Game Review: Gemini Rue

Launching Gemini Rue is like opening a door to the past, to the early 90s when point & click adventure games were king. Even though the game was released in 2011 it plays, looks and feels like on the of the old school adventure games and you could even confuse it with a game released from Sierra or Lucas Arts back in their glory days.

Gemini Rue could be a Phillip K. Dick story. It is disturbing, it asks difficult questions and portrays a dark future for mankind. You are Azriel Odin, a cop. You were an assasin working for a criminal syndicate but you betrayed them and now you are trying to take them down. Your brother has been kidnapped and is being held in a secret facility were they alter people's personalities. Your goal is to get your brother back. The plot of the game is very well written with great twists. The characters are well thought off and each has his/her own motives and past story that you will discover while playing. As far as sci fi stories go this is a top dog. I find that the better sci fi stories are criticism on the present and this is no exception.

One of the game's strong cards is its atmosphere. It has this noir detective mystery feeling. It feels a lot like being in Blade Runner. The graphics are hand drawn and beautiful. They play their part and get the job done without offering millions of polygons. The sounds and voice acting are nothing special but for an indie game are rather good.

The game is somewhat short but the gameplay is solid and you will never feel that you are bored or doing something that you shouldn't been doing. The riddles are almost all inventory based with the occasional logic puzzle here and there. The game is a bit easy but that will not bother you as the riddles are very well blended in to the story and what your characters are doing. During the course of the game you will control 2 different characters, most of the time each being in a different environment pursuing his own goals. There were no illogical puzzles but there are a few "action" sequences. Don't get me wrong these are not 'action' exactly but rather some shooting mini games that you will have no trouble tackling. They don't feel like they were put there to extend the gameplay or to market the game as having action, but they enhance the thrill at the right moments.

Overall Gemini Rue is a highly recommended game for everyone that enjoys a good adventure or a sci fi story. It is very cheap and you can buy it from steam, or from the publisher's website directly. Just launch it and travel back to the glory days of the point & click adventures

Back To The Future: The Game Review

If you were a kid growing up in the 80's or 90's chances are that one of your favourite movie franchises is Back to The Future. It had it all. Excellent plot, wacky Sci Fi, memorable characters, nice action, humor and of course, time travel! Since then I 've seen the movies countless times but they never fail to entertain me. Tell Tale games is a company that has given us some very good adventure games in the past few years, but Back to The future: The Game is their best so far! It continues the story of the movies with a brand new plot and contains all the elements that we loved about the 80s movies.

All the cast is back. Marty, Doc, the Mcfly family, the Tannens and of course everything is taking place in the Hill Valley's past, present and future. The game starts with Marty going back to 30s to look for Doc who has been lost and in the process to save him messes with the normal timeline. In the course of 5 episodes we get to fix things up and maybe even improve some aspects. I do not want to ruin it for you but the scenario is excellent and a worthy successor of the movies.

Since it is an adventure games we will have to solve puzzles to progress the story but these puzzles are so well done and so well implemented in to the story that do not seem like distractions but part of the game plot. In my opinion this is how adventure game puzzles should be. They should not seem something that the designer put there to make your life difficult but something that your character should do towards his story goals. The game is not very difficult but it is challenging nevertheless. If you ever get stuck there is an in-game hint system with 3 levels so you can get some help without ruining the experience.

The game looks beautiful. The cartoonish versions of the characters are convincing and the game scenes are rich with details that enhance the atmosphere. For each time period you will get a nice different feeling out of the graphics. The sounds and the voices are very well done as well. We have the actors of the movies' cast coming back to lend their voices once again and they do an admirable job in recreating the old magic.

One thing that I did not like at first was the controls and direction of how the scenes changed while Marty was moving. It seems as though the designers kept in mind that the game would be released for consoles as well and they made up this unified control method that would work well with a console controller, but at the same time keep the old school point and click control method. After a while I got used it and I did not mind.

