapped child is a girl instead of a boy, and there is a 4th stage exclusive to the NES port, which has the warriors scuba diving in a stage resembling a side scrolling shooter.
Dungeon Crawler Evolution - EVERY 80s and 90s grid-based pseudo-3D RPG - compilation comparison Classic Game Sessions 2024-08-01 | Dungeon Crawler evolution - EVERY 80's and 90's (and 70's) grid-based pseudo-3d dungeon crawler - chronological compilationTimestamps are below in pinned comment due to length (only half could fit here in description)Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#dungeoncrawler #rpg #crpgNo commentary. Thanks to all contributors. Dungeon crawlers featured are based on definition by dungeoncrawlers.org. Please share other similar dungeon crawlers in the comments section below! More on Dungeon Crawlers (from Wikipedia): A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Computer games and series from the 1980s, such as The Bard's Tale, Dungeon Master, Madō Monogatari, Megami Tensei, Might and Magic, Phantasy Star, Ultima, and Wizardry, helped set the genre's standards, while the primitive graphics were actually conducive to this style, due to the need for repetitive tiles or similar-looking graphics to create effective mazes. First-person party-based dungeon crawlers: this subgenre consists of RPGs where the player leads a party of adventurers in first-person perspective, typically in a grid-based environment. Examples include the aforementioned Wizardry, Might and Magic and Bard's Tale series. Games of this type are also known as "blobbers", since the player moves the entire party around the playing field as a single unit, or "blob".Many "blobbers" are turn-based, such as the play-by-mail game Heroic Fantasy, but some games such as Dungeon Master, Legend of Grimrock and Eye of the Beholder series are played in real-time. Early games in this genre lack an automap feature, forcing players to draw their own maps in order to keep track of their progress. Spatial puzzles are common, and players may have to, for instance, move a stone in one part of the level in order to open a gate in another part of the level.More about Dungeon Master (from Wikipedia):Dungeon Master is a role-playing video game featuring a pseudo-3D first-person perspective. It was developed and published by FTL Games for the Atari ST in 1987, almost identical Amiga and PC (DOS) ports following in 1988 and 1992.Dungeon Master sold 40,000 copies in its year of release alone, and went on to become the ST's best-selling game of all time. The game became the prototype for the genre of the 3D dungeon crawlers with notable clones like Eye of the Beholder.More about Eye of the Beholder (from Wikipedia): Eye of the Beholder is a role-playing video game for personal computers and video game consoles developed by Westwood Associates. It was published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1991, for the MS-DOS operating system and later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD and the SNES. The Sega CD version features a soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima. A port to the Atari Lynx handheld was developed by NuFX in 1993, but was not released. In 2002, an adaptation of the same name was developed by Pronto Games for the Game Boy Advance.The game has two sequels, Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon, also released in 1991, and Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor, released in 1993. The third game, however, was not developed by Westwood, which had been acquired by Virgin Interactive in 1992 and created the Lands of Lore series instead.More about Wizardry (from Wikipedia): Wizardry is a series of RPG's, developed by Sir-Tech, that were highly influential in the evolution of modern RPG's. The original Wizardry was a significant influence on early console role-playing games such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Originally made for the Apple II, the games were later ported to other platforms. The last game in the original series by Sir-Tech was Wizardry 8, released in 2001. There have since been various spin-off titles developed for the Japanese market.More about Lands of Lore (from Wikipedia): Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is a 1993 role-playing video game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Games for DOS, the PC-98, and FM Towns. It was the first installment of the Lands of Lore series. The player travels around various environments, collecting items and battling monsters in an attempt to save the kingdom from a witch named Scotia.Westwood wanted to create something new after being acquired by Virgin, and it was intended that the game outperform Eye of The Beholder II. Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos received generally positive reviews, with reviewers complimenting the graphics and the skill system, but some criticized its combat and repetitiveness. In 1994, the game was re-released on CD, adding voice-overs, including some by Patrick Stewart. Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos was followed by a sequel, Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny, in 1997.
