I am a fairly avid computer gamer. I find that sports games and shoot-em-up games are best played on my Playstation 2 and X-Box systems, so I stick mainly to real-time and turn-based strategy games for my PC.
My favoriste games are the ones where you rule a civilization and you need to determine how to allocate your resources (economic development, political power, military might, technological advances, etc.) to build the strongest nation. Some of my favorite games (past and present) are:
* ALPHA CENTAURI and ALIEN CROSSFIRE - Unfortunately, these games are not compatible with my current Windows XP system, so I can't play them anymore!
* CIVILIZATION (and all of its sequels and derivatives)
* GALACTIC CIVILIZATIONS
* IMPERIUM GALACTICA II
* HEARTS OF IRON (a very good WWII game, that should have been great - unfortunately, some of the rules are vague and the combat system isn't very exciting)
* MASTER OF ORION 3
* EMPIRE EARTH (and the expansion pack)
* AGE OF EMPIRES (and all of its sequels and derivatives)
* RISE OF NATIONS
I also recently purchased WAR! AGE OF IMPERIALISM, which is a simple, yet fun world conquest game (based on a board game) and KORSUN POCKET, which is a nice-looking WWII game (I'm still working my way through the tutorial, so I can't comment on the game itself yet . . . but it seems like it will be a great game).
I am anxiously awaiting LORDS OF THE REALM III, which looks like it could emerge as the grand-daddy of all Medeival games.
I have left out dozens of other good games, but you can get the gist of my interest based on the above listing.
Which games are your favorites?
Post Edited (01-20-04 11:40)
I play a game that requires no concentration or strategy. It is relaxing. I play Bejeweled. I don't play it anymore because every time that I do it crashes our computer and my husband doesn't like that.
I'm not really into games all that much, but I do get in the mood from time to time.
Sim City is a big favourite. I just got a newer version for Christmas. If I'm not careful, hours will pass while I'm engaging in all of the urban planning stuff that bores the hell out of me when I have to cover it for work. Go figure. It also annoys my wife, because I just kind of glaze over while I'm playing, and don't really pay attention to her. She does the same thing, so she can't really complain.
I also really like the Command and Conquer games, and used to enjoy Warcraft quite a bit. Civilization is also good.
Mahjongg is also surprisingly addictive.
I'm also a big fan of the Civ & Alpha Centauri games. I need to replace my home computer bacause it runs Civ III so slowly.
Duke Nukem & Doom are also favorites for some mindless ass-kicking. Diablo II is another one.
"HEARTS OF IRON (a very good WWII game, that should have been great - unfortunately, some of the rules are vague and the combat system isn't very exciting)"
I don't play computer games much, but I do have this one and I couldn't agree with you more. My main problem with it is that the computer player sucks ass. If you play an Ally, Germany just kind of sits there and waits for you to take it apart. It's impossible to lose against the computer. The other option I have is online games which are next to impossible since who the hell can coordinate the time with someone else to play a game of that length? A good aggressive computer player program would go a long way to making that a great game. So would turn-based play instead of real-time which tends to reward the fastest point-and-clicker.
I don't care for any game that takes much thinking. I mess with computers and their (mostly incompetent) users everyday, so I really like to indulge in some mindless carnage. I usually just get the cheat codes and start blasting.
My favorites:
1. Carmageddon High Octane (finally got it to run on XP!)
2. Duke Nukem The Manhattan Project
3. Redneck Rampage (and Rides Again) "He blowed up right nice!)
I'm an FPS addict. I love first person shooters. Pure adrenaline....sooo....muuuuch....funnnn.
All time favorites would be:
Deus Ex: The best game ever. RPG and FPS mixed together. Genius! Have yet to play the sequel.
Medal Of Honor: All of these games have been amazing, with the exception of Rising Sun. RS was still a decent game, just didn't have the same soul as the others.
Doom: I remember blasting through baddies way back when on Win95. Still one of the best shooters of all time.
Half Life: This is one that I can play for hours on end. Standard, Blue Shift, Team Fortress Classic, Opposing Force, and Counter Strike. Ohhh....I almost wet myself thinking about it....yyyyyeeeeah.
