Games that you just can't go back to, but want to...

[solypsist]

when in japan i got ahold of some commodore 64 roms and those lasted about ten seconds each. each fond memory shattered. i spent a whole summer with bard's tale (the original..in 1997? 98?) and couldn't take it for more than twenty minutes. same with so many others.

so i just settled on practicing my drifting on the initial d games in roppongi.


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it is dark.
you may be eaten by a grue.

[Monk]

Here's my list.

FF IX - The only FF game that i started but never finished... I lost all interest at the end of disc 2. and everytime i try to go back to it i just get bored out of my mind.

AoE: AoK - the TW series spoiled me forever. the only RTS i can stand now is Dawn of War.

Ground Control - I really liked this game, it had all the good elements of an RTS without the base building or resource gather. you dropped in, fought the enemy with what troops you had, then pulled out. somehow though, the fun evaporated after around the 6th mission.

Doom 3 - After i finished half-life 2 i went back through that game so many times. redoing it alteast twice in full not to mention redoing little parts just for their fun. Yet with Doom 3, there was no desire to replay it whatsoever. i even tried... and it was horribly boring. After its novelty wore off, i couldn't play Doom 3 without feeling boxed in with all my movements..

[Murmandamus]

when in japan i got ahold of some commodore 64 roms and those lasted about ten seconds each. each fond memory shattered.

I did that a while ago using an emulator and games from www.c64.com Games that I found really as a kid were really easy, some that I really loved seemed like complete crap and graphics that I thought were great just looked like a bunch of pixels on the screen.

I came to the conclusion that good memories are best left as exactly that. Memories. In fact, I probably got more out of just looking at the screenshots on the website than I did from actually playing them :)

Some were still good fun though. Like Spy vs Spy and R-Type.

[The_Doctor]

*Walks down memory lane* (In Soviet Russia memory lane walks down YOU)

-CivNet
-The Strike games (eg jungle strike)
-C&C red alert and red alert 2
-StarCraft
-Zelda: The ocarena (sp) of time
-Worms
-VR stunt racer (for the Atari)

And many more.

[Mount Suribachi]

Ah yes, those dim days of the Spectrum 48K. I avidly collected and played all the computer war games I could find. Particularly the R T Smith series, Arnhem, Vulcan, Tobruk....I played them to destruction but try and compare them now with games like the Combat Mission series, the Close Combat series or the Total War series and the difference is beyond belief!
I've downloaded the R T Smith series for the PC and its good for a quick blast but it just doesn't feel the same with out the Spectrums beep!

Those RT Smith games were indeed legendary. Are you aware he works for CA? He even posted on another TW forum around the time of MTWs release when us older gamers had a little bit of an RT Smith love-fest going on...

My problem with Arnhem was that after a while, you learnt the CPU always showed up at the same time in the same place with the same units - but that was the only way to win some scenarios, by anticipating them.

Desert Rats did a superb job IMO of utilising supply to re-create the backwards and forwards nature of the Desert War. You'd drive the Italians all the way back, then run out of fuel/ammo and the Germans would drive you all the way back...and forth...and back...and forth. Loved it.

[Rob The Bastard]

Red Baron 1: The first flight sim that really got me interested in the genre.

F15 Strike Eagle 3: Awesome immersive campaigns and excellent multiplayer... I have tried going back to them but the graphics mess up my eyes.

Ahh... Bards Tale... " scry site" and hand drawn maps!

C64
Amiga 500
DX2 40 Mhz
P120 Mhz
P2 500 Mhz
K6 1200 Mhz
2400 Mhz...

Computers and games on the scrapheap of my mind.

Thousands of dollars squandered.

[Kraxis]

I see quite a few mentions of games that are perfectly playable still... How can't you return to those?

[Jubilation T Cornpone]

[QUOTE=Mount Suribachi]Those RT Smith games were indeed legendary. Are you aware he works for CA? He even posted on another TW forum around the time of MTWs release when us older gamers had a little bit of an RT Smith love-fest going on..

I didn't realise he was still in the business. Good to hear! There are many others around the same time as Arnhem etc which I dimly recall, all released by such stalwarts as Cases Computer Simulations and Lothlorien. Good days but still no comparison with todays PC masterpeices. Perhaps its better to just fondly remember....