Stellar 7 - gameplay - Dynamix, 1983 - Apple II - sci-fi first-person tank simulation - Damon Slye Classic Game Sessions 2024-07-27 | -Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#stellar7 #appleii #dynamix #retrogaming No CommentaryMore about Stellar 7 (from Wikipedia): Stellar 7 is a first-person tank simulation video game based on the 1980s arcade game Battlezone in which the player assumes the role of a futuristic tank pilot. The game was created by Damon Slye for the Apple II and Commodore 64 in 1983, then remade in the early 1990s for MS-DOS, Amiga, and Classic Mac OS. There are three sequels: Arcticfox (1986), Nova 9: The Return of Gir Draxon (1991), and Stellar 7: Draxon's Revenge (1993). GameplayThe player's tank, the Raven, has a front-facing cannon with an unlimited supply of bullets. The cannon can fire up to two shots at a time. The tank also has a cloaking device that, when triggered, would render it invisible to enemies for about a minute. Gauges on the right side of the screen indicate the amount of shields and power remaining. The tank starts with enough power to cloak twice, and power slowly trickles away as the time passes. The game ends when either shields or power runs out.Each of the seven levels represents a different star system (hence the title). The player's objective is to get to the last level and defeat the enemy boss, Gir Draxon. Each level is depicted as a nearly featureless plane dotted by geometric obstacles—some indestructible and most not—and various enemies. After the player destroys a certain number of enemies, a warp link will appear that provides a gateway to the next level.Special power-ups can be accessed by pressing the tab key to toggle between the different icons at the bottom left of the screen and then pushing enter, or simply by pushing the letter key corresponding to the desired icon. The icon for the chosen item will turn purple while activated. Each power-up is represented by a certain symbol and can be used up to three times throughout the game, depending on the difficulty setting.The MS-DOS version of this game is somewhat different. The graphics are more advanced and rendered in a full range of colors, and has more complex world background paintings. Also, the cloaking device is not integrated into the tank and does not end the game or destroys the tank when it ends. Each world is guarded by a boss that must be defeated before the warp-link to the next level appears. Most of the bosses are not particularly complicated compared to the sequel (Nova 9), but they present a reasonable challenge for the time. The power-up system also works differently. By killing three of specific enemy types, a power-up will drop, and then activate when touched; different enemies produce different power-ups following this system. Finally, the game has a "Continue" feature, as opposed to simply ending when the tank is destroyed. Other differences exist between the enemy types and behaviors and the same applies to power-ups. Softline stated in 1983 that "combining first-rate graphics and sound effects with fast-paced, arcade-style excitement makes Stellar 7 hard to beat in every sense". Video magazine reviewed the Apple II version of the game, describing it as "a severe test for even the most skillful home arcaders" whose "varied action makes it a particularly satisfying game for solo players". Tom Clancy in 1988 named Stellar 7 one of his two favorite computer games, stating that "it is so unforgiving, it is just like life". In 1991 the DOS version of the remake received 5 out of 5 stars in Dragon.