I'm an RPG fan. I love the Baldur's Gate series - especially Baldur's Gate 2. The Icewindale saga is a good time, as well. I also dig Morrowind, but I haven't played it so much lately. For some reason, I never get far in the game. I make a character, play them for a while, and then get bored with my character - not the game, the character I'm playing. So I start over. Go figure.
I used to play Diablo 2 religiously, but somewhere along the line, I lost my passion for it.
I'm horrible at RTS games, and turn-based bores me to tears, so I avoid those.
One game I love for no apparent reason is Sim City (pick a version). I know that for someone who says turn-based strategy is boring, it sounds weird to hear praise for city simulations, but it is the case none the less.
I used to play the sims but then i got too sadistic, locking them in a bathroom until they died. I don't get half of these strategy games, wolfenstein gave me severe nausia from the spinning. I used to play tetris alot, I guess i'm an old schooler. I cannot get enough of the atari and commodore games (I have my old atari and lots of catridges)
I am a huge fan of board games - but I don't know hardly anybody who plays. I mean I'll sit down and just go at it with scrabble, trivial pursuit, risk, facts in five, any new and old game, word game or strategy. It's just a matter of the lack of opponents. What is wrong with this world?!
I generally like RPG like Balders Gate., However I also liked Dues ex and Max Paine
I generally always finish a game quickly. And only play one at a time.
However, I've been playing Diablo II and the expansions and patches for just over 3 years now (1st two years solo now mainly on-line with two friends).
Even if I buy a new game I resort back to playing DII. It has ruined other games for me.
Well except for spider solitaire
I haven't played computer games in about 3 years, but the ones I did like were:
War Craft II
Star Craft
Age of Empires II
Dune
Command and Conquer
Still play board games occasionally:
Chess (mostly)
Scrabble (a lot)
Stratego (sometimes)
As a kid I had and played all the board games and made up a few of my own using a special hard cardboard from a factory.
Scabble kicks ass
Used to play alot of games, classics like Warcraft, Doom and Mario, nowadays I've been getting into Rpg big time. The final fantasy series kicks ass! I also on occasion go play some network games with some friends, mainly a very good game: Battlefield 1942 [I think] and it's expansion pack, Desert Combat.
I also love the Command and Conquer series, Warcraft series and Civ III, games like Grand theft auto are good for mindless violence as well.
I find that most First person shooters are better on PC as well as Rpg's [though games like Halo and Red Faction are pretty good on Ps2], whilst Sports games, and games such as Grand Theft Auto 3 and Metal Gear Solid are better on systems like a playstation. The other genres could go either way on either system.
I LOVE Scrabble. It's just about the greatest game ever made.
I also like Clue, Trivial Pursuit (although some of the questions make me feel like an idiot), domino, and a variety of card games (none of which I am good at.)
I also like so-called "party games" like Catch Phrase and Taboo.
Love board games. Me and a few friends went and spent 24 hours at a pancake parlour once, just for the hell of it, and they actually had board games there.
We spent the whole time playing chess, monopoly scrabble and othello. Fun stuff.
Annoying as hell though, me and my girlfriend play monopoly a fair bit, and i have yet to win a game. Anybody have any tips? :-P
Dean,
Just buy up everything you land on, especially the Orange and Purple properties between Jail and Free Parking. They are affordable and easier to build quickly and the returns are solid. With this strategy you will win nearly every time. If allowing trading of property during the game tie up all the other colors by getting "only" one of each color. Don't bother buying the utilities. Railroads are good.
Speed is essential in this game. Getting around the board quick early on and going to jail when the opposition has the advantage.
The problem with the higher value properties is that it takes to long to build on them and you get beat out by the person with the orange and purple properties.
Well, that's my financial advice for today. Good luck.............
Clue rocks! I have Clue Master Detective - made in the late 1980s. There are four or five additional characters (local sheriff, southern belle, pretentious French a***ole), several new weapons (poison, horseshoe), and new rooms (carriage house, gazebo, fountain). It doesn't really change the point of the game, but it stretches it out and complicates things. The cards are getting worn so I have started shuffling them VERY carefully since I don't think they make the Master Detective version any more.
