What is the most obscure games you own?

[Fnord]

http://www.gamewholesale.com/ebay/deo_gratias.jpg
Deo Gratias, a god sim by Cryo (a company known for creating sub-par AGs). This game is so rare these days that even finding a screenshot of it is hard. Sadly it is not worth much, due to its poor quality. It has a very long unskippable intro, confusing controls, no real goal, poorly explained concepts nothing really seemed to work in it. I quickly gave up on it, in part due to the fact that the intro was over 5min, and unskippable.

SL the game (sorry, can't even find an image of this online)
Ever wanted to take care of public transportation in Stockholm? Well, this game will let you do that. It was not a horrible public transportation simulator, but it was not great either. You could buy & sell busses, set up buss/train/boat lines in and around Stockholm, and your goal was to make money. The game actually let you destroy buildings, with no negative consequences (as far as I could tell) (there were exceptions, if you decided to destroy an important landmark, then the game would give you a game over screen).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e7/Spellcross_map.PNG
Spellcross. This game is just okay. It is a turnbased strategy game with okay graphics, okay AI, okay gameplay, and okay units. The game was not bad, but not good either. And this is also a game that I never have heard anyone even mention. The only novel part of this game was the enemies. You played as modern humans and had to fight evil fantasy creatures (undead, orcs and such)

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/7033/98600957.jpg
http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/6355/29916546.jpg
Drakar och Demoner: Själarnas Brunn (Dragonfire: The Well of Souls) was an attempt to make a CRPG out of one of Sweden's most beloved pen & paper RPGs. If you roleplayed in Sweden during the 80s & 90s, then you came into contact with Drakar & demoner, it was nearly impossible not to. This is a rather average game, really. The graphics were slightly sub-par for its time, the voice acting was...Swedish (and that is not really a good thing, Swedish voice actors tends to sound like they are forcing the words out of their mouths. Swedish actors also tends to do this when they want to sound dramatic in live action movies). The first screenshot is from the chracter selection menu, while the second one is in game.
The characters are: Some girl with average stats, leaning towards dexterity, some guy with average stats leaning towards strength, a duck (every fantasy setting needs a race of its own, something that makes it special... and in Drakar & demoner this was ducks), with slow strength and high dexterity, and a half orc with low dexterity but high strength. Almost everyone who played this game picked the duck, because its a duck (and no other reason). Combat is simplistic, and rather slow paces, but it is not horrible. Overall, it is a nice historical curiosity, one that for some strange reason was translated to several languages (and sold poorly everywhere).
The company that made this game (Target interactive) later changed its name, and started to produce some of the most complex grand scale strategy on the market, namely Europa Universalis and all the other EU-like games.

For those interested, Drakar & demoner (fantasy) and Mutant (post apocalyptic sci-fi with a slightly humorous twist) are two of Swedens most beloved RPGs of all time. But only Swedes seem to even be aware of these games. Target Games (former Äventyrsspel, the company behind them) decided to aim for a larger market, and created Mutant Chronicles and Drakar & Demoner Cronopia, two games that were almost universally hated in Sweden. Interestingly enough they were well received in USA, and even though Target Games has long since shut its doors, Mutant Chronicles lives on in USA.

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/8272/817057-1197424981_00_super.png
Mr. Gimmick is an interesting NES game. It had the most advanced sound chip of any NES game ever to be (officially) released (I don't know if any home brew had a more advanced sound chip, but I would suspect that none does), so the sound is incredible for an 8bit system, the graphics and animations are also top of the line, and the levels are challenging and well crafted. So why has most people not heard about this game? Because it was only released in Japan & Scandinavia, and and the very end of the NES's lifespan. Very few copies were actually made, and I guess it was considered to expensive to manufacture, due to the sound chip. A working copy can set you back ~200€ these days.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Mine are probably :

- Leviathan - The Tone Rebellion. Still haven't played it (shame on me).