Ultima VII: The Black Gate - intro gameplay - Origin Systems - 1992 - PC / DOS RPG CRPG Roland MT-32 Classic Game Sessions 2024-06-09 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#ultima #crpg #dosgames #rpgNo CommentaryMore about Ultima VII: The Black Gate (from Wikipedia): Ultima VII: The Black Gate is the seventh installment of the Ultima series of role-playing video games, released in April 1992. In it, the player returns as The Avatar, a would-be paragon of moral virtue who faces down many dangers and deceptions in order to cleanse the medieval fantasy world of Britannia of assorted plots and schemes, monster infestations, and the undermining of crown authority.The Black Gate was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, being widely lauded as a high point in the series and is also regarded as one of the best video games ever created. In an interview with GameSpot, Richard Garriott stated that Ultima VII "was the most masterfully executed of the Ultima series". He has also often stated that the game was, along with Ultima IV, his own favorite installment overall.Ultima VII introduced major changes in the Ultima series. The most serious alteration is that as far as the player is concerned, the world is no longer tile and grid-based; tiles are still used internally (in a largely improved way where the tiles themselves are smaller and frequently grouped), but they no longer affect character and monster movement or the item placement the same way.[6] The maps are also more visibly multi-layered, and objects and things can be stacked on top of each other. This can also affect movement, and be part of puzzles; some places are inaccessible unless the player stacks items to form stairs. A striking visual change is that the gameworld now takes up the entire screen in its original DOS environment, while previous Ultimas used a substantial portion of the screen for text, dialogue, buttons, icons, and the like.The game is the first in the series that is entirely mouse-driven, with optional keyboard hotkeys for some common actions. This is in contrast to earlier entries that are entirely keyboard-driven, and to Ultima VI, which supplements keyboard commands with on-screen command icons.The gameworld of Ultima VII is highly interactive: virtually everything not nailed to the ground and not excessively heavy can be moved, taken, or interacted with in some way. Ultima VII allows free exploration of the game world, featuring a main plot and several other major subquests and tasks for the player to complete. It is a markedly open-ended game, where following the main plotline is inessential to the purposes of enjoyment, exploration, and character advancement – once the player is free from their starting location of Trinsic, a walled city. The Black Gate is highly nonlinear; although there is a linear storyline, this is complemented by the ability to explore the map in any order when coupled with the many subquests.Ultima VII was the first game where Richard Garriott did any sort of planning ahead for future games in the series, laying out a preplanned trilogy which would conclude with Ultima IX.Computer Gaming World's Scorpia in 1992 praised Ultima VII: The Black Gate's "first-class" graphics, sound, and realism, called the story "engrossing", and liked the mouse- and keyboard-based user interface, but criticized the slow performance ("I estimate that the slow speed of the game added about a week to my playing time"), several serious bugs, and combat ("one of the least fun aspects of the game"). She concluded that the game gives "me very mixed feelings ... Getting through this Ultima will require a certain amount of patience and forebearance". In 1993 she wrote that "the game has its annoying aspects ... it is certainly worth playing". Charles Ardai acknowledged the widespread sentiment that after six installments the Ultima series had been done to death, but argued that "Ultima VII is not more of the same. It is daring and unusual, has a sophisticated interface and story, takes full advantage of both its own history and the conventions of the genre, and manages to be at once grounded in tradition and unpredictable". Ardai praised the plot as the best in the series, stating that it is highly original, evokes genuine emotion, and serves as an allegory for problems in the real world. He also generally praised the game's puzzles, simple interface, and pacing. Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Forge of Virtue were reviewed in 1993 in Dragon #191 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.The Black Gate was listed as one of "The 50 Best Games Ever" in a 1997 issue of PC Gamer, and ranked number ten on the magazine's list of "The 100 Best PC Games of All Time" in a 2011 survey. In 1998, PC Gamer US declared it the 37th-best computer game ever released. The editors wrote, "If you're looking for the best of the greatest computer role-playing series ever, this is the game you want."
