Forgotten Games
If you are no game veteran, like me who is playing games now for 20+ years, you missed many really good games. Seriously. However, if you belong like me to this veteran group, you may recall some really great games, game series or game concepts, which somehow just vanished. Some may have vanished for good, but there are some who used to stand out for novelty or class or fun or whatever, and I never understood why they really vanished. In memory of some really great pearls of gaming of the past, this is my Top Ten:
10. Birthright – The Gorgons Alliance
Birthright was a D&D like world from Wizards of the Coast and the game was published by Sierra 1996. When I first played Birthright, despite the bugs the first version had, I was totally thrilled. For the first time in ONE game you could do roleplay with a party in a 3d environment, play a civ-like strategy game AND do real-time battles of armies. I never have seen a game covering these three different game spheres in one game ever since, so it kinda remained a rarity. Sure, it was plagued with bugs, but still, I found the idea great and the setting too. You could expand your realm in so many game-play ways, it was quite fun to play despite the problems. Copies sold: 40.000
9. Stonekeep
Stonekeep was published 1995 by Interplay, and it was one of the early 3D dungeon crawlers. To this day it is for some reasons a memorable game. Maybe because it was –for me at last – such a breakthrough in 3D and atmosphere. I really got acquainted with the characters and the world. Stonekeep won several awards in 1996. Black Isle once started a sequel, but somehow they cancelled it. A loss.
8. Anachronox
Anachronox was an action RPG which was published in 2001. In my opinion it is one of the most underrated games ever made. It was a total flop, and thus contributed to the fall of Ion Storm. Anarchonox was one of the few Sci-Fi RPGs, who are still very rare. Despite the games disastrous sale numbers, it was (justly IMO) usually rated rather good. The cliff-hanger at the end was never solved, since the series ended with the first game. I really like the characters, the story and the atmosphere.
7. Wizardry
Wizardry was a RPG gaming series, which had started 1981 with “Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord” to “Wizardry 8” in 2001. I recall after Wizardry VII in 1992 there was a cliffhanger and you could save your party, as in the previous installations for a next part. I managed to keep my party all the nine long years until finally, 2001, the story was finished. Wizardry was a classic RPG series, and I never understood why the concept of a party in a 3d environment like in Wizardry was abandoned. Today most RPGs have either a solo hero or an isomentric party, which IMO obstructs the view. I loved this “first person” perspective where the party just was a set of icons, giving me free view, but that concept entirely vanished, sadly.
6. Might and Magic
Might and Magic was a RPG series similar to Wizardry, but I liked the M&M games a tad more, partially because of the world and the characters. The height of the series were M&M III – Isles of Terra (1991) and Part IV + V (1992-93) who where “World of Xeen”. It belonged to New World Computing, and back then I saw that logo OFTEN. Ever since the brand went to 3DO in 1996 the series declined. The most fascinating thing about M&M was, you were in a normal fantasy world, but in hidden places you saw remnants of a high tech sci-fi universe. There was a secret back-story, connecting all the parts about the vanished galactic empire of the ancients. Unfortunately that story was abandoned and we never found out why the empire had vanished and where the ancients had gone.
5. Baldurs Gate
Ok, Baldurs Gates is hardly forgotten, and the Neverwinter Nights series somewhat kept its legacy. Still, it had some unique features I have not seen since then. All the 3D setting of the later games never really reached the detail and beauty of the hand-made 2d world from BG. When Bioware and Interplay released the first part in 1998, the entire RPG genre was supposed to be dead and gone forever. At that day 3d action games like Tomb Raider had ruled the game scene, and no one expected a top-down view game with complex statistics ever to return again. The sheer epic scope is rarely reached these days. I recall I played Baldurs Gate for MONTHS! Today most games are finished in a longer weekend, alas.
4. System Shock.
System Shock was one of the most memorable game I ever played, including its 2nd iteration. It was made by Looking Glass and published by Origin 1994. Everyone who played it back then will never forget the really frightening atmosphere. Sure, a lot was about fighting and shooting, but there was SO much more! The recently made “Bioshock” is only a VERY pale imitation of the grandeur System Shock 1 and 2 were. System Shock is nothing less than the father of all story-based, intelligent action games and has created a big legacy. Alas few of the following games ever reached that summit.
