tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67917589778447462382024-02-06T19:44:14.622-08:00Abandoned DOS GamesReviews of DOS games and some insight in the roots of PC gamingScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-67553488824861415542012-02-16T12:27:00.000-08:002012-02-16T12:31:03.125-08:00DOS Commands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6QBpra3moBT74-F2qezISoFIVcHn8YsSQlKoNPlUclGHgoDr2cNLexNFdcvvLDHKD7b5NeLL_kMjw0CMewxUP8ZnWuJr9Sk7IfKCqaR3zHZFP2xrqZ0jlKQQJI5PAHNS-wE8vu0o1vS8/s1600/Command-List-For-DOS.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6QBpra3moBT74-F2qezISoFIVcHn8YsSQlKoNPlUclGHgoDr2cNLexNFdcvvLDHKD7b5NeLL_kMjw0CMewxUP8ZnWuJr9Sk7IfKCqaR3zHZFP2xrqZ0jlKQQJI5PAHNS-wE8vu0o1vS8/s200/Command-List-For-DOS.PNG" width="200" /></a></div>
It's hard to believe that this used to be our operating<br />
system. Here's some of the things we had to do just to<br />
perform simple tasks by the standards of today. With the new operating systems out, DOS has been on the decline, but some people still need it.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/addusers.html">ADDUSERS</a> Add or list users to/from a CSV file<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/arp.html">ARP</a> Address Resolution Protocol<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/assoc.html">ASSOC</a> Change file extension associations<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/associate.html">ASSOCIAT</a> One step file association<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/at.html">AT</a> Schedule a command to run at a later time<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/attrib.html">ATTRIB</a> Change file attributes<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/bootcfg.html">BOOTCFG</a> Edit <a href="http://www.geekblogger.org/category/windows">Windows</a> boot settings<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/browstat.html">BROWSTAT</a> Get domain, browser and PDC info<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/cacls.html">CACLS</a> Change file permissions<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/call.html">CALL</a> Call one batch program from another<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/cd.html">CD</a> Change Directory - move to a specific Folder<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/change.html">CHANGE</a> Change Terminal Server Session properties<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/chkdsk.html">CHKDSK</a> Check Disk - check and repair disk problems<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/chkntfs.html">CHKNTFS</a> Check the NTFS file system<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/choice.html">CHOICE</a> Accept keyboard input to a batch file<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/cipher.html">CIPHER</a> Encrypt or Decrypt files/folders<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/cleanmgr.html">CleanMgr</a> Automated cleanup of Temp files, recycle bin<br />
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<br />
CLEARMEM Clear memory leaks<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/clip.html">CLIP</a> Copy STDIN to the Windows clipboard.<br />
CLS Clear the screen<br />
CLUSTER Windows Clustering<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/cmd.html">CMD</a> Start a new CMD shell<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/color.html">COLOR</a> Change colors of the CMD window<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/comp.html">COMP</a> Compare the contents of two files or sets of files<br />
COMPACT Compress files or folders on an NTFS partition<br />
COMPRESS Compress individual files on an NTFS partition<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/con2prt.html">CON2PRT</a> Connect or disconnect a Printer<br />
CONVERT Convert a FAT drive to NTFS.<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/copy.html">COPY</a> Copy one or more files to another location<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/csccmd.html">CSCcmd</a> Client-side caching (Offline Files)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/csvde.html">CSVDE</a> Import or Export Active Directory data <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/date.html">DATE</a> Display or set the date<br />
Dcomcnfg DCOM Configuration Utility<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/defrag.html">DEFRAG</a> Defragment hard drive<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/del.html">DEL</a> Delete one or more files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/delprof.html">DELPROF</a> Delete NT user profiles<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/del.html">DELTREE</a> Delete a folder and all subfolders<br />
<a href="http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=311272">DevCon</a> Device Manager Command Line Utility <br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/dir.html">DIR</a> Display a list of files and folders<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/diruse.html">DIRUSE</a> Display disk usage<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/diskcomp.html">DISKCOMP</a> Compare the contents of two floppy disks<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/diskcopy.html">DISKCOPY</a> Copy the contents of one floppy disk to another<br />
DNSSTAT DNS Statistics<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/doskey.html">DOSKEY</a> Edit command line, recall commands, and create macros<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/dsadd.html">DSADD</a> Add user (computer, group..) to active directory
DSQUERY List items in active directory<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/dsmod.html">DSMOD</a> Modify user (computer, group..) in active directory<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/echo.html">ECHO</a> Display message on screen<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/endlocal.html">ENDLOCAL</a> End localisation of environment changes in a batch file<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/del.html">ERASE</a> Delete one or more files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/exit.html">EXIT</a> Quit the CMD shell<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/expand.html">EXPAND</a> Uncompress files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/extract.html">EXTRACT</a> Uncompress CAB files<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/fc.html">FC</a> Compare two files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/fdisk.html">FDISK</a> Disk Format and partition<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/find.html">FIND</a> Search for a text string in a file<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/findstr.html">FINDSTR</a> Search for strings in files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/for_f.html">FOR /F</a> Loop command: against a set of files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/for_cmd.html">FOR /F</a> Loop command: against the results of another command<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/for.html">FOR</a> Loop command: all options Files, Directory, List<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/forfiles.html">FORFILES</a> Batch process multiple files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/format.html">FORMAT</a> Format a disk<br />
FREEDISK Chec
k free disk space (in bytes)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/fsutil.html">FSUTIL</a> File and Volume utilities<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/ftp.html">FTP</a> File Transfer Protocol<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/ftype.html">FTYPE</a> Display or modify file types used in file extension associations<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/global.html">GLOBAL</a> Display membership of global groups<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/goto.html">GOTO</a> Direct a batch program to jump to a labelled line<br />
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<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/help.html">HELP</a> Online Help<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/hfnetchk.html">HFNETCHK</a> Network Security Hotfix Checker <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/if.html">IF</a> Conditionally perform a command<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/ifmember.html">IFMEMBER</a> Is the current user in an NT Workgroup<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/ipconfig.html">IPCONFIG</a> Configure IP<br />
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<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/kill.html">KILL</a> Remove a program from memory<br />
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<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/label.html">LABEL</a> Edit a disk label<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/local.html">LOCAL</a> Display membership of local groups<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/logevent.html">LOGEVENT</a> Write text to the NT event viewer.<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/logoff.html">LOGOFF</a> Log a user off<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/logtime.html">LOGTIME</a> Log the date and time in a file<br />
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<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/mapisend.html">MAPISEND</a> Send email from the command line<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/mem.html">MEM</a> Display memory usage<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/md.html">MD</a> Create new folders<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/mklink.html">MKLINK</a> Create a symbolic link (linkd)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/mode.html">MODE</a> Configure a system device<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/more.html">MORE</a> Display output, one screen at a time<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/mountvol.html">MOUNTVOL</a> Manage a volume mount point<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/move.html">MOVE</a> Move files from one folder to another<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/moveuser.html">MOVEUSER</a> Move a user from one domain to another<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/msg.html">MSG</a> Send a message<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/msiexec.html">MSIEXEC</a> <a href="http://www.geekblogger.org/category/microsoft">Microsoft</a> Windows Installer<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/msinfo.html">MSINFO</a> Windows NT diagnostics<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/mstsc.html">MSTSC</a> Terminal Server Connection (Remote Desktop Protocol)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/munge.html">MUNGE</a> Find and Replace text within file(s)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/mv.html">MV</a> Copy in-use files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/net.html"> </a><br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/net.html">NET</a> Manage network resources<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/netdom.html">NETDOM</a> Domain Manager<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/netsh.html">NETSH</a> Configure network protocols<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/netsvc.html">NETSVC</a> Command-line Service Controller<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/nbtstat.html">NBTSTAT</a> Display networking statistics (NetBIOS over TCP/IP)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/netstat.html">NETSTAT</a> Display networking statistics (TCP/IP)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/now.html">NOW</a> Display the current Date and Time <br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/nslookup.html">NSLOOKUP</a> Name server lookup<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/ntbackup.html">NTBACKUP</a> Backup folders to tape<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/ntrights.html">NTRIGHTS</a> Edit user account rights<br />
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<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/path.html">PATH</a> Display or set a search path for executable files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/pathping.html">PATHPING</a> Trace route plus network latency and packet loss<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/pause.html">PAUSE</a> Suspend processing of a batch file and display a message<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/perms.html">PERMS</a> Show permissions for a user<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/monitor.html">PERFMON</a> Performance Monitor<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/ping.html">PING</a> Test a network connection<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/popd.html">POPD</a> Restore the previous value of the current directory saved by PUSHD<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/portqry.html">PORTQRY</a> Display the status of ports and services<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/print.html">PRINT</a> Print a text file<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/prncnfg.html">PRNCNFG</a> Display, configure or rename a printer<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/prnmngr.html">PRNMNGR</a> Add, delete, list printers set the default printer<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/prompt.html">PROMPT</a> Change the command prompt<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/psexec.html">PsExec</a> Execute process remotely<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/psfile.html">PsFile</a> Show files opened remotely<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/psgetsid.html">PsGetSid</a> Display the SID of a computer or a user<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/psinfo.html">PsInfo</a> List information about a system<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/pskill.html">PsKill</a> Kill processes by name or process ID<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/pslist.html">PsList</a> List detailed information about processes<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/psloggedon.html">PsLoggedOn</a> Who's logged on (locally or via resource sharing)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/psloglist.html">PsLogList</a> Event log records<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/pspasswd.html">PsPasswd</a> Change account password<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/psservice.html">PsService</a> View and control services<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/psshutdown.html">PsShutdown</a> Shutdown or reboot a computer<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/pssuspend.html">PsSuspend</a> Suspend processes<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/pushd.html">PUSHD</a> Save and then change the current directory<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/qgrep.html">QGREP</a> Search file(s) for lines that match a given pat
tern.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/rasdial.html">RASDIAL</a> Manage RAS connections<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/rasphone.html">RASPHONE</a> Manage RAS connections<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/recover.html">RECOVER</a> Recover a damaged file from a defective disk.<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/reg.html">REG</a> Registry: Read, Set, Export, Delete keys and values<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/regedit.html">REGEDIT</a> Import or export registry settings<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/regsvr32.html">REGSVR32</a> Register or unregister a DLL<br />