Montezumas Revenge - gameplay - Utopia / Parker Brothers, 1984 - Apple II - platformer Metroidvania Classic Game Sessions 2024-05-29 | -Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#montezumasrevenge #appleii #metroidvania #retrogaming No CommentaryMore about Montezuma's Revenge (from Wikipedia): Montezuma's Revenge is a platform game for the Atari 8-bit computers, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Apple II, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, IBM PC (as a self-booting disk), and ZX Spectrum (as Panama Joe). It was designed and programmed by Robert Jaeger and published by Parker Brothers in 1984. The game's title references a colloquial expression for diarrhea contracted while visiting Mexico.In 1988, a port was published for the Master System, which retains the basic gameplay and level structure, but with improved graphics, sound, and additional features.Montezuma's Revenge is an early example of the Metroidvania genre. The player controls a character called Panama Joe (a.k.a. Pedro), moving him from room to room in the labyrinthine underground pyramid of the 16th century Aztec temple of emperor Montezuma II, filled with enemies, obstacles, traps, and dangers. The objective is to score points by gathering jewels and killing enemies along the way. Panama Joe must find keys to open doors, collect and use equipment such as torches, swords, amulets, etc., and avoid or defeat the challenges in his path. Obstacles are laser gates, conveyor belts, disappearing floors and fire pits.Movement is achieved by jumping, running, sliding down poles, and climbing chains and ladders. Enemies are skulls, snakes, and spiders. The player has a limited number of inventory slots for carrying items, and cannot collect any other items or jewels if all slots are filled. A further complication arises in the bottom-most floors of each pyramid, which must be played in total darkness unless a torch is found.The pyramid is nine floors deep, not counting the topmost entry room that the player drops into at the start of each level, and has 99 rooms to explore. The goal is to reach the Treasure Chamber, whose entrance is in the center room of the lowest level. After jumping in here, the player has a short time to jump from one chain to another and pick up as many jewels as possible. However, jumping onto a fireman's pole will immediately take the player to the next level; when time runs out, the player is automatically thrown onto the pole.There are nine difficulty levels in all. Though the basic layout of the pyramid remains the same from one level to the next, small changes in details force the player to rethink strategy. These changes include:-Blocking or opening up certain paths (by adding/removing walls or ladders)-Adding enemies and obstacles-Rearrangement of items-More dark rooms and fewer torches (in level 9, the entire pyramid is dark)-Enemies that do not disappear after they kill Panama Joe (starting with level 5)The player can reach only the left half of the pyramid in level 1, and only the right half in level 2. Starting with level 3, the entire pyramid is open for exploration.The sound track of the game for the Atari 8 bit computer is a musical adaptation of Spanish Flea and the first few notes of La Cucaracha when collecting items.Robert Jaeger had previously written Chomper (a Pac-Man clone) and Pinhead (a Kick Man clone). In 1983, Jaeger's friend Mark Sunshine suggested Jaeger make a game with a Meso-American theme and call it Montezuma's Revenge. Jaeger, who was only 16 at the time, exhibited the still-unfinished game with his father at a consumer electronics convention. Parker Brothers officials expressed interest and quickly convinced Jaeger to sign the rights over to them. On the title screen of the shipping game, Mark Sunshine is credited for the concept.The original game that Jaeger developed for the Atari 800 required 48K of memory. Parker Brothers wanted to release the game on cartridge, so they trimmed it down to fit in 16K. One feature removed from the disk version was an unfinished boss fight with a gigantic King Montezuma who can stomp the player character to death.Parker Brothers released versions for the ColecoVision, Atari 2600, and Atari 5200 consoles, and for the Apple II, Commodore 64, IBM PC, and Atari 8-bit computers. To reduce costs, Parker Brothers released the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit versions on disk instead of cartridge. In the UK and Ireland it was also released on cassette tape for the Atari and Commodore 64 . The C64 and Atari versions came on a single flippy disk–likewise for the IBM PC and Apple II versions.The IBM PC port uses a CPU-based speed loop and is too fast to be playable on 286 and up machines. A cassette tape version was developed separately in the UK for the Sinclair Spectrum. The Atari 2600 cartridge is 8K and has half the levels of the other versions.
Best of the Best: Championship Karate - longplay fight - by Futura / Electro Brain, 1992 PC / DOS Classic Game Sessions 2024-05-04 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#bestofthebest #karate #fightinggames No CommentaryBest of the Best: Championship Karate (from Wikipedia):Best of the Best: Championship Karate[a] is a 1992 kick boxing game that features black belt kick boxing masters. The object is to win the kick boxing championship by defeating an array of kick boxing masters in a series of fighting matches. The Sega Genesis version is one of the few games to offer support for the Sega Activator motion controller.Best of the Best is an updated version of Panza Kick Boxing which was released in 1990 in Europe for various computers as well as the TurboGrafx-16.Martial artist/actor Ron Yuan stated in a 1994 interview that "I know a lot of pure gamers will disagree, but the best SNES fighting game from a purely technical martial arts point of view is Best of the Best. It didn't get much notoriety, but my friends and I know martial arts, and they go nuts whenever we play."Juris Graney of The Australian Commodore & Amiga Review compared Best of the Best to its predecessor: "Best of the Best Championship Karate is almost a reproduction of my old favourite, Panza Kick Boxing. In fact, it's the sequel, subtitled Panza Gold Edition. Everything is the same – the crowd, the referee, the moves and everything else. The only difference is an advanced stage at the end."
