Good Old Games - Atari's Classic PC Games Added

[aries100]

CD Project has just announced that Good Old Games (http://www.gog.com/en/frontpage/pp/f6e1126cedebf23e1463aee73f9df08783640400)will be adding the classic pc games from Atari to their catalogue. Here's the full press release:
ATARI BRINGS CLASSIC PC GAMES TO GOG.COM
Outcast, Master of Orion and Master of Magic Among Titles to be Added to GOG.com Catalogue in Coming Weeks
Warsaw, Poland - March 25, 2010. GOG.com continues to build its unmatched catalogue of classic PC games with the addition of hit games from Atari, as per a deal announced today during the CD Projekt Spring 2010 conference. The games will be added to the GOG.com catalogue throughout April, and will include such glorious gems of yesteryear as Outcast, Master of Orion and Master of Magic.
"This is a great step forward for GOG.com and DRM-free digital distribution," said Marcin Iwinski, Co-Founder of CD Projekt and GOG.com. "This deal is really just the first step in what we expect will be a long and fruitful relationship. Atari has a tremendous number of cult classics within their grasp, and we hope to sign these in a near future!"
To commemorate the announcement, GOG.com is giving away ten games on Twitter (http://twitter.com/GOGcom/statuses/11031692238). More information about the Atari titles will be revealed at http://gog.com in the coming weeks.
About GOG.com
GOG.com - or Good Old Games - is the ultimate destination for classic PC games. Leading the DRM-free digital-distribution revolution, the site offers more than 200 of the greatest PC games of all time at low prices and free from intrusive copy protection. GOG.com is much more than just another digital distribution site, featuring an extensive community component that allows players to rate, review and discuss their favorite PC games, as well as insightful articles from respected games journalists. Visit http://www.gog.com/en/frontpage/pp/972a67c48192728a34979d9a35164c1295401b71 and start your journey to the past.
About ATARI, SA
Atari group is a global creator, producer and publisher of interactive entertainment for interactive game platforms that include PC, online, consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony and advanced smart phones (i.e. iPhone). Divisions of Atari, SA include Cryptic Studios, Eden Studios, Atari Interactive, Inc. and Atari, Inc.
Atari benefits from its global brand and an extensive catalogue of popular games based on classic owned game franchises (Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command, Lunar Lander), original owned franchises (Test Drive, Backyard Sports, Deer Hunter), MMO games from Cryptic Studios (Star Trek Online, Champions Online) and third party franchises (Ghostbusters, Project Runway, Dungeons and Dragons).
For more information please visit www.atari.com
Hopefully Wizards of the Coast realizes the potential here and gives them the green light to release the Infinity Engine series, The Temple of Elemental Evil, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, and other D&D titles.
Let's hope we get the see the Baldur's Gate Series, Temple of Elemental Evil, and the other D&D titles. I guess this is up to Wizards of the Coast to decide if they see the potential here.
More information. (http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?newsbit=14676)

[Roi Danton]

Outcast! Outcast! Outcast...

[k1000]

I don't know how many hours disappeared from my life playing Master of Magic and Master of Orion. 2 great games.

[JDR13]

Outcast! Outcast! Outcast…


Great game, but what's the connection with Atari?

[GhanBuriGhan]

Yup, Outcast is a great game. Maybe I should get it and replay it. An Action adventure, but "almost and RPG" - there is exploration, dialogue, story... To this day I am angry that the sequel never happened.

[Starwars]

Considering how old Outcast is by now, I think it's still pretty impressive in how it looks. That and the soundtrack is one of the best video game soundtracks ever, it's absolutely magnificent.

[JDR13]

Considering how old Outcast is by now, I think it's still pretty impressive in how it looks. That and the soundtrack is one of the best video game soundtracks ever, it's absolutely magnificent.


Yeah, I'd love to see a Windows 7/XP friendly version of it.

[Zygo]

The original version works fine on XP at least, though you need a cycle grabber on a recent system to avoid problems in water or with the Twon-ha.

As for the connection, Atari (current) = Infogrammes, who published Outcast.

[Zloth]

MoO BaA! That's great news!

Yup, Outcast is a great game. Maybe I should get it and replay it. An Action adventure, but "almost and RPG" - there is exploration, dialogue, story… To this day I am angry that the sequel never happened.
I want the rest of the Alternate Reality games to come out first! (Singing: this is your... al ter nat ree alll it teeeee)

[Dez]

Outcast was almost a perfect game back then. Unbelivably great atmosphere. Adelpha is one of the richest gameworlds I've explored and it is full of mystery and sensation. Outcast was one of those games I will never forget playing. Storyline was really memorable and it comes with a great twist :)

As for how it plays, the game is basicly an action-adventure spiced with rpg mechanics like questing, puzzles and exploring open gameworld. Weapons can be upgraded and you have various cool gadgets to use your advantage.

Sadly the sequel was cancelled when Appeal went bankrupt or something :(.