- Twipsy - the official game of the world Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany. Hven't played it, too. Twipsy was the official mascot. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twipsy

- Humans III : Evolution - Lost In Time for PC (this is said to be quite bad, but I have started it only once, so I don't know. On the positiv side, the game's CD has audio tracks, yay !) Gamespot doesn't like it at all : http://www.gamespot.com/pc/puzzle/humans3evolutionlostintime/index.html
Interestingly, recently there has been a reboot of the "Humans" franchise : http://www.gamespot.com/pc/puzzle/thehumans/index.html

- "Captain Gysi und das Raumschiff Bonn"
- "Captain Gysi 2 : Galaxis Futura"

Both are games of a genre that doesn't exist : Political satire games. Really, no joking ! The game takes place within a starship, the so-called "Galaxis Futura". The "Captain Gysi" (Gysi is is real-life name !) was the major head of a left-wing German party, the PDS, which was some kind of successor of the GDR's only party, the SED. Later, this party has fused with another one to become a new party called "Die Links" ("The Left One"), which is in trouble right now mainly because of its inept heads.

In these games, major politicians of the time around the turn of the millennium are ridiculed, and "Captain Gysi" is the only one who can resolve all of this chaos the other politicians have made.

Other obscure games I have are "advertisement games", often adventure games (but not always), which are … well, kind of advertisements. Some are done in a reall good way : The first Kellogg's game was a jump & run game, and it had won a few prices, then, bcause it was reall excellent, from a technical point of view.
You can donload it here (it is reall one of the best jumop & run games I've ever played !) : http://werbespiel.blogspot.com/2010/07/tony-friends-in-kelloggs-land.html - but the game is in German language, though.

[Frozen Fireball]

The only obscure game in my collection that I currently remember is Ascension to the throne which IMO, unlike most of the obscure games, is great. It's a semi open-world RPG ( similar to Gothic somehow in terms of overall feeling of exploration) with the turn-based combat system similar to heroes of might & magic series. It was a very addicting game and although I played it around 4 years ago, but I still remember it quite well.
Although it had some drawbacks like lack of any kind of voice acting, bugs and balancing problems and also one of the most meaningless and disappointing endings I have ever seen, but it was a game that quite held my attention while it lasted.

http://www.gamersgate.com/img/screenshots/DD-ATT/attt17_medium.jpg

http://media.gamebandits.com/images/pc/3013/ascension-to-the-throne-pc-screenshots-5-915.jpg

[JemyM]

I own Oblivion.

Yea, I know...

[bkrueger]

I own Oblivion.

Yea, I know…
I own Dungeon Lords...

For Alrik:
I own "Der Schatz im Silbersee", an adventure based on Karl May, on 3,5 inch high density floppy discs... (never played through it though).

[Motoki]

Offhand I would say maybe Winter Voices, but I've got to have something more obscure than that in the physical realm collecting dust somewhere.

While I was reading about Ascension to the Throne I thought 'Oh that sounds good, I should try to find that game' then I realized it was part of the 1C RPG pack I bought from Gamersgate a while back and I already own it. This is what being a digital download whore gets you, can't even keep track of your own games. :p

And I still want that damned duck RPG! I have looked and looked through official and unofficial channels and I can't find it anywhere. Paradox should put it up for digital download. Price it cheap enough and somebody will buy it (me!). Hell, there are old Genesis games selling on Steam and Gamersgate so there's a market.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

For Alrik:
I own "Der Schatz im Silbersee", an adventure based on Karl May, on 3,5 inch high density floppy discs… (never played through it though).

I have it as well. I even installed it on DOSBOX last year, but I never came past the first "riddle" (there's a bear one must calm down or so).

And I agree : This is somewhat obscure as well.



Another rather obscure game I have is the "Höhlenwelt Saga" card game for the PC.

I actually know only very little about it.

The "Höhlenwelt" is a fantasy setting which was developed by the German fanatsy author Harald Evers.

For it, he also made an adventure game, this one :
http://www.mobygames.com/game/die-hhlenwelt-saga-der-leuchtende-kristall

Unfortunately he died suddenly not too long after completion of this game, and nowadays I cannot find a way to get the patches and the cards that were seemingly once put online for fans (the extra cards could be somehow integrated into the main game).

His family was - according to forum entries - within a religious sect, so they didn't like his work as an author at all. All signs of adoration b the fans at the grave were destroyed by the family - save for the son, maybe, with whom he developed the game.

You can download the demo of the unfortunately German-only game here : http://www.hoehlenwelt-game.de/

The game as such can still be bought (I bought mine via ebay).

The card game is also known under the name of "Trivocum", I think. This is a term from the setting itself.

Edit : This is the only forum I know about the Höhlenwelt games : http://www.subcultur.de/forum/index.php

[Fnord]

I also have two odd advertisement games. Pickup express 2 is a game where you pick up goods and then deliver it to another location. Several different brands are represented in the game, and it is horrible. Poor driving controls and the gameplay is incredibly repetitive. It did remind me a bit of Streets of sim city minus the guns (i.e. it was just as horrible, with just as many bugs and poor controls).