3. Lands of Lore.
Lands of Lore was a first person RPG, similar to Might and Magic, but only the first of the three parts had a party. Part II and III featured only a single hero. I must say what I loved most about Land of Lore was the game world, which was made with such great love and dedication. The original version of Part 1 was released 1993 by Westwood and the last part 1999. I always found the story and the world very touching and interesting, but as so many things EA bought it was never recycled.
2. Ultima
Who does not know Ultima, once the king of RPG. The Origin flagship first launched with Ultima in 1980 and had very dishonourable end in 1999 with the publication of Ultima IX Ascension. Ultima IX had been started its development as a top-down, isometric game. But in the development phase Tomb Raider became the new hype, and the game was entirely changed into a Tomb-Raider-style 3d game. Ultima was one of the greatest RPG series, and Ultima IX one of the worst RPGs. Everything which had made Ultima great was abandoned and betrayed. Still, the legacy of the good games, including the spin-offs “Ultima World of Adventure” and “Ultima Underworld”, will always be remembered. It is a shame They didn’t build on this great game world and characters with new, better RPGs.
1. Megatraveller
Megatraveller had two iterations in 1990 (The Zhodani Conspiracy) and 1991 (Quest for the Ancients), both for MS-DOS and Atari ST. It is based on a D&D-like Pen and Paper Sci-Fi game “Traveller”. I never understood why Traveller never gained a popularity similar to D&D. Traveller is a really interesting setting in a fictional far future with Empires and many races, a bit like a Star Trek and Star Wars crossover. That Megatraveller fell into oblivion is a shame for many reasons. All of its features are now more or less vanished from gaming: the almost entire loss of Sci-Fi RPGs (with the only exception of KOTOR) in an open galaxy, with many planets and a party you can entirely create yourself. Game systems like these are today all, solely fantasy RPGs. The entire genre of open Sci-Fi RPGs has more or less vanished. The only game going “somewhat” in the same direction recently has been Mass Effect, and the stunning success of the game shows the great thirst for Sci-Fi RPGs. Still, I always preferred to make my party myself, instead of picking up premade people, since then I have much more control over my playstyle. But that also seems to have vanished from gaming, more or less. Megatraveller was a milestone, it was far head of its time in its possibilities, but it was apparently missed and quickly, and most undeservingly, vanished.
If you are no game veteran, like me who is playing games now for 20+ years, you missed many really good games. Seriously. However, if you belong like me to this veteran group, you may recall some really great games, game series or game concepts, which somehow just vanished. Some may have vanished for good, but there are some who used to stand out for novelty or class or fun or whatever, and I never understood why they really vanished. In memory of some really great pearls of gaming of the past, this is my Top Ten:
10. Birthright – The Gorgons Alliance
Birthright was a D&D like world from Wizards of the Coast and the game was published by Sierra 1996. When I first played Birthright, despite the bugs the first version had, I was totally thrilled. For the first time in ONE game you could do roleplay with a party in a 3d environment, play a civ-like strategy game AND do real-time battles of armies. I never have seen a game covering these three different game spheres in one game ever since, so it kinda remained a rarity. Sure, it was plagued with bugs, but still, I found the idea great and the setting too. You could expand your realm in so many game-play ways, it was quite fun to play despite the problems. Copies sold: 40.000
9. Stonekeep
Stonekeep was published 1995 by Interplay, and it was one of the early 3D dungeon crawlers. To this day it is for some reasons a memorable game. Maybe because it was –for me at last – such a breakthrough in 3D and atmosphere. I really got acquainted with the characters and the world. Stonekeep won several awards in 1996. Black Isle once started a sequel, but somehow they cancelled it. A loss.
8. Anachronox
Anachronox was an action RPG which was published in 2001. In my opinion it is one of the most underrated games ever made. It was a total flop, and thus contributed to the fall of Ion Storm. Anarchonox was one of the few Sci-Fi RPGs, who are still very rare. Despite the games disastrous sale numbers, it was (justly IMO) usually rated rather good. The cliff-hanger at the end was never solved, since the series ended with the first game. I really like the characters, the story and the atmosphere.
7. Wizardry
Wizardry was a RPG gaming series, which had started 1981 with “Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord” to “Wizardry 8” in 2001. I recall after Wizardry VII in 1992 there was a cliffhanger and you could save your party, as in the previous installations for a next part. I managed to keep my party all the nine long years until finally, 2001, the story was finished. Wizardry was a classic RPG series, and I never understood why the concept of a party in a 3d environment like in Wizardry was abandoned. Today most RPGs have either a solo hero or an isomentric party, which IMO obstructs the view. I loved this “first person” perspective where the party just was a set of icons, giving me free view, but that concept entirely vanished, sadly.