<a href="http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=245031">REGINI</a> Change Registry Permissions<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/rem.html">REM</a> Record comments (remarks) in a batch file<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/ren.html">REN</a> Rename a file or files.<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/replace.html">REPLACE</a> Replace or update one file with another<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/rd.html">RD</a> Delete folder(s)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/rdisk.html">RDISK</a> Create a Recovery Disk<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/rmtshare.html">RMTSHARE</a> Share a folder or a printer<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/robocopy.html">ROBOCOPY</a> Robust File and Folder Copy<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/route.html">ROUTE</a> Manipulate network routing tables<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/runas.html">RUNAS</a> Execute a program under a different user account<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/rundll32.html">RUNDLL32</a> Run a DLL command (add/remove print connections)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/sc.html">SC</a> Service Control<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/schtasks.html">SCHTASKS</a> Create or Edit Scheduled Tasks <br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/sclist.html">SCLIST</a> Display NT Services<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/scriptit.html">ScriptIt</a> Control GUI applications<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/set.html">SET</a> Display, set, or remove environment variables<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/setlocal.html">SETLOCAL</a> Control the visibility of environment variables<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/setx.html">SETX</a> Set environment variables permanently <br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/share.html">SHARE</a> List or edit a file share or print share<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/shift.html">SHIFT</a> Shift the position of replaceable parameters in a batch file<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/shortcut.html">SHORTCUT</a> Create a windows shortcut (.LNK file)<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/showgrps.html">SHOWGRPS</a> List the NT Workgroups a user has joined<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/showmbrs.html">SHOWMBRS</a> List the Users who are members of a Workgroup<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/shutdown.html">SHUTDOWN</a> Shutdown the computer<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/sleep.html">SLEEP</a> Wait for x seconds<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/soon.html">SOON</a> Schedule a command to run in the near future<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/sort.html">SORT</a> Sort input<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/start.html">START</a> Start a separate window to run a specified program or command<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/su.html">SU</a> Switch User<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/subinacl.html">SUBINACL</a> Edit file and folder Permissions, Ownership and Domain<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/subst.html">SUBST</a> Associate a path with a drive letter<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/systeminfo.html">SYSTEMINFO</a> List system configuration<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/tasklist.html">TASKLIST</a> List running applications and services<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/time.html">TIME</a> Display or set the system time<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/timeout.html">TIMEOUT</a> Delay processing of a batch file<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/title.html">TITLE</a> Set the window title for a CMD.EXE session<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/touch.html">TOUCH</a> Change file timestamps <br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/tracert.html">TRACERT</a> Trace route to a remote host<br />
TREE Graphical display of folder structure<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/type.html">TYPE</a> Display the contents of a text file<br />
<br />
USRSTAT List domain usernames and last login<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/ver.html">VER</a> Display version information<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/verify.html">VERIFY</a> Verify that files have been saved<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/vol.html">VOL</a> Display a disk label<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/where.html">WHERE</a> Locate and display files in a directory tree<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/whoami.html">WHOAMI</a> Output the current UserName and domain<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/windiff.html">WINDIFF</a> Compare the contents of two files or sets of files<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/winmsd.html">WINMSD</a> Windows system diagnostics<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/winmsdp.html">WINMSDP</a> Windows system diagnostics II
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/wmic.html">WMIC</a> WMI Commands<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/xcalcs.html">XCACLS</a> Change file permissions<br />
<a href="http://www.ss64.com/nt/xcopy.html">XCOPY</a> Copy files and foldersScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-47103799428985528112012-02-14T12:42:00.000-08:002012-02-14T12:42:52.024-08:00Stargunner<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUeMF30L-ixrY5eFvw7MFnGjZw8rXe1sGKfaBDQPva62zGiZOC3h_mDehH9DN1MIdKUoAIy2NWShqVC877m_2GaZ1Rw1IRIL9Dzh01Kp1PtDh8jYUT-ox1ZFR9VBn0Eox8mjL9ud6gacg/s1600/stargunner1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFUeMF30L-ixrY5eFvw7MFnGjZw8rXe1sGKfaBDQPva62zGiZOC3h_mDehH9DN1MIdKUoAIy2NWShqVC877m_2GaZ1Rw1IRIL9Dzh01Kp1PtDh8jYUT-ox1ZFR9VBn0Eox8mjL9ud6gacg/s200/stargunner1.png" width="200" /></a>Apogee always released good flying shooter types. This one follows in the wake of <a href="http://abandoneddosgames.blogspot.com/2012/01/major-stryker.html" target="_blank">Major Stryker</a>, Raptor, and Zone 66. On the market in 1996, it features fast-paced action, good replayability and good graphics, all with an unrelenting difficulty that's sure to have you cursing your way through the first episode on the easiest difficulty. <u>Tip:</u> When you're at the buy screens, press F2 to save your game. Make a save for each level so that you can come back if you mess something up. You'll be glad you did.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgk3UCKkhRpB9iq2h5HGqmuIclh7S-Oxs__fBd0U1maNwq4pcR255Q7lS4hGu6UVl66xRiL1SbZw5GamNS9-dgzVSmk8XGitvm6OttHivZLslilM9xTv2ac8qaoqMLeKpoUidD-KMAYskV/s1600/stargunner4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgk3UCKkhRpB9iq2h5HGqmuIclh7S-Oxs__fBd0U1maNwq4pcR255Q7lS4hGu6UVl66xRiL1SbZw5GamNS9-dgzVSmk8XGitvm6OttHivZLslilM9xTv2ac8qaoqMLeKpoUidD-KMAYskV/s200/stargunner4.png" width="200" /></a> </div>
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<b>Gameplay: 7/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVcDlESODzJ5XfR45Jlnp4RN4uvzCOs2lRZ0949T08Yjm9VIlK6e67f4cxJ1K79VmGw3IVuq1DlSco6t00TzWifeqyshjxGriLEvjqnZbBnRNJH3Uiv_vrX3HY3z2gfNzASOUk3-XiXrb/s1600/stargunner2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVcDlESODzJ5XfR45Jlnp4RN4uvzCOs2lRZ0949T08Yjm9VIlK6e67f4cxJ1K79VmGw3IVuq1DlSco6t00TzWifeqyshjxGriLEvjqnZbBnRNJH3Uiv_vrX3HY3z2gfNzASOUk3-XiXrb/s200/stargunner2.png" width="200" /></a>Fly your ship through a 2D plane of explosions, spaceships, and extra explosions collecting powerups, credits and points. Unique, no, simple, yes, but it does feature a buy screen where you can purchase upgrades to your ship and get it working the way you want. You can stack two extra guns of your choice, two orbiting moons that do various things, and install engines to keep your speed up. All of these features become apparently necessary, as you're not going to get anywhere without upgrading. Once you beat the stage, you face a boss, which is usually just some unimaginative spaceship with some weak points you've gotta hit.<b></b></div>
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<b>Graphics: 9/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6uwJTedYtcuxh-ew9ebrM3bV_MeNcg39TtkiYC_U75auzxrCA5qieosUeuXzgnnxfNWdtY52_nwHIplVSOlbl5i3fcHrBDDugv6rRKsKzYmtUptb3eO0gMYBO-47MBf4Tn4eoontKdNU/s1600/stargunner5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6uwJTedYtcuxh-ew9ebrM3bV_MeNcg39TtkiYC_U75auzxrCA5qieosUeuXzgnnxfNWdtY52_nwHIplVSOlbl5i3fcHrBDDugv6rRKsKzYmtUptb3eO0gMYBO-47MBf4Tn4eoontKdNU/s200/stargunner5.png" width="200" /></a><b> </b>They're real good and they work very fast. Everything flying around you gives a great feeling of chaos and it takes a fine-tuned player to get used to its insanity. The enemies look good, the levels are okay, and your ship changes as you upgrade it. Cool. The enemies and bosses could have been cooler though, minus a point.</div>
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<b>Sound: 8/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-g6840Sp8B-Oz8p17xZlsf5U0t7OsfnvktFcdlVx4qatYW5Fybd6_QLTEW7BDt5ugdBLpj60OBAdR1nqr9Dx8XdoQalxbbianPxUSpxy6REPpUSJxRhqXtglYTWhyphenhyphenx5kWVmdeXYP-MfKh/s1600/stargunner3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-g6840Sp8B-Oz8p17xZlsf5U0t7OsfnvktFcdlVx4qatYW5Fybd6_QLTEW7BDt5ugdBLpj60OBAdR1nqr9Dx8XdoQalxbbianPxUSpxy6REPpUSJxRhqXtglYTWhyphenhyphenx5kWVmdeXYP-MfKh/s200/stargunner3.png" width="200" /></a>There's some rockin' digitized music, entertaining digitized speech, and a punch of pew-pews. It does add a lot to the overall experience.<b> </b>Repetitive after a while, so I'm dockin' <b>2</b> points.</div>
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<b>Overall: 8/10</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It's an awesome addition to your freeware collection. You'll be playing it again and again as you discover the best weapon combinations for your play style. The story doesn't exactly keep you feeling gripped, but it does give you some sort of premise as to what the hell you're doing on this planet. Apogee went and gave the game away for free starting in 2005, which is quite generous of them, considering how great the game is.<b> </b>Check out the link below for some more information on a great game that time forgot!</div>
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<a href="http://www.3drealms.com/stargunner/"><b>http://www.3drealms.com/stargunner/</b></a></div>
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-20091543636995789552012-02-08T13:04:00.000-08:002012-02-08T13:04:21.097-08:00Command and Conquer: Red Alert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4yC-BbA-Junfp8IthORMM6akEtieismqSrFfxS_v43v9YWBKb0szUCTNiDL7yDeGA7nlJNlna1gzQMDkfi8ehBLPb_hjPwBdyEyPX6Zm-hnRI8SZErObolHgV2ZMKy45d77IU1hKIQFD/s1600/ccra1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4yC-BbA-Junfp8IthORMM6akEtieismqSrFfxS_v43v9YWBKb0szUCTNiDL7yDeGA7nlJNlna1gzQMDkfi8ehBLPb_hjPwBdyEyPX6Zm-hnRI8SZErObolHgV2ZMKy45d77IU1hKIQFD/s200/ccra1.jpg" width="176" /></a></div>
Real-time strategy games are some of my favorite on the list, and this game is probably the first one I played. It came out in 1996, paving the way for an awesome game series that rocks worlds to this day. In C&C, your most basic objective is to construct a base, train an army, and whoop your opponents sorry Soviet ass. It also features an intriguing solo campaign as either Soviets or Allies, requiring you to complete various missions. Personally, I just play the skirmish modes against a bunch of AIs, and even to this day, it's a great RTS game.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTilGis_WhUlwfLNG4JRUIjN3A1nNxKkdxxZSGb5DdTkrmUn-oO3OX6YFiP3eCxqMJHO8xEQylwSsfWzwPMM7ew4jj4oNNEu0REloD1nmEVih4ksVeiTLgqFAqt9XqJBYdUY1my8-JP3q/s1600/ccra2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTilGis_WhUlwfLNG4JRUIjN3A1nNxKkdxxZSGb5DdTkrmUn-oO3OX6YFiP3eCxqMJHO8xEQylwSsfWzwPMM7ew4jj4oNNEu0REloD1nmEVih4ksVeiTLgqFAqt9XqJBYdUY1my8-JP3q/s200/ccra2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Gameplay: 8/10</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It's simple, really. Drag and click to select a bunch of units and send them over to your opponent. On the right is the construction bar, which you'll be scrolling through a lot. You need to build power plants so you can harvest this stuff that you'll turn in to money so you can purchase tanks and stuff. It seems to lack certain functions that would have been nice, such as waypoints or group formations. <b>-2</b> pointaroos.</div>
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<b>Graphics: 7/10</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Although everything is small and underdetailed, you'll end up being wowed at the amount of units, explosions and gunfire. The maps are good, but the cutscenes look pretty weird. It's a little easy to lose your units sometimes thanks to them being so small, <b>-3</b> points for that and the fact that it's hard to distinguish units, sometimes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2zkTbaXZCXRGq2w3w5-eeKXero7O_xytTAtJq-zV7CGpXx8o6BwO6kmp5ZoFME-9SO6AB5Oi8pOk4rxgrzlyuPK9O2LOt1T06dkGwRWyVqLYzpcm7xrciaP2ig19MZ71j_7IPFIB6q83/s1600/ccra4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2zkTbaXZCXRGq2w3w5-eeKXero7O_xytTAtJq-zV7CGpXx8o6BwO6kmp5ZoFME-9SO6AB5Oi8pOk4rxgrzlyuPK9O2LOt1T06dkGwRWyVqLYzpcm7xrciaP2ig19MZ71j_7IPFIB6q83/s200/ccra4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Sound: 7/10</b></div>
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In these games, sound is very important, as it alerts you to if something is happening on the map that you're not currently viewing. You can tell a lot of work went into the sounds in this game, and they did a really great job. It does get a little repetitive, you're going to hear "training training training unable to comply, building in progress training training" <b>-3 </b>points for ouchies on the ears.</div>
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<b>Overall: 8.5/10</b></div>
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It's an awesomely entertaining RTS, with a strong focus on action and speed of gameplay. 12 solid years after its release, Electronic Arts purchased the rights to the game and graciously made it <u>freeware</u>. So get your war on, this is one of the best free games in history.</div>
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<a href="http://download.cnet.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert/3000-7483_4-10017271.html"><b>http://download.cnet.com/Command-Conquer-Red-Alert/3000-7483_4-10017271.html</b></a></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-34236016609838371992012-02-04T21:34:00.000-08:002012-02-08T13:12:26.208-08:00Shareware Saturday: The Hugo SeriesAt the time, these games were the staple of family-friendly gaming,
and to this day, everybody knows of them. We're talking Hugo and his
stupid little house of horrors, which had four games altogether; Hugo's
House of Horrors, Hugo 2: Whodunit?, Hugo III: Jungle of Doom, and the
ever-fabled Nitemare 3D. The first three are graphical text adventures,
you walk around typing stuff like "open door" or "take candle". It's not
exactly that easy, though, as the games force you to do stuff like
