Dumia
1997
Unlike what you might hear out there, this game is not dated at all. Proof being that there are games being made on the same structure (albeit with a tutorial) and still get to be indie hits (ATOM, Underail etc) enjoyed by a wider audience.
To avoid any anoyance while trying to play this game, consult with the pcgamingwiki page for the latest way to wriggle past any technical issues, for the actual tutorial read the PDF or printed manual, because that's where the tutorial is for this game (there is no in-game tutorial whatsoever).
But yeah, with the caveats out of the way, this is a gem, a true pre baldur's gate CRPG that stood defiantly against its own publisher and the videogame market of its own time. Make no mistake this is a game about strife and was made on an enviroment that is weirdly comparable to what you see in the game.
The game is short, for a rpg, getting close to 30h on a full run with most side content done (not counting for all special random encounters). The thing here is how tight it feels, everything leads to something, with it's mysteries being very rewarding to uncover, it is a sad game, with the dark humor reliving some of the pains you can feel while playing it. Good stuff! Play it before watching any spoilers.
To avoid any anoyance while trying to play this game, consult with the pcgamingwiki page for the latest way to wriggle past any technical issues, for the actual tutorial read the PDF or printed manual, because that's where the tutorial is for this game (there is no in-game tutorial whatsoever).
But yeah, with the caveats out of the way, this is a gem, a true pre baldur's gate CRPG that stood defiantly against its own publisher and the videogame market of its own time. Make no mistake this is a game about strife and was made on an enviroment that is weirdly comparable to what you see in the game.
The game is short, for a rpg, getting close to 30h on a full run with most side content done (not counting for all special random encounters). The thing here is how tight it feels, everything leads to something, with it's mysteries being very rewarding to uncover, it is a sad game, with the dark humor reliving some of the pains you can feel while playing it. Good stuff! Play it before watching any spoilers.
1998
Blizzard had a deal to make a Warhammer 40k RTS that fell through the gutter, they said fuck it and made a copyright-dodging facsimile of the same setting with many of it's original iconography still intact, that's where starcraft came from.
The game is good, but simple, probably is greatest complexity is the 3 faction structure that makes all of them seem exotic in comparisson to one another. But the deal here is that that complexity is explored very well on a solid narritive campaign spread through 3 acts, one for each faction.
Although it is more famous for it's modding scene nowdays, the main campaign is worth you time, even if it becomes repetitive to the end of it's narrative run, with nothing other than "destroy your enemie's base" type missions with just more stuff to blow up.
Nostalgia can blind just about anybody that played it back when it launched, so it is safe to say that the story isn't realy all that special, with so many film references that you can actually number in the hundreds the ammount of stuff that was borrowed outright from other media material.
So yeah, good, but only for the RTS afficionados that are by themselves a dying breed in the videogaming community.
The game is good, but simple, probably is greatest complexity is the 3 faction structure that makes all of them seem exotic in comparisson to one another. But the deal here is that that complexity is explored very well on a solid narritive campaign spread through 3 acts, one for each faction.
Although it is more famous for it's modding scene nowdays, the main campaign is worth you time, even if it becomes repetitive to the end of it's narrative run, with nothing other than "destroy your enemie's base" type missions with just more stuff to blow up.
Nostalgia can blind just about anybody that played it back when it launched, so it is safe to say that the story isn't realy all that special, with so many film references that you can actually number in the hundreds the ammount of stuff that was borrowed outright from other media material.
So yeah, good, but only for the RTS afficionados that are by themselves a dying breed in the videogaming community.
This game is like watching a K-drama with a third world war setting, has the potential to make you cry and is beautifully scored. On top of that asthetic of war and geopolitical chaos, therein lies some of the best designed mission structure to date. The actual hands-on gameplay is simple; you fly a plane that can shoot way more ammo and missiles than anything remotely real, but narrative and mission structure are so interwooven, that, even though you may be doing the same actions, they FEEL very different.
Good characters, relatable struggles and SO MUCH DIALOGUE, you might actually miss much that is happening your first time through it since you'll be shooting so much stuff you won't be paying attention to what is happening on the radio.
If you are iliterate and can't read or understand dialogue, this action game is not for you.
Good characters, relatable struggles and SO MUCH DIALOGUE, you might actually miss much that is happening your first time through it since you'll be shooting so much stuff you won't be paying attention to what is happening on the radio.
If you are iliterate and can't read or understand dialogue, this action game is not for you.
2000
"I bet my dad could beat up your dad!" - Main Character(s)
This is essentially a more linear, action-focused baldur's gate 1 spin on the rpg genre. It means more fights, and more complex dungeon design inside the same box of that the infinity engine had shown on the first BG game by Bioware. Although it is simpler, this is the first game that Black Isle did after ceasing to work on the Fallout games (It released 1 year after fallout 2) and you can FEEL the dialogue is definitly made by the same group of people. Also, the first game with penned design by Joshua Sawyer and it shows!
Had a blast, it's fun, great with friends in co-op but also very chalenging (in the good way), many builds are viable and you can even beat it solo or with 2 members (maximum is 6 IIRC), it even has some of the best voice, not very frequent, voice acting of pc games from the 90's.
If you like CRPGS but don't mind a more restricted focused campaign then this game is for you.
This is essentially a more linear, action-focused baldur's gate 1 spin on the rpg genre. It means more fights, and more complex dungeon design inside the same box of that the infinity engine had shown on the first BG game by Bioware. Although it is simpler, this is the first game that Black Isle did after ceasing to work on the Fallout games (It released 1 year after fallout 2) and you can FEEL the dialogue is definitly made by the same group of people. Also, the first game with penned design by Joshua Sawyer and it shows!
Had a blast, it's fun, great with friends in co-op but also very chalenging (in the good way), many builds are viable and you can even beat it solo or with 2 members (maximum is 6 IIRC), it even has some of the best voice, not very frequent, voice acting of pc games from the 90's.
If you like CRPGS but don't mind a more restricted focused campaign then this game is for you.
1988
One of the oldest games i've played to the end. This isn't a demerit or a critique on the negative side, but actually just come to show how impressive it still is to play it as an rpg fan. The game allows for quite a number of different approaches to the situations it displays, but more so early on than after the midgame. After 50% of the content is done, you'll start to get into the "dungeon crawl" phase of the game, this is where you'll see that the adventure gets more linear and even very specific combat items are required to survide the onslaught in vegas. Even with the shortcoming it impressed me and nowdays you can play the remaster which makes the UI leaner and more friendly, highly recommended!
2000
Great spin on the shoot em' up genre and probably the best on the N64 that no one played. Very short, but longer than star fox but with less "replay value" (there aren't 3 routes with paths between them). Still, great game, even the sequel stands to loose on a side-by-side comparison. Play it!