The Cellar - View Single Post

vsp · 07-30-2001, 09:21 AM

I'm not sure I'm ready to pony up the cash for Sims add-on packs, since I'm not sold on the original yet. (It is quite the audacious concept, I'll acknowledge, but is it really that fun to play with?)

A few more non-FPS games on standby:

* Zangband. For those who don't know their ASCII-based gaming history: First, there was Rogue. All things start with Rogue.

The road forked here; one road added everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink and begat Hack, then NetHack; the other went for a more Tolkienized flavor and begat Moria. And Moria was good. As Moria infused "Fellowship of the Ring" themes into Rogue, Angband infused "Silmarillion" themes, creatures and artifacts into Moria and became an even better game in the process. Zangband takes all of that and adds in random quests, Roger Zelazny's Amber series (note: zero knowledge of Zelazny is required to play, as I've never even seen his books), Lovecraftian horrors, Cyberdemons, a huge wilderness to explore, the mysterious It and Barney the Dinosaur. Among other things.

In short, it's a random-dungeon adventure in tile graphics that's open-source (I contributed a few quests a while back, before the static quests were all removed in the last big release), always different, very balanced and extremely addictive. Big learning curve at first if you're not familiar with the series, but well worth it.

* Ultima IX: Ascension. I haven't installed this one yet, but bought it for my wife who's an Ultima nut. All the reviews circa 1999 said "GREAT concept, pity it's crammed full of bugs and it's made for a system that doesn't exist yet." After two years of patches and technology advances, mine should be that system. Besides, it was cheap.

* Dungeon Keeper. I had this already, but it's nice to play it on a system that doesn't chug. For the uninitiated, think SimDungeon, with you as the disarmingly evil bad guy fending off the heroes. Delightfully warped.

* Hitman (on a friend's system). Great concept piece (you're a cloned assassin sent out on missions involving both stealth and carnage), very clunky interface (just TRY to drag bodies efficiently), hefty system requirements for a good frame rate.

Debating about:

* Giants: Citizen Kabuto.
* Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (for my wife, who loves Resident Evil-type stalk-and-splatter-undead-and-solve puzzles gameplay).
* Figuring out why Duke Nukem 3D won't acknowledge my @#(*@%&! SB Live card AT ALL.
* No One Lives Forever looks like too much fun to pass up.

Aw, who am I kidding? I'll be playing Thief until 2003.

07-30-2001, 09:21 AM	#7
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	I'm not sure I'm ready to pony up the cash for Sims add-on packs, since I'm not sold on the original yet. (It is quite the audacious concept, I'll acknowledge, but is it really that fun to play with?) A few more non-FPS games on standby: * Zangband. For those who don't know their ASCII-based gaming history: First, there was Rogue. All things start with Rogue. The road forked here; one road added everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink and begat Hack, then NetHack; the other went for a more Tolkienized flavor and begat Moria. And Moria was good. As Moria infused "Fellowship of the Ring" themes into Rogue, Angband infused "Silmarillion" themes, creatures and artifacts into Moria and became an even better game in the process. Zangband takes all of that and adds in random quests, Roger Zelazny's Amber series (note: zero knowledge of Zelazny is required to play, as I've never even seen his books), Lovecraftian horrors, Cyberdemons, a huge wilderness to explore, the mysterious It and Barney the Dinosaur. Among other things. In short, it's a random-dungeon adventure in tile graphics that's open-source (I contributed a few quests a while back, before the static quests were all removed in the last big release), always different, very balanced and extremely addictive. Big learning curve at first if you're not familiar with the series, but well worth it. * Ultima IX: Ascension. I haven't installed this one yet, but bought it for my wife who's an Ultima nut. All the reviews circa 1999 said "GREAT concept, pity it's crammed full of bugs and it's made for a system that doesn't exist yet." After two years of patches and technology advances, mine should be that system. Besides, it was cheap. * Dungeon Keeper. I had this already, but it's nice to play it on a system that doesn't chug. For the uninitiated, think SimDungeon, with you as the disarmingly evil bad guy fending off the heroes. Delightfully warped. * Hitman (on a friend's system). Great concept piece (you're a cloned assassin sent out on missions involving both stealth and carnage), very clunky interface (just TRY to drag bodies efficiently), hefty system requirements for a good frame rate. Debating about: * Giants: Citizen Kabuto. * Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (for my wife, who loves Resident Evil-type stalk-and-splatter-undead-and-solve puzzles gameplay). * Figuring out why Duke Nukem 3D won't acknowledge my @#(@%&! SB Live card AT ALL. No One Lives Forever looks like too much fun to pass up. Aw, who am I kidding? I'll be playing Thief until 2003.