"give steak to dog" or whatever. Nitemare though, it's in a whole
different element, in the exact same story line. It's a first-person
shooter/puzzle sort of thing similar to Wolfenstein 3D or <i>Ken's Labyrinth</i>. Let's get down to business. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCU42qy1Ppf8z2pSX_t-LEHQ3sftCeI61kGj3qmkPem6jN6m9VJBcL0X58G51YFKMJNpyrA2VIZlFNWef3o9Z3QJ8Q2zZrJPMq7NyyB3VZf7D-GjL4rrb7qxa2KNDZ2w6LkX18Tq6qV8z/s1600/hugo11.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCU42qy1Ppf8z2pSX_t-LEHQ3sftCeI61kGj3qmkPem6jN6m9VJBcL0X58G51YFKMJNpyrA2VIZlFNWef3o9Z3QJ8Q2zZrJPMq7NyyB3VZf7D-GjL4rrb7qxa2KNDZ2w6LkX18Tq6qV8z/s200/hugo11.png" width="200" /></a><b> Hugo's House of Horrors</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzvPiS3jD97Yc1asvwncalZfuG9Tgydl4FdFwAedGa1R-byPm_TqGiS_zAyRL0htzg89iPsbI2cdk4uREuF4y2L1D-iUl53thhu_mrySrHHABq6m8cpAlMdU_sF9_n3ZkmtcVWdj4ponK/s1600/hugo12.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzvPiS3jD97Yc1asvwncalZfuG9Tgydl4FdFwAedGa1R-byPm_TqGiS_zAyRL0htzg89iPsbI2cdk4uREuF4y2L1D-iUl53thhu_mrySrHHABq6m8cpAlMdU_sF9_n3ZkmtcVWdj4ponK/s200/hugo12.png" width="200" /></a>This game features Hugo, but
it's not really his house. You see, his girlfriend got jacked, so he's
going to inspect every freaking corner of this haunted-ass house to find
her. While inside, he gets experimented on by a mad scientist with a
retarded monster assistant, interrupts a dinner between vampires,
mummies, and werewolves, and steals everything in sight. The puzzles in
this game are pretty stiff and sometimes random, so a walkthrough is
essential, unless you like grinding your gearbox brain sitting at 256
colors with some beeps emitting from your PC every now and then. Hugo
has a tendency to walk in the same direction, so you have to get used to
that. You can't always rely on the graphics to tell you what to do,
you'll have to use "look around" quite often to discover clues. The game itself is fairly small, which means you'll end up in the same area often, trying to figure out what in the hell you're supposed to be doing. That's the game. Never got very far.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnWbaGhv1A8fXk3geEk_OJtKrvyFjKpY1vOuq_OcqabMrXodOPtpMhj8hAj29blsHWT6T121a61IFqfg8WD-09yh_0e7Q1ioN0NfOXELN3O1ItnngOlIZL_pk5mmdBjia3ZU9oAIjQNBF/s1600/hugo21.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnWbaGhv1A8fXk3geEk_OJtKrvyFjKpY1vOuq_OcqabMrXodOPtpMhj8hAj29blsHWT6T121a61IFqfg8WD-09yh_0e7Q1ioN0NfOXELN3O1ItnngOlIZL_pk5mmdBjia3ZU9oAIjQNBF/s200/hugo21.png" width="200" /></a><br />
<b>Hugo II: Whodunit?</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c4xCk9HADN1EUHgl2g3Fi0KLZvdyU-qza52JQkLjF3UoZdkvckS0h4fbRydWNErjRebZhQvL6xNXFD-hIedH34xjQlzqRO1AvdaL71SjY0kjbt0e6rQnZkRpjwEhUt6I0X9pv-vVfM-g/s1600/hugo22.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c4xCk9HADN1EUHgl2g3Fi0KLZvdyU-qza52JQkLjF3UoZdkvckS0h4fbRydWNErjRebZhQvL6xNXFD-hIedH34xjQlzqRO1AvdaL71SjY0kjbt0e6rQnZkRpjwEhUt6I0X9pv-vVfM-g/s200/hugo22.png" width="200" /></a>In this one, Hugo and his girlfriend are staying at a relatives house, whereupon Hugo discovers a secret door and disappears. Then, Penelope (Hugo's woman) sees her uncle get murdered. You control Penelope, since Hugo got his dumb ass stolen, and you have to wander around this place and figure stuff out. It's basically the same thing as the first game, only more frustrating, because it's more spread out. Some of the best parts of these games are getting <b>instantly killed</b>, a lot. You're forced to really do things right, or else it's going to have some dire consequences. Nobody wants to have to restart the game, so make sure you're saving before you do practically everything. There's some pretty good graphical scenes in this game, and some others that look like a child drew them. Either or, it didn't spark my attention enough, so I gave the hell up.<br />
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<b>Hugo III: Jungle of Doom</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlImA0auqHSi8r0NTNKWpsCh4XLpX2RO-qG-0XuAvoQaiIy9GN8ZO0fhuyF9mHdNwil-acjgagN2JaBHwuGN31OpnjXHRMiQyjKpOWpHrCDezIF_z8zUb2Uy-VmtBX1fXFzCxz5rpCHUws/s1600/hugo31.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlImA0auqHSi8r0NTNKWpsCh4XLpX2RO-qG-0XuAvoQaiIy9GN8ZO0fhuyF9mHdNwil-acjgagN2JaBHwuGN31OpnjXHRMiQyjKpOWpHrCDezIF_z8zUb2Uy-VmtBX1fXFzCxz5rpCHUws/s200/hugo31.png" width="200" /></a>While Penelope and Hugo were
flying over a jungle, they crashed their plane and somehow avoided
dying, even though everything else in the world kills them. When they go
look for assistance, Penelope gets bitten by a poisonous spider, which
causes her to be paralyzed until Hugo can get some antidote. Commence
Hugo's adventure in the Jungle of Doom. Seemingly crawling through the
jungle, Hugo meets a ghost, an elephant, and a bunch of black people
that probably want to cook and eat his ass.<b> </b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoEynu5mRp7Mats4HTJxOd4wlrHZPD1yL6Iwb5PuljYhp9Uf9qXQnAwPY2ea1ngvmdqQeKzCR7JSYPZW-mye7Udq66-OwXKmZA2-RnicLQ5Tafc4h-hmOjPXpVRGeLHO-msZ07juXPy0d/s1600/hugo32.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoEynu5mRp7Mats4HTJxOd4wlrHZPD1yL6Iwb5PuljYhp9Uf9qXQnAwPY2ea1ngvmdqQeKzCR7JSYPZW-mye7Udq66-OwXKmZA2-RnicLQ5Tafc4h-hmOjPXpVRGeLHO-msZ07juXPy0d/s200/hugo32.png" width="200" /></a>This game
seems to have more death traps than the others, making it both fun and
extremely frustrating. On top of that, everything is boards apart, and
Hugo's got a lot of trecking to do. This game has nice graphics and
everything is pretty easy to understand, just avoid this dickass witch
doctor, he's going to lock you up in a cage and experiment on you. I
know, it seems to be some strange fantasies within the creator of this
game, but lets not get in to that. David P. Gray also released a first
person shooter version of these games.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fWRXnIRsina-qdI3pyFwCywncAtUaBnsTNnT_V0RYjqU7ZGRvtgpcgiKSAn8LpFhIQ-WPvCPdXNt7PbZm3jclBQOk6zOxjzdMbsoNWs4h3kDZVlji5AUESldjj5xIZEbdFzKJWd_E3TY/s1600/nitemare3d1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fWRXnIRsina-qdI3pyFwCywncAtUaBnsTNnT_V0RYjqU7ZGRvtgpcgiKSAn8LpFhIQ-WPvCPdXNt7PbZm3jclBQOk6zOxjzdMbsoNWs4h3kDZVlji5AUESldjj5xIZEbdFzKJWd_E3TY/s200/nitemare3d1.png" width="200" /></a><br />
<b>Nitemare 3-D</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbXRBZpmIy4nk85jywqHcIjUZGEwu1nh69AqPofI82tI-n5l0J6gF5JIGq03jtACOdG3Os64icfU3aaOsHUL-1JaITzmRQIqCCK7n9fLM8aJ_EsRBeLy5aFWLlup_Z0sZExnyOOETY0M6/s1600/nitemare3d2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbXRBZpmIy4nk85jywqHcIjUZGEwu1nh69AqPofI82tI-n5l0J6gF5JIGq03jtACOdG3Os64icfU3aaOsHUL-1JaITzmRQIqCCK7n9fLM8aJ_EsRBeLy5aFWLlup_Z0sZExnyOOETY0M6/s200/nitemare3d2.png" width="200" /></a>First person shooters can be a blast, if they're done right. When they're done wrong, however, you wind up grinding your teeth for an hour as you try to redeye your way through a game like this. Nitemare 3-D is indeed, a nightmare of a game. First thing you do is grab a gun and wander your way through what looks like a movie theater, only funeral tunes are playing. Mummies and zombies and shit will grunt at you from around corners, or skeletons and bats will come and take you out. Oh, wait, what's the backstory to this game? After going in to the menu to answer my own question, I discovered that Penelope was jacked and Hugo needs to save her. Again. I think Hugo needs to get a new woman that's going to stop running around on him, giving him a bad groove and shit. This game was entirely too tedious for me and I stopped playing within 10 minutes. There's lots of secret areas I found out, but what I didn't discover is what anything did, or where the hell I was going.<br />
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<br />
<b>What is boils down to</b> is this; These games are still <u>shareware</u>, meaning you're going to need to pay for the full versions. The final game was released in 1994, and it's still being sold <b>to this moment</b> by the author, Dave Gray. After all of the wonderful free games I've posted, the ones with the least sentimental value and charm continue to be the absolute worst games on the list. David P. Gray, you should consider going freeware so everyone can experience the magic that is Hugo. Let's not forget to mention that he calls these games "for the whole family", and the second one features Uncle getting killed. Thanks. It's also going to cost you <b>$22</b> if you want to play the full version of these games. Not like it matters, nobody is going to play it if it's free or not.<br />
<a href="http://www.dgray.com/retro.htm" target="_blank"><b>http://www.dgray.com/retro.htm</b></a><br />
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-64411585727394974672012-01-25T14:03:00.000-08:002012-01-25T14:25:17.963-08:00The Elder Scrolls Chapter One: Arena<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2FRGtBg75v2dc1YvRLRASA9jW54Vw_swJyySneN1d3I9P5ABMG8JN_UNyZ8sC-A1bHYrGwZZAQLdw4uiYFfQVe7QVAVapd4y718NHcmORb7qxPhgo8k0YpA-ah3rhyphenhyphenNUlgWJiv4DpjJj/s1600/arena1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2FRGtBg75v2dc1YvRLRASA9jW54Vw_swJyySneN1d3I9P5ABMG8JN_UNyZ8sC-A1bHYrGwZZAQLdw4uiYFfQVe7QVAVapd4y718NHcmORb7qxPhgo8k0YpA-ah3rhyphenhyphenNUlgWJiv4DpjJj/s200/arena1.png" width="200" /></a></div>
The first of the Elder Scrolls series, developed in 1994 by everybody's favorite, Bethesda Softworks, Arena is an open-world first-person RPG similar to it's early predecessor, <a href="http://abandoneddosgames.blogspot.com/2011/12/ultima-underworld-stygian-abyss.html" target="_blank">Ultima Underworld</a>, only much more immense. This game still strikes me as one of the most difficult of all time, mainly due to it's overwhelming capacity and lack of navigation. It's still not bad, and it is very similar to a more recent game, Skyrim.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfwl1-3RhJaydGFMtDFSAS1dgz0uK2UPkTcmuwJHIczxe7GIFW1_5C3l7hjCdyGFz-Ig6tEShjyAisRiZDoG-QNmQY6yh_CwdqqPLjBab-mRi5ufb7l81fqHRYBohAOcdCK77bi7MwmF2/s1600/arena3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfwl1-3RhJaydGFMtDFSAS1dgz0uK2UPkTcmuwJHIczxe7GIFW1_5C3l7hjCdyGFz-Ig6tEShjyAisRiZDoG-QNmQY6yh_CwdqqPLjBab-mRi5ufb7l81fqHRYBohAOcdCK77bi7MwmF2/s200/arena3.png" width="200" /></a><b>Getting the game to work/Understanding it: 4/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1y9oAWQX4rlAF-xI0-zBLYqeSwrne0LthT9Ia9lboxBgYCqy10fX44y7BPQSXIFTuyW88nLM7GNXZuaRf1jpPq1JauDL7vUEJdV0dYCdS7RrH4AZ2RKZs23Edp1yIYxlajEzcRjdNLaB/s1600/arena2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1y9oAWQX4rlAF-xI0-zBLYqeSwrne0LthT9Ia9lboxBgYCqy10fX44y7BPQSXIFTuyW88nLM7GNXZuaRf1jpPq1JauDL7vUEJdV0dYCdS7RrH4AZ2RKZs23Edp1yIYxlajEzcRjdNLaB/s200/arena2.png" width="200" /></a>Simply put, this game runs like crap under the default settings in DOSBox. The user is going to need to press CTRL+F12 a bunch until they reach about 20000 cycles. Once you've found your speed niche, it becomes much more playable. You're going to start off in a moist dungeon filled with rats and goblins. Move around with the arrow keys, or by clicking the direction with your mouse. You can find your inventory by clicking your face and hitting <u>next</u>. Later, this becomes a giant pain in the ass, but for right now you should just equip your weapon. Press the swords button to draw your weapon, then <u>hold right-click</u> and move your mouse around to attack. One more thing, you're going to be asked some questions from the manual in true oldgame anti-piracy fashion, so <a href="http://www.svatopluk.com/arena/manual/spells.stm" target="_blank"><i>here's the list</i></a> to those. Now, we can begin.<br />
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<b>Gameplay: 7½/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLe41zzQoAYptrftKElFONSzcrYtSbwvbH0zc7uj-D_Bs4S-RVBjnszLWEmgd5BE3e4IAbmhdyDDOAT32AIH0um46ZXctsDwe5CA2Ew3c4-mTgZlju0w1oYh2qEZLyjyIPd6DMnR0k9VaI/s1600/arena5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLe41zzQoAYptrftKElFONSzcrYtSbwvbH0zc7uj-D_Bs4S-RVBjnszLWEmgd5BE3e4IAbmhdyDDOAT32AIH0um46ZXctsDwe5CA2Ew3c4-mTgZlju0w1oYh2qEZLyjyIPd6DMnR0k9VaI/s200/arena5.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWrbdzVNMLd8qc-7f3A_5w7Lb7Mfe55nu0ygpXUb1l8aSYl5GZprZj_j6_OuJ3T9r7G3Jrg-lETmbaqqZINGyFjgQx_f2r43LgLIo7toOVafZGj_DhCg0zmuWol9ap3U9noQ2Smhpr6Tn/s1600/arena4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWrbdzVNMLd8qc-7f3A_5w7Lb7Mfe55nu0ygpXUb1l8aSYl5GZprZj_j6_OuJ3T9r7G3Jrg-lETmbaqqZINGyFjgQx_f2r43LgLIo7toOVafZGj_DhCg0zmuWol9ap3U9noQ2Smhpr6Tn/s200/arena4.png" width="200" /></a>The first dungeon might prove to be too hard for many beginning players,
especially with the awkward scheme they've implemented. Moving around
is pretty tough, and you are prone to being attacked from behind quite
often. You'll have to rest and save frequently, because dying is taken
quite literally. Once you get the hang of things, the game becomes a lot
of fun as you move around the world, gathering information and doing
jobs and the like. Still, you have to listen very carefully some times,
as the journal doesn't provide you with much of anything, and the map
you have to tag all by yourself. Sometimes you'll get attacked at random
in a town, so always be prepared. At this point, you can see that it is
definitely the first Elder Scrolls game, but where in the hell does the
title "Arena" come in? I'll get back to that, for now, <b>-2½</b> points for not telling me what to do very well.<b></b></div>
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<b>Graphics: 6/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKEAWZp1m89zJdLv5hKJZPAUsrC6bsIAwIdbW8qM7qexgyOHhX6pEIIUhzuD5uqq94ecYzG8TCtF-fhYBfPHVKmV8-olZ9fAKpEsP_k7-wgbL4ROjBICEnnV-miNxlWV2jJH9HZVZxEt6/s1600/arena7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKEAWZp1m89zJdLv5hKJZPAUsrC6bsIAwIdbW8qM7qexgyOHhX6pEIIUhzuD5uqq94ecYzG8TCtF-fhYBfPHVKmV8-olZ9fAKpEsP_k7-wgbL4ROjBICEnnV-miNxlWV2jJH9HZVZxEt6/s200/arena7.png" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a>Understandably, this game is very large, and it's only 1994, so it's not going to exactly "excel" in the graphics department. While it's perfectly playable as a game, it's almost impossible to tell where you're going sometimes, as there's a thick fog covering anything within 20 feet of you. There's a multitude of 2D sprites like trees, fountains and people, never changing their plane of existence, always stuck in their limited dimension. However, the cutscenes are pretty good, the textures are pretty nice, and there's a lot of other things that strike my interest like how it changes from day to night. Pretty cool stuff.<b> -4</b> points overall, though.</div>
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<b>Sound: 7/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aX6CdQLOcrPBJzK4YAk3yt8XCI0JU53mFgknJAxSwb7gqCEFRidrdhqWDJYDahQAxZuJvI25LnX-E7StGwl2mFJb7fQhCgkAoukU3vK8mRbU5Wpoia7mJJtwFC8E9fIekIE85n_qLyR9/s1600/arena6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6aX6CdQLOcrPBJzK4YAk3yt8XCI0JU53mFgknJAxSwb7gqCEFRidrdhqWDJYDahQAxZuJvI25LnX-E7StGwl2mFJb7fQhCgkAoukU3vK8mRbU5Wpoia7mJJtwFC8E9fIekIE85n_qLyR9/s200/arena6.png" width="200" /></a>Very atmospheric, the game really helps get you along with nice music and lots of sound effects. I wish that sometimes there was some talking though, <b>-3</b> points for me being dissatisfied.</div>
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<b>Overall: 7¼/10</b><b> </b> </div>
<b>Why</b> is this game called Arena, anyway, I haven't come across any sort of gladiator-fighting or coliseums or nothing. Oh, it's because they rebuilt this game from an old project, adding in RPG elements and the like, only to scrap the original Arena gameplay, and still to leave the title. That doesn't make any sense. Either way, if you're a Skyrim fan, you should be checking this out, Bethesda graciously gives it out for free from their website. You'll probably spend a good moment on it, and experience gaming history as it once was.<br />
