The Games of my Life

Archive Page 3 of 12

A new Star Control game?

Published

2 years, 5 months ago

. 3 Comments

Star Control 2 is still one of the best games ever, and probably unsurpassed in its genre (although it doesn’t really belong to a single genre). Now, a guy from Toys from Bob, the company founded by the two Star Control creators, wants them to do a new Star Control (a real one, not the “good-but-not-great” SC3), and is asking for emails asking for it, to show Activision that there’s a demand for it, and that it would sell.

Source: Toys for Bob. The email address is there; please don’t spam it, just tell him, politely, why (and how much) you want a new Star Control.

EDIT: The UQM site now has a petition page, which can simplify the process. Please go there. A new SC by the original authors would be like a dream come true.

Unlockables: good or bad?

Published

Dehumanizer

2 years, 6 months ago

in Misc stuff

. 3 Comments

A couple of days ago, I bought Chessmaster 10th Edition, as it was ridiculously cheap. Great game, the best tutorials ever, incredible graphics, and all that. But one feature caught my attention: several chess sets needed to be unlocked! “You need to win 25 rated games to unlock this set”, and so on.

This is common in many kinds of games, such as racing games, but in a chess game? It was certainly new to me.

And this got me thinking about unlockables. I’ve seen people saying that they don’t like them - why shouldn’t all the content be available from the start? Why should I have to work to get it all? Besides, a game with 20 cars has as many cars as one with 10 from the start, and 10 which need to be unlocked.

But… I like unlockables. Sure, in the end the content is the same, but unlockables mean that there’s always something new in the near horizon, always one more goal. And when you do unlock it, it’s a novelty.

Using the cars example: if you have 20 cars from the beginning, you probably try 3 or 4, choose a favorite, and use just that one from now on. If you have to unlock most of them, on the other hand, you will probably try out each new one as it’s unlocked. Much better, isn’t it?

So, game designers, please ignore the cries of lazy, instant gratification gamers. To them, playing isn’t a joy, it’s a chore, it’s “work”, which they do just to get to the end and “beat” the game.

PC games for 2006

Published

Dehumanizer

2 years, 6 months ago

in 2000s games and PC games

. 0 Comments

I found a thread on GameSpot with incredible screens from PC games announced for 2006. Go there and drool…

Medieval: Total War 2

Published

Dehumanizer

2 years, 6 months ago

in 2000s games and PC games

. 409 Comments

Now this looks interesting…

As you may remember, the first Medieval: Total War is one of the “Games of my Life”, and, IMO, one of the best strategy games of all time. A second version of it (it’s Creative Assembly’s first sequel ever) should be really amazing.

Here is the MTW2 official page, with lots of great screenshots. Unfortunately, they still insist on showing only battle images, and I’m even more interested in the campaign - which sounds amazing, from the description, but I’d like to see some of it. It’s probably not coded yet, I guess.

The bad news: it should be even more demanding than Rome: Total War, which my puny PC already can’t handle decently. I really must get around to getting rich.

Now Playing: Fire Emblem

Published

Dehumanizer

2 years, 6 months ago

in 2000s games and GBA games

. 0 Comments

Yes, the first one (released outside Japan) for the GBA. I’m completely addicted to it, right now.

It’s virtually the same game as Path of Radiance, only with different characters, plot and world - and, of course, no 3D graphics, though I still think they’re great for a GBA strategy game. Of course, in this case, “more of the same” is a great thing - I really love these games, and must order The Sacred Stones soon.

To anyone who doesn’t know about FE, it’s a story-based tactical RPG, much like Shining Force. Characters gain experience by fighting, and any one who doesn’t survive a battle is really gone for good (though some characters who are essential to the plot just become “wounded”, meaning that you can’t use them anymore, but they still appear in cut scenes). With such fragility, added to the fact that they really have distinct personalities, backstories and such, you tend to get really attached to them. Which only makes it harder, when, in the last couple of turns of a long, drawn-out, tough battle, one of them dies. Do you continue the game? Sometimes, it has to happen, I think.

If you like tactical games such as Laser Squad or Advance Wars, and have a GBA (or a DS, where I play this game), trust me: buy both Fire Emblems soon. They should be relatively cheap, now, too. And don’t forget Path of Radiance, if you also have a GameCube.

IGN: Worst Controllers

Published

Dehumanizer

2 years, 7 months ago

in Consoles

. 2 Comments

IGN has a Top 10 Worst Controllers list. Yes, it includes the Power Glove.

Too little gaming… :(

Published

Dehumanizer

2 years, 7 months ago

in 2000s games, GBA games and PC games

. 2 Comments

For the last few weeks, I haven’t had almost any time for gaming, unfortunately. That’s why there’s not much new stuff here, and on the Revolution blog.