May is here, and much like the variety of weather conditions in ol' Blighty, I've gathered a variety of gaming curios for your enjoyment too!
Pick of the month is a classic 3D platformer that I played the heck out of when it first came out on the PlayStation 2. But this Windows version of the Namco-published I-Ninja (2003 Argonaut Games) - complete with true Widescreen support - is perhaps the best way to play. Also rather interesting is the first-person sci-fi adventure Zero Zone (1998 Cryo Interactive) which is one of Cryo's better attempts at the genre.
Next up is the first-person tactical squad-based shooter Mortal Coil: Adrenaline Intelligence (1995 Crush, Ltd). While it pre-dates Rainbow Six by three years, and is full of jank and glitches, it's actually a rather fun time once you get to grips with it's quirks (and I spent a lot of time doing so, so you don't have to).
Lastly, there's a couple of classic Amiga games and their lesser PC ports. Abandoned Places: A Time for Heroes (1992 ArtGame & Electronic Zoo) is an old-school computer RPG in the best possible sense. Le Fetiche Maya (1989-90 Silmarils & Digital Integration, Inc) - also known simply as Maya - is an ambitious action-adventure that has you searching Mayan temples for hidden treasure.
One game on the update list this month: Urban Runner. I've updated ScummVM which will hopefully help with some compatibility issues that some have mentioned, but I wasn't able to replicate. There's also some updated manuals in there too!
Until the summer rolls in in June, have fun with this eclectic batch by clicking on the links after the jump!
Click on the images below to head on over to the game page.
Click on the images below to head on over to the game page.
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1992 ArtGame & Electronic Zoo
DOS / Amiga
Role Play-First Person-Fantasy
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2003 Argonaut Games
Windows
Platform-3D-Ninjas!
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1989-1990 Silmarils & Digital Integration, Inc
DOS / Amiga
Action-Adventure-Mesoamerica
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1995 Crush, Ltd
DOS
Action-FPS-Tactical-Science Fiction-Cyberpunk
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1998 Cryo Interactive
Windows '95
Adventure-First Person-Science Fiction-Cyberpunk
Like this? Try These...
Still hoping you'll be able to package up Space Crusade (Amiga or DOS) at some point!
ReplyDeleteGood shout. I've been meaning to get to the Hero Quest games and this for a while now. If you ever see that game crop up, know that Space Crusade will likely follow soon after.
DeleteDo you have a list of games you're planning to convert?
ReplyDeleteAnd do you take suggestions/recommendations for this list?
There is a rather large and poorly upkept request list found in the FAQ section. I do read all the requests and can potentially take them on board, but there's no guarantees (time, personal interest & abilities are a factor - some old games are stubborn). Zero Zone, like many others, was always on my to-do list but got bumped up because someone mentioned it a comment a couple of months ago.
DeleteI just noticed that Biffman was referring to a comment made by me back in March. I had no idea I could be so infliential. Thanks so much for Zero Zone. I'm very pleased you chose to do that one and mostly enjoyed it, too.
DeleteIf you're stuck on what else to do {so many choices!}, I'll see if I can make any other useful suggestions. "Time, personal interest and abilities are a factor." Hmm. I know you've said you personally like adventures. So, I'll browse through the Request List and pick out ones that look interesting, which also happen to have the label "Working" in their Notes, as Zero Zone does, but Dark Side of the Moon doesn't. Let's see:
DogDay; Golden Gate; Hopkins F.B.I.; Sentient; Zeddas.
Huh. Fewer than I expected. DogDay would be the top dog out of those. If I widen the net to entries on the List which haven't been tested yet, but which leap out at me as being interesting, I can add:
Rent-a-Hero; Voyeur II; Inherent Evil; Conspiracies; Lightbringer; Midnight Nowhere; Robot City
There are also the five I mentioned in March, which are not yet on the List. Finally, there are Cryo games, which Biffman rightly considers dull. I don't know if any of these look interesting to Biffman. Maybe one or two do:
Legend of the Prophet and the Assassin; New Adventures of the Time Machine; Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon; Timescape: Journey to Pompeii; China: The Forbidden City
*influential, not infliential... I wish I could edit posts, but I can't.
DeleteI still don't think I am influential, btw. Zero Zone happened to be a suggestion that worked, but Biffman should just do whatever he feels like doing.
Can't even edit the name to clarify that last post was indeed from me, not from someone else called Anonymous.
DeleteIsn't it tragic that the venerable old site known as adventuregamers has now died? It appears it is still up, but in reality it is a shell of itself. The forum has been deleted. So have the reviews. It was sold to a predatory online gambling company, which takes venerable old sites and puts gambling links at the top, hoping to snare gullible customers while not caring about the original point of the site.
DeleteThere are other sites focused on adv games {e.g. adv g hotspot}, but it looks like it will fall to individual heroes like Biffman to keep these old games alive.
About the only useful thing left on that old site, although for how much longer I don't know, is the definitive Top 100 All-Time Adventure Games list, compiled in 2011. I recommend people make a copy of that list before it too gets deleted.
In case anyone is curious, the overlaps between that superb list and the bunch of games I named above are:
DogDay; Rent-a-Hero; Voyeur II; Inherent Evil; The Secrets of Atlantis: The Sacred Legacy/Atlantis 5.
I believe everything else on that list is already available in this treasure trove of a site, if it's not sold on GOG or somewhere else.
To clarify: Some of the reviews on adventuregamers have been deleted, while others remain. It's a mess. The most recent are still up, but they may possibly have been written by AI. All reviews are credited to "AG Staff" instead of an actual name. I don't detect a personal touch as I do with Biffman's reviews, so I can no longer trust them.
DeleteAmazing job Biffman...many many thanks for this site.Wishing You all the best!!
ReplyDelete