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<b>Links:</b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.elderscrolls.com/arena" target="_blank">http://www.elderscrolls.com/arena</a></b> - Download Elder Scrolls Chapter One: Arena<br />
<b><a href="http://www.svatopluk.com/arena/manual/" target="_blank">http://www.svatopluk.com/arena/manual/</a></b> - Arena Player's Guide<br />
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-35887298507349465662012-01-24T00:35:00.000-08:002012-01-24T02:38:53.759-08:00Caves of Thor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIKIdJkBhT78yqUtuuUPQ6yl4UKxG0rqNvDHjRpgBo-xd3Tupd252la0jlQ47MnGBJlFjb72zeKvABlPxFW1BZn4ctwiznit0b90jdoF-eRDN56xRAsEYpoPUGB_q-bCtT9FbuV96fIwe/s1600/thor3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIKIdJkBhT78yqUtuuUPQ6yl4UKxG0rqNvDHjRpgBo-xd3Tupd252la0jlQ47MnGBJlFjb72zeKvABlPxFW1BZn4ctwiznit0b90jdoF-eRDN56xRAsEYpoPUGB_q-bCtT9FbuV96fIwe/s200/thor3.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxvIlgnO_DM9d7kUR-dpF-2Etkdg6hekKNH98HKMGD_8UxJxWvLjui6jbvFaOwQW0c6jBZpdsdKezOKw-4KqGDxcDVjb4BgHK8vDg0sWLnt-R-gTMDRBRo0LyERfRiFk7b27y_RcYPNs0/s1600/thor2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxvIlgnO_DM9d7kUR-dpF-2Etkdg6hekKNH98HKMGD_8UxJxWvLjui6jbvFaOwQW0c6jBZpdsdKezOKw-4KqGDxcDVjb4BgHK8vDg0sWLnt-R-gTMDRBRo0LyERfRiFk7b27y_RcYPNs0/s200/thor2.png" width="200" /></a> There's been some games that annoy me. Some are new, some are old, but
they usually have one thing in common, and that's me saying "I'm never
playing this game again". Caves of Thor, though, man, it's on a whole
different level of that phrase. Caves of Thor is like, almost the <u>meaning</u>
of it. The <u>epitome</u><i> </i>of my catchphrase, "I'm never playing this game again". It makes you think that if you ever went back to 1990, all there
would be is Caves of Thor and we'd all be playing horrible PC games,
but luckily that's not the case. This game was invented by Todd
Replogle, who later became one of Duke Nukem 3D's lead programmers, and
this is also the first title Apogee picked up that wasn't created by one
of them. Let me explain this abomination a little bit more.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Sound: 0/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_zJs0Fa1VS9j8lp5oIi0l1sKXgSYMkd9RL7jP29c1fq6jAmt79qe-wlUr-1qvAkT0LM-JwKGqjcPWqKlsRGe7Nm_8bBSNv-U0NwpGMH_B0JYDt2NmSxIKJKN-WH6RyVYifGw5yG3pusc/s1600/thor1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_zJs0Fa1VS9j8lp5oIi0l1sKXgSYMkd9RL7jP29c1fq6jAmt79qe-wlUr-1qvAkT0LM-JwKGqjcPWqKlsRGe7Nm_8bBSNv-U0NwpGMH_B0JYDt2NmSxIKJKN-WH6RyVYifGw5yG3pusc/s200/thor1.png" width="200" /></a>The <u>first</u> thing you will do is press the S key to turn off the sound, unless you were like me (who didn't see that to begin with) and just sat there listening to the worst-ever PC speaker orchestra. I'm serious, something is wrong with this game's music, it's absolutely nervewracking. <b>All</b> the points, gone.</div>
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<b>Graphics:</b> <b>1/10</b></div>
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Some miserable attempt at anything that resembles a crap is what you get with this one. You're going to need to decypher the games cryptic code of ASCII objects that are supposed to either be items, enemies, or doorways. There's a lot of nothing spectacular, <b>-9</b> fat ones.</div>
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<b>Gameplay: 1/10</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The controls can be summed up to the equivalent of running a marathon in molasses. They're just <u>that</u> sticky. The screen can't even catch up with your smiley warrior when he's moving. Make sure that you're aiming in the correct direction, then press space to attack enemies with your exploding spear or something. If you try to throw more than one, your current one will disappear in mid-flight, so don't do that. You're going to need to find shields, potions, and keys to get to the next area. I got extremely frustrated in what I guess was a river, trying to fight my way against the current because I couldn't see anywhere else to go. <b>-9</b> and don't whine.</div>
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<b>Overall: 1/10</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Basically, this game gets one point overall because it's a game. Other than that, it's a pretty horrible creation that probably should have never seen the light of day. Some people may like it, and my rebuttal is this: PLAY <a href="http://abandoneddosgames.blogspot.com/2011/12/zzt.html" target="_blank"><i>ZZT</i></a> INSTEAD if you're looking for ASCII graphics and top-down gameplay. When I was playing this game, I noticed that you say "Oops" if you shoot a wall. This leads me to believe that, possibly, this is where Duke Nukem's "Where is it?" was created. It's even more credible when you consider who made the game. I could probably ramble on and on about how bad this game is, maybe so that you don't have to play it, or maybe so that we can learn from some of the fatal flaws of gaming. Give it a shot, it's free, but in the menu it says the source code is available for $199.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Caves_of_Thor.html" target="_blank"><b>http://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Caves_of_Thor.html</b></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyIKIdJkBhT78yqUtuuUPQ6yl4UKxG0rqNvDHjRpgBo-xd3Tupd252la0jlQ47MnGBJlFjb72zeKvABlPxFW1BZn4ctwiznit0b90jdoF-eRDN56xRAsEYpoPUGB_q-bCtT9FbuV96fIwe/s1600/thor3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-17071670840570843832012-01-23T00:24:00.000-08:002012-01-23T02:26:51.065-08:00Apogee / id Software TV Interview in 1992<br />
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<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DR9w2_fKLwY" width="420"></iframe></center>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-74077662962933693132012-01-21T19:00:00.000-08:002012-01-21T19:00:03.175-08:00DOSBox: A Quick TutorialDOSBox is an x86 based DOS emulator that will allow you to play many of the games I've posted. The majority of these games came around when DOS was still being used, and it's difficult to get some of them to run on a newer computer, say Windows XP or Windows 7. Using this program you'll effectively be able to run DOS applications on a Windows, MacOS, or Linux based computer.<br />
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<b>Step 1</b>: Save your games in the same place, say, c:\dosgames. This way, it's much easier to navigate your folder with DOSBox, especially when you're not used to running DOS.<br />
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<b>Step 2</b>: Open DOSBox. You should end up with a Z:\ prompt. Type <u>"mount c c:\dosgames"</u>. Doing this allows the program to recognize your games folder as a valid hard disk. Now you can switch to the mounted drive by typing "<u>c:\</u>". DOSBox will switch to the new base directory, which is your games folder.<br />
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<b>Step 3</b>: Type "<u>dir</u>" or "<u>dir/w</u>". You'll see your list of folders that the games are stored in. Pick one you like, and type "<u>cd foldername</u>". Remember to replace <u>foldername</u> with the actual name of the folder. Quick tip, you can usually just type the first few letters of the folder and hit TAB, like "<u>cd foldTAB</u>", for quick access. Nicely done.<br />
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<b>Step 4</b>: Find the executable file, or .exe, to start the game. You'll need to use "<u>dir/w</u>" again to find it. Once you do, just type "<u>gamename.exe</u>". Whatever you're running should boot up in an instant and you'll be flying high in the DOS sky. Pressing ALT+Enter will fullscreen the program. Play your game for a while, when you exit you should return to the prompt.<br />
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<b>Step 5</b>: Insert the command "<u>cd..</u>" to go back to the last folder. CD means Change Directory, so you use that to hop around folders. The DIR command, as you've probably figured out, shows the contents of a directory. Note that these are very basic instructions and some things might require a little tweaking to get running properly. You should consult the DOSBox manual for more information on increasing framerates and such.<br />
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<b>Edit 01-21-2012</b>: <i><a href="http://expertexcrementexpeditor.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Expert Excrement Expeditor</a> </i>recently informed me that you can drag and drop the .exe file straight to the shortcut in Windows. It will automatically mount the drive as the folder the game is in. If you type "exit" you can get out and drag another shortcut when you want to play another game. Thanks<i> </i> <br />
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<a href="http://www.dosbox.com/">http://www.dosbox.com/</a><br />
Have fun guys!Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-42646999065848472042012-01-21T00:00:00.000-08:002012-01-21T00:00:07.445-08:00Xenophage: Alien Bloodsport<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWTRXFdue5P8n3teCYN0Ib73CoNNTeKxR3OeBDH78RqDyp3Ls-dxBiz3SRQ9lTKukaY-qCXsrCHRWFHxY5xerf762K9xNDEPU-_eVgjahb0i1hfLG0C70EMCIl4EMGfTIaPRbw3x1XAaT/s1600/xenophage1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWTRXFdue5P8n3teCYN0Ib73CoNNTeKxR3OeBDH78RqDyp3Ls-dxBiz3SRQ9lTKukaY-qCXsrCHRWFHxY5xerf762K9xNDEPU-_eVgjahb0i1hfLG0C70EMCIl4EMGfTIaPRbw3x1XAaT/s200/xenophage1.png" width="200" /></a></div>
Apogee and Argo games threw this game on the market in December of 1995,
following the wake and popularity of Mortal Kombat II in the arcades.
As we all know, DOS wasn't the best platform to create a fighting game,
but many did it anyways, despite the facts: Arcades/consoles owned the
fighting genre, PC gaming just wasn't as popular. Xenophage, taken literally, is like eating aliens, or something. I guess it's a pretty fitting title then, let's see how this game holds up!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXs6G2mlmTLBocyjKUNFXAkFhPtLo-TpT2kL32zaxCRx7fuiWQR1IS_uSnN2U0XMwyknJwYLw17xH2rIUGwr80mSmv6deqVa7nlOG1MGLvvy2pMYAuVD98u5_spEI_MElTQvBMfDZEmg7/s1600/xenophage2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXs6G2mlmTLBocyjKUNFXAkFhPtLo-TpT2kL32zaxCRx7fuiWQR1IS_uSnN2U0XMwyknJwYLw17xH2rIUGwr80mSmv6deqVa7nlOG1MGLvvy2pMYAuVD98u5_spEI_MElTQvBMfDZEmg7/s200/xenophage2.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Gameplay: 7/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKX93AKdkKvGNeQTD7q9awUy37p3ynCC2H79EcmCISUG6GlF_5cUaxwSLQaM6MS7FQGoL3cDK1y7aMdSmiIBQBehqPDYASgs09C6lZp0goAHRBIxwKgB8oErVAXhxEKWEFhI94E1lQrje/s1600/xenophage3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKX93AKdkKvGNeQTD7q9awUy37p3ynCC2H79EcmCISUG6GlF_5cUaxwSLQaM6MS7FQGoL3cDK1y7aMdSmiIBQBehqPDYASgs09C6lZp0goAHRBIxwKgB8oErVAXhxEKWEFhI94E1lQrje/s200/xenophage3.png" width="200" /></a>Wow. It's fast, easy to control, and pretty fun. I even got some combos down and learned some special moves, which are things like lame projectiles of acid from your weird, alien mouth. You whoop ass and it looks like you're given the opportunity to "finish" your opponent, but I didn't get around to any of that. Played through the game on easy mode, which is saying a lot, because usually with a PC fighting game I just get pissed and rage quit. I even went and hooked up my gamepad for when I played normal mode, which was just dandy. Still, there isn't really any story progression or character involvement, such as in <a href="http://abandoneddosgames.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-must-fall-2097.html" target="_blank"><i>One Must Fall: 2097</i></a>.<b> </b>I'm going to take away <b>3</b> points because of that, but otherwise, this game gets a good rating.</div>
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<b>Graphics: 8/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtc4VY_P4CgfRq6Ryms9-6ew0H3f6LzEaykRsBbGmzJ_hX1FcDCU_bISw0wEf88CgF0nRpQDdlZVWcJBCwrg55zchDYRavtRExPDnq0JGWYIIXgTCaraj160MSBCNAbQ4QaBD99jHfnTx/s1600/xenophage4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtc4VY_P4CgfRq6Ryms9-6ew0H3f6LzEaykRsBbGmzJ_hX1FcDCU_bISw0wEf88CgF0nRpQDdlZVWcJBCwrg55zchDYRavtRExPDnq0JGWYIIXgTCaraj160MSBCNAbQ4QaBD99jHfnTx/s200/xenophage4.png" width="200" /></a>The best thing about this game is how the camera moves around so much, zooming in and out depending on how close or far away your opponent is. Sometimes the characters look like they're the size of the screen, and it's pretty cool, because they're well detailed and generally fun to look at. I mean, geez, look at these odd alien creations, chewing on eachother and stabbing one another. The two human characters are out of place, in my opinion. The scrolling backgrounds have multiple levels of animation to them, and it adds a nice overall effect. I just don't like the menu screens, character selection screens, or the prefight screens. They could have done better there, <b>-2</b> points.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtS0qXowNvk5oPB5haKn0aZ9zASX4c_Dt4S4u_7yaZ1ORP8c1CkNb75nXu8mBtzaYhdU0cnD1h8Z60t17MeQDS8C1LECV_UYiMMVwip1hyphenhyphendd3gB_7FmKdullkp13-cN1fkCkBpOTMkw6U5/s1600/xenophage5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtS0qXowNvk5oPB5haKn0aZ9zASX4c_Dt4S4u_7yaZ1ORP8c1CkNb75nXu8mBtzaYhdU0cnD1h8Z60t17MeQDS8C1LECV_UYiMMVwip1hyphenhyphendd3gB_7FmKdullkp13-cN1fkCkBpOTMkw6U5/s200/xenophage5.png" width="200" /></a><br />
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<b>Sound: 5/10</b></div>
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Some annoying synth music will keep you occupied as you hear some digital punches and bites. The announcer does speak a lot, which is good, but it's missing the wailing and screaming of some other notable fighting games. <b>-5</b> points for disinterest.</div>
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<b>Overall: 7/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwv9Nv6yO1d6UXqskkK8XIVUI2WLZUyX6E-Hzr8kTFPySDI9EjcasVvfoL_sr_uJRcZpEGkLcKi5m-ats61DctsKOiHAGisB-C_nARlT5v21GQADsUa8qqUSZzl6Kwc15GiQ53-NQhq1po/s1600/xenophage.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwv9Nv6yO1d6UXqskkK8XIVUI2WLZUyX6E-Hzr8kTFPySDI9EjcasVvfoL_sr_uJRcZpEGkLcKi5m-ats61DctsKOiHAGisB-C_nARlT5v21GQADsUa8qqUSZzl6Kwc15GiQ53-NQhq1po/s200/xenophage.png" width="200" /></a><b> </b>Now, before you go and play this game, I suggest you get <a href="http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/564509-xenophage-alien-bloodsport/faqs/1659" target="_blank"><i>this FAQ</i></a> ready, it will help you learn some moves and save a buttload of time as you're character surfing. Despite the story mode lacking depth, it's still a pretty good fighting game engine, and it looks great to boot. Mashing the default keys got tiresome to me, so I'd recommend using a gamepad for optimum oldgaming experience. The game was generously released as freeware in 2006, and it provides quite a bit of entertainment. Give it a go!</div>
<b><a href="http://www.3drealms.com/xenophage/" target="_blank">http://www.3drealms.com/xenophage/</a></b>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-73140282270686944032012-01-20T01:27:00.000-08:002012-01-20T01:27:26.142-08:00Commander Keen Maps<div style="text-align: center;">
All of the overhead maps from the Commander Keen series!<span id="goog_1259135422"></span><span id="goog_1259135423"></span></div>