6. Might and Magic
Might and Magic was a RPG series similar to Wizardry, but I liked the M&M games a tad more, partially because of the world and the characters. The height of the series were M&M III – Isles of Terra (1991) and Part IV + V (1992-93) who where “World of Xeen”. It belonged to New World Computing, and back then I saw that logo OFTEN. Ever since the brand went to 3DO in 1996 the series declined. The most fascinating thing about M&M was, you were in a normal fantasy world, but in hidden places you saw remnants of a high tech sci-fi universe. There was a secret back-story, connecting all the parts about the vanished galactic empire of the ancients. Unfortunately that story was abandoned and we never found out why the empire had vanished and where the ancients had gone.
5. Baldurs Gate
Ok, Baldurs Gates is hardly forgotten, and the Neverwinter Nights series somewhat kept its legacy. Still, it had some unique features I have not seen since then. All the 3D setting of the later games never really reached the detail and beauty of the hand-made 2d world from BG. When Bioware and Interplay released the first part in 1998, the entire RPG genre was supposed to be dead and gone forever. At that day 3d action games like Tomb Raider had ruled the game scene, and no one expected a top-down view game with complex statistics ever to return again. The sheer epic scope is rarely reached these days. I recall I played Baldurs Gate for MONTHS! Today most games are finished in a longer weekend, alas.
4. System Shock.
System Shock was one of the most memorable game I ever played, including its 2nd iteration. It was made by Looking Glass and published by Origin 1994. Everyone who played it back then will never forget the really frightening atmosphere. Sure, a lot was about fighting and shooting, but there was SO much more! The recently made “Bioshock” is only a VERY pale imitation of the grandeur System Shock 1 and 2 were. System Shock is nothing less than the father of all story-based, intelligent action games and has created a big legacy. Alas few of the following games ever reached that summit.
3. Lands of Lore.
Lands of Lore was a first person RPG, similar to Might and Magic, but only the first of the three parts had a party. Part II and III featured only a single hero. I must say what I loved most about Land of Lore was the game world, which was made with such great love and dedication. The original version of Part 1 was released 1993 by Westwood and the last part 1999. I always found the story and the world very touching and interesting, but as so many things EA bought it was never recycled.
2. Ultima
Who does not know Ultima, once the king of RPG. The Origin flagship first launched with Ultima in 1980 and had very dishonourable end in 1999 with the publication of Ultima IX Ascension. Ultima IX had been started its development as a top-down, isometric game. But in the development phase Tomb Raider became the new hype, and the game was entirely changed into a Tomb-Raider-style 3d game. Ultima was one of the greatest RPG series, and Ultima IX one of the worst RPGs. Everything which had made Ultima great was abandoned and betrayed. Still, the legacy of the good games, including the spin-offs “Ultima World of Adventure” and “Ultima Underworld”, will always be remembered. It is a shame They didn’t build on this great game world and characters with new, better RPGs.
1. Megatraveller
Megatraveller had two iterations in 1990 (The Zhodani Conspiracy) and 1991 (Quest for the Ancients), both for MS-DOS and Atari ST. It is based on a D&D-like Pen and Paper Sci-Fi game “Traveller”. I never understood why Traveller never gained a popularity similar to D&D. Traveller is a really interesting setting in a fictional far future with Empires and many races, a bit like a Star Trek and Star Wars crossover. That Megatraveller fell into oblivion is a shame for many reasons. All of its features are now more or less vanished from gaming: the almost entire loss of Sci-Fi RPGs (with the only exception of KOTOR) in an open galaxy, with many planets and a party you can entirely create yourself. Game systems like these are today all, solely fantasy RPGs. The entire genre of open Sci-Fi RPGs has more or less vanished. The only game going “somewhat” in the same direction recently has been Mass Effect, and the stunning success of the game shows the great thirst for Sci-Fi RPGs. Still, I always preferred to make my party myself, instead of picking up premade people, since then I have much more control over my playstyle. But that also seems to have vanished from gaming, more or less. Megatraveller was a milestone, it was far head of its time in its possibilities, but it was apparently missed and quickly, and most undeservingly, vanished.