And then there was a floorball game that was meant to advertise a type of squash (as in a type of drink) called Mer. I hate floorball (which is a relatively popular sport here in Sweden) so the game did not appeal to me at all.

The Duck RPG is just not worth the effort, believe me. There are many better CRPGs out there.
I suspect that there might be licencing issues involved that prohibits Paradox from doing anything with the game. That or they just don't want to soil their good name.



Ascension to the throne looks quite interesting, I'll have to check it out. I would like to point out that one of my games in the original post is great though. Mr. Gimmick is a 2d platformer that is able to challenge the giants of the genre!

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Can you send me these advertisement games ? Or are they too big for that ?

[Fnord]

I can't seem to find the discs (they are probably stashed somewhere in a bag together with the other games that I own and never expect to play again), though I found the games online.

Pickup express (http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4630238/Pickup_Express)
Mer innebandy (http://www.innebandy.nu/MERinnebandy.zip) (the floorball game)
Do note that both of these games are in Swedish.

[Jaz]

I'm a typical, average, generic gamer, liking nearly all the games I own (and I own many), so most of what I have is mass compatible, more or less. Everybody and his brother have played Catacomb 3D and its successors, I guess, but there are other, less known games I own - like, for example …

Depth Dwellers (anaglyphic 3D shooter, 1994) - they meant well. Well.
Nitemare 3D (shooter, 1994) - hilarious in a way some little brothers are.
Ken's Labyrinth (shooter, 1993) - ditto. An aspiring, talented programmer and a totally untalented (yet well-intentioned) graphics artist sometimes create surprisingly entertaining games.
In Extremis (shooter, 1993) - nice atmosphere. Sloppy execution.
Cyclones (shooter, 1994) - like Strife, this one's astonishingly complex, just more underdog-gy.
Angst - Rahz' Revenge (shooter, 1996) - not just a turd: THE turd. I'd happily vote for this steaming pile of crap if there was a 'worst game ever' vote.
Mortail Coil (tactical shooter, 1995) - many great ideas, countless crippling bugs. Plus the worst translation ever - even installing was a challenge.
Wetlands (rail shooter, 1995) - great atmosphere, insane difficulty.

Now guess my favorite game genre ^^.

[bkrueger]

Depth Dwellers (anaglyphic 3D shooter, 1994) - they meant well. Well.
The 3D glasses packaged with that game lie right before me on my desk....

Now guess my favorite game genre ^^.
Text adventures? :S

[Fnord]

http://www.abandonia.com/files/games/928/Space%20Crusade_5.png
Space crusade. This was the first computer game based on the famous Warhammer 40k licence, and a title that not a lot of people seem to be aware of. This particular game was based on the childrens board game Space Crusade, which can be seen as the 40k counterpart to HeroQuest (which was set in the warhammer fantasy world). Unlike HeroQuest you had a team of 5 space marines per "good guy" player, but only one of these were actually useful (the commander), the rest were just too easy to kill. The PC port of the board game was quite faithful, and much like the board game the greatest joy in the PC game was to shoot your friends in the back (the game itself was not very good, and when you get bored you tend to do stupid things). A rather forgettable game that might be of interest to those who played the board game when they were young. Then again, both Space Crusade and HeroQuest are best left as fond memories, these games were meant for children and lack any real depth or complexity.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/screenshots/4/198814/stratosp_screen003.jpg
Stratosphere. You build a flying fortress out of different parts, and then you fly around and shoot other flying fortresses. An interesting concept that sadly ended up in a rather lackluster game.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/june08/limbo1-limbo.jpg
Limbo of the lost. This game would have been doomed to total obscurity if it was not for one tiny detail: The devs stole all their backgrounds from other games! What you are looking at is a screenshot from Limbo of the lost. But what game did they steal that background from? (Oblivion)
They managed to steal background from Oblivion, Thief 3, Unreal tournament 2003 and plenty of other famous games, and somehow they thought they would get away with it. Many other things, like sound clips and even the intro sequence were stolen from other sources. The game itself is an adventure game with stupid puzzles (no real logic in many of them), horribly slow character movement and too many design flaws in general to make it worth playing. I only bought it because of its interesting history.

http://www.gameclassification.com/files/games/Svea-Rike-III.jpg
Svea Rike 3. Another old Paradox title, this one was released just before Europa Universalis. The game plays a lot like a simplified version of Europa Universalis, and your goal here is to take over the Nordic countries. They made another game 4 years later based on the same engine, which had the very same unit sprites, buildings and, well everything, except for the map, called Two Thrones (which I also own). This game was actually marketed as a childrens game, and while it is easier to get into than Europa Universalis, it is still a relatively complex game. The previous Svea Rike titles were based on a popular Swedish board game (named Svea Rike).