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You can get all of the level maps from <a href="http://www.3drealms.com/stuff/keenmaps_png.zip" target="_blank"><i>here</i></a>. You're welcome.</div>
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</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-64315253228639080372012-01-18T01:35:00.000-08:002012-01-18T12:47:40.357-08:00Dark Ages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3bDsXJApZUNWP2OKLAAJlAzlsbjlMKISHehaFzh1EzTKNs3x453OtYk4icg_TGC34F7Fc61ZkFPX9-_Ra3icK76i5dby9z2i55q5d0MgEl_2NNUBJ6FJd1X2VT1mMXE28SEmgR-B_76w/s1600/darkages1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH3bDsXJApZUNWP2OKLAAJlAzlsbjlMKISHehaFzh1EzTKNs3x453OtYk4icg_TGC34F7Fc61ZkFPX9-_Ra3icK76i5dby9z2i55q5d0MgEl_2NNUBJ6FJd1X2VT1mMXE28SEmgR-B_76w/s200/darkages1.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvEWMHgxXe25GT7imJhr8zHlozqotLk-C-4KtEm5Whsf5L3osctVI8xMEMBG1FnAe1xiTymWO8Y0oLfk_0zE1KQO5b4Vc7LD0PREVctOhN8mZId-EFCPu-oEV8xJaBf4nkWNSKT10MsOs/s1600/darkages5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvEWMHgxXe25GT7imJhr8zHlozqotLk-C-4KtEm5Whsf5L3osctVI8xMEMBG1FnAe1xiTymWO8Y0oLfk_0zE1KQO5b4Vc7LD0PREVctOhN8mZId-EFCPu-oEV8xJaBf4nkWNSKT10MsOs/s200/darkages5.png" width="200" /></a>Dark Ages is a bit like the creepy game with a dunce-cap, banished forever to
its corner to think about what it has done, only to return and immediately be shunned again. Apogee released this game in
1991, alongside some of their more popular releases. First thing you
notice, you're Fabio or something, and you were exiled from your
heirloom city by an evil wizard, so you have to learn how to fight and
make your way through a bunch of caves and stuff finding random objects like apples to give to a wizard so he can show you the way to the next area. Sound repetitive? There's three episodes of this nonsense.<br />
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<b>Gameplay: 4/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uVfrU0MCtzCH_P5iw7JJMYYpSFk0ZBDRfwSJpTfqQZQgwFRA9Ni5Ydq-LHSzD0OTv9WO08MwYPSk_1u_5JEXub9BbBLYV8AmsQDuLI7OltVNs7oMYO7E14HTs295bjYhwLnWUvrechSB/s1600/darkages3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uVfrU0MCtzCH_P5iw7JJMYYpSFk0ZBDRfwSJpTfqQZQgwFRA9Ni5Ydq-LHSzD0OTv9WO08MwYPSk_1u_5JEXub9BbBLYV8AmsQDuLI7OltVNs7oMYO7E14HTs295bjYhwLnWUvrechSB/s200/darkages3.png" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpf7xqt02W_4nbPV1GtLcsJUe9XlutkGGNRMdFGhLKlcolHLS7CCSJ33rdipROV-P6YORFdl0dVjhqQeDZQLKEiHz7CGdAxRytx3EQTtb8RuasnQ8MminCvek39B3ARYrFcixuTKQ8299/s1600/darkages4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpf7xqt02W_4nbPV1GtLcsJUe9XlutkGGNRMdFGhLKlcolHLS7CCSJ33rdipROV-P6YORFdl0dVjhqQeDZQLKEiHz7CGdAxRytx3EQTtb8RuasnQ8MminCvek39B3ARYrFcixuTKQ8299/s200/darkages4.png" width="200" /></a>So we're off to see the wizard, gotta cross this river, fall in a hole and die. Get attacked by bats and spiders, die. <b>Touch a cobweb</b>, die. Eventually you're going to learn to not touch a damn thing in this game, and this is one of the only times some extremely stiff controls are actually going to help you to be precise as a laser surgery. They're still stuck on the kick that all video games are pinball machines, so they keep a score tally and high score list. You have eight health points, you regain one when you've collected 10 coins, and if you die, you're given the option to save and restart from your current level, with the same amount of health and everything, liable to die again very easily. Your character (Fabio) can shoot this sonicboom-esque wave thing that barely does any damage at all, and until you pick up the powerups, you're going to need to furiously tap the ALT key if you want to get anything to die. I'm on easy mode and this game is still hard, but just for kicks I tried the third episode, and it's more of the same, except no wizard. The game is much more difficult here and you can't seem to shoot fast enough. Between all this madness, the level hazards whooping your butt, and the terrible game premise, I've taken away <b>6</b> points. When you play this game, do yourself a favor and hit <b>F10</b> followed by <b>=</b>, it'll engage rapid fire mode and you can save yourself an ALT key.</div>
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<b>Graphics: 5/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6acI5FDeUVoEHXkFzUXPADVr-w21o8gNVoDty_gduMBj5W4AOMSl8qNW5myNJPQg8OQFWaQ5jCf7eUepWixKaEZS0zocps-N5vtGJQX6MEnFSDco89xBP4q8x2Uj_vV4AxK1ip8ckvcOb/s1600/darkages6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6acI5FDeUVoEHXkFzUXPADVr-w21o8gNVoDty_gduMBj5W4AOMSl8qNW5myNJPQg8OQFWaQ5jCf7eUepWixKaEZS0zocps-N5vtGJQX6MEnFSDco89xBP4q8x2Uj_vV4AxK1ip8ckvcOb/s200/darkages6.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlJ6K6NV2lpqysd9kwyS4SaJtRWsmcxenD4WthtL4JpNBihP91M05EoXMn8LOMg48HeK0JAgyUTM08U32iTplKixwKl-DXMLoAA14XUuAbGUAIcOvsUv4jF0ltCZoeDMFBxY3JCAQLErn/s1600/darkages2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlJ6K6NV2lpqysd9kwyS4SaJtRWsmcxenD4WthtL4JpNBihP91M05EoXMn8LOMg48HeK0JAgyUTM08U32iTplKixwKl-DXMLoAA14XUuAbGUAIcOvsUv4jF0ltCZoeDMFBxY3JCAQLErn/s200/darkages2.png" width="200" /></a>Although being pretty lame as far as creativity in the game world goes, they do a good job on the environments. Problem is, I still don't know what half of the enemies or terrain are, and they're the same thing throughout the entire length of the game. <b>-5</b> points for no noticeable variety.</div>
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<b>Sound: 4.5/10</b></div>
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It's the first shareware game to feature Adlib music and sound card support. The noise you make when you attack is much like an old Atari game, and it gets very annoying. The music was good, until I realized the tracks were quite sparse, but they segue nicely. A nice swish would have been a better attack sound, but the music is good. <b>-5.5</b> points.<br />
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<b> Overall: 4.25/10</b></div>
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It's a good thing that most people missed this one. I gave it a good try, mainly because it was super challenging, but I soon realized it was mostly impossible to play. I assume it gave Apogee a pretty sour taste in their mouths, but they didn't choose to remove it from distribution until 2009.<i> </i>For now, take a little bite out of Apogee's history, and download this game from the link below.<br />
<a href="http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/download/dark-ages/" target="_blank"><b>http://www.dosgamesarchive.com/download/dark-ages/</b> </a></div>
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-36593687677680928062012-01-17T02:47:00.000-08:002012-01-17T02:48:35.322-08:00Sango Fighter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nDMZeX5ZF7TVJ-yVmRzAEPNOjCd5cXrikgHMGELwJQiun_sRi_4_KuwyxhZNWjrMNlOZS5Ce3wsiK_prXHHM4nx15cU5b62MsokLRhxHJMitLcyAfHZ87QjfozCuXMRk2qs5iHdRewEU/s1600/sango1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nDMZeX5ZF7TVJ-yVmRzAEPNOjCd5cXrikgHMGELwJQiun_sRi_4_KuwyxhZNWjrMNlOZS5Ce3wsiK_prXHHM4nx15cU5b62MsokLRhxHJMitLcyAfHZ87QjfozCuXMRk2qs5iHdRewEU/s200/sango1.png" width="200" /></a></div>
I had this game on a shareware disc, I remember playing it with only two characters, and not particularly enjoying it very much. Originally released in 1993 by a Taiwanese group, Panda Entertainment, this game was about to be released under Apogee's name but wasn't. Instead it went through an independent release and suffered miserably through every step of its life as a PC fighting game. Think about this: It's Street Fighter meets Romance of the Three Kingdoms (modern day equivalent; Dynasty Warriors) minus the strategy element.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPL59RM3AJuGsXS3PVk792u0-sDA-4KKltWcSl_vYmm5GMjizsILhxlgwdW6cnwgSWrDU3GcZqdYX6Nhm-rzCQ4O_tDYrDiW6DJtmo5EKNu-1u0weiUCJ7A6ithhhM9DmL58vw-NAKaox/s1600/sango2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSPL59RM3AJuGsXS3PVk792u0-sDA-4KKltWcSl_vYmm5GMjizsILhxlgwdW6cnwgSWrDU3GcZqdYX6Nhm-rzCQ4O_tDYrDiW6DJtmo5EKNu-1u0weiUCJ7A6ithhhM9DmL58vw-NAKaox/s200/sango2.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Gameplay: 2/10</b></div>
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Barely playable as a fighting game, I sat there for a little while trying to figure out what buttons to press. Figured out some hadoken style moves but couldn't really get the grasp of it, ass handed to me every time. This game feels more like a Tiger Electronics handheld LCD game, only those can be fun. There's a story mode and stuff here, but who gives a crap about all this historical stuff? <b>-8</b> points for bad gaming experience.<b><br /></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTR7O-NyFskcqvGBbV2NTsLzt-6RvQQDTa7-BFiMCwSGZs_ymGvGdgQO40v23Roo4DvE1M8fl51oFd8vgQ_rr-F-_ZDuNI_910FvrIBqODScsFzD8hd44Idl4u_Z4mXtSRKe7SjlA_6zqQ/s1600/sango3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTR7O-NyFskcqvGBbV2NTsLzt-6RvQQDTa7-BFiMCwSGZs_ymGvGdgQO40v23Roo4DvE1M8fl51oFd8vgQ_rr-F-_ZDuNI_910FvrIBqODScsFzD8hd44Idl4u_Z4mXtSRKe7SjlA_6zqQ/s200/sango3.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEteryWysa9R_YHttK6MjNP6FOF6rGnfQGitNok9b_BDfUyfQ_4EBY-is704tb_L8WguN_BEGiNUc7FVhDJJlAd_pLBNszQKhtD1kaFc9f34FZG4QoLnHO3-KoJN-2OK0EyfzXAPARE_hU/s1600/sango4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEteryWysa9R_YHttK6MjNP6FOF6rGnfQGitNok9b_BDfUyfQ_4EBY-is704tb_L8WguN_BEGiNUc7FVhDJJlAd_pLBNszQKhtD1kaFc9f34FZG4QoLnHO3-KoJN-2OK0EyfzXAPARE_hU/s200/sango4.png" width="200" /></a><br />
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<b>Graphics: 5/10</b></div>
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So they're vivid, the characters and backgrounds look fantastic, and the screenshots make this game look like a gem hidden in the sand. Good job, now if it could only run itself, we'd be in business. Seriously, it's so slow, so unresponsive, and always has been, <b>-5</b> points on that.</div>
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<b>Sound: 3/10</b></div>
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Hooray for Adlib music and digital sound, you get three points. <b>-7</b> points for it all being really hard to listen to.<b> </b> </div>
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<b>Overall: 2/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnA-VtOTVgZi2H1E1uyhZD_JUdmdvTOrRBAOTvALDKkRQhGTkZM8euIC6_XUe61t5t0V6mICmsWHOvQBaQ9tjv-8EXUb6Fcx8pSynWjtzx9GbbAi_NHn6WkJbRsV1LkjZvsjG_Qy_xGRo/s1600/sango5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnA-VtOTVgZi2H1E1uyhZD_JUdmdvTOrRBAOTvALDKkRQhGTkZM8euIC6_XUe61t5t0V6mICmsWHOvQBaQ9tjv-8EXUb6Fcx8pSynWjtzx9GbbAi_NHn6WkJbRsV1LkjZvsjG_Qy_xGRo/s200/sango5.png" width="200" /></a>This game was released freeware style in just 2009 when a North American company picked up the rights to the game. I assume that means they purchased them, and I can tell you right now, if you choose to listen, as there are bones in your body, it was a bad idea. Unless they just go around, acquiring abandoned titles and giving them away, that's some abandonware rouge shit. All I know is that nobody bought this game back in 1993, thank god, and nobody needs to play it now, because I just wrote this review. For real, when it comes to fighting games on your PC, it might be a better plan to just go to the arcade, and the fact that I chose to do <u>this</u> tonight makes me cringe. Don't waste your time with Sango Fighter, unless your time consists of playing horrible games to feel better about yourself, like me.</div>
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<a href="http://www.sangofighter.com/download.htm"><b>http://www.sangofighter.com/download.htm</b></a><b><br /></b></div>
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-33961386771683005122012-01-15T22:06:00.000-08:002012-01-15T22:07:32.935-08:00One Must Fall: 2097<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtNhsNJE7RfcFaPbNCM-G3YvqMArlFsuM11dZChq61D9zzBzU_YoKJ9p6et_8bPxA3Ivspz-wVGPFkCUcftwIDMJ9lkjOwVcQcixGVeJi_JBUAoju57xfRVz6kxs_pxVjHddB_ZLnchPG/s1600/omg20973.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtNhsNJE7RfcFaPbNCM-G3YvqMArlFsuM11dZChq61D9zzBzU_YoKJ9p6et_8bPxA3Ivspz-wVGPFkCUcftwIDMJ9lkjOwVcQcixGVeJi_JBUAoju57xfRVz6kxs_pxVjHddB_ZLnchPG/s200/omg20973.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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There's been lots of great fighting games in my time, and looking back on them, not a single one was released native to the PC. This hasn't changed now, as arcades and consoles are the preferred method of playing a head-to-head fighter. OMF2097 is the second installment in the One Must Fall series, the first coming out years before this one did, in 1994. Players control humans that control robots with their minds. Sounds cool, but wait 'till you get a handful of this crap.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9UbY2cyQsD7232MV6inGvdL9NgUARomxVQoZuyFc9ecGBhDQYNuvtO13fg_Olkgz_joljDLmLPmtYfYwrN7w4ksCMG79bhiwE1QtZe3v1s421bKqwhlvTHDjytuaACQibSM9JegwCJyL/s1600/omf20971.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9UbY2cyQsD7232MV6inGvdL9NgUARomxVQoZuyFc9ecGBhDQYNuvtO13fg_Olkgz_joljDLmLPmtYfYwrN7w4ksCMG79bhiwE1QtZe3v1s421bKqwhlvTHDjytuaACQibSM9JegwCJyL/s200/omf20971.png" width="200" /></a><b></b></div>
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<b>Gameplay: 7/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9eym0rH_Xbn9O2mtQIiW27xFfeYCdcWD_vczVkeZbP3ZTwQivE40VmY_d_oTm4f1SX_5wxuA5zCAjRh0vHlwPWRgSijuRZblcPEbkgVLjpAp-ja5ftzILTw4oKPxv9WzkefjFCkH05Ds/s1600/omf20975.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9eym0rH_Xbn9O2mtQIiW27xFfeYCdcWD_vczVkeZbP3ZTwQivE40VmY_d_oTm4f1SX_5wxuA5zCAjRh0vHlwPWRgSijuRZblcPEbkgVLjpAp-ja5ftzILTw4oKPxv9WzkefjFCkH05Ds/s200/omf20975.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVn6dXYs_SlWtcG4zxaqB_ALQzizvie4yKcxO-YSFlUY9tgLJ4ybljPfkrnyEOLWo-a5V5LWRQIbqfkXNLDIVgXPzSKr4GnCIOSao4hP6KoR3kDo1J893GjH8qjKe2jcSOsLhkM3FSg3Uc/s1600/omf20976.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVn6dXYs_SlWtcG4zxaqB_ALQzizvie4yKcxO-YSFlUY9tgLJ4ybljPfkrnyEOLWo-a5V5LWRQIbqfkXNLDIVgXPzSKr4GnCIOSao4hP6KoR3kDo1J893GjH8qjKe2jcSOsLhkM3FSg3Uc/s200/omf20976.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZiQDXXWuNc3RWYXYozRF3bQ9s5UQh5Rn2JVSkns6iWuYRJEhGfmzN8oSZxyqtQoQ7ufnBl6hLgIJbWi93xk8758asz3Z5sbVKkvFpimONVckGM3vZcdXHUAhszyBkg2lLgiWc_HDU1jK/s1600/omf20972.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZiQDXXWuNc3RWYXYozRF3bQ9s5UQh5Rn2JVSkns6iWuYRJEhGfmzN8oSZxyqtQoQ7ufnBl6hLgIJbWi93xk8758asz3Z5sbVKkvFpimONVckGM3vZcdXHUAhszyBkg2lLgiWc_HDU1jK/s200/omf20972.png" width="200" /></a>In the single player mode, you'll pick from one of the 10 humans who all
have individual piloting stats, then pick your bot. Each robot has
certain special attacks, most of which are done in good fighting game
fashion, down forward punch. At first, you'll clumsily bash your way
through the first few fights, but eventually you'll learn your attack
combos and start getting stuff done. Some of the arenas have hazards
that will come out of the background and knock you around a bunch, which
is neat. Apparently, you can destroy your opponent "fatality" style,
but I didn't get none of that. You'll fight your way to the top, then
it's over. There's also a tournament mode, which allows you to gradually
increase the human and robots stats based on the credits you've earned
from fights. You have to buy parts, train your skills, and trade robots.
A small amount of customization is included here, you can change your
colors. As for the game itself, the control just feels too unresponsive.