[dagoo7]

Can't remember how many hours I spent on MoM. Wonder how it holds up.

[GhanBuriGhan]

Heres a nice Blog post I read recently on the game
link (http://playtechs.blogspot.com/2007/04/notes-on-outcast.html)

[ikbenrichard]

Yeah, I'd love to see a Windows 7/XP friendly version of it.
Indeed, i love to see that too !
I truely hope for a remaken....

[Benedict]

Thoroughly excited to think there'll be a playable version of Master of Magic soon, what an absolutely first rate game that was.

Fingers crossed Elemental will live up to its influences as well.

[Lurking Grue]

Sweet! GOG keeps getting better and better.

[DArtagnan]

Outcast?

I found that game boring as hell ;(

[Dez]

boring? I thought the colorfull and vivid gameworld was everything other than boring. Its been a long time since I played it last time, but storytelling, dialog, exploring new alien like world felt like I stepped into a great scifi novel or something like that. :) Heheh, obviously tastes can differ a lot, but really first time I hear someone describing outcast boring :)

[DArtagnan]

boring? I thought the colorfull and vivid gameworld was everything other than boring. Its been a long time since I played it last time, but storytelling, dialog, exploring new alien like world felt like I stepped into scifi novel :). Heheh, tastes differ, but really first time I hear someone describing outcast boring :)

I clearly remember how it was hyped because of it being "voxel technology".

I had a top-of-the-line machine back then, and I clearly remember it running rather poorly. Beyond that, it was a mostly mindless action adventure, with a large hollow world and uninteresting gameplay mechanics.

It just didn't appeal to me.

I'd say it looked pretty good and the music was great - but not much more than that.

But again, tastes differ ;)

[guenthar]

MoM and MoO were some of my most favorite games at the time and when I tried new games in the style of those I couldn't get into them. No other 4x or TBS games have ever appealed to me like those games. I actually replayed MoM a couple of years ago and still loved it.

PS. I almost got Outcast back when it came out because I thought it was an rpg but then I found out it wasn't and didn't get it.

[wolfing]

boring? I thought the colorfull and vivid gameworld was everything other than boring. Its been a long time since I played it last time, but storytelling, dialog, exploring new alien like world felt like I stepped into a great scifi novel or something like that. :) Heheh, obviously tastes can differ a lot, but really first time I hear someone describing outcast boring :)

Well, if you're not the 'explorer' type (I'm not, that's why games like Gothic don't excite me at all) then you probably won't care.

[Malk]

As for how it plays, the game is basicly an action-adventure spiced with rpg mechanics like questing, puzzles and exploring open gameworld. Weapons can be upgraded and you have various cool gadgets to use your advantage.

It's Gothic lite

And it's awesome for an action game, the only flaw I can think of is the lack of memorable side characters (both the lady friend and the villain should have more depth).
it was a mostly mindless action adventure

I can understand it was boring to you, but it's not mindless at all. There's a lot of talking, quite a few puzzles, the combat is pretty tactical (bunch of gadgets, which you probably have to use on higher difficulty levels, are featured)…

[DArtagnan]

I can understand it was boring to you, but it's not mindless at all. There's a lot of talking, quite a few puzzles, the combat is pretty tactical (bunch of gadgets, which you probably have to use on higher difficulty levels, are featured)…

Well, it's been too long since I played it.

But my reaction was pretty negative back in the day, and I clearly recall being bored - even if I wanted to like it a lot. I don't recall the details, but I know my tastes and I'm sure it had something for others since it was so popular.

It's probably because I'm not fond of "going back" once a certain level of complexity or richness is reached. I seem to recall thinking it wasn't very interesting in terms of gameplay, but mostly functioned as an action/adventure with an emphasis on NPC interaction. Something I tend to find rather dull. I also remember being extremely underwhelmed by the exploration aspect, which is another aspect I value extremely highly. As I recall, the world was pretty but mostly empty of surprises.

It just wasn't anything that excited me…

[JemyM]

Uhm. Do the ATARI really have any "must play" exclusives?

[pibbur]

Uhm. Do the ATARI really have any "must play" exclusives?

Sure. There's .... you know.... that game ........ Eh......

[Arhu]

Sure. There's …. you know…. that game …….. Eh……
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/2023/pitfallcoverart.png

Okay, that's actually by Activision, but I always think of Atari when I think of this game. ;)

As for Outcast, I thought it was great. Certainly unique and immersive — I still remember the sound of steps through snow, the water, the sun, the distant hills. The voxel technique did make everything seem more real, in a way the world had a lot more "substance" than even today's games with all their polygons and flat textures and bump-mapping.

[Gokyabgu]

If they will make an agreement with WotC and start to sell D&D games, I'm going to buy every single one of them to support gog.

[Gokyabgu]

Great game, but what's the connection with Atari?

Infogrames has bought Atari and change the corporate name to Atari.