[JDR13]

Neuro Hunter.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/af/Neuro_Hunter.jpg/254px-Neuro_Hunter.jpg

Probably doesn't qualify as "obscure" in Europe, but you would have a hard time finding anyone over here who has ever heard of it. I found out about it through The Watch and imported a copy from the UK.

[crpgnut]

Hmmm, Aethra Chronicles, Lysandia Phase 1 and Phase 2, War Wizard, Keys to Maramon, Nahlakh, Helherron, etc. I've got all the obscure crpgs from the last few decades :)

[crpgnut]

@Jaz-can you list me any other good stealth shooters? I enjoyed Deus Ex 1 and 3, so games like them might work. I might have to find Deus Ex 2 and see if it's any good.

[Drithius]

Of games that I still have a copy, not having long ago thrown out and consider replaying every now and again? Probably:
Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2003/all/boxshots2/533502_62952.jpg

I'm sure there's more oddball games I've owned in the past but I don't recall them. Plenty of ignored games I've purchased on Steam as well via package deals that could qualify.

[Jaz]

Text adventures? :SNope, action adventures and other hybrid game types. Actually, most modern day CRPGs would qualify :p.

@Jaz-can you list me any other good stealth shooters? I enjoyed Deus Ex 1 and 3, so games like them might work. I might have to find Deus Ex 2 and see if it's any good.As you don't seem to think of the real sneakers like Thief, Hitman, Assassin's Creed etc., I can't think of any game but System Shock 2 right now. By the late nineties I was beyond buying every game that came out, including my once favorite FPS genre. But if you don't mind branching out onto tac shooter territory: there's a definite stealth aspect to most of them - SWAT 3, the Rogue Spear games ... especially those.

[Tragos]

Theocracy

http://www.iniziopartita.it/file/2/267/Image/theocra_4.jpg

Tzar

http://i1-games.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/3-742_3.jpg

Yep it is Bulgarian RTS

Imperium Galactica

http://oldgames.ru/images/oldgames/screenshots/Imperium_Galactica/Imperium_Galactica_03.gif

Transarctica

http://www.abandonia.com/files/games/635/Transarctica_4.gif

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I have Tzar, because it once came with a magazine's disc (full game).

[Gorath]

For Alrik:
I own "Der Schatz im Silbersee", an adventure based on Karl May, on 3,5 inch high density floppy discs… (never played through it though).

I have that one too, and I guess all the other games by the same dev too. Of course I've read Karl May's novels as a teenager. His books still work, nearly 100 years after his death.
I even enjoyed the movies. These naive, trashy Euro westerns had little in common with the clever books, but they had their special charme. Lex Barker made a career out of them. ;)


Years ago I collected text adventures. Especially the last bigger text adventures by Legend Entertainment were surprisingly playable, thanks to mouse interface and keyword lists.

[Fnord]

I also own Tzar, a game which was heavily marketed here in Sweden around the time of its release, and then promptly forgotten as soon as they stopped marketing it. I remember it as being a rather decent game. I also own Imperium Galactica, although I was obsessed by Stars! at the time I bought it, so I kind of forgot about it.


http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/51478-stars-windows-screenshot-the-mystery-trader-trade-with-him.jpg
Which makes me wonder how I could forget about Stars!, one of the finest 4X space games ever created (and probably one of the least appealing, from a visual point of view). The game might look like something you would expect to find in excel, but behind the ugly exterior lies an incredibly deep and flexible strategy game about galactic conquest. Much like any other 4X game, you research technology, form alliances with other empires, fight wars against those empires, trade and so on. You have a lot of freedom in how you design your race, deciding birth rate, planetary preferences, research affinities and you have a decent list of advantages and disadvantages to choose from, all handled with a point buy system.