You'll be able to get a certain distance just mashing buttons, but
eventually you're going to need those controls to be there, and they
aren't. I can't begin to explain the amount of times I was trying to
block but to no avail. <b>-3</b> points for sluggish business.</div>
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<b>Graphics: 8/10</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bWWgKoJj92Y7gUdSGbKbx5_yJIeolSZFCBLAIxw5Jgaf6X0lNdZLPuM21dDl_13ESZ2nYYVX_UxUj4MfsA5N9O3363NLMGhAk38-nDwhD4uV1L8rOXBISagfUp-3QewGb27d88OrCmWp/s1600/omf20974.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bWWgKoJj92Y7gUdSGbKbx5_yJIeolSZFCBLAIxw5Jgaf6X0lNdZLPuM21dDl_13ESZ2nYYVX_UxUj4MfsA5N9O3363NLMGhAk38-nDwhD4uV1L8rOXBISagfUp-3QewGb27d88OrCmWp/s200/omf20974.png" width="200" /></a>They're relatively good, nice animations on the fighters and smooth, easy textures. The robots all have something pretty neat about them, and it's easy to see that. There's little pre-fight scenes where the characters insult eachother, and after the fight a reporter goes through some highlights. It adds quite a bit to the overall presentation of the game, but I would have liked to see more robot destruction. <b>-2</b> points for not enough robo violence.</div>
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<b>Sound: 6/10</b></div>
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Some neat techno plays while you hear the usual "Round one" from the announcer. A good amount of robot clanking going on<b> </b>as they use stuff like fire or blades. It just feels to me like something is missing, and I think they could have added more character voices or robot squeals. <b>-4</b> points for the lack of effort in the sound department.</div>
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<b>Overall: 7/10</b></div>
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If you like fighting games, it'll float your boat. There's enough replayability in this game to last you a long, long while.<b> </b>Even though it doesn't stack up to say, Killer Instinct, it holds its place as one of the better 2-D fighters for the PC. Perhaps even the best. It was also made freeware only five or six years after its release. Give it a shot, it's cool!</div>
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Also, please let me know if you like my new format! Thanks a ton! </div>
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<a href="http://www.omf2097.com/pub/omf21cd.zip"><b>http://www.omf2097.com/pub/omf21cd.zip</b></a></div>
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</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-20631571112345386832012-01-14T20:32:00.000-08:002012-01-14T20:50:52.439-08:00Bio Menace<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBx0GEnMveDDpGJafeHlbnmPrafW7rOBUHvI2nakL-tVEB-Ac4Iu68wiSirs9OzjNCrdsp4JopF7syfmRGTXPjZcNF42zpZF9sSVnKEFYOXjPbs3-ZpC1ZId3MESsXzWXyVj4yLybT_L9v/s1600/biomenace.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBx0GEnMveDDpGJafeHlbnmPrafW7rOBUHvI2nakL-tVEB-Ac4Iu68wiSirs9OzjNCrdsp4JopF7syfmRGTXPjZcNF42zpZF9sSVnKEFYOXjPbs3-ZpC1ZId3MESsXzWXyVj4yLybT_L9v/s320/biomenace.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bio Menace Episode Two</td></tr>
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Lately, I've been playing a lot of games from 1993. It must have been a really good year for gaming, because companies like Apogee were cutting them out like no other. Bio Menace is a 2D sidescroller similar to the original Duke Nukem which came out in 1991, only with several updates. It uses the Commander Keen engine, which was also released in '91, but plays with much more aggressiveness than the retarded kid with a helmet. You're Snake Logan, and you've been sent to check out the mutants invading the city. That's right, Pliskin's not the only Snake in town. This guy sporting a V-neck and mullet has been here a long time.<br />
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<b>Gameplay: 7/10</b><br />
Okay, here's what sucks. You can't move while you shoot, and you can't point upward. <b>-1</b> point for each of those. Otherwise, the jumping controls feel pretty nice, and the action never really stops. There's lots of platforming going on in this game, hopping around through cities and forests, also there's lots of shooting going on. At least they were decent enough to allow you to duck and shoot, which you're going to be doing frequently, because 50% of the enemies are too short to hit while you're standing up. Every now and then you have to find a crystal or key to open the door, which is amazingly cliche, but what's a sidescroller like this without it?<b> </b>Of course, you're going to be picking up some powerups, which will do stuff like increase your fire rate or bullet damage. There's also a few types of grenades to use. Additionally, you have a few "secret" combinations that allow you to use the plasma shot, shield, and some others. The levels are usually self-explanatory enough to let you just blast through it on your first try, and not have to run around trying to discover your way, but sometimes you have to open up a bunch of doors to find the crystal you need to proceed, and those require keys, so you get what's gonna happen. <b>-1</b> point for that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVBYYlVJdiXGLKPocXccs6HAjCzIYPfAGJmE6YCTlaHz1X6hnl6qJxI3wHLO7VzXBPV0Wp7b50DRER5rvLgrLbd2mf1ThYnbur1ZrcE6W_H1oG8QgYD3xNSnntYWxVf5IJpedTnu9usigA/s1600/biomenace2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVBYYlVJdiXGLKPocXccs6HAjCzIYPfAGJmE6YCTlaHz1X6hnl6qJxI3wHLO7VzXBPV0Wp7b50DRER5rvLgrLbd2mf1ThYnbur1ZrcE6W_H1oG8QgYD3xNSnntYWxVf5IJpedTnu9usigA/s320/biomenace2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skull Man in Episode One</td></tr>
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<b>Graphics: 7/10</b><br />
Hey man, they're good, and the game runs pretty smooth to boot. The level graphics are great and the game portrays itself very well. There's some things that bother me, like why all the monsters are so cute. Blobs, smiley dinosaurs, robots and such. <b>-3 </b>points for that but hey, at least they blow up with a satisfying gib.<br />
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<b>Sound: 8/10</b><br />
Lots of high quality digitized sound and sweet adlib tunes keeps your ears entertained. There's lots of explosions and gunfire, but the music sounds a bit random, so I bit off <b>2</b> points.<br />
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<b>Overall: 9/10</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-_uNiKX-NrJl5X9tTXdAwna-jwkK2v8y24WfTl9qlti017XI4-pQOe6KlEG5k92NCrPQ61I3nElP12-xNkU-heEA58W7615H3shkCsyhNVzJn17rOUnF6ZCteOVmJ_pC4bA0u4uwLqrh/s1600/apogeeroom.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-_uNiKX-NrJl5X9tTXdAwna-jwkK2v8y24WfTl9qlti017XI4-pQOe6KlEG5k92NCrPQ61I3nElP12-xNkU-heEA58W7615H3shkCsyhNVzJn17rOUnF6ZCteOVmJ_pC4bA0u4uwLqrh/s320/apogeeroom.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The secret Apogee room, portrait of a hero</td></tr>
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It's really a great game, despite the fact that you're some creepo with a mustache. Wait... a... minute, isn't that <b><a href="http://www.filipwouters.be/images/f2/carlos-santana.jpg" target="_blank">Carlos Santana</a></b>? What are you doin' disguising yourself as Snake Logan trying to shoot a bunch of cute monsters? Did you take mescaline again? Oh look, you've wandered into the secret Apogee room, where they were keeping all the spare Duke Nukem and Commander Keen items! Looks like they're working on a game that's going to blow you out of the water in the near future and everyone's gonna forget about you! It's alright, Bio Menace, you had a good run, and it was fun to see you again. Have a good one.<br />
<a href="http://www.3drealms.com/menace/"><b>http://www.3drealms.com/menace/</b></a><br />
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-58217778498641258852012-01-14T01:22:00.000-08:002012-01-14T10:40:20.939-08:00Major Stryker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVxzNZH67YssyfNo02EKvYuJt9C3-aj_LqFoyAikUxrlu3DRAL69sCdQv_YhW2VWZrPhRI4Hr5kxQ6Fj4wM5o69ntjcQ5rSq1PPF-TwIKyhezsvHgk1t_tBdABxy1Fg4Iue1BnYbXZL07/s1600/majorstyker1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVxzNZH67YssyfNo02EKvYuJt9C3-aj_LqFoyAikUxrlu3DRAL69sCdQv_YhW2VWZrPhRI4Hr5kxQ6Fj4wM5o69ntjcQ5rSq1PPF-TwIKyhezsvHgk1t_tBdABxy1Fg4Iue1BnYbXZL07/s320/majorstyker1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Back in the shareware days, I used to have a few 2-D shooters like this. Raptor, Zone 66, and of course the one I'm writing about, Major Stryker. It arrived in early 1993 from everyone's favorite producers, Apogee Software. It featured this neat 3-D triple background scrolling thing, some sweet EGA graphics, and awesome digitized sound for us folks with the soundblaster. It starts after World War III, humanity is in turmoil, and some aliens come through a wormhole to take out your civilization. Expect mass frustration, broken keyboards, and everybody in your neighborhood hearing you yell "I'm never playing this game again!"<br />
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<b>Gameplay: 8/10</b><br />
Furiously hard. You control Major Stryker, I guess he's a <b> </b>remaining member of some elite strike force or something, on a mission to blow up a few alien planets. You can move up, down, left and right on your little 2-D plane of existence, tap ALT to rapidly shoot some missles, hit space to drop a bomb, and more. The powerups do stuff like raise your fire rate, increase the number you can shoot, and shield you. The ship will go down in one hit, unless you have a powerup, which at that point you'll just lose all your neat stuff. There's an angering amount of enemies that are constantly barraging you with their flashy red things, and you're supposed to be able to dodge all this and destroy them all at the same time. If you don't pick up the first chain of powerups by destroying the first and second wave of enemies in the level, it's going to be pretty tough to get it going from there. That's my experience with it, at least, if you die you might as well restart. In actuality, this sort of challenge is what keeps me playing this game, but <b>-2</b> points for making me tap ALT so much.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauoCZkXHPpX5hBvVBhVZzsHn6mLCULAv-vbuyuYedqn_ov9bs_lg94ZdC8lH95KzkUVEqsprzNe0Kc8FiPnjakqezZr-IcgKRPQSfrp32LaKEQsG9PaQ2I99Bli6C7WPqAXHPJBukSBY2/s1600/majorstryker3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauoCZkXHPpX5hBvVBhVZzsHn6mLCULAv-vbuyuYedqn_ov9bs_lg94ZdC8lH95KzkUVEqsprzNe0Kc8FiPnjakqezZr-IcgKRPQSfrp32LaKEQsG9PaQ2I99Bli6C7WPqAXHPJBukSBY2/s320/majorstryker3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Graphics: 7/10</b><br />
The game plays pretty well, the levels are pretty cool looking, my only problem is there's just too much stuff going on at once. Extremely hard to concentrate when so much stuff is happening. I had to take away <b>3</b> points for that, but otherwise it's colorful, fast, and fun.<br />
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<b>Sound: 8/10</b><br />
The digitized sound is one of the best parts of this game, hearing those explosions and bumpin' the music just fits so well. The tunes are a little lame though, so <b>-2</b> points. Could have done better but still great.<br />
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<b>Overall: 8/10 </b><br />
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Major Stryker rocks. It's a really good example of how games of the time had new innovations that we take for granted today. It was 2006 when Apogee made the bold decision to call the game freeware.<b> </b>Come to think of it, I knew this game was ultra hard when I was a kid, but it seems even more difficult now. Maybe you can get somewhere I didn't? Link below secures the download.<br />
<a href="ftp://ftp.3drealms.com/freeware/strykerfw.zip"><b>ftp://ftp.3drealms.com/freeware/strykerfw.zip</b></a>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-36738851630524123842012-01-13T00:01:00.000-08:002012-01-13T19:38:34.830-08:00Xargon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0W6ZN4a05ojac0_HqMrrQx2vIYK1SM_J_57ksvkezWSgdPkv7d0c4QO_lxbWQvHn53jptZimhGrCG_Clra4XSafA1XB0NwSiOBryXgk70iYsmkP4xGlilkyzwZT9u_M_9DiUVs-E4YaKz/s1600/xargon1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0W6ZN4a05ojac0_HqMrrQx2vIYK1SM_J_57ksvkezWSgdPkv7d0c4QO_lxbWQvHn53jptZimhGrCG_Clra4XSafA1XB0NwSiOBryXgk70iYsmkP4xGlilkyzwZT9u_M_9DiUVs-E4YaKz/s200/xargon1.png" width="200" /></a></div>
It's 1993, the height of the shareware trend, and online bulletin boards
are distributing the content to personal computers via 56k more than
any time before. One of those games was Xargon, developed by Epic
Megagames using the Jill of the Jungle engine. You're this super-tan
blond dude named Malvineous Havershim that finds himself knocked out by
some putrid gas while performing an archaeological dig. When you wake
up, you're in some sort of dream world, complete with strange
vegetation, oddly defunct creatures, and a talking eagle that's telling
you where to go. It's "beyond reality".<br />
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<b>Gameplay: 6/10</b></div>
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The game has that classic arcade-action feel, racking up points while you try to jump around platforms and enemies to reach the end.<b> </b>You collect these emeralds, which the game tells you are "very valuable", so you can buy stuff from the shop that Malvineous <u></u>keeps in his back pocket or something. You see, he can access it anywhere in the game by pressing B, and he's going to need it to buy health and weapons. This guy can only take 5 hits before he's out.<b> </b>Sometimes you're in the top-down map view, running around reading your notebook looking for new areas to explore, other times you're shooting enemies in a sidescroller. You start with this wimpy laser thing that you can guide into going a certain direction, but eventually graduate to better stuff to help slay the creatures. Still,<b> </b>the character movement is pretty rugged on this one. It just isn't as responsive as you need or desire. It feels like it needs some tightening up, so there's a loss of <b>4</b> points.</div>
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<b>Graphics: 7/10</b></div>
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They are indeed pretty swell. It's a really nice environment going on here. You also find yourself in other areas like the Robot Factory. I like all the plants and just plain weird stuff that's going on here.</div>
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The scrolling action feels a bit messed up, so I had to <b>-3</b> points.</div>
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<b>Sound: 5/10</b></div>
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The digitized sound is raunchy and annoying, playing weird guitar sounds every couple seconds. The music is nothing to talk about, either. It's really not that great. <b>-5</b> points.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXq6ss5QtXj3f_bRTAuNgE_9DASyUMH8aOL3qgp_B14QpbhVhDL3QORHFrngpRC-ZolBAZdbVwGs8pQAqMLb0Szb2U31SIRUfyj9N6Nm-xX8vXmhW4iETOHap4Hl9vzSXtFss0u92wOr-/s1600/xargon3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXq6ss5QtXj3f_bRTAuNgE_9DASyUMH8aOL3qgp_B14QpbhVhDL3QORHFrngpRC-ZolBAZdbVwGs8pQAqMLb0Szb2U31SIRUfyj9N6Nm-xX8vXmhW4iETOHap4Hl9vzSXtFss0u92wOr-/s200/xargon3.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Overall: 6/10</b></div>
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It gets an honorable mention amongst the Epic Megagames sidescrollers. Sometimes the game becomes a little egotistical, as seen above, or just plain ruthless, seen right. They're saying that they can't be held responsible for the fact that I had an anxiety attack from playing Xargon. However, if I happen to experience any of the aforementioned symptoms, <b> </b>I should probably call Epic Megagames. For what, I don't know, hopefully not to order Xargon. One good thing about this game is that it was announced as freeware in 2008, and even the source code was released, and that's something a lot more companies should be doing with their old games!</div>
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<a href="http://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Xargon.html" target="_blank"><b>http://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Xargon.html</b></a></div>
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</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-592449262840179182012-01-12T15:02:00.000-08:002012-01-12T15:09:05.220-08:00Catacomb<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carmack" target="_blank">John Carmack</a>, the amazing programmer and lead in games such as Wolfenstein 3D, Quake, and many others, released this for the Apple II in 1989. Later on, it was ported to MS-DOS, and given features like EGA graphics. You're a magician looking for treasure in the demon infested 10-level Catacomb. This shouldn't be confused with Catacomb: The Abyss, which came out some time later and was first-person. Here's the first Catacomb, a 2-D action/adventure title.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBGeMh0NoJ-Tr67ufVRxaLl-TehEDTIT7KX3ZPEPjLRTFBwoTq7VK9EPA4GlQD5-BGAGie_PadPYyJHBpHvdNsNCz6Bx5kdiUI1_7hyphenhyphen-mTGg9jRJi3B7y1r47Xvk5i2LdpLtkVmnHNDXT9/s1600/catacomb2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBGeMh0NoJ-Tr67ufVRxaLl-TehEDTIT7KX3ZPEPjLRTFBwoTq7VK9EPA4GlQD5-BGAGie_PadPYyJHBpHvdNsNCz6Bx5kdiUI1_7hyphenhyphen-mTGg9jRJi3B7y1r47Xvk5i2LdpLtkVmnHNDXT9/s320/catacomb2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Gameplay: 6/10</b><br />