NHL 94 Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs - NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs - Original 6 teams - PC DOS Classic Game Sessions 2024-04-20 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#nhl94 #nhlplayoffs #nhl No CommentaryMore about NHL '94 (from Wikipedia): NHL '94 is an ice hockey game by EA Sports for the Genesis, Super NES, and Sega CD, as well as the first release for the PC (DOS), simply titled "NHL Hockey", without the "94" in the title. The game is officially licensed from the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association. Being the third game in the NHL series media franchise, it was released in October 1993. NHL '94 launched to critical acclaim, and it has since been referred to as both the greatest sports game of all time as well as one of the best games ever made.The game maintained the series' signature vertical camera angle, which offered the player distinct gameplay and strategic advantages over contemporary side-view hockey games, and kept the 2D sprite character models of NHLPA '93 (albeit with some new animations).Many improvements were made to the engine by EA between 1992 and 1993. Notably, NHL '94 introduced the "one timer", an authentic hockey move where a player shoots the puck directly off of a pass. NHL 94 also added the ability to save records, and has four modes: Exhibition Game, Playoffs, Best of Seven Playoffs, and Shootout. There are no international teams, but both all-star teams are present. Also introduced were team-specific organ songs played at the start of periods and after goals—examples included the Hartford Whalers' trademark "Brass Bonanza", "Halte-là! Les Canadiens sont là!" for the Montreal Canadiens, "When the Saints Go Marching In" for the St. Louis Blues, "The Sabre Dance" for the Buffalo Sabres, and the Chicago Blackhawks theme song "Here Come the Hawks". "Birthday" by The Beatles is also featured as an organ song after a goal is scored.
Police Quest: In Pursuit of The Death Angel - SCI VGA - fullplay longplay - by Sierra On-Line, 1992 Classic Game Sessions 2024-04-12 | Subscribe bit.ly/sub-cgsSupport on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgs#policequest #pointandclick #adventuregames #sierraonline No CommentaryPolice Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel - SCI VGA version (from Wikipedia):Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel (also known as Police Quest I or simply Police Quest) is a police procedural adventure video game developed and published by Jim Walls and Sierra On-Line. Police Quest follows police officer Sonny Bonds as he investigates a drug cartel in the town of Lytton, California.First released in 1987 as a command-line interface game built on Sierra's AGI, Police Quest was remade in 1992 using 256-color VGA graphics and the SCI engine and used point-and-click gameplay. Designed to effectively be a police simulator, Police Quest features relatively simple puzzles, but relies strongly on strict adherence to proper police procedure, as detailed in the game's manual.Police Quest was a moderate critical and commercial success, spawning the successful Police Quest series, which later evolved into the SWAT series of shooter games. A direct sequel, Police Quest II: The Vengeance, was released in 1988.Prior to Police Quest's conception, Sierra president Ken Williams wanted to develop a police adventure game, preferably with an actual police officer serving as a technical advisor, overseeing the game's design to ensure authenticity and realism. In 1985, Williams met California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer Jim Walls, who was on administrative leave to treat trauma he had received from a shooting a year prior. Following Walls' retirement from the CHP in 1986, Williams befriended Walls and asked if he could write a short story about his experiences in the CHP; this short story eventually developed into Police Quest's plot.Development commenced after Walls' story grew enough to be partitioned into a design document and game components for development. The game's designers were Williams, Walls, Roberta Williams, Mark Crowe, Scott Murphy, and