Over all if you are a fun of the movies, or adventure games, this is a highly recommended purchase. It will keep you entertained for many hours and at the end you will see the all to familiar 'To be continued' that promises of an next installment to the franchise. I can't wait for it! In the men time Tell Tale is planning to resurrect another beloved franchise and transform it in an adventure game series, that of Jurassic Park. So, stay tuned!

Pandora Directive: The greatest FMV adventure of all time

I was going through my old game boxes and I stammbled on one of my favourite games of all time. Pandora Directive. I had not played this since when it came out in 1996 and I was really in the mood for a good detective story. There are few that can compare to Tex Murphy, private investigator. Simple as that I badly wanted to play it. Unfortunately the game comes in 6 CDs and it is made to run on DOS or Windows 95 and requires some very tedious fiddling around to make it play without requiring to switch discs. Fortunately for me GOG has bundled it in one nice package that is ready to play on modern PCs for an excellent price. That was it. I downloaded the game from my GOG account and sunk in the P.I. world of Tex Murphy.

The game is an FMV adventure meaning that real life actors are used for the game's cut scenes and graphics. The acting is very good and it includes names such as Kevin McCarthy, Tanya Roberts, Barry Corbin and of course Chris Jones as Tex Murphy. If you played Under a Killing Moon(another great Tex Murphy adventure) you would have noticed that the direction, filming and acting was not of great quality, but in this everything is top notch.

The original commercial trailer of the game

Tex Murphy is a very likable lad. Life has not been good to him and he always finds himself in trouble. His life is just like an old fim noir movie but that's they way he likes it. He is a mixture of Humphrey Boggard and Indiana Jones with more humor and less looks. Always broke, always down, he is street smart and in search for a new job, women and whiskey.

The story of the game starts when a customer aproaches Tex and asks him to find a long lost friend. Tex being broke as usual will accept the job and his search will lead him in a series of murders, goverment conspiracies and alien encounters. Without wanting to give anythign away this one is one of the finest plots in any adventure game.

Our hero, Tex Murphy P.I.

The best quailty of the game, apart from the story, is the way the gameplay is woven around the story. You will never have illogical puzzles that were simply thrown there for the sake of the game. Everything has to do with the story and all riddles and puzzles promote the plot further. This is a challenging game though. The game features an in-game hint system which is very helpfull without giving much away. It can be played on two levels: one for normal play and one with extra puzlles and no hint system. Puzzles are a mixture of inventory based ones and standalone mechanical riddles.

The graphics are very good even for a game of 1996. They are 3D and you can move around everywhere and search for items and clues. The video quality is nice and thankfully its doesn't use the interlaced technique that was usual in the games of the time. The soundtrack is very pleasant with blues and jazz tunes setting the tone.

One of the many places that you will look for clues

The story takes place in a span of 9 days(plus 1 for the ending) and the game is very generous as with its playtime. It will take you many evening to finish this one. The game features 7 different finalles depending on how you played the game. All in all this is an excellent choice if you are after a great adventure and truly is one of the greatest games that were ever created.

The series includes Under a Killing Moon, Overseer and the first two Tex Murphy games, Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum. All are available from GOG. It is too bad that Microsoft bought Access Software just to buy the Links golf simulator (that Access created) and shut down the Tex Murphy games. I would really love to play a new in the series but I don't see this happening. Oh well. Get yourself a bourbon turn the lights off and enjoy one fine detetive story.

Retro Holiday Gaming, Part II: The Dig

After playing Death Gate it was time to change the setting from fantasy to science fiction. The Dig is an incredible science fiction story based on an idea Steven Spielberg had (yes THAT Steven Spielberg). Originally he wanted to make a tv episode and later a movie about it but it was deemed too expensive. Fortunately instead of staying unproduced it became a 1995 adventure game by Lucas Arts.

When a radio telescope detects an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, an expedition is sent to save the planet. The plan is to place two nuclear devices on the surface of the asteroid (named Atilla) to change it's course and put it in a stready orbit around Earth (making Attila Earth's second moon). As you can imagine things don't go exactly as planned and three of the five team members end up stranded on an alien planet.

Houston we have a problem!