My favorites are;
-Conker's Bad Fur Day. This game is hilarious, sick, violent, and TONS of reference to movies. It has everything I need.
-Warcraft II: This is a classic all right I also like the jive of the original game to. The third game...well...
-Final Fantasy IV, VII,X; All there are great RPG game. I think IV is my favorite because it comes from the Golden Days of RPGs (back when Super Nintendo was big) and it's more Sword and Sorrcery than the other two I mentioned.
Recently I was introduced to this game. Very cool, as is Awful Green Things from Outer Space. And Illuminati.
"Awful Green Things from Outer Space"
A Tom Wham classic! Ever play Elefant Hunt?
May have, years ago. It sounds familiar, but I don't remember anything about it.
I play modern PC games as well (the last I really liked was "Call of Duty"), but I mostly play old stuff (PSX, N64, arcade or even old computers) through emulators. I am a big fan of emulation. Among my favourite emulated games there are the "Street Fighter EX" serie (arcade), "Tetris" and "Super Mario Land" (GameBoy) or the "Star Wars Games" for the Super Famicon.
Neville.....ahhhhhh.....The Famicon......
Memories....
Also known as the Nintendo here. :o)
I used to have a game that was a total rip off of Clue. I can't remember what it was called, but in it you were an investigator instead of a suspect, there were more rooms than in Clue, more Weapons, more Suspects, and you also had to determine MOTIVE.
It was seriously cool.
In Elefant Hunt you pick hunters randomly to form a hunting party and then make your way into the interior of darkest Africa. You randomly meet animals and have to allocate your hunters to catch them. There were pitfalls and stuff too - like quicksand and ancient curses and stuff.
>* ALPHA CENTAURI and ALIEN CROSSFIRE - Unfortunately, these games are
>not compatible with my current Windows XP system, so I can't play them
>anymore!
Three words: Dual Boot System
>Which games are your favorites?
It depends what system you're talking about, I have different favorites for the Atari consoles, Intellivision, C64, Amiga, Windows etc.
I tend to prefer action oriented games, although I do like some strategy games. Also, I usually like games with a SciFi or horror theme the most.
I kind of missed the big FPS craze when Wolfenstein and Doom came out (I was still using the Amiga and FPS games either sucked, or required a much faster system than I had), so I've been enjoying some of the older games, like Dark Forces (Star Wars), and Thief which I'm currently playing. I've also got Rogue Squadron and Curse of Monkey Island installed, but haven't played them in a while.
I've been buying a lot of software at closeout stores and cheap eBay auctions in anticipation of having a larger, faster system to run it on (current one is 233Mhz with a 6.4gb HD), which I hope to have soon. I've got FPS games such as Half Life, Tomb Raider, Serious Sam, Heavy Metal II, FAKK, Heretic II, Carnivores II, Star Trek Elite Force, Jedi Knight. Strategy games such as Homeworld, Star Trek Armada, Fargate. God games such as Majesty and Populous The Beginning. Mech games such as Heavy Gear II, Mechwarrior II & III. Arcade games such as Lode Runner II, Gubble, SciFi Pinball. Racing games such as Grand Prix 3, 4x4 Evo II, Rallye Master. Space battle games such as Descent Freespace, Star Lancer, X-Wing Collector's Series. Adventure games such as Escape from Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Beavis & Butthead in Virtual Stupidity.
As you can see, I have fairly varied tastes in games. About the only games I don't care for are most sports games (baseball, football etc) and most traditional RPG's (assigning experience points, eating, resting, casting spells etc).
I also very much want to be able to play the Archimedes version of Elite, which is supposed to be the absolute best version of Elite ever made. Unfortunately, there only seem to be a couple emulators for the Archimedes, which require copyrighted ROMs to use and I have no idea how to operate one even if I get it working.
>I used to have a game that was a total rip off of Clue. I can't remember what it
>was called, but in it you were an investigator instead of a suspect, there were
>more rooms than in Clue, more Weapons, more Suspects, and you also had to
>determine MOTIVE.
