Mystery GOG countdown (now general GOG discussion)

[Bullwinkle]

ArmA: Gold Edition


GT Link

[Bullwinkle]

Speed Busters: American Highway


GT Link

[CeeKay]

Race through crowded cities, snow-covered mountains, and active volcanoes. Take on UFOs, rock slides, fire-breathing dinosaurs, and a giant fist-smashing ape!

sounds interesting.

[Crawley]

I sorta remember this game. I recall the T-Rex running across the road and having to avoid him and being disappointed when I'd do a lap and he wasn't there. Don't recall the races with the UFOs or ape or anything like that. Surprised they didn't include those in the screencaps. In any case I seem to recall this was a pretty bad arcade racer and difficult to boot.

[Bullwinkle]

Gangland


GT Link

[CeeKay]

Might & Magic 9: Writ of Fate



GT Link

[baelthazar]

Might & Magic 9: Writ of Fate



GT Link

I never played this one, but the graphics made me think of something else.

Why the heck hasn't GOG.com gotten the rights to WIZARDRY 8! Seriously, I don't think the company even exists any more, so shouldn't it be pretty easy?

[TiLT]

Seriously, I don't think the company even exists any more, so shouldn't it be pretty easy?

That's probably exactly why it's hard. Someone owns the rights, but when a company collapses it suddenly becomes very hard to figure out exactly who.

[baelthazar]

Seriously, I don't think the company even exists any more, so shouldn't it be pretty easy?

That's probably exactly why it's hard. Someone owns the rights, but when a company collapses it suddenly becomes very hard to figure out exactly who.

You and your "logical thinking!" Someone pass GoG.com a Wizardry 8 CD and let's get burning! 

[CeeKay]

watch them get that Wizardry action game first 

[kronovan]

I played a ton of Speed Busters back in the late 90's with my kids. Its very aracdish but a heckuva lot of fun. I'd compare it to another arcade racer, but I really can't think of any that are quite like it. Just be warned that its very heavy on the arcade side. I only ever played it hotseat with with my kids, so I'm not even sure if it had Internet play - I seem to recall playing it on the LAN though.

[CeeKay]

Fahrenheit


GT Link

[EddieA]

Lands of Lore 1 and 2 are out for $5.99!  And there was much rejoicing

[Chaz]

Lands of Lore 1 and 2 are out for $5.99!  And there was much rejoicing

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[KC]

Lands of Lore 1 and 2 are out for $5.99!  And there was much rejoicing

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Have these games held up well over the years?

[TiLT]

Hallelujah! It was about bloody time, considering they said it would take "a few weeks" at the beginning of the summer". Purchasing now!

Lands of Lore 1 and 2 are out for $5.99!  And there was much rejoicing

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Have these games held up well over the years?

The first game has held up quite well because of its extreme polish and its deliberately old-school design. The sequels don't hold up as well as they tried to embrace newer technology, so you'll find bad 2.5D graphics, horrible FMV acting and an outdated control system there. I'd pretend the sequels don't exist, and simply play the first game on its own. It's a real classic. If you like RPGs, you'll like LoL.

[Bullwinkle]

Populous 2


GT Link

[Crawley]

Put a ton of hours in to Populous 2. There's nothing like getting powerful and then creating a few volcano over an enemy population city or unleashing a bunch of plagues. Wish this included the expansion for this which had some Japanese mythology maps. Always wanted to try it out.

[CeeKay]

Newer games coming to GOG:

GOG.com discusses future plans at CD Projekt RED Conference
Newer games to be added to catalog as the DRM-free digital distributor sets its sights on being the second largest independent digital distributor on the 'Net

(WARSAW, POLAND -- 17 November 2011) GOG.com, the DRM-free digital distributor with a difference, announced its plans for 2012 and 2013 today, stating that it while it will continue to add classic titles to its catalog it is also pursuing newer titles, it seeks to continue its impressive growth rate over the next two years, and looking for exclusive release opportunities with certain developers.

Speaking to a room of investors and journalists, Managing Director Guillaume Rambourg stated, "GOG.com has been performing very well the last three years, as we've mentioned previously both at CD Projekt conferences and at venues like the London Games Conference last week. We have an audacious plan for the the next two years to continue GOG.com's success story, and that depends on three things.

"First, we will be adding newer games into the catalog in 2012. Traditionally, GOG.com has looked for great classics that are three years old or older. We will continue to add classic games, of course, but we are actively working to sign newer titles now. Of course, these new titles will have to come at a new, higher price point, but our key focus will always be on the same core values that have made GOG.com great so far: completely DRM-free games, flat prices everywhere in the world, and extra content and goodies for our fantastic customers.

"Second, the consistent growth that GOG.com has had since we launched in 2008 has been a great success story. We've been profitable since our first month, and the fact that we've come from nowhere to bring over a million classic gamers to our website every month and over six million games downloaded proves that gamers want an alternative to the usual digital distributors. We want to continue this growth, and we have a plan for this: more than 400 products in our catalog by the end of 2012, combined with new partners, more franchises, and continued improvements to make GOG.com a better website will help us achieve this goal.

"Finally, we want to work closely with ambitious developers and independent publishers who feel a kinship with that 'good old spirit' that GOG.com embodies. Thanks to the commercial success of The Witcher 2 on GOG.com, more and more people realize that our values are universal. They are coming to GOG and asking if we can carry their titles. We've made GOG.com the destination for classic PC games, but now is the time to take this to the next level and emerge as the best alternative digital distribution platform for all PC games."