Al Lowe. At the time, Walls was unfamiliar with computers, so the other Sierra developers assisted him until he could develop on his own. The game's protagonist, Sonny Bonds, was loosely based on Walls' son (also named Sonny), and many incidents in the game were based on actual incidents encountered by Walls during his time in the CHP.Police Quest was released for the IBM PC, Apple II (128K), Amiga, Atari ST, and Apple IIGS. An SCI 1.1 enhanced version in 256-color VGA was released in 1992.Between October 25 and October 27, 2022, digital historian and archivist Jason Scott uploaded the source code of Police Quest to GitHub as a means of video game preservation. Several other Sierra games were preserved by Scott in that period, including Donald Duck's Playground, The Black Cauldron, King's Quest III, Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (and its VGA remake), Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places), Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals, and Leisure Suit Larry 5: Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work.The first four Police Quest games totaled 850,000 sales by late 1995. However, Markus Krichel of PC Games noted that "interest on the part of the gamer fell slightly" with Police Quest: Open Season, which led Sierra On-Line to experiment with a new direction for the series with Police Quest: SWAT. According to Sierra, combined sales of the entire Police Quest series (including SWAT) surpassed 1.2 million units by the end of March 1996.Computer Gaming World recommended Police Quest, praising some of the graphics as "the most terrific this reviewer has ever seen". Antic said of the ST version that because of the realism and need to follow procedures "there is a strong sense of actually becoming the cop on the beat". Macworld was less positive, stating that the game "plays like a long version of a routine cop TV show, and you can't lose if you just follow the manual. The game begs for a challenging mystery".Police Quest was reported to have been used as a training tool for police officers:[Police Quest] has proven to be a practical, effective training tool officers enjoy using. It safely demonstrates to rookies the consequences of failing to observe proper police procedures and can serve as a valuable refresher course for experienced officers.— Rich DeBaun, InterAction, Winter 1992
The Shadow of Yserbius (1991 - 1995) longplay - Sierra On-Line - ImagiNation Network INN - MUD RPG Classic Game Sessions 2024-04-02 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#theshadowofyserbius #sierraonline #dungeoncrawler #mud No CommentaryMore about The Shadow of Yserbius (from Wikipedia): The Shadow of Yserbius, originally published by Sierra On-Line and developed by Joe Ybarra of Ybarra Productions, was the first of three graphical MUDs for the online community. The Shadow of Yserbius and its successors remained online until 1996, when America Online purchased the rights from AT&T for an undisclosed price (rumored to be $40 million). AOL soon abandoned The Shadow of Yserbius, which was a competitor to its existing online RPG Neverwinter Nights.The goal of the game was to kill an evil elemental creature called En-li-Kil. There were a number of "rooms", where up to 30 (later 60) people could meet and adventure together in groups of up to four. Combat was turn-based.The available professions were Barbarian, Knight, Ranger, Thief, Cleric, and Wizard. Player races included Human, Orc, Elf, Troll, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling, and Gremlin.Another popular pastime was player vs. player sparring. Many players were members of guilds.Computer Gaming World in 1993 called the online version's static artwork "lovely" and approved of the questing and, especially, the social nature of the game. The magazine concluded that "those who possess the money would be well served to try out TSN and Yserbius". In June 1994 Shadow of Yserbius: Fates of Twinion was a finalist for Computer Gaming World's "Online Game of the Year" award, losing to Multiplayer BattleTech.The game was followed by two sequels: The Fates of Twinion (1993) and The Ruins of Cawdor (1995).
