MS-DOS Gaming

[M.Knight]

I remember coming across this web article that explained that the ludicrousness and the rigidity of the ways to solve some adventure game puzzles was what caused their decline in popularity.
I haven't played old school adventure games (I only played a bit of Cing's output) but I agree.

[drauch]

I'll give about any puzzle a good 15 minutes or so, then I say fuck it and just look it up. I mainly care about the adventure and story aspect of the game, so if a puzzle is too convoluted and silly, I'd rather just get on with it and keep the flow going.

[BryanM]

I think the genre's become rolled up into other ones. Like, survival horror is the closest to classic PC Adventure Games.



Even my favorite at the time, Quest for Glory (the remake), had a combat and stat system. Really the draw of the games for me were memorable characters that weren't just billboards or plot coupons and the willingness to use humor.

[louisg]

I'm in the same boat. I was really big on adventure games as a kid, but nowadays they just frustrate me. It annoys me to no end when I can think of dozens of real-life ways to deal with a problem, but I need to find the one the game designer demands I use. And that could be a stupidly obscure and round-about way of doing things. Just don't have the patience for that anymore.

When I played the first Monkey Island, I felt like the puzzles were well-done as far as not artificially restricting the player. I'd think of an idea, try it, and it'd work or not work for some logical reason. Most adventure games IMO don't live up to this. Especially Sam & Max which, while hilarious, had complete bullshit for puzzles. I wasn't all that fond of the second Monkey Island either.

[Ed Oscuro]

Interestingly, you'd think that the most closed-box adventures would be more frustrating and hard to deal with, but in truth having it more obvious what needs to be done can make it easier to mentally juggle the different combinations. Surprisingly, it helps with my suspension of disbelief because I'm not spending all my time thinking "why can't I do this or that?" or "why can't I just walk to a different street?"

[Edmond Dantes]

I used to be purely a gamer that would try to solve games himself, never use a walkthru. But there's only a couple adventure games I can recall beating that way--Space Quest IV, the original Zork, the Dig, and Myst--and the rest of the time I just wanna strangle someone.

I still try to play that way, but once it gets to the point where its pissing me off, I don't bother. Being stuck is not fun.

On the subject of Monkey Island... I love the game, at least enough that I bothered to get both variations on the ending. But I especially enjoyed the parts on Melee Island, as those felt like they had the most heart and joy put into them. The part with the ship felt like another throw-away "your crew are dicks" joke most humor-oriented games have, and of course the illogical puzzle soured it for me.

Monkey Island (the island) itself though felt... lame. I just hated being there, and I couldn't wait for the game to be over. The puzzles suddenly became obnoxious (you have to use a catapult to knock bananas off a tree?) and the new characters introduced there weren't interesting or likable. And for how much insult-swordfighting was played up in the first half (it was my favorite part BTW), I was let down that it never really became relevant through the rest of the game. I genuinely felt good when the game suddenly returned to Melee Island and the awesome dialogue options returned and you could have an insult-off with LeChuck before he whollops you.

So you could say: Strong beginning, weak middle, strong endgame. Really, once you're on the ship, just pull out a walkthru.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Has anyone got the Windows version of GuimO to work? Does Zombie Wars (2D sidescroller) have a DOS version, or was it only for Windows?

[Edmond Dantes]

What's GuimO?

Zombie Wars (the sequel to Halloween Harry) may well be windows-only. LGR had the windows version and he never mentioned there being a Dos version, which I would think if there was, he'd know about it.

Now playing: The DOS version of Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum. I was thinking of doing a big video review of the (superior) NES version and it's only right to compare it to the original. Also RPGs are awesome, especially older ones.

[DrVenom]

Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame
Lemmings
Oh No! More Lemmings

There are probably a lot who havn't played the sequels.

[BrianC]

Maniac Mansion DoTT's puzzles seemed logical in the if it works in Looney Tunes, it works here, sort of way. I remember the game being pretty easy, though it is also one of the funniest games I have played, especially with the voices on.

[Ruldra]

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame

Did anyone ever figure out that part with the blue flame by themselves? That's the kind of stuff you'd need a guide for.