You play the role of Boston Low, commander of the mission (voiced by T-1000 himself, Robert Patrick). With you, are Maggie Robins, a reporter and expert in linguistics and Dr. Brink Ludger, a noted geologist and archaeologist. Together you have to fight to survive on a deserted alien world and try to find a way back to Earth if there even is one. I don't want to say too much about the story because it would spoil it for you. I will just say that it is one of the best science fiction stories ever told in any medium that explores some great philosophical thoughts. But of course that is the case will all good science fiction.

The dialog system

The interface couldn't be simpler. When you see something of interest, you left click to interact with it. There is only one button to the bottom left side of the screen that brings up the inventory (right click does the same thing). When you talk to someone you don't choose exact phrases but rather ask a question, make a comment and talk about various topics represented by appropriate images. Pretty simple stuff. Most of the puzzles are quite easy but there are some that will leave you scratching your head.

Strange encounters

Any science fiction fan should play this game and if you're reading this blog odds are that you love science fiction. So head over to Steam and buy the game for an ultra low price of 1.99 euros (50% off). A great game on a great price. I really hope that one day it will also make a great movie.

Retro Holiday Gaming, Part I: Death Gate

These days, after seeing some of the old games offered at the steam sale, I got a bit nostalgic and decided to dig around my old games and replay a couple of my very favorite adventures. First up is Death Gate, a 1994 fantasy adventure game by Legend Entertainment loosely based on a book series called The Death Gate Cycle. In order to run such an old game on Windows 7, I of course used DOSBox and everything worked like a charm.

In Death Gate two races of magicians, the Sartans and the Patryns, battled for supremacy and rule over the inferior races (humans, elves and dwarfs). The Sartans, sensing that they were losing the battle, devised a plan to gain the upper hand: using magic, they sundered the world into 5 smaller worlds, four based on the elements (air, fire, earth and water) and a fifth one called The Labyrinth in which they trapped all the Patryans. You play the role of Haplo, a Patryan that has just escaped the Labyrinth, two millennia after the sundering. With the guidance of a powerful Patryan, Lord Xar, you set out to the other worlds to gather information and avenge your race.

Arianus, the world of air

Death Gate is probably the most dialog heavy game I have ever played, but the story is so good that it completely absorbs you. The voice acting of the cd version and the music are also very nice which adds to the enjoyment of the story. The graphics of the game are beautiful, although they are mostly static images with subtle animations and a few 3D cut-scenes. The interface is simple but effective. Your inventory is at the bottom of the screen and at it's left are the use magic button and other people in your party. On the left side of the screen are some key action words and some that change depending on what you are doing and below that is a compass which you can use to move around.

The interface is very intuitive

Magic plays a very important role in the game and is used in a unique way. You cast spells by tracing your finger in the air to create line designs. In order to construct a spell you use various runes that you combine together. As you progress you will learn more runes and more spells. This system provides the basis for some very interesting puzzles in the game.

The rune magic system

Death Gate is available for download at Abandonia (sadly not the CD version with the voice acting). If you like adventure games do yourself a favor and give Death Gate a try. I promise you, you will be rewarded.

Merry Christmas!

Broken Sword 2.5: The Return of the Templars

Few computer game series have had such faithful followers as the Broken Sword series. The classic adventure games from Revolution software have rocked our occult/conspiracy loving world since 1996. A group of devoted and talented fans of the series have created a sequel to Broken sword 1 and 2, named cleverly Broken Sword 2.5 as the story takes place between the second and the third of the series. The presentation is the classic cartoon 2D interface that we loved and not the 3D view of the third in the series.

The game was available to the german speaking world for a year now but the rest of us had to wait until now for the english patch to enjoy it. The game features full english speech which is rather good considering this is a fan project. The game's production values are very high and are matching commercial adventure games. It even has its own original music score. What can I say, the Germans are very......emmm....german and can pull things like that. Playing the game is like opening a portal back to 1996 to play Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars but with a new story.

Outside Nico's apartment early in the game

The game is free and you can download it from the game's official website. You need to download the game separately from the english patch and then after installing the game copy the contents of the patch folder to the game folder. When you first start the game everything will be in german. To change it to english click on the OPTIONEN button and change the language form the SPRACHE menu. The game controls are almost the same with the 1st game of the series and will not cause you any trouble.

