magerette
Hedgewitch
- Joined
- October 18, 2006
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In a slight change from repetitive Top Games of the year lists, bit-tech.net takes a look at some obscure and some not so obscure PC games from the past, whose look and feel may prompt a bit of nostalgia. They start off with Nethack:
There's also a look at a selection of abandonware titles and lesser-known classics, as well as two somewhat less obscure rpgs. First:We’re starting big and way, way back – back in the year my family got their first computer actually.[1985] Nethack isn’t so much a game as a gameplay style. Essentially a Roguelike, Nethack is a free open-source game that’s been continually upgraded and expanded since the concept first leapt into the mind of the designers like a Grue diving for a shadow....
...Nethack is mercilessly unforgiving on anybody who mistakes the simple graphics as an indication that this is a casual game though and the dungeon ruthlessly and constantly punishes players who don’t take the time to learn the basics. A common saying among the Nethack is that ‘the developer has predicted all’ and it’s something that certainly looks to be true. The possibilities for suicide and self-harm in a hardcore Nethack run are so extensive that it’s a reason to try the game in and of itself.
and then:Planescape: Torment – 1999
I didn’t play Planescape: Torment when it first came out because I was still far too engrossed in Black Isle’s other RPG classic, Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn. When I did finally track down a copy of Planescape: Torment it was... boxed with two or three other games. I bought the whole lot for a song in what was probably the best investment I’ve ever made.
.... The focus of Torment therefore lies elsewhere – in conversation and inter-character relations...Your allies and foes in Planescape: Torment are intricate beings who come from all kinds of origins – a floating skull from the depths of hell, a Githzerai monk who wields a blade of chaos-matter and a chaste Succubi who runs a whore-house.
The thrill and genius of Planescape: Torment doesn’t lie in the action or the quests – but in the truly fluid nature of the player character and his demeanour...
More information.Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines – 2004
To some of you I’m going to be preaching to the choir here – I know more than a few regular bit-tech readers who are big fans of Bloodlines, but there’s still a lot of people out there who passed by this underappreciated wonder because of the reported technical issues. Those people need to be put straight.
Made by the most talented people from Black Isle when the company ran into financial problems and the developers fled to form their own company, Bloodlines is a classically gothic FPS RPG based in modern day Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, it was also the first game to be developed using the Source Engine and had a litter of bugs as a result – crippling itself with load times and stability problems. Thankfully, the game still enjoys a fan following ...[who].. have taken it upon themselves to patch the game up to spec, adding in features that were cut from the final release and reducing load times on capable PCs.
What we’re left with in the fully patched version... is a deeply adult game which tackles issues like sex, drugs and buggery head-on. Remarkably, the game didn’t generate the massive outcry you might expect though and for good reason...The key is that these elements are always featured in a reasonable context and never used just for the sake it. The smut and obscenity complement the game design rather than fight against it.
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2006
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