I could just imagine plugging the 5½'' floppy into the drive and hearing the loading sequences. It looks, plays, and sounds exactly like you'd expect a game like this to. We've all heard of Gauntlet, and this is the first game that comes to mind when I play this. You gotta fight through the level, get the key to open the door to the mirror to the next one. The levels are fairly small, not too intricate, but always have some messed up trick about them. When I first started playing, I accidentally hit Enter, which cast fireballs in all directions, found a secret warp area, went to level 9, and got killed. I thought that was just a little bit funny. Eventually I picked up the strategy to the game and just started slayin' demons. I like that you can charge while you walk, plus points, the special attacks are super useful, plus points, but I hate how you can't walk diagonally. <b>-4</b> points.<br />
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<b>Graphics: 4/10</b><br />
EGA graphics can support something like 16 colors. Now that we know that, it's fair to say they could have atleast changed the color scheme to the levels. You're looking at the same purple walls, green floors, and red demons the whole game. Your guy walks around in a hilarious fashion, sort of shuffling along.<b> </b>Just for fun, I tried it in CGA mode, and the former is a giant improvement, but still not enough for me to give points. <b>-6</b> points for the ridiculous color scheme that never leaves you alone.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhgw2KFYqk7idkt23AmY-H3UYHz3fkvKXr__4uhM2SBgN7AypqBsPhdkZs2JdkNDy16W_SD3y-QAzWW9Oow_diG2iYFjNIJB79i_kgljG3vyUkmIbajacqBVwIJmOP4wbYQ2BQEwn_7v2/s1600/catacomb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkhgw2KFYqk7idkt23AmY-H3UYHz3fkvKXr__4uhM2SBgN7AypqBsPhdkZs2JdkNDy16W_SD3y-QAzWW9Oow_diG2iYFjNIJB79i_kgljG3vyUkmIbajacqBVwIJmOP4wbYQ2BQEwn_7v2/s320/catacomb.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Sound: 7/10</b><br />
I really enjoy the effort that went into the sound. It's constantly rocking these arpeggio boops and blips, sounds very similar to Commander Keen, everything has a sound and it's just a lot of fun to hear. No music though. <b>-3</b> points.<br />
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<b>Overall: 7/10</b><br />
It's so easy to see how Catacomb Abyss was created using this as a backbone. The play style is inadvertently similar to its predecessors. I know one thing, I wish that I had this game back then rather than all the other crap I used to play. The Catacomb series is pretty badass, and there's quite a few games in it, but just how do they stack up? You'll have to wait and see. Snatch this game from the link below!<br />
<b><a href="http://www.myabandonware.com/game/catacomb-27y#download" target="_blank">http://www.myabandonware.com/game/catacomb-27y#download</a></b>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-1954159083350455792012-01-11T14:28:00.000-08:002012-01-13T19:43:59.425-08:00Ken's LabyrinthRemember all those games where you'd wander around aimlessly in first person, killing a few enemies and then taking a few hours to find out where to go? Welcome to Ken's Labyrinth, a game designed by Ken Silverman and published by Epic Megagames in 1993. There's some aliens that are using unintelligent lifeforms to make jelly, and for some reason, they stole your dog, and you have to go in Ken's Labyrinth to find it. Ken is an extremely evil superalien that finds it entertaining when you put a bunch of weird lifeforms in the same place and see what happens. So hey, what are you waiting for? Enter...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDYZwJWlECmdSO5S9VybervJlnuMgLk4Vv2r4iaOC3U-rzA_s5DRO-1OMH_PTGA2Xa-Q-xNsEn8vhmOyA0FBR2G5CH0hj3FnJvgSS7YX0NDWrZ01aVSDqQrb70usM_u6QGW326msXlMtHi/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDYZwJWlECmdSO5S9VybervJlnuMgLk4Vv2r4iaOC3U-rzA_s5DRO-1OMH_PTGA2Xa-Q-xNsEn8vhmOyA0FBR2G5CH0hj3FnJvgSS7YX0NDWrZ01aVSDqQrb70usM_u6QGW326msXlMtHi/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Gameplay: 5/10</b><br />
In these years, first-person gaming was no joke. There were already games such as Wolfenstein 3D, Blake Stone, and the Catacomb series, except this one is missing something; Violence. Ken's Labyrinth is some odd blend of all the aforementioned games, and I even see some things happening here that you didn't see until Ken's future games, like Duke Nukem 3D. Early on in the title we discover we can throw some sort of blob at the enemies, serving as your primary attack for most of the game. The opponents you face are a collection of aliens and other races, and they're about the stupidest fools you've ever seen. The best strategy is to just open a door, back up, let them all funnel in, and use your dumb blob thing. Eventually the levels get more intricate and the enemies more abundant, but you're still just running around looking for keys into the next room so you can go up the stairs to the next level to look for the keys to the next room so you can blah blah blah blah blah. <b>-5</b> points for not too much different going on.<br />
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<b>Graphics: 5/10</b><br />
To compare it to something, let's use Doom, which came out in 1993 as well. The first thing I notice is the lack of floor and ceiling textures. There's also no "vertical" gameplay, everything is on a one-floor plane. The enemies are lame looking and don't have much visual pizzazz. Same with the items. There's walls that say "Shoot this wall" or "walk through this wall", and I feel like I'm in a weird little kids nightmare. <b>-5 </b>points for almost everything looking the same.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeOZVGruwNYUNuqLAlGcm9b5HbswTL5Rh51f16BoL1vbZeV4BGfBmsTry6h0pusSgIsvEkyTC4cn4X_S8HBQKFn9pUhQe8n7yIGZTPeUYwe_ePRkANvvQbS3MjHHroDogzrJWQnFXWXNf/s1600/ken.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOeOZVGruwNYUNuqLAlGcm9b5HbswTL5Rh51f16BoL1vbZeV4BGfBmsTry6h0pusSgIsvEkyTC4cn4X_S8HBQKFn9pUhQe8n7yIGZTPeUYwe_ePRkANvvQbS3MjHHroDogzrJWQnFXWXNf/s320/ken.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Sound: 5/10</b><br />
There's some digitized sound effects that do the job, including the typical "Oh." and "Aah." that slips from your mouth whenever you eat an apple or something. The music was pretty cool, a couple songs I liked, a lot more I didn't, but it just doesn't fit the game. <b>-5</b> points for not being very atmospheric.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Overall:</b> <b>5/10</b><br />
It blows my mind to think that this guy programmed Duke Nukem 3D and all those other great games that I mentioned in <a href="http://abandoneddosgames.blogspot.com/2011/12/3d-realms-build-engine.html" target="_blank"><u>this</u></a> post earlier. For real though, does anybody want to chug their way through a freakin' ugly maze trying to find the way out? Probably not. Do you want to have some lame weapons and items to use? Nope. Do the enemies make the game more fun? Not at all. It's still a classic game though, showing progression in the genre while keeping it very much the same. That's why I give this game a five.<br />
<a href="http://www.advsys.net/ken/klab.htm" target="_blank"><b>http://www.advsys.net/ken/klab.htm</b></a>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-57079726228003867022012-01-09T20:49:00.000-08:002012-01-09T20:51:03.904-08:00SqrxzMy girlfriend said "I used to play this game when I was a kid, Squiddx or something" some time ago. Since I'd never heard of it personally and she didn't get the game name right, I wasn't able to find anything about it. Today though, today is different. After plugging in an old hard drive and scouring files dating back to 1998, we spotted it, in all of its MS-DOS glory. "What the hell, give me that so I can review it!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFzoxZ7d6hC8xnsVuvCvYqqLy_rtAJ4AmChQ8ziQxxkXZf_YlqufEdpfgIRCMZ0O577PM4cxYLCzI3_EFm5vp5kJCPMQ2E7hYmHDXQfvZetP5LbA5A1oprPODFe1GzE3Z8lP-bHQ2ksG2/s1600/sqrxz.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFzoxZ7d6hC8xnsVuvCvYqqLy_rtAJ4AmChQ8ziQxxkXZf_YlqufEdpfgIRCMZ0O577PM4cxYLCzI3_EFm5vp5kJCPMQ2E7hYmHDXQfvZetP5LbA5A1oprPODFe1GzE3Z8lP-bHQ2ksG2/s320/sqrxz.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>First look:</b> It's a sidescroller. I'm some sort of bug lookin' thing, possibly an alien, and I'm on a go-right rampage. There's some blobs coming to get me so I jump on them in classic sidescrolling fashion, which works well and gives me a little more air than before. I can also press down while I move to crawl when precision becomes necessary. The graphics aren't that great, extremely pixelated and a little weird, I wonder if it's just a rendering glitch or if it was made that way? Come to think of it, I didn't have any sound either, so I went to do a little more research. Rather than fix the problem I decided to play the Windows version when my DOS version was acting up. I've uploaded the DOS version to the link below, because I couldn't find it anywhere else on the world wide internet.<br />
<b><a href="http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N8ADOQRS">http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N8ADOQRS</a></b> <<< DOS version of Sqrzx<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdLe7fnU_AMRbjXHp0KEI7DquRM86MaGWTDkUVpwXBsV3FmiYrrt1TKHQaSvPPjC6XtKyL8mGwGBawCILmW3tHZlmxgcpmV-5hOFT1aLI47Fcrj5c7Cyg3zTqq7yo6xS9LytWoPo0V6nv/s1600/sqrxz2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgdLe7fnU_AMRbjXHp0KEI7DquRM86MaGWTDkUVpwXBsV3FmiYrrt1TKHQaSvPPjC6XtKyL8mGwGBawCILmW3tHZlmxgcpmV-5hOFT1aLI47Fcrj5c7Cyg3zTqq7yo6xS9LytWoPo0V6nv/s320/sqrxz2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Gameplay: 5/10</b><br />
Now that we have a well working version, its noticeable that I'm frustrated with this game. The controls are awkwardly stiff and require a certain precision that just isn't easy to comprehend. You die, a lot. The water levels are relentless. Was there something I was missing? After checking http://sqrxz.de for a while, I learned that this game was supposed to be <b>intentionally</b> frustrating. It is in my beliefs that this is a coverup for the game actually being pretty shitty and gives little to no insight on the challenges that lie ahead. I'm really on the fence about this, because on one hand, it's like a puzzle game requiring patience and accuracy, but on the other hand it's a horrible sidescroller with bad controls. <b>-5 </b>points for the stiffness.<br />
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<b>Graphics</b>: <b>4/10</b><br />
Well, they certainly updated the game in the Windows version, everything runs smoother, it has more color, and better resolution. This doesn't do anything for the game as a whole, though, because it still is just a bunch of tiles spread around using a level generator or something. Seriously, with these kinds of games, you should release your level-making engine, just in case you want people to think the game is awesome and spend hours playing it. All of this just isn't appealing to me, I had to <b>-6</b> points for the lack of variety.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnDDIQ1CbYOaQKTF-u8YEPMj1-LbxeGMb-ZfjQT6zPLvNPzIpibLuJr_w5iLbz_c9u-EPAMIBz1dAUDkkjOOOaVzYwYq4EH707qhFT5-z_eCZKIY2OLBdSiePliNWdfLLtiK9Pekl_t9L/s1600/sqrxz3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnDDIQ1CbYOaQKTF-u8YEPMj1-LbxeGMb-ZfjQT6zPLvNPzIpibLuJr_w5iLbz_c9u-EPAMIBz1dAUDkkjOOOaVzYwYq4EH707qhFT5-z_eCZKIY2OLBdSiePliNWdfLLtiK9Pekl_t9L/s320/sqrxz3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b> Sound: 6/10</b><br />
Some cute little Megaman sounding bumpin' tracks are going on and just about everything makes a noise. Be prepared to hear the dying sound a <u>lot</u> though. <b>-4 </b>points for the low quality sounds.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Overall: 5/10</b><br />
The game isn't that bad to play until you get so mad you want to take whatever is to the left of your computer screen, take a big bite out of it, and swallow hard.<b> </b>It's cute and quirky but is just missing a lot of things that would come standard to a game like this. The challenge in this game lies within the games physics itself, and how patient/fast you can be. <b>Alternatively</b>, I played the Deluxe version of the game that is also included with the Windows port, and it seems much more up to date. You're a rabbit looking thing running around in the same style world but there's some key gameplay changes that almost make the game a new experience. It ain't bad, and it probably fits quite well into my "top 50 half-ass games of all time" list.<br />
<a href="http://sqrxz.de/"><b>http://sqrxz.de</b></a>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-65167195488671868392012-01-09T01:16:00.000-08:002012-01-09T02:19:52.989-08:00WastelandThe year is 1987. Some games are getting better than ever as the developers explore with the RPG genre, and big dogs of the time Interplay and Electronic Arts are constantly producing breakthroughs. Wasteland is cool, from the character creation to the battles, hands-down an awesome pick and possibly the most influential game of all time. You're some army rangers who, after a nuclear war, decide to go look for neat stuff in the scary, scary wasteland. You'll pass through Las Vegas as well as some other ghost towns in your quest for survivors and loot. There's been many games almost identical, but none of them are the real...<br />
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<b>Gameplay: 9/10</b><br />
It's a solid in my book. You control four characters with individual attributes such as perception, rifle skill, lockpicking, etc.<b> </b>This already sounds familiar. You start the game at some army outpost, and its pretty much you and your buddies from here on out. You're gonna walk them through the wasteland, exploring areas, looking for stuff, and probably dying many times as you learn where to go and where not to go. Eventually you get the hang of it and get into some battles where you can perform, start getting nifty loot, and create some pretty boss dudes. The battles are pretty cool, I've run into groups of 10 or so, and even though it's all happening in text, I get the hoard feeling. <b>-1</b> point for the seemingly endless unconscious loop I got stuck in. The enemies kept attacking the party, knocking a couple of them out, and on the next turn one would be awake again, only to get knocked out by an enemy, so on and so on.<br />
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<b>Graphics: 9/10</b><br />
So it's really old. In the wasteland, you're basically a stationary image roaming around on a tiled map. It's neat and there's lots of colors, so I'm not hating on it. There's a text scroller at the bottom of the screen that tells you details, like "It's getting warm" or "glowing desert tarantulas scatter away at your footsteps". Oddly poetic in its ways. I like the profiles of the enemies you're facing, gives some insight as to what's going on. Other than that, there isn't really any animation going on, not even when the opponent becomes wounded, so <b>-1</b> point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FVHfGfBnMt3fEwAqHVbwPgGxT8l4l3p8VZ6Smd5AH7lKQ83Whh35ePBHAn1ZrhWmVgUerKQivggNN1MEfrCJz816yBwEEUF-WJXaC9GTc8YNwOvwii7u_WreK609Y4vvyu_K-ES35KAV/s1600/wasteland.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FVHfGfBnMt3fEwAqHVbwPgGxT8l4l3p8VZ6Smd5AH7lKQ83Whh35ePBHAn1ZrhWmVgUerKQivggNN1MEfrCJz816yBwEEUF-WJXaC9GTc8YNwOvwii7u_WreK609Y4vvyu_K-ES35KAV/s320/wasteland.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Sound: 0?/10</b><br />
I really don't remember hearing any sound. There's probably nothing going on in this category.<br />
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<b>Overall: 8/10</b><br />
It's great. It's long and deep. Easy to see the Fallout series being inspired by this, and a lot of games follow in the wake Wasteland created. Lots of fun to dabble in this game even for just a little bit, you'll be surprised at some of the similarities between it and Fallout 3. Actually, check out <a href="http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Wasteland_%28game%29"><u>this</u></a> wiki and you'll see what I mean. So go ahead, give this game a shot, the link below has what you want.<br />
<a href="http://hotud.org/component/remository/func-startdown/18126/%20"><b>http://hotud.org/component/content/article/39-rpg/22114</b></a><br />
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<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-63796186879572880992012-01-08T01:55:00.000-08:002012-01-09T02:20:53.831-08:00Return to ZorkDoes anybody remember playing this game? I do, my friends had it across the street, and I couldn't figure out how to do <u>anything</u>. Seriously, I was stuck on the first couple screens and would either get killed by a vulture or die wandering in to the Road to the South. Return to Zork came out in 1993. If you heard me blabber on about the original Zork, you'll know it's a text-based adventure game. Well, this game follows the same play style and setting, but has a few major improvements; graphics, sound, and a mouse cursor.<br />