So what are you waiting for. The game is free and will entertain you in a way that only the classic 90s adventures could. The templars are back and they mean business.

Beneath a steel sky. A classic sci-fi adventure

Getting back to my trusty old Macbook Pro after months of absence I had this impulse to reinstall everything from scratch. I do not know why but after months away I had a feeling of starting clean. I never had formatted it, not that it needed it, so I figured I will just go on with it. There was no trouble really since I had backed everything up before I left. After installing any new system I have the habit of installing scummvm. The magnificent little application that allows you to play old scumm engine adventure games. Since its first release many years ago scummvm has expanded from the Lucas Arts only games to support a great number of classic adventures such as the King Quest series, Broken sword and Legend of Kyrandia to name a few. It is available for all platforms imaginable from PCs and Macs to mobile phones and game consoles. After installing it I said, why not try a game that i haven't played before. I chose Beneath a Steel which is available for free from the scummvm download section. I loaded it and instantly I got hooked.

Beneath a Steal Sky is a classic point and click adventure that takes place in a dystopian future. The setting of the game is the Union City which is run by the oppressive Linc Computer through the Security a gestapo like police force. Our hero is Robert Foster who grew up in the great wasteland outside the city after being rescued by a tribe from a mysterious crash when he was a young boy. Foster has to unravel the mysteries of his childhood, find out about his parents and his true identity and save the human race (naturally...). The game's script is not very original but is very well written. The pacing of finding bits and pieces of the truth is very good. The great Dave Gibbons is one of the games writers and artists.

Union city sure is ugly dull and depressing

Being a point and click adventure you solve puzzles by getting items and using them in various situations. You can combine items for use and interact with the environment. Throughout the game there are several terminals that you can hack your way into, to retrieve data, open locked doors and cause a lot of trouble to Security. Foster is accompanied by his trusty robot Joey who assumes various robotic bodies during the course of the game. Joey helps you out in various situations and you can ask him to perform certain actions. There are some sections of the game that take place inside the cyberspace. I really liked these parts as they had a distinct feeling and unique puzzles. The puzzles in the game are not very hard but some can get very frustrating especially in the the first parts of the game since it is not exactly clear what you have to do. Later on the goals are much better blend in the story and the pacing is better, knowing what you have to do.

The game has many interesting characters. My favorite though, has to be Joey, especially in his early form. Cunning remarks and ironic humor will get on Foster's nerves. The inhabitants of the city are colorful to say the least. Memorable mentions are the fat and cocky factory manager Lamb and the rich and ugly Mrs Piermont. The atmosphere of the game changes from time to time, from a depressing dystopian future to a comical Brazil like experience depending on the situation.

From the games comic book like cutscenes

The graphics have aged quite well and the colors used will suck you into Union city. I can't say the same for the musical score. Most of them are annoying repetitive old midi music that manages to ruin the atmosphere created by the story and graphics. I strongly suggest adjusting the volume or turning it off all together. The voice acting of the CD version is very well done and convincing with some minor annoying exceptions.

All in all I strongly recommend giving this old gem a try. It is free after all and you have nothing to loose. You will spend a week's worth of evenings to beat the game and you will have great fun doing it. Download the game files from here.

Loom: a magical adventure

Welcome to the age of the great guilds! we hear the narrator say and our magical journey begins. 20 years ago Loom was released by Lucas Arts and after all this time it still manages to lead us in its mystic world. This is one of the most enchanting games (adventure games for that matter) that i have ever played. Swans, music, art guilds, magic all blend together in a way to offer us a unique experience.