Other games that I'm unsure fits the bill:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/screenshots/7/198267/paximper_screen001.jpg
Pax Imperia Eminent Domain (also known as Pax Imperia 2)

http://i1-games.softpedia-static.com/screenshots/Anderson-the-Legacy-of-Cthulhu_4.jpg
Robert D Anderson The Legacy of Cthulhu
(not to be mixed up with the excellent, but unfinished, Call of Cthulhu: dark corners of the earth, Anderson the legacy of cthulhu was a German fan game made by a few enthusiasts. The cutscenes were great (live action cutscenes is something that we should see more of), but the gameplay itself was less than stellar).

[rooroosta]

In RPG/Adventure terms probably my collection of ZX81 text adventures.

Most obscure game i own is a version of Gorf for the ZX Spectrum by Control Technology..about 5 were sold..lol..(it was terrible)

[crpgnut]

Branching out a bit. I own an obscure console. The Atari 5200. Like the C64, the 5200 was WAY ahead of its time. I believe the complex controller was its downfall. It kinda looked like a joystick attached to a number pad :)

[Rills]

I have Tzar, because it once came with a magazine's disc (full game).

My brother has that game and absolutely loves it. The AI can be ruthless as it never gives up.

[rooroosta]

Branching out a bit. I own an obscure console. The Atari 5200. Like the C64, the 5200 was WAY ahead of its time. I believe the complex controller was its downfall. It kinda looked like a joystick attached to a number pad :)

hehe yes i had one of those too..was great fun..

on that note, i had a Grandstand Video Game system way back in 1978..must have played stunt racer 'til it wore out! Must go and find a picture of that.

[blatantninja]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Conquests_of_Camelot_cover.jpg

Still have the floppies, though no longer a floppy drive. Always loved this game.

Another:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8b/Legacy_of_the_Ancients.jpg/586px-Legacy_of_the_Ancients.jpg

Still have the original folder thing it came in as well.

[JDR13]

Branching out a bit. I own an obscure console. The Atari 5200. Like the C64, the 5200 was WAY ahead of its time. I believe the complex controller was its downfall. It kinda looked like a joystick attached to a number pad :)

I had an Atari 5200, and you're right, that controller was its downfall. Not because they were complex though, but rather because they were total junk. I remember both of our controllers breaking within a month. Wikipedia even makes a reference to the 5200's controllers..

The controller prototypes used in the electrical development lab used a yoke and gimbal mechanism that came from an RC airplane controller kit. This simple design gave very nice smooth linear control and was highly reliable. The production controllers were quite different and a great disappointment to the electrical and software development teams. The design of the analog joystick, which used a weak rubber boot rather than springs to provide centering, proved to be ungainly and unreliable. They quickly became the Achilles' heel of the system because of their combination of an overly complex mechanical design with a very low-cost internal flex circuit system.

I agree that the 5200 was ahead of its time though. It could have been a great system if Atari had put more effort behind it.

[curious]

Arabian Lords- billed as the first bi-lingual (arabic and english language game) made by breakaway games (the maker of many expansion for rts and city builder games) and for years was only available in the middle east. didn't have nearly as much fun with it as i did CC3 Kane's Wrath or even more so Emperor:Rise of the Middle Kingdom--the end of Impression's long line of city builders. looks like you can get it now digitally but it took me a few years to find it on ebay a couple of years ago.http://www.quirkat.com/site/our-games/arabianlords/

also by breakaway games in the vein of the serious stuff they produce for the military/homeland security etc. was an interesting premise of a game for solving problems non-violently based on a book--A Force More Powerful. it does fall into games i own but am still ashamed to have never played it despite owning it for nearly 5 years. http://www.aforcemorepowerful.org/game/index.php

[Alrik Fassbauer]

"A Force More Powerful" sounds interesting to me. Is thre any way to get it nowadays ?

[Khalus]

Prince of Qin ~ A rather obscure title that didn't stay on shelves for very long and can be difficult to track down sometimes, but its quite a rare gem!

Intro CGI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pllEciymtE&feature=related)
Gameplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhPIyu0N7gA&feature=related)


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h65okhiGK_M/Sc34xJ6HX0I/AAAAAAAADHw/YtC8Cm4j9xU/s400/1.jpg

An action RPG set in a real historical setting during the last years of the Qin Dynasty in China 2,200 years ago, featuring the oldest son of Qin Shi Huang, crown prince Fusu. The player will encounter numerous historical incidents and characters during that time before the founding of the Han Dynasty.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Prince Of Qin ? Oh, an electronics chain here probably still tries to blow out this game - they had seemingly TONS of that game - with some sort of "exclusive neclace", but I didn't want it, since it was an online game.