You don't say how old this game was, but if it was on one of the older systems (Atari, C64 etc), it might be Murder on the Zinderneuf (http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=5096&d=18&h=0). I've only ever played it once and since I didn't have the instructions, I didn't know what I was doing, so I don't know if this game matches your description or not. I know it's set on a zepplin and you have to solve a murder before the ship reaches its destination.
JohnL wrote:
> You don't say how old this game was, but if it was on one of
> the older systems (Atari, C64 etc), it might be
>
> Murder on the Zinderneuf (http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=5096&d=18&h=0). I've only ever played it once
> and since I didn't have the instructions, I didn't know what I
> was doing, so I don't know if this game matches your
> description or not. I know it's set on a zepplin and you have
> to solve a murder before the ship reaches its destination.
No, sorry - I was talking about a board game. Thanks for the help, though - hte game you pointed out looks interesting, to say the least.
Speaking of old school games, does anyone remember an old game called Bruce Lee? You wandered around a palace, fighting ninjas and such. It was for the PC, I think, but I'm pretty sure there was a C64 version, too.
I have very fond memories of that game.
I also remember fondly three Atari 2600 games. Two of them - Dragon Slayer and Maze of the Mindmaster - were part of a weird tape+cartrige setup. They were both excellent games - one was a primitive RPG where you had hit points and spells and everything. The other was a first Person maze game where you went through these mazes and did tests to save the Earth. Both very cool.
The other 2600 game that really sticks out in my memory is Arc In Space, which was the sequel to the game Atlantis. In the game, you went and rescued specimines of several species from thier home worlds before they were destroyed. I don't know why I liked it so much. It was pretty much crap...
Then ther was Montezuma's Revenge, the only game (as far as I know) that is named for a euphamism for dysintery. Fun game - I playedd the hell outta that one back in the day. It was, as I remember it, part Pitfall, part Donkey Kong.
Anybody else remember these?
>Speaking of old school games, does anyone remember an old game called
>Bruce Lee? You wandered around a palace, fighting ninjas and such. It was for
>the PC, I think, but I'm pretty sure there was a C64 version, too.
Yup, used to play it with friends on my C64. We got pretty good at beating it. It's available for download Here (http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=1135&d=18&h=0).
>I also remember fondly three Atari 2600 games. Two of them - Dragon Slayer
>and Maze of the Mindmaster - were part of a weird tape+cartrige setup. They
>were both excellent games - one was a primitive RPG where you had hit points
>and spells and everything. The other was a first Person maze game where you
>went through these mazes and did tests to save the Earth. Both very cool.
Ah yes, the Starpath Supercharger. I had both these games as well as about 5-6 others. Later, I got a CD from someone on the net with several hard to find games, including a much better version of Frogger.
Dragonstomper (http://www.atariage.com/software_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=155)
Escape From the Mindmaster (http://www.atariage.com/software_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=167)
>The other 2600 game that really sticks out in my memory is Arc In Space, which
>was the sequel to the game Atlantis. In the game, you went and rescued
>specimines of several species from thier home worlds before they were
>destroyed. I don't know why I liked it so much. It was pretty much crap...
I liked this game as well, although at the higher levels it was really a pain to do the meteor sequence.
Cosmic Ark (http://www.atariage.com/software_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=104)
>Then ther was Montezuma's Revenge, the only game (as far as I know) that is
>named for a euphamism for dysintery. Fun game - I playedd the hell outta that
>one back in the day. It was, as I remember it, part Pitfall, part Donkey Kong.
I not only mapped this game (it only had something like 25 screens), I memorized it to the point where I could just run through it from memory. Couldn't do that with the C64 version though, it had like 100+ screens.
Montezuma's Revenge 2600 (http://www.atariage.com/software_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=310)
Montezuma's Revenge C64 (http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=4964&d=18&h=0)
By the way, you can play all these games on current systems under emulators. All of the above provide download links, except the two Starpath games which aren't on that site for copyright reasons. You can download the Starpath games Here (http://www.rom-world.com/dl.php?name=Atari_2600&letter=S). It makes you jump through a couple hoops in order to download the files, but it DOES work. The site has animated porn ads though, in case that sort of thing offends you.