You are Bobbin Threadbare, the Loom child, a young man of the guild of weavers, off to find answers to your questions and possibly save the world. I will not go into the details of the story 'cause I don't want to ruin it for anyone. When the game came out in retail 20 years ago in the box there was a cassette containing an audio drama that helps the player get into the game world and story. I strongly suggest you hear it. You will thoroughly enjoy it and it is only 30 minutes. You can find it on youtube in three parts: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Having just finished the game again after so many years I still find it refreshing, unique and immersing. I simply did not want it to end. Being an adventure game you solve puzzles in order to progress into the story. In Loom though the puzzles are not you usual inventory based, slider or mechanical puzzles in other games, but rather, a unique use of musical notes. You wave your stuff to play music and according to the melody something happens. So basically, you have melodies that perform certain actions and you use them when you want something done. You hear this melodies when something is happening and then you play them again to perform an action. This works very well and its use blends wonderfully into the game world. There are many ways to use a melody. For example if you play the melody of 'open' backwards, you close something!

The game is rather easy and short. An experienced adventure gamer will finish it probably in an afternoon and that is the game's biggest drawback. In order to extend its length you can play it in a higher level of difficulty. The different levels of difficulty do not have to do with the puzzles themselves, but instead with, how the notes are presented to the player. In the easiest mode the game shows you the notes of the melodies that you hear in order to play them again. In the highest difficulty mode you play the game by ear alone. In any difficulty level though, it is essential to note down the melodies and what they do, which is fun on its own.

The game's finalle clearly suggest that there will be a sequel, but 20 years have passed and nothing. I would have really loved to play the next Loom game but unfortunately Lucas Arts probably is not going to give us one. You can get this game from steam for a very low price, or try your luck in Ebay. If you encounter any old disks of any version(PC disks, Amiga CD, FM Towns, etc) it will play wonderfully with ScummVM. I strongly suggest this game to anyone that likes a good story and an immersing experience in a magical world.

Gabriel Knight 2: A true epic that doesn't age.

I will start by saying that Grace Nakimura is a bitch. A horrible, horrible bitch. That is how much she annoys the shit out of me; I start the review of one of the most fantastic adventure games ever created by stating my feelings of hate towards that particular character. 

With that out of the way let us begin.

I do not know if it's the rain that brings that feeling of wanting to relax playing a good adventure game, or that I am getting old and I want to relive the glory days of my gaming youth, but I definitely wanted to play a Gabriel Knight game these days. I decided to play the second in the series as it is my personal favorite (not that the 1st or the 3rd one are not fantastic). Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within (as is its full title) takes place mostly in the area around Munich in Germany and the Bavarian countryside. It revolves around a werewolf story that goes back many centuries, the last Bavarian King Ludwig II and Wagner. I really cannot say anything without spoiling something to anyone who hasn't played it before. As, in all Gabriel Knight games it is very good at blending real history with the occult and create a fantastic totally immersing setting. The game starts with Gabriel going back to his ancestral castle to reclaim his long lineage of Schattenjägers (Shadowhunters) and investigate a series of mutilation murders.

In Munich city center

This is the most brilliantly produced adventure game ever made and I am not exaggerating one bit. It makes use of full-motion-video and prerendered photorealistic backgrounds as they were made back in the good-old mid 90s. The acting is top notch and the direction is brilliant. The actors really bring the characters to life, as Jane Jensen had intended, with Gabriel Knight the protagonist being an absolute dick. He parades his cockiness and american ignorance on European culture at all occasions, even though, the game is created by Jensen and the all-American Sierra Online. Jensen stresses the differences in culture between Europe and the US with any chance using caricature characters as well(Fat loud lady from Pennsylvania anyone?).

Music plays a particular important role in the game. It features an original score especially written and conducted for the game. It creates the perfect atmosphere and sets the tone. The production values are so high that an actual original Opera was written and performed for the needs of the game. The opera is supposed to be a long lost Opera from Wagner who plays an important role in the background story of the game.

Investigating Ludwig II

The gameplay spans across 6 chapters and you control Gabriel and that bitch Grace in turns in each Chapter. Gabriel investigates the mutilation killings while Grace researches the history around Ludwig II. Most of the riddles are logical and inventory based. Some are particularly smartly conceived but all of them are well blended into the story just as any good adventure should do. If it wasn't for this stupid and unfair reflex thing in the finale.