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<b>Gameplay: 7/10</b><br />
Return to Zork just constantly keeps you guessing what you're supposed to do. You click objects in your view from a first-person perspective and choose what to do with them. Simple enough. You can do things like add it to your inventory, throw it, or have it interact with another object in the world. Click when the arrows show up to move in the designated direction. Sounds easy, but you're going to die die die, <u>all the time</u>. You can save anywhere, and this function becomes quite obligatory. Since you can't skip the cutscenes, the game takes a relentlessly long time to complete and the character's rambling was driving me crazy. <b>-3</b> points.<br />
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<b>Graphics: 8/10</b><br />
The game portrays a large, strange world with disappearing cities and crazy citizens. There are times you'll talk to people, which are just segments of like, four pictures or so, and they don't really portray any recognizable emotion, and there's also times that you're staring at the awesome art in front of your face. While the game is pretty captivating and detailed, sometimes it's tough to spot items, and you end up playing I Spy with a bunch of areas, just clicking around trying to find something. <b>-2</b> points. Even in the original Zork you could type "look around" and see all the items you could interact with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdwM6fmsoOescuJyp7cxmSemdQe9yZPNroDtvPqktQc9DNfJDY7JvomKVVSgVxcJSAcYtktVtIslrwZaKX-X_47C6T2TvfhXIj7y5FM23aV_ZHWSvjWiJcl7iyb8vGH5GtYb84bpoZQQD/s1600/zork21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdwM6fmsoOescuJyp7cxmSemdQe9yZPNroDtvPqktQc9DNfJDY7JvomKVVSgVxcJSAcYtktVtIslrwZaKX-X_47C6T2TvfhXIj7y5FM23aV_ZHWSvjWiJcl7iyb8vGH5GtYb84bpoZQQD/s320/zork21.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>Sound: 5/10</b><br />
It's annoying, but you gotta have it, or you're going to miss some very key things. This game is a bit like a book that talks to you, tells you a little story and you should do what it says. I turned off the music, thank god you can do that, plus points. Every time you run through Boos' house, he asks you if you "want some rye?" <b>-5</b> points for redundant crap like that.<br />
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<b>Overall: 7/10</b><br />
Some other games caught wind of this first person I Spy trend, like Myst and such, but this game predates them all. It's a courageous and experimental attempt <b> </b>to create a brilliantly captivating world where weird stuff is going on. I mentioned before that I couldn't get very far in the game, but this time around I managed to float down the river on a raft made of vines and planks to the next town. I didn't get much farther than that though, and I realized it's time to put Return of Zork down. It's like a good book that you want to keep reading but you'll hate the fact that you are reading it. Give it a shot, you can pick it up free of charge.<br />
<a href="http://www.old-games.com/getfile/2685"><b>http://www.old-games.com/getfile/2685</b></a>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-36480252737348289422012-01-07T00:43:00.000-08:002012-01-09T02:21:51.429-08:00Alf: The First AdventureOriginally on the Atari and Commodore but ported to DOS in 1988, Alf was supposed to be a game based on the popular TV show around that time period. You're Alf, you crashed your spaceship into the Tanner family's garage, and you need to run around your maze-like neighborhood collecting cats to eat and grabbing your spaceship parts. Make sure to watch out for the Dog Catcher and Willie Tanner, they're going to do some crazy stuff to you!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6FEkJVRxPpME5-eSfKD-9Hm4RGV1pffJVAsMnoKyt28Ta401TkWMPVDfubxMBGe_lXvCVIWrovi_0X-VTFc9cYQ-WqhcMWDgYkkwX0KPbMuV1Gz9lLGaGfWlKsPwoQLHHUoOraJIoc8N/s1600/alffirst-c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6FEkJVRxPpME5-eSfKD-9Hm4RGV1pffJVAsMnoKyt28Ta401TkWMPVDfubxMBGe_lXvCVIWrovi_0X-VTFc9cYQ-WqhcMWDgYkkwX0KPbMuV1Gz9lLGaGfWlKsPwoQLHHUoOraJIoc8N/s1600/alffirst-c.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Gameplay: 2/10</b><br />
In order to review this fairly, I should compare it to some other games from 1988. There's a lot of good titles, like Gauntlet, Legendary Wings, and even Zelda II. It just wasn't a good year for Alf though, because his game plays like hell, and in Alf's world, it's no easy task to complete your core objectives. The cats are impossible, even when you corner them they're going to run away from you. I managed to get a few and lock them in my garage for sweet feasting later, but that little kid Willie got me and made me release them all. Damn. <b>-8</b> points for "what's going on?".<br />
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<b>Graphics: 1/10</b><br />
The Alf head on the cover pretty much sums it up, because all you are is a head, moving around. It looks like there is about four colors in the palette, and none of them are very pretty. Every now and then you grab a pizza from the street, or run into a trash can. Everything just skips around and is generally pretty horrible to look at. <b>-9</b> points for the horrible neighborhood maze of badly rendered nightmare.<br />
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<b> Sound:</b> <b>0/10</b><br />
<b>I hate it.</b> Long beeps or boops that hold up the gameplay. Seriously, everything stops for a second while the game beeps at you. <b>-all the points</b> for it barely working.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Overall: 1/10</b><br />
You know what's humiliating? The fact that I played this game altogether. It is useless, worthless, not fun or creative, and barely related to the show that it was based off of. If I could get my time back, well damn. I'd get it back. The game's free but should have been erased.<br />
<a href="http://hotud.org/component/remository/func-startdown/17154/"><b>http://hotud.org/component/remository/func-startdown/17154/</b><b></b></a>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-51252529476242717412012-01-06T01:27:00.000-08:002012-01-09T02:23:31.098-08:00DrakkhenMS-DOS had its good moments and this isn't one of them. I'm sure the game is perfectly playable, at least for 1989. I've played the Atari version and the Super Nintendo version, which were taken by some as a great game in the time, but this version is <u>pretty bad</u>, even considering its release date. When you start it up, you can create your characters which is a lot of fun, set up your color and sound settings, and bam. You're in Drakkhen. You're totally screwed.<br />
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<b>Gameplay: 2/10</b><br />
Drakkhen is a 3D RPG sort of thing. You wander freely around a world filled with grass, sky, water, trees, and buildings. Every now and then you'll get a monster that comes and starts to whoop your ass. This is where the battle sequence begins, and your four characters of choice will<b> </b>stumble onto the screen and start taking damage. You're somehow supposed to control all four of these guys by switching between them and choosing who's going to attack what, all in real time. At first, I couldn't figure out how to switch them, or how to do much of anything for that matter. Eventually I learned you had to click to attack mode first, and use each character to attack the monster. After getting my ass handed to me a few times and restarting the game, I finally beat some sort of blue snake thing and was fairly proud. Just at that moment, the game asked me the most unreasonable question for that point and time: DRAKKHEN CODES. LINE 11. WORD 1. What the hell, you want me to prove that I bought the game by looking through a manual to get a series of passwords? <b>-8 points.</b><br />
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<b>Graphics: 10/10</b><br />
For the time, the graphics are good. There's a lot of animation going on, everything is colorful and detectable, and you're moving around a world in first person. I don't have any problems with how the game looks. The cover art is pretty sweet and the overall presentation is good.<b> </b>Too bad the game can't play as super as it looks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6d2zcV-MgGH9rehy-R4cU6RwfM0gkGrlWX-5b_tqtkfcTa7bCKxH0SxBI97vjOB4luyyh0TQY156DOWsBqiwuWbc_JyW0CkV1XYguOorwtyiFRpHNMaD37mTJlgliGNsVYG3221SZcs/s320/image2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6d2zcV-MgGH9rehy-R4cU6RwfM0gkGrlWX-5b_tqtkfcTa7bCKxH0SxBI97vjOB4luyyh0TQY156DOWsBqiwuWbc_JyW0CkV1XYguOorwtyiFRpHNMaD37mTJlgliGNsVYG3221SZcs/s320/image2.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>Sound: 5/10</b><br />
Drakkhen does a pretty good job with what they have. There's some music and some sword noises and stuff. But it's so, so annoying. The enemies that are constantly attacking you are playing a sound over and over and eventually it just turns to a grinding. <b>-5</b> points for annoying me when you were doing a good job at not.<br />
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<b>Overall: 3/10</b><br />
I've known about this game for a long time and have never really found myself playing it for more than five minutes. This is probably due to the loose click combat system that only allows you to get beat up easily. You'll also bump into trees a lot, unfortunately, that's the most entertaining part of Drakkhen. It's a shame, too, because the game looks so good on the outside, but when you really get in to it, it's like a one-way trip to bad videogame town. It's free, but you won't get far, thanks to the archaic anti-piracy system.<b> Oh,</b> I forgot to mention, if you don't enter the DRAKKHEN CODE, the game restarts. Damn.<br />
<a href="http://www.bestclassicdosgames.com/download/drakkhen.htm"><b>http://www.bestclassicdosgames.com/download/drakkhen.htm</b></a><b><br /></b>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-38858522290172107522012-01-04T23:12:00.000-08:002012-01-09T02:33:32.508-08:00Chex QuestIn 1996, somebody thought it would be a good idea to make a family-friendly non-violent Doom mod, put a bunch of Chex ads in it, and throw it in some cereal boxes. There's some story involved in it and it's loosely related to Chex cereal. You're the ChexGuy or something. out to save the Chex Hanger from some phlegm. Seriously. Epic sigh as I remember my friends owning this.<br />
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<b>Gameplay: 4/10</b><br />
Basically, I've given it four points of gameplay value because it uses the Doom engine. With that set aside and figured in, the game receives <b>-6</b> points for its blatant butchering of video games. The levels so large and spread out you'll spend most of your time dashing across the place, trying to figure out where to go. Good thing there's a map, just hit tab. We can thank Doom for that. The enemies are also pretty superlame, things like balls of phlegm, phlegm in a flying suit, phlegm in a battle suit, you get the idea. They do an alright job of throwing a lot of enemies at you, and I enjoy it quite a bit when there's a lot of the Flemoids or whatever. Now, the weapons are odd, because you can't really call them weapons, because they don't really hurt anything, but hey. He's got a spoon, some laser thing with a button, a bigger laser thing with a button, a laser chaingun, a laser plasma rifle, and a laser rocketlauncher. They're all about the same old crap that would be in any videogame like this. Booored already as I accidentally stumbled into a room full of programmers faces. I was going to post a screenshot of this one really weird looking dude, but it didn't work. That's when I realized that this game was programmed to suck really bad so you'd go eat some Chex instead.<br />
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<b>Graphics: 7/10</b><br />
They're colorful, it works well with what's going on, the weapons are designed neatly, and he holds his guns ambidextrous. Sometimes he's got stuff on the left, sometimes on the right, or even in the middle. Plus points for variety, I like that. There's also Chex ads <u>everywhere</u>. This leads me to believe that the game was designed by some dudes and Chex bought it and stuffed all their corny goodness in the game.<b> </b>It's definitely Doom, the enemies have a few sides whereas everything else is 2-D. Always facing you. <b>-3</b> points for lack of effort on some of the objects.<br />
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<b>Sound: 6/10</b><br />
The music is nice and probably the most original part of this game. As for the sound effects, there's enough of them for me to not hate it, but they do get a little repetitive. This guy goes around humping walls in various pitch, but nothing else has much variety. <b>-4</b> points for the lack of effort, again.<br />
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<b>Overall: 5/10</b><br />
The game was free then, and it's free now. I guess there isn't much else to say, judging by the fact that this game came from a cereal box. It apparently increased their sales by over 200%, and its not a path that I've seen many other companies take. It also won many awards due to the genius marketing campaign behind Chex Quest, but I can tell you right here that it's all bull.<b> </b>The game is a like taking all of your favorite games and making them incredibly boring and not much fun at all. Pick it up from the link below. Or don't.<br />
<b><a href="http://www.hotud.org/component/content/article/43-action/21348">http://www.hotud.org/component/content/article/43-action/21348</a></b><br />
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6791758977844746238.post-40582676100339264192012-01-04T01:43:00.000-08:002012-01-09T02:24:10.411-08:00Zork INow this one goes deep. <b>Real deep</b>. We're talking 1980, a year where computing had reached some of its finest moments with innovations such as the creation of MS-DOS and Pacman being released (in Japan). Dave Lebling and Marc Blank had been busy making not so much of a game, but what is labeled as an interactive fiction. Yeah, Zork scares me a little bit. The best way to play it is to just turn off the lights, listen to <a href="http://listen.di.fm/public3/ambient.pls"><u>this shoutcast</u></a>, and imagine yourself in a freaky world where you don't really know what's going to happen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFAdisw8nwLbbjATvZh0nctrRNU-B35gMLx99mCNqA0aAoRLbHcLC_8PADp9ENJrGXFThTZFWIgNGcQ9v3j6jd9jezR-6Ljk9swu4lYo2kyeJQ3Q7ggAzfvb3EwcowL-lGVNfUZJLvzpw/s400/zork1_stneu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFAdisw8nwLbbjATvZh0nctrRNU-B35gMLx99mCNqA0aAoRLbHcLC_8PADp9ENJrGXFThTZFWIgNGcQ9v3j6jd9jezR-6Ljk9swu4lYo2kyeJQ3Q7ggAzfvb3EwcowL-lGVNfUZJLvzpw/s320/zork1_stneu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Gameplay: 9/10</b><br />
Zork is pretty great about describing in good detail where you are, and it's completely necessary. It's really a game for those that can read, and well, because if you're slow it's going to take a while. You start off next to a mailbox, near a house. You can open the mailbox and grab an item from the inside, or just go to the house. You command yourself by using commands such as "go north" or "open door". There's a quantity of items to carry, you can carry too many though, so you either have to decide what is important or remember where you dropped all your stuff. This is also my main beef with Zork, because without a walkthrough the game is so confusing you really gotta crunch to figure stuff out. <b>-1</b> for that.<br />
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<b>Graphics: 1/10</b><br />
<b> or maybe 10/10</b><br />
Let's be fair, it's 1980, and this game is more like an interactive computer book. Choose your own adventure without the own adventure part, or something. Basically, there are no graphics. Use your freaking imagination though, and bam, best graphics you've ever freakin' seen. Zork wins again!<br />
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<b>Sound:</b> <b>0/10</b><br />
The only sound you'll be hearing is your keyboard, unless you followed by instructions in the beginning of this post and chose to listen to something while you play it. <b>-10</b> points for no sound, but there's not much problem with it.<br />
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<b>Overall: 7/10</b><br />
I tend to die a lot when I play this game. Sometimes, I don't really want to imagine that I'm in a dark scary place, waiting to be eating by some snarling grue monster. Sometimes, I don't really want to imagine myself getting locked in a trap door and hearing someone bar the door. Zork is still an awful lot of fun to play, and if you can figure some of this stuff out, you're a champion. Zork's free. It probably shouldn't be. Get it.<br />
<a href="http://www.infocom-if.org/downloads/zork1.zip"><b>http://www.infocom-if.org/downloads/zork1.zip</b><b></b></a><br />
<br />Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11388325362919584075noreply@blogger.com5