[Steppe Merc]

Dark Forces, the first computer game I ever got. Such a cool game, but it of course won't work on my comp, nor could I stomach the graphics. Ah well...

Tie Fighter Gold

Damn, that game pushed me towards being an Imperialist in the Star Wars universe. I was the good guy and the evil Rebels were terrorists and I did well. It was so nice to see it from the other side with none of that rethoric that is so easy to see through (C&C Generals for instance).

Yeah, I loved that series. Though I think I had X wing... not sure, since somehow my dad got it on a floppy disk, and installed it to our computer. Ancient stuff, but there hasn't been a Star Wars flying game close to the X wing and Tie Fighter stuff. Another great Star Wars games was Rebel Assault (another flying game, better graphics but not as detailed control wise).

[Kraxis]

Yeah, I loved that series. Though I think I had X wing... not sure, since somehow my dad got it on a floppy disk, and installed it to our computer. Ancient stuff, but there hasn't been a Star Wars flying game close to the X wing and Tie Fighter stuff. Another great Star Wars games was Rebel Assault (another flying game, better graphics but not as detailed control wise).

Heh... Yeah... There wasso many things you had to control at the same time. Yet it was so easy. Match speed with enemy, fly for the green reticule (reticule lighting up green when shot is good), keep an eye on the radar (good old sticks for the 3D), cycle guns to preferred style (I loved the quad burst for capitals and other lumbering targets, and dual for fighters), blast enemy, swirve to avoid, speed up, target new enemy, match speed... THen when you got missiles it got worse, then with the shields it got even worse and lastly when you got beams... ARGH! But it was so cool. Though I managed to knock out a friendly ISD with my ion cannons a few times (don't chase an enemy with them if your big friend is 'shields down').
When I got really good I could do it all in a few seconds. The endtally for the entire game was massive. Some 2000+ fighters, 100+ capitals and platforms... I saw myself as a legendary warrior, one who put the fear into even the greatest commanders and fleets.

The only battle I never got the hang of in the game was one where you had to knock out a platform, an Interdictor and two Frigates. Then jsut as you are finishing two enemy ISDs jump in and beat the crap out of your escorting ISD. All the while fighters are jumping you. Your own fighters are of course blasted to bits within seconds ofthe start. THAT was one bad mission, though I msotly managed to do it all (tried to go for a full Secondary and Bonus completion).
Despite of my mastery of the game it was never easy, you had to keep it up all the while. Especially early on when you had no shields (taking out three Corvettes with a shieldless Tie Fighter is simply not doable, or assaulting a platform with an Interceptor).

The best was perhaps that it was so diverse. One mission you have to protect someone doing an inspection, next you have to hunt down the attackers, next again you have to just survive until reinforcement can arrive. Then you have to protect disabled ships from boarding (tough one)... ect ect. Basically not a single of the 100+ missions were alike. And you felt very much like an Imperial Tie pilot, rising from backwater patrols to the private pet of Thrawn.

[screwtype]

Anyone else have games they love to play again but can't force themselves to do so?

Not really. Oddly, I find that most games I once enjoyed, I still enjoy if I boot them back up. It doesn't take me long to get back into the feel of an old game again. I fired up Dungeon Master on my trusty old Amiga a year or so ago just for kicks, it's very dated graphically now, but I was suprised by how much it grabbed me. It's still a fun game to play, even though it's only pretend 3D.

Games don't have to be cutting edge to be good. My favourite game right now is still Imperialism II, a simple 2D strategy game that's five or six years old, but I find it has that crucial element of challenge that so many other games lack.

[screwtype]

Ahh... Bards Tale... " scry site" and hand drawn maps!

Gah! I was trying to forget that one. What a terrible game!

Can't believe I spent so much time playing it...not to mention BT II, BTIII...

[screwtype]

I have this problem with the Total War Series. Since i started playing Paradox Games, I can't go 10 turns in RTW or MTW without weeping for a better campaign portion.

LOL, yeah, the campaign side of the TW series is really threadbare. My yardstick is not Paradox which I haven't tried, but the old game Lords of the Realm II (Amiga version).