[Khalus]

but I didn't want it, since it was an online game.

The one I posted is a single player game, then a year or so later there was an online version released.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Okay, then I apparingly mixed both.

[Thaurin]

I have a boxed version of an adventure game that was really bad. And as soon as I remember the name again, I challenge anyone to find ANY information about it, because frankly I don't think it exists.

I win the internets!

[skavenhorde]

Is it sad that I know and own a lot of these obscure games? :P

Totally agree with Ascension to the Throne being a fun game. Not great, but a lot of fun.

Anyone remember the sequels name? It was posted here awhile ago and I was meaning to grab it, but forgot all about it.

Obscure titles huh….well how about Omega Syndrome? The homepage is gone, but there is an attempted LP over at RPGC. (http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=64239&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0)

Other obscure titles include Devil Whiskey (not that obscure for Bard's Tale fans), Alien Assault (http://www.teardown.se/) (Space Hulk without the Warhammer brand name), Heroquest PC Game (http://members.quicknet.nl/lm.broers/hquest.htm) (not the really old one) and a ton of old games that are probably obscure to most people now.

Not sure if this one is that obscure, but Gods Lands of Infinity. (http://www.gods-game.com/)

[crpgnut]

My claim to infamy might be that I actually completed GLoI, Skaven :)

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Not sure if this one is that obscure, but Gods Lands of Infinity. (http://www.gods-game.com/)

In the RPG area, I think I can top this with an post-2000 RPG : It's called "Gorasul".
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/gorasullegacyofthedragon/index.html

[skavenhorde]

@CRPGNut I can join you in infamy then because I did as well. It wasn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I liked it. I liked how they mixed in trading into this game. Didn't work that great, but wasn't bad.

The biggest complaint I had with GLOI was having to backtrack to the beginning of a few maps after I cleared the quest. Some of those maps were huge and forcing me to waste 5 minutes just walking back to the beginning was annoying.

Gorasul hated that game. Tried to like it, but hated it.

Alright now for an obscure game because it was so buggy, so broken that upon release everyone looked at it and ran for the hills…..except me. :(


The game is Mistmare (http://www.sinistersystems.com/projects/mistmare/news/) and it is close to the worst game I ever played.

I buy games that are reportedly buggy because people tend to over exaggerate when it comes to bugs (who really cares if it isn't 100% perfect) and I can overlook them because some of the best games I've ever played were buggy as hell in the beginning. This thing called Mistmare was horrible even by Atari E.T. standards. Everything was broken and nothing was fun about it. I still have it on my shelf to remind me not to waste money on obviously broken products.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Gorasul hated that game. Tried to like it, but hated it.

It in fact had some very bad reviews. That's why it is obscure. ;) No-one bought it.

[Fnord]

I also own Gorasul, and yes, I also hated it.

Over here stories practically tried to give away Gods Lands of Infinity, and I nearly bought it. But the reviews were so unfavourable that I decided against it.

I still have it on my shelf to remind me not to waste money on obviously broken products.
A bit like Limbo of the lost for me. But you could at least laugh at Limbo of the lost.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

They kind of overhauled Gods Lands Of Infinity some time ago.
http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Lands-Infinity-Special-Pc/dp/B000S8JXPC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316778891&sr=8-1
Still haven't got it. Because this version just isn't sold in Germany.

[Motoki]

They kind of overhauled Gods Lands Of Infinity some time ago.
http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Lands-Infinity-Special-Pc/dp/B000S8JXPC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316778891&sr=8-1
Still haven't got it. Because this version just isn't sold in Germany.

You gotta love a game that's main selling point is starring a supermodel as the heroine.

[skavenhorde]

I thought she was a porn star ;)

Porn star aside, they did have a bunch of improvements to that version other than a face lift for the main character. Offhand I can't remember what they were, but there were a few.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I thought she was a porn star ;)

Does this mean the gaming industry has brought/introduced porn star fans into gaming now ? :lol:

[Fnord]

Gamespot claims that she is a Penthouse pet star. I'm not sure if that is the exact same thing as a porn star, but I guess it was an easy way to generate some sales. I wonder if sites like Amazon would be willing to put the game up for sale if they stated on the back of the box that she was a porn star.