I played this game again after 12, or so, years. I can testify that this is a timeless gem and one of the best adventures ever made. Once you start it you will not want to let it go until the credits start rolling and even then it will stay with you for a long time. Heck, its been 12 years and I was still thinking about it every now and then. Make yourself a favor and buy this one as well as the rest of the GK games. You can find them in compilations in online shops as well as on ebay. You can also get it from gog.com ready packed to run on modern PCs. If you find any trouble playing the original version game in modern computers you can try dosbox(for 1st and 2nd) as well as the tools provided by the Gabriel Knight 2000 project. Also dont forget to join the Gabriel Knight 4 campaign.

Oh...and Grace Nakimura is a bitch...

Telltale website down, new Monkey Island almost here!

Ok, I just got back from going out for drinks and checked to see if the new Monkey Island is out in order to buy and download the first episode from the telltale website. The site appears to be down. This can mean one of two things. Their servers could not manage the traffic 'cause tens of thousands of people are trying to do the same thing as me, or they took the site down for maintenance to upload the new game. At either case I initally got a maintenance screen and after a few minutes I could not even connect which meant the their server was down.

This is what telltale website is showning at the time of writing

At any rate the new Monkey island is almost here. This with the Lucas making their old loved adventures, such as Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Loom, available for purchase from Steam tommorow feels excellent. Adventures have just come back to mainstream and are making headlines again...Hoorey!!!

UPDATE:
The game is out and available for purchase from both telltale website and Steam.

New Monkey Island games!

One of the greatest adventure games series is back with not one but two games!

Telltale Games is creating Tales Of Monkey Island which will be released in 5 monthly episodes starting July 7. Here is the trailer for the game:



The second game, created by Lucas Arts, is Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition and it will be a remake of the original game with HD graphics, remastered score and voiceover work. It will also have a cool feature where you will be able to swap between the old and the new look of the game any time you want. For more info and a look of the game there is a very interesting making of video on the official site.

This is a very good chance for younger people to discover one of the best games ever created and a chance for older people to re-discover the Secret Of The Monkey Island.

MMO classic Sierra adventures

Today I stumbled on exactly that. "What?" you say...I said just that when i heard it but when you actually experience everything becomes clear. Let me just say that it is super cool albeit somewhat odd. Martin Kool created sarien.net a multiplayer web based version of classic sierra games that you play they way you used to but with the added experience of hundred other players walking around and doing the same things you are doing.

I started out with Larry. The game was exactly the same with the original version that you typed the commands. It was pretty surrealistic though to walk among other ten Larries, that you could talk too as well. The most fun , I have to say, was checking what the other players were trying with the game. This was incredibly fun and it could bring more people to play these classic gems. Being able to talk to other players wherever you want means that you can ask people for help as well if you are stuck. This was a very unique experience.

Walking among other larries is odd, but you never know what the other players will try!

Up until now 6 games are supported:

• King's Quest: Quest for the Crown
• Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
• Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel
• Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter
• Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge
• The Black Cauldron

I am sure you will find the whole thing very entertaining.

I have no mouth and I must scream

It is not very often that you can play a game that truly investigates the fears of the human mind. I have no mouth and I must scream is such a game. It is 1996 adventure game based on the 1966 Harlan Ellison's short story of the same title. In fact, Ellison worked on the script of the game and even gave his voice to AM the supercomputer featured in the story.

The story is different from book and centers around the characters imprisoned by AM. AM is a supercomputer created by the joinning of the AIs of the three superpowers at the end the cold war. AM started a nuclear war that killed all mankind but kept 5 people alive to torture them for all eternity for his amusement. After 109 years he decides to give each of these characters the opportunity to participate, in what AM is calling, his "little game". You play as each of these characters to unravel their personal tragedies, fears and shortcomings in 5 distinct stories. After the completion of all the stories you get to play as any of character for the game's finale.

Despite the game being old it manages to suck you into its nightmarish world of fear, madness and tricky soul complexes that leave you with a sick feeling. This is no game for the faint of heart, or those easily disturbed, since it contains highly depressing scenes and some of the stories will leave you strange feeling for a long time. Each of the characters has to solve his/her own story to achieve personal salvation from their nightmares, be it either guilt, or fear, or madness, or anything else. There are many ethical dilemmas through the game and the player is free to take his own path leading to different outcomes.