In fact the lack of depth in the campaign side of TW has just about killed my interest in it. CA have just followed a different design philosophy to the one I hoped to see. I always felt that what STW/MTW needed more than anything was a richer, more complex campaign environment, because the battle side of the game was already fine. Really, all the campaigns do in STW/MTW is string together the battles, they are very primitive conceptually.

I hoped for a more in depth campaign with RTW but it didn't really happen. There's a bit of extra colour there, but no game to speak of, no economy, no management skills to master, no immersive world. Again the RTW campaign is little more than a shallow method of stitching battles together.

I'm afraid my interest in TW has declined for the same reason. It's now basically a case of - been there, done that. Hopefully some other company will take up where CA left off and give us the game that should have been.

[screwtype]

My friend, Paradox Games are for you. I recommend starting with Europa Universalis 2 as it's the simplist, and then graduating either to Victoria or Hearts of Iron depending on whether your personal tastes (I'm beginning to enjoy Victoria more than any of them).

I've been tempted to pick of HOI but I've heard Paradox games are all pretty much the same regardless of the era they are set in. And that bothers me, because in my book, blitzkreig should be a very different gaming experience to, say, victorian era combat.

All the same, so many people have recommended this game I will probably end up getting it. But I sure won't be buying it for the graphics.

[econ21]

My favourite game right now is still Imperialism II, a simple 2D strategy game that's five or six years old, but I find it has that crucial element of challenge that so many other games lack.

Good choice. Best genuine strategy game I've played. Other ones in the genre that I like are either squad level tactical games (e.g. JA2) or wargames (which I count Total War as - as you say, the battles are the thing).

[screwtype]

I think I'd probably like Victoria better too, but I'd probably have to get a copy off eBay, because I've never seen a copy of it in a store. They were selling HOI2 Platinum in my local EB recently for a pretty good price, but I resisted the temptation.

I don't know, there's just something about the Paradox games that don't appeal to me. They look too much like games of micromanagement and nothing else. Maybe my perception is wrong, I don't know.

My next game might be Knights of Honour. Or maybe I'll pick up a new copy of Civ IV. But having just forked out a substantial sum for new hardware, it might be a while before I get a new game. And besides, I'm still having fun with Imperialism II (Have you ever played that? Well worth a look if you're into strategy games IMO).

[Shambles]

I bought Final Fantasy Chronicles today.. re-vamped versions of FF4 and Chrono Trigger. Shizam.

REVAMPED CHRONO TRIGGER!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Where do I get this???

[Copperhaired Berserker!]

I always can go back to games, that's just me. I played Sonic the Hedgehog when I was a kid. It rocked! I was a big fan of it, even now, but it's only the old games I liked, the new ones are really cheesy and boring. Sonic Heroes was extremely cheesy too. Then when I was looking for a game to play, I went into PC world and found, Sonic Mega Collection Plus! I brought it and tryed to play Sonic 1. I played it and LOVED it. I wish there was not so much cheese in the new Sonic games....

[screwtype]

I recoemmend buying the Strategy Six-Pack. I got it for $20 at my local game store. It contains HoI1, Vicky, Eu2, and 3 crappy games not worth mentioning.

Thanks for the heads up Gelatinous I'll keep an eye out for it. It sure looks as though I won't be playing BI because I just found out my new system breaks RTW

[Geoffrey S]

Dark Forces, the first computer game I ever got. Such a cool game, but it of course won't work on my comp, nor could I stomach the graphics. Ah well...

If you want to get Dark Forces to work again you could always try this article. There's also a number of good levels around the site, if you're interested you could check the Hall of Fame.

Yeah, I loved that series. Though I think I had X wing... not sure, since somehow my dad got it on a floppy disk, and installed it to our computer. Ancient stuff, but there hasn't been a Star Wars flying game close to the X wing and Tie Fighter stuff. Another great Star Wars games was Rebel Assault (another flying game, better graphics but not as detailed control wise).

Those games kept me entertained for ages in my childhood. X Wing and Tie Fighter struck a perfect balance between accessibility and depth, making it easy to do things but challenging to keep track of everything at once. That and the missions were some of the best designed scenarios of all time.

Rebel Assault was one of the first games I ever played, along with the Monkey Island series. Spent hours playing those.