[JDR13]

Here's an old action-adventure game that I still have. Azrael's Tear (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azrael%27s_Tear)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Azrael%27stear.jpg

It was actually quite good from what I can recall, but I never finished it for some reason. I tried getting it to run in WinXP a few years back with no success.

[Fnord]

If my memory serves, Azrael's tear is a dos game, and it should run well in dosbox

[Warmark]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Conquests_of_Camelot_cover.jpg

Still have the floppies, though no longer a floppy drive. Always loved this game.

Another:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8b/Legacy_of_the_Ancients.jpg/586px-Legacy_of_the_Ancients.jpg

Still have the original folder thing it came in as well.

Wow great to see that Legacy of the Ancients box, that is the first RPG I ever played and it started the addiction.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Here's an old action-adventure game that I still have. Azrael's Tear (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azrael%27s_Tear)

Why didn't get all countries the same cover ? Just look how dull it looks like for the other country-specific versions ! : http://www.mobygames.com/game/azraels-tear/cover-art

[JDR13]

Games rarely get the same covers in different countries.

[Fnord]

While we are on the subject, ever seen the Italian Drakensang cover?
http://www.covershut.com/covers/Drakensang-Italian-Front-Cover-6779.jpg

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Uh, no. It looks like ... The international cover going a step further ...

[JDR13]

While we are on the subject, ever seen the Italian Drakensang cover?

That's actually the Spanish cover according to Moby Games. I like it though.. more than the US one at least. US games always seem to get the most generic looking artwork on their covers.

[curious]

i think i'd go with Fnord over Moby Games as the writing on the top of the back cover sure as shit doesn't look like spanish;)

also french italian and spanish game versions are also a common release format that gets bundled together with sometimes all or one language on the covers and usually all 3 being seperately localized when it comes to text and voice work.

[curious]

"A Force More Powerful" sounds interesting to me. Is thre any way to get it nowadays ?

I don't think the original is available anymore but i have an extra boxed version if you are truly interested. i'll i'd ask is to cover shipping. also you might try the "new version" that is more or less the same premise though as far as the game itself i have no idea how similar they are.

this is the new version in case you weren't aware
http://www.peoplepowergame.com/

it's only $10 though that is for a download version, i don't think a boxed version exists

[Fnord]

That's actually the Spanish cover according to Moby Games. I like it though.. more than the US one at least. US games always seem to get the most generic looking artwork on their covers.

I think every English release got the same cover. The German release seem to have got a slightly better cover, but it is still not great (it looks just as generic).
The cover that I posted says that it is in Italian (left side, near the bottom), but mobygames has a Spanish cover that looks roughly the same, with only the text being different

[Thaurin]

I have a boxed version of an adventure game that was really bad. And as soon as I remember the name again, I challenge anyone to find ANY information about it, because frankly I don't think it exists.

I win the internets!

Huh, seems I was wrong (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zbTDcLoHK0). The game is called Detritus by MyndGaemz (haha) and is on YouTube, but looking at it, it still sucks a lot. It's kinda hard to believe they found a publisher for it. It's amateurish.

But check out the video for a laugh, hahaha.

-Whoa, I can see right through her.-
You: "I can see right through you."
Ghost: "That's cos I'm a ghost."
You: "Why are you still haunting here?"
Ghost: "I'm like stuck here."
You: "Why?"
Ghost: "I need a charm to release my spirit."
You: "I'll try to help you."

Stellar writing there, lol.

[Bostur]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Conquests_of_Camelot_cover.jpg

Still have the floppies, though no longer a floppy drive. Always loved this game.


Ooooh, I still have that I think, for the Amiga.

My favorite Sierra adventure. I didn't like Sierra's games much but this one was an exception. Some of the action sequences were stupid, but some of them were actually decent. The writing and story was much better than the drivel Sierra usually delivered.

Another obscure game that I own is Universal Military Simulator II. At first it looked like a wargamer's paradise with numbers, graphs, sliders everywhere. Unfortunately all the gadgets never really fit together into anything useful. The AI was mostly non-existant and the ruleset useless. Turns were so slow it would literally take weeks to play a scenario to completion. In practice I doubt it would have even been possible because the victory conditions seemed bugged.

http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/192097-ums-ii-nations-at-war-dos-screenshot-start-of-wwii-operation.png

http://www.mobygames.com/game/ums-ii-nations-at-war