[Bullwinkle]

Crusader: No Regret


GT Link

[CeeKay]

Starflight 1 & 2


GT Link



[edit]  huh, 4 EA games in a row, didn't realize they were working on the next batch of games from them.

[baelthazar]

I will be getting Starflight! I spent many a childhood hour on those two!

[Darkstar One]

Until they get Alien Crossfire on there...who cares?

[Razgon]

Until they get Alien Crossfire on there...who cares?

Seemingly a lot of people?? Not sure what the point was, other than to antagonize?

[morlac]

Until they get Alien Crossfire on there...who cares?

Seemingly a lot of people?? Not sure what the point was, other than to antagonize?

Razgon, meet Darkstar one.

[Bullwinkle]

Moving on...with something that'll get the blood pumping.

The Complete Ultima 7 Collection


GT Link

[Greg Wak]

This is what I have been waiting for. Hooray! I was a Mac gamer when the ultima games came out and missed them all. This is the one I wanted the most.

[CeeKay]

until they get Razgon's Pornographic Adventures on there.... who cares?

Spoiler for Hiden:

so in for U7!

[Hrothgar]

I'm sure I'll get it for nostalgia, but I can't imagine having as much gaming time now as I poured into base U7 when it came out.  It was mind blowing back then.

[raydude]

I think I only got to see the Ultima 7 intro on my friend's computer. Never did have the money to buy it back then, nor the time available. I was floored when I heard you could do stuff like bake bread in the game. I am most likely in!

[CeeKay]

I remember the feeling o achievement I got when I finally managed to get the damned game to run with sound.  stupid VooDoo memory management system 

[Crawley]

The XMS/EMS memory management stuff was horrible as it was trial and error till you found the right amount to put where to get the game to run.  Would never put up with anything like that today. 

[baelthazar]

I remember the feeling o achievement I got when I finally managed to get the damned game to run with sound.  stupid VooDoo memory management system 

I hear that! I had to set up a special boot menu just for Ultima 7. We had just recently gotten a Soundblaster card, so imagine my surprise when the Guardian burst forth and said "Avatar!" I jumped back! U7 was the first PC game I played with full sound.

[CeeKay]

looks like that's the end of the latest batch of EA games   

Desperados 2:  Cooper's Revenge


GT Link

[Chaz]

I'm guessing that the first link there might be a copy/pasta error.  An awesome one (though would've been better if I hadn't been at work), but it definitely ain't the game.  Unless it's Desperados 2: Cuthbert's Revenge.

[Bullwinkle]

Gothic 3


GT Link

[Shkspr]

...and the wishlist is empty with the advent of GoG's 50% off holiday sale.  Unfortunately, that's another dozen games to add to the backlist pile.

[Isgrimnur]

I can't get anything but free orders to process.  I have 5 games for $15 sitting in my cart that I can't purchase through Chrome or Firefox.

[Crawley]

So I have fond memories of Lands of Lore and decided to check it out again. Well one thing lead to another and I ended up finishing the game. The surprising thing was that I had forgotten the game was actually pretty frustrating and brutally difficult. There are a few areas in that game that if you do the wrong thing several hours later you reach a point you can't get past since you screwed up earlier. That's several hours of gameplay lost. And if you didn't have an earlier save you have to start over.

For example you get something called Vahlen's Cube. It's used to destroy a magic barrier. Once used it's gone. Well after working you way up to the 4th level of this tower you encounter all these ghosts. The only way to hurt the ghosts is using Vahlen's cube. Problem is if you used it up to destroy the second barrier you have no cube. There is no way to survive the ghosts without the cube. So that means you have to load an older save before you used the cube. Hell even with the cube the ghost area is brutally difficult.

There's a few other spots in this game where if you forgot to do x here then its impossible to do y later in the game.

I used a walkthrough and still had problems where I had to do some retracing.  

I can't recall if I finished the game originally but I know I ran in to that stupid Vahlen's Cube thing where I had to load up an earlier save and spend a few hours re-doing a bunch of stuff. All those frustrating memories came back as I replayed it. Funny how I forgot all of it and just recalled the game being fantastic.

In any case the ending was actually pretty good for a game of that time. Several cinematics and a decent credits sequence. So was happy I replayed it.

[TiLT]

For example you get something called Vahlen's Cube. It's used to destroy a magic barrier. Once used it's gone. Well after working you way up to the 4th level of this tower you encounter all these ghosts. The only way to hurt the ghosts is using Vahlen's cube. Problem is if you used it up to destroy the second barrier you have no cube. There is no way to survive the ghosts without the cube. So that means you have to load an older save before you used the cube. Hell even with the cube the ghost area is brutally difficult.

That's actually not really true. A couple of walkthroughs insist on what you're saying, but as long as you use emerald swords, that part of the game just becomes more difficult instead. The first time I finished the game I don't think I used the cube at all for that part, and was pretty surprised when I saw the walkthroughs suggested using it. It's a notoriously hard section though, one of the most difficult levels I've ever played in a computer game.

I just finished my replay of LoL this week myself. It was an awesome experience this time as well, but I also noticed what you're saying. I guess it's hard to avoid for such an old game, particularly since people had other ideas about game design at the time than what we expect today. There are a couple of situations where using the right item can make a HUGE difference (such as with the cube), but there are no in-game hints that can lead you to this conclusion. Even so, the game holds up really, really well and was fun from beginning to end. It was also much shorter than I seemed to remember. For someone who doesn't waste much time, it shouldn't be a problem to go through the entire thing in less than 10 hours.