[DrVenom]

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame

Did anyone ever figure out that part with the blue flame by themselves? That's the kind of stuff you'd need a guide for.

There is this "glitch" where if you jump to the platform with the blue flame then the exit door opens.
You just have to make a somewhat difficult jump on the way back with enemies placed to try and knock you in.
The developers must have thought that was enough to stop players from doing it this way. That is how I got through on my first playthrough. I didn't learn about the correct way until afterwards. It's pretty hard to figure out although there is a hint on the wall. In any case I think it is a pretty cool and memorable thing.

[Edmond Dantes]

I never got as far as the blue flame puzzle, I think.

In fact last time I played I got to the part with the skeleton on the bridge and kinda lost interest (I just wasn't in the mood at the time).

By the way, if Ed Oscuro is reading: I gots Shadowcaster! ^__^

[tinotormed]

Necrobumping due to the fact that I managed to discover this very underrated Asteroids/Seek and Destroy hybrid. The game is called Axia by Dungeon Dwellers Design. I managed to complete the game btw.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Is the old PC games emulation on the Wii recreational enough already? Shadow Knights - any good?

[Lord Satori]

SPISPOPD!

I love this game! One of the first games by the founder of an indie company that's a dear part of my childhood. I was surprised when I found out it has a TV Tropes page that covers the whole series!

He's long since rebranded himself as a family friendly company, so you won't find the original Spispopd linked above on his current website, but he's made some neat stuff regardless. (unfortunately he's 100% focused on a mobile game called "Growtopia", so it seems like his older works will remain relics)


...Sorry, this is coming across like a random ad or something. The original Spispopd was made based off a joke that stemmed from when Doom first came out. IIRC, someone commented that "Doom" was such a boring title and that they should've come up with something interesting like "Smashing Pumpkins Into Small Piles of Putrid Debris". And so some guy decided to actually make an entire game out of it! (as a senior project, iirc)

There are a few different versions of the game floating out there. Version 3.0 has an editor to create your own worlds with, but you'll be lucky if you find any worlds to download. (I've only seen two, one of which is somewhere deep in the currently down forums on his current site linked above) The drawback is that you have to load each world separately with the main game as its own "episode". An older version lacks the editor but has the main game intact.

The actual game is pretty damn difficult. The main enemies are pumpkins, and there are roughly 7 worlds with 8 non-secret levels each. Each world has it's own theme and pumpkin type as well as a boss. The player's only weapon is a throwable hammer with endless ammo, though collecting more hammers can allow you to throw more at once.


I've gone on for longer than needed, but I urge you to try it. It's pretty good for what's basically a joke game.

[gameoverDude]

Fighter: Super Street Fighter II Turbo

More faithful to the arcade than the 3DO version, even with the resolution difference (cut down to 320 wide instead of 384, meaning it does feel zoomed in a bit and fireballs travel faster). Most if not all of the animation seems intact. Parallax is present, and the relentless CPU AI is there. Even at Level 8, the 3DO version's AI is no match.

If the fireball speed were adjusted to compensate, this would've been even truer to the arcade.

[nem]

I always pimp SkyRoads whenever I can, so without further ado.

SkyRoads, an awesome third person, 'in to the screen' platform game with an amazing score.

The game was made free to download by the original devs, so you have no reason not to try it!

[orange808]

Never ever let Iolo use the fire doom staff! He's a maniac!

Ultima VII
Master of Orion
Sierra Front Page Sports Football
Day of the Tenticle
Wing Commander

FWIW, the best shooting and action was on Amiga... but, that's another thread/list...

[Ruldra]

Played Master of Orion for the first time earlier this year, can confirm it's an amazing game. I do recommend reading the manual to understand how everything works. It can be confusing at first but once it clicks, you're in for a great experience.

[Austin]

I always pimp SkyRoads whenever I can, so without further ado.

SkyRoads, an awesome third person, 'in to the screen' platform game with an amazing score.

The game was made free to download by the original devs, so you have no reason not to try it!

Man, I played the ever-living-f*ck out of that game when I was younger. Loved it, I need to revisit it.