Crosscountry Canada edutainment games from 1986 - 2002 - Ingenuity Works (Didatech) - educational Classic Game Sessions 2024-03-22 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#crosscountrycanada #edutainment #appleii #dosgames No Commentary 0:00 Crosscountry Canada - 19865:00 Crosscountry Canada Platinum - 200010:04 Crosscountry Canada 2 - 2002More about Crosscountry Canada (from Wikipedia): Crosscountry is an educational simulation software series of programs for North American students (grade one through grade nine). Many schools use these games as a fun way to teach their students about the states, provinces, territories, and cities. The game is published by Ingenuity Works, a Vancouver-based company originally known as Didatech Software.In most of the games, the player will drive an 18-wheeler to pick up and deliver commodities to the cities assigned, while making decisions about the best route, when to eat, sleep, fill up gas, etc. In the game series, the player will play as a truck driver where they will make the most money if beneficial decisions are made during their assignment.Crosscountry Canada (1986)This was the second game in the series, released in 1986 for the Apple II by Didatech Software, and later ported to DOS in 1991. It was also ported to the ICON, the made-in-Canada educational computer platform. Home of the Underdogs deemed Crosscountry Canada "One of the best edutainment titles ever made".This title has since been made available on several websites, free-to-play.Crosscountry Canada Platinum (2000)The game was added to incorporate the new territory of Nunavut and the Confederation Bridge in Prince Edward Island.Crosscountry Canada 2 (2002)This game was released in 2002, by Ingenuity Works. Players drive an 18-wheeler truck picking up and delivering commodities across Canada while learning about provinces, cities, territories and more. Making wise decisions along the way will result in a successful trip. It features different large cities throughout Canada, and is an on-rails driving game.
Diablo - longplay - Blizzard North, 1997 - PC Action RPG CRPG Dungeon Crawler hack and slash Classic Game Sessions 2024-03-05 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#diablo #crpg #rpg #pcgaming No CommentaryMore about Diablo (from Wikipedia): Diablo is an action role-playing video game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment in January 1997, and is the first installment in the video game series of the same name.Set in the fictional Kingdom of Khanduras in the mortal realm, the player controls a lone hero battling to rid the world of Diablo, the Lord of Terror. Beneath the town of Tristram, the player journeys through sixteen randomly generated dungeon levels, ultimately entering Hell in order to face Diablo.An expansion pack, Diablo: Hellfire, was released in November 1997 by Synergistic Software. In 1998, Electronic Arts released Diablo for the PlayStation. This version, developed by Climax Studios, featured direct control of the main character's direction using the PlayStation controller, as opposed to point-and-click movement. A Sega Saturn version was considered by Electronic Arts but never released. Diablo has been considered one of the greatest games of all time for its randomized assignment of quests and enemies on each playthrough, online multiplayer, and graphics. The game's success led to several sequels: Diablo II in 2000, Diablo III in 2012, and Diablo IV in 2023. In 2022 a mobile-device-oriented version, Diablo Immortal, was released.Diablo is an action role-playing video game. The player moves and interacts with the environment primarily by way of a mouse. Other actions, such as casting a spell, are performed in response to keyboard inputs. The player can acquire items, learn spells, defeat enemies, and interact with non-player characters (NPCs) throughout the game.The dungeon levels are procedurally generated with themes for each level; for instance, the catacombs tend to have long corridors and closed rooms, while the caves are more non-linear. The players are assigned a random number of quests from several tiers; these quests are optional but usually offer powerful unique items as rewards and help to level up the character and/or reveal more of the backstory. The final two quests are mandatory in order to finish the game.Diablo has received critical acclaim, with an average rating of 94/100 on Metacritic. Most praised the game's addictive gameplay, randomly generated dungeons, superior graphics, moody musical score, and great variety of possible magic items, enemies, levels, and quests. This last aspect was noted by GameSpot editor Trent Ward in his review: "Similarly, although a set number of monsters is included, only a few will be seen during each full game. This means that players going back for their second or third shot at the game will very likely fight opponents they haven't seen before. Talk about replay value."In 1998, PC Gamer declared it the 42nd-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "a nearly flawless gaming experience". Akira Nishitani ranked it number 1 on his personal list of the greatest games of all time in 1997.In 2005 GameSpot chose Diablo as one of "The Greatest Games of All Time". It was placed at No. 20 on Game Informer's "Top 100 RPGs Of All Time" list.