The graphics help to the overall gloomy presentation of the game with appropriate colors and scenery for each of the stories. There are other characters that you talk to, that are either people from your past, or manifestations of AM himself. The music is fitting and is different for each character. In terms of difficulty the game manages to be challenging but at the same time does not distract the player from the story or the atmosphere. The gameplay involves conversation decisions and inventory-related puzzles. There are many locations to visit and many items to use.

I highly recomend playing this game to anyone who enjoys a good story and a deeper experience than most of the superficial games of today. An intense look at the human nightmares and the evil that we are capable for as a species. An excellent example of fine adventure gaming.

Nostalgia: The games we loved (...some of them)

A couple of nights ago we were out for drinks with friends and after the usual alcoholic beverages, while relaxed, we started talking about games that we loved. After some time into the discussion I realized that not one of the games mentioned was not among the ones that you find into today's shelves. We got nostalgic about games that offered pure fun when games was not a multi-billion dollar industry. These games where about atmosphere, gameplay, story and challenge, without requiring a 5-hundred-dollar graphics card and the game boxes were made out of paper and were coming with much more than a 4 pages manual. I will try to mention as many as I can remember from the ones we mentioned without any particular order:

Daggerfall (1996)
The biggest, baddest, hardest RPG ever made. A friend spend two years playing itwithout following the main story and he has still not finished. A gem coming to us from 1996. The second game on the elder scrolls series, before Oblivion, before morrowind. Let me just say that in its world morrowind was but a small island on the map.Yea...that big.


Loom (1990)
One of the first Lucas Arts advenure games. A fairytale were riddles are solved with music and fantasy has no limits. It was rather small compared to games of its age but yet it was extremely enjoyable. Highly recommended.


Gabriel Knight Series(1993,1995,1999)
My personal favorite sierra adventure series. Mystery, supernatural and horror coming from the Jane Jensen's mind. Carefully woven stories mixing historical facts with myths ensure of excellent atmosphere and challenging riddles. Gabriel Knight, the shadow hunter, is solving mysteries keeps the worlds safe from evils. Me favorite is the second one, The Beast Within, were he hunts werewolves in old castles in Germany.


Albion (1995)
This 1995 RPG managed to combine technology with magic to create a unique atmosphere and gameplay. It was played, both, in 3rd and 1st person perspective. It had a big extra terestrial game world full of dungeons and puzzles featuring a deep storyline.


Defender of the crown (1986)
My favourite strategy game on my 8086 computer. When it first came out for the amiga everyone was looking at its gorgeous graphics with the mouth open, drooling. Create your army, save damsels, take part in sword fights and sieges to save England from the evil Normands. I must admit that I still play this game with the same enthusiasm as I did when I was a kid.


Lords of Midnight (1984)
In my opinion the best game Sectrum ZX had to offer. A mix of adventure strategy and RPG in the biggest world 48 Kilobytes of memory could hold. Fantastic atmosphere and challenging game play ensure hours of fun. The original game box included a book containing the manual, a
small story to get you into the game and the map of the world which was essential in order to plan your campaign. If you want to enjoy this you can still can using the fatastic and faithful port Icemark did for Dos using dosbox. I still have not managed to beat the game...but I will some day.

Quest for glory II remake gets released

AGD Interactive, the guys that brought us the King Quest remakes, finally released the remake for Quest for Glory II: Trial by fire. The game was almost 8 years into development and had many ups and downs, but is finally here. The game gets released for free with the concent of Sierra that developed the original game more 15 years ago. There are differences from the original version that consist of both interface improvments, and puzzle changes.

The game story starts just after the end of the first game Quest for Glory I: So you want to be a hero?. You are now the famous hero that drove away the diabolical witch Baba Yaga (what's with this name?) and her horde of bandits. With your magic carpet you fly to the town of Shaper, a new city looking for a hero..well it figures. For anyone who has not played the original or for all of you, old adventure nostalagic folks out there, I strongly recommened to download it and give it a try. Have fun.