To JohnL: If you are into old games and your computer still has DOS, you should try "Syndicate", UFO - Enemy Unknown", "XCOM - Terror from the deep" and "Strike Commander". The three first are global strategy games that are also action-packed, specially "Syndicate". Even if you are no freak of strategy games, they are so original and absorbing you will wonder how you could have done without them. "Strike Commander" is a flight simulator, but has cinematic cutscenes and a tight plot. The flight controls are simple but effective, and the inmense variety of scenarios and missions (from tank busting to bomb raids or destroying entire fleets) make it a real winner.
All these games are really old, and maybe your best choice to get them is looking for Abandonware websites on the net.
Many thanks, JohnL!
I think I'm just about to take a walk down memory lane...
>If you are into old games and your computer still has DOS, you should
It does, although my efforts to get old games to run haven't been all that successful. Dark Forces ran great with no problems at all, as did one pinball game I downloaded. Most of the rest either run way too fast, lock up the system or run with corrupted graphics and sound. Of course, I was trying to run some really old stuff, in some cases old enough to use CGA graphics (UGH!!!).
>try "Syndicate", UFO - Enemy Unknown", "XCOM - Terror from the deep"
>and "Strike Commander"
I've played Syndicate on the Amiga and beaten it. I also beat the American Revolt data disk, however the Amiga version was a cut-down copy of the IBM one. NO rotating the view, no airstrikes etc. Basically, it only added new missions that were played the same as the originals. I do want to get the sequel, Syndicate Wars. The UFO/XCOM games never really appealed to me all that much. I love the idea, but I suck at managing supplies and such, especially if you have to pay bills. I can't even keep a modest park in Theme Park running on easy mode without going broke! I also wasn't crazy about the turn-based combat.
>All these games are really old, and maybe your best choice to get them is
>looking for Abandonware websites on the net.
Thanks, I know of a few.
>Many thanks, JohnL!
No problem!
>I think I'm just about to take a walk down memory lane...
Here are some links I probably should have included with my other message.
For emulators, go here;
Zophar's Domain (http://www.zophar.net/index.phtml) (scroll down, click your OS to see emulators for it)
Paul McGunnigle's Emulation Homepage (http://madjock.emulationworld.com/)
Atari games, 2600, 5200, 7800, Lynx etc;
Atari Age (http://www.atariage.com/) (click on system of choice, go to bottom of page and click Begin Search)
C64 Games;
GameBase 64 (http://www.gamebase64.com) (click on GBC tab at top, then pick a letter or search)
C64.com (http://www.c64.com)
C64 Unlimited (http://www.c64unlimited.net/)
Stadium 64 (http://s64.emuunlim.com/games/games.htm) (sports games)
Magyar Commodore 64 HQ (http://web.externet.hu/sk/c64/) (not in English, but has some rare games)
Game ROMs for various systems;
ROM World (http://www.rom-world.com) (animated porn ads, follow instructions for downloading, DOES work)
Play Again (http://www.playagain.net) (click on Good Sets)
Edge Emulation (http://www.edgeemu.com) (click ROMs on the right side of the page)
Post Edited (01-26-04 09:48)
More links for the nostalgyc:
http://back2roots.org --> The best Amiga Emulation page. Lots of games, tools and sample configs to run WinUAE, the best Amiga emulator.
http://aiab.emuunlim.com --> A great Workbench (Amiga OS) replacement, tweaked to work with WinUAE. Note: You need Workbench disks to install. Some HD-Installed games as well.
http://www.planetemu.net --> Great French site, has complete sets for most systems. After the first download you have up to wait 5 minutes to download again, though, unless you subscribe & donate.
http://www.the-underdogs.org --> The best Abandonware page I have heard of.
http://www.computeremuzone.com --> Spanish games only from the 8-bit & 16-bit golden era with their emulators. I am one of the phorum moderators (Brill).
>http://back2roots.org --> The best Amiga Emulation page.
It should also be noted that anything on the Amiga emulation sites can usually be easily transferred to a real Amiga using a null-modem cable or CrossDOS to transfer the files and TransADF to write the files back to floppy.