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss - intro gameplay - Blue Sky / Origin, 1992 - PC / DOS RPG CRPG Classic Game Sessions 2024-02-26 | Support on Patreon bit.ly/patreon-cgsSubscribe bit.ly/sub-cgs#ultima #ultimaunderworld #crpg #dosgamesNo CommentaryMore about Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (from Wikipedia): Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is a first-person role-playing video game developed by Blue Sky Productions (later Looking Glass Studios) and published by Origin Systems. Released in March 1992, the game is set in the fantasy world of the Ultima series. It takes place inside the Great Stygian Abyss: a large cave system that contains the remnants of a failed utopian civilization. The player assumes the role of the Avatar—the Ultima series's protagonist—and attempts to find and rescue a baron's kidnapped daughter.Ultima Underworld has been cited as the first role-playing game to feature first-person action in a 2.5D environment. Its design combines simulation elements with concepts from earlier role-playing video games, including Wizardry and Dungeon Master, which led the game's designers to call it a "dungeon simulation". As such, the game is non-linear and allows for emergent gameplay.Ultima Underworld sold nearly 500,000 units, and was placed on numerous hall of fame lists. It influenced game developers such as Bethesda Softworks and Valve, and it was an inspiration behind the games Deus Ex and BioShock. The game had a sequel, Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (1993), and a new game in the series, Underworld Ascendant, was released in late 2018.Ultima Underworld is set in Britannia, the fantasy world of the Ultima series. Specifically, the game takes place inside a large, underground dungeon called the Great Stygian Abyss. The dungeon's entrance lies on the Isle of the Avatar, an island ruled by Baron Almric. The Abyss first appeared in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, in which it contains the player's final goal, the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom.Ultima Underworld is set after the events of Ultima VI: The False Prophet; in the time between the two games, a man named Cabirus attempted to create a utopian colony inside the Abyss. The eight settlements of the Ultima series each embody one of eight virtues, and Cabirus wished to create a ninth that embodied all virtues. To achieve this, he united diverse cultures and races in peaceful co-existence and planned to promote harmony by giving each group one of eight virtue-imbued magical artifacts. However, he died before distributing the artifacts, and left no instructions for doing so. As a result, the colony collapsed into anarchy and war, and the artifacts were lost. At the time of Ultima Underworld, the Abyss contains the remnants of Cabirus's colony, inhabited by fractious groups of humans, goblins, trolls and others.Ultima Underworld was conceived in 1989 by Origin Systems employee Paul Neurath. He had just completed work on Space Rogue, a hybrid title that features sequences both of 2D tile-based role-playing and of 3D space flight simulation. According to Neurath, Space Rogue "took the first, tentative steps in exploring a blend of RPG and simulation elements, and this seemed to me a promising direction."I had played lots of D&D. I also read a range of fantasy: Howard, Leiber, Vance, Zelazny, Le Guin, and of course, Tolkien. Tolkien's description of Moria struck me in particular, and it seemed like a fine setting for a game.—Paul NeurathNeurath had enjoyed role-playing video games like Wizardry, but found that their simple, abstract visuals were an obstacle to the suspension of disbelief. He believed that Dungeon Master's detailed first-person presentation was a "glimpse into the future", and he sought to create a fantasy role-playing game that built on its example. Ultima Underworld was not an immediate commercial success; however, its popularity increased via word of mouth in the years following its release. Sales eventually reached nearly 500,000 copies, with praise for its 3D presentation and automapping feature. In 1993 the game won the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1992, and was nominated for an award at the Game Developers Conference.ACE called Ultima Underworld "the next true evolutionary step in the RPG genre", and noted that its simulation-style dungeon was "frighteningly realistic". The magazine thought that the game's sprite character models "detract from the dense atmosphere a bit", but ended the review by stating, "If you've got a PC, then you've got to have Ultima Underworld." Dragon Magazine opined that "to say this is the best dungeon game we've ever played is quite an understatement," and it "will leave you wondering how other game entertainments can ever stack up against the new standards Abyss sets."Ultima Underworld is considered the first example of an immersive sim, a genre that combines elements from other genres to create a game with strong player agency and emergent gameplay, and has influenced many games since its release.