>http://www.the-underdogs.org --> The best Abandonware page I have heard of.
I agree. Unfortunately, it seems that more and more of their games have a "Buy it" link rather than a download link. While I have no problem with them wanting to be legimate and in most cases I'd prefer to have the full version rather than a "CD rip" which is missing all the cut scenes and such anyway, I don't like the idea of buying a game that may not even work on my system.
I used to know of several abandonware search sites that would tell you where to find a particular game. Sadly except for one, they all seem to have disappeared;
Free Oldies (http://www.freeoldies.com)
I know this is a long shot, but does anyone know of a source of X68000 games? I got a handful off a couple sites, but I haven't been able to find any collections like what exists for the other systems. I only found out about this system a short while ago and it looks like it came and went on the net. Looks like a great system, hopefully, I'll eventually have a system fast enough to use the emulators.
X68000 (http://www.emulatronia.com/reportajes/x68000/x68000.htm) - Some games, screenshots and an emulator.
X68000 Roms (http://www.emulatronia.com/reportajes/x68000/roms.htm) - None of the links work, included only for reference.
X68000 Games Archive (http://www.jcec.co.uk/X68list.htm) - Handful of games, some links don't work, also sells CD.
Console ROMs (http://www.geocities.com/dougburton/Consoles.html) - ROMs on CD for $2 a disc!
Emu on CD (http://www.pike.uaivip.com.br/en_x68000.html) - ROMs for all systems on CD, decent prices!
Finally, for those who hadn't noticed, I fixed the screwed up link for Atari games in my last post.
Post Edited (01-26-04 11:38)
Just wanted to let you know that I am now the proud posessor of the z26 Atari 2600 emulator, and I'm loving it. I have a few Roms to go with it, and i must say playing frogger for the first time in years was wonderous.
I've also played the hell outta Dragonstomper and Escape from the Mindmaster.
Thanks for the info. Now, if I could just find time to sleep...
>Just wanted to let you know that I am now the proud posessor of the z26 Atari
>2600 emulator, and I'm loving it. I have a few Roms to go with it, and i must say
Glad you're having fun!
>playing frogger for the first time in years was wonderous.
If you like Frogger, you should also try the Starpath version. You can download it here, it's under 'S' for Starpath;
The Old Computer (http://www.theoldcomputer.com/Libarary's/Emulation/Atari2600/Roms/Atari2600_rom_summary.htm)
That site might have some games that the other sites don't.
>I've also played the hell outta Dragonstomper and Escape from the Mindmaster.
I actually got to the dragon once, but couldn't beat it. Fun games!
>Thanks for the info. Now, if I could just find time to sleep...
No problem. Have fun! :)
I got the Starpath frogger. It's an awesome adaptation of the arcade game, but all my nostalgia is for the Atari 2600 version, so that's what I play the most.
The secret to beating the dragon is to use the Shield spell and maneuver around the dragon - just go up, unlock the gate at the top, and claim the amulet - you win!
>The secret to beating the dragon is to use the Shield spell and maneuver
>around the dragon - just go up, unlock the gate at the top, and claim the amulet -
>you win!
I think when I got there, I didn't have any spells left.
There are alot of cool games for PC. Some of my faves have been;
1. Might & Magic 6,7, and 8 (9 was a dissapointment!)
2. Heroes of M&M 2-4(excellent game!)
3. Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds (Age of empires on steroids!!)
4. Civilization II, III
5. Caesar III
6. Pharoah & Cleopatra
7. Star Trek Armada
8. Commandos (it just got too difficult)
9. Roller Coaster Tycoon
All this talk about Atari is bringing back memories. Anybody here remember Joust? Loved that game.
>All this talk about Atari is bringing back memories. Anybody here remember
>Joust? Loved that game.
Of course I remember it, Joust is one of the classics. I've never played it in the arcade (most of the arcades around here didn't have a big selection of the classics), but I've played the various home versions, plus countless clones and ripoffs of it. I even remember a type-in clone of it for the C64 that had an arabian theme with guys on flying carpets.
I was always more into space themed games like Gyruss and Star Raiders (not the 2600 version though).
Deus Ex need i say more