Nostalgia: PC Games you miss

[kharis]

Scorched earth was great fun on the lan at tafe

[phylum]

Abe's Oddysee is a game that really took me as a kid. Such an amazing world, and so much tension. My parents actually took the game away because it used to give me nightmares

I'm yet to finish the remake, but I think it's enjoyable. You really have to remember that it's a remake, and not just a HD remastering though. There's a lot to consider about what made the original good, but some of the dark gritty atmosphere that made it so exciting actually stemmed from the limitations they had working with the PS1. The vision behind Oddworld doesn't match up to what people expect after Abe's Oddysee, and NnT is more in line with what the future of the series will be.

[vcatkiller]

It's on sale on GoG at the moment so I just grabbed myself a copy. Might give it a go later once it's finished downloading...

[acegiak]

I would say that the new Oddworld version is "more pretty, less beautiful". Yeah the limitations of the tech available for the original gave it that grittiness but also I think the limitations of the Unity engine are really obvious. They don't seem to be able to deliver the same sense of scale and depth that the original could with pre-rendered background and cinematics. The additional Mudokons and new secret puzzle room design also seems to cheapen those sections to make them feel more "gamey" to me. I dunno, I'm obsessed with the original so there's probably no way the remake could live up to my expecations.

[phylum]

The team that made the original game was also pretty great and had a lot of artists working on those pre-rendered backgrounds. The studio that did the remake is small, so I was never expecting the same kind of quality. I've actually talked to the devs a few times, and basically the depth and scale of the pre-rendered backgrounds was impossible to bring to real-time 3D no matter what engine - they didn't start with Unity. They cheated it with 2D as best they could, but it still wasn't the same.

I definitely agree that a remake could never live up to the original in my eyes, though.

[Nacimota]

I love the Oddworld games and Abe's Oddysee is no exception. I'm still very keen to play New 'n' Tasty despite the negative comments here.

Also I'm struggling to think of any PC games I'm hugely nostalgic for that I can't still play.

[vcatkiller]

I could think of a few more. One that just crossed my mind is Daggerfall. So many hours sunk into that game, it's absolutely huge and feels like there's so much to do. Of course it helps that there are a few in-progress remakes (of sorts) for this, like Daggerfall Unity for example.

[Nacimota]

You can download Daggerfall for free from elderscrolls.com and run it in DOSBox.

[vcatkiller]

You can download Daggerfall for free from elderscrolls.com and run it in DOSBox.

There's also a "Daggerfallsetup" around the place that's configured really nicely and functions a lot better than the official release from the website too. That's the one I use mostly these days...that said it would be nice if it didn't require DOSBox, it's a major pain. Sometimes bugs that don't crop up in the originals too often are even worse in DOSBox, like suddenly being unable to move in a direction because reasons.

[storm84]

The game I'd really love to see a sequel for (or remade in HD) is Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines.

I know I could still play it now, I suppose, but I worry it has aged badly.

[vcatkiller]

The game I'd really love to see a sequel for (or remade in HD) is Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines.

I know I could still play it now, I suppose, but I worry it has aged badly.

You have my total agreement. Although it doesn't look that bad nowadays, and with the latest unofficial patch it's still fun to play...

[Matty]

I loved Police Quest so hard.

[CherryRed]

Right, Matty? It was the best.

[Brewr]

Turok: Dinnosaur Hunter, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, and Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion:

All three games deserve a mention as they all have the same qualities that made Turok the exceptional series it was.

The story revolves around Tal'Set (Turok), a warrior of Saquin (Native American) descent, on his quest to stop (usually) an evil overlord. The Earth is separated by an invisible barrier from the Lost Land, a realm in which time has no meaning, and which is inhabited by ferocious dinosaurs, aliens and wonderful creatures that are given depth of character. For many generations, the mantle of Turok has been bestowed upon those who saw the protection of the barrier as their sacred duty.

Turok for the most part is a first-person shooter with platforming and light puzzle-solving elements. Much of the game is set in outdoor environments, and requires the player to explore them by finding various paths, jumping, swimming, and climbing. The game's most notable enemies are dinosaurs of various sizes, though the levels also include human and demonic enemies, as well as wildlife. The player gradually gains access to a plethora of weapons most notably the Cerebral Bore which does what it says.

I loved Turok because of its exoticness in its weapons, music, exceptional level design and back-story.

Rumors: http://www.pcgamer.com/rumor-turok-dino ... the-works/

Rumours Updated: http://games.on.net/2015/08/turok-dinos ... -remaster/

Shadow Man 64:

The dark and twisting world of this game is probably the most psychologically atmospheric I've ever played. Full of barren grey mountains, like a wasteland, and moaning zombies, Deadside is all at once dreary and enthralling. The massive amount of detail and varying architecture combines to form a huge, impressive, if not psychologically disturbing, world that seems to be dripping in a serene aura. There were many times in Shadow Man when I felt I was treading holy ground. Huge temples are filled with flowing lava, arcane wall designs, life-size statues, and waterfalls of blood.

Its one of the most mesmerizing and terrifyingly macabre titles out there. Unique, deep, thought provoking and atmospheric, words cannot describe Shadow Man. Great (and highly praised) soundtrack, strong storyline and narrative, interesting characters and great visuals. A voodoo warriror priestess, an Irish death snake, a Swiss doctor with delusions of grandeur, a disco king shock jock with Hawaiian shirts, a Nam war veteran, Jack the Ripper, a momma's boy and the Lord of Darkness?! The most motley crew in video gaming history!

Cutscenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seK3BQF5wsg

Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/251770/

Retrospective: Its atmosphere that matters to me the most in video games - I really like things with originality and character that resemble dreamscapes.

Also both are coming to PC so thats awesome!

[Giblet]

Anyone remember the war game 'Arsenal' on floppy back in the day? Oh man, had to much fun with that game, so many great hours.



I should also mention 'Conker's Bad Fur Day' on N64. My brother and I played the multiplayer so much. Teddies vs Squirrels!

[vcatkiller]

Shadow Man 64:

Also both are coming to PC so thats awesome!

Shadowman and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter were already released on PC ages ago. In fact you can pick up Shadowman from GoG now. (unless the N64 version is different from the PC version?)

That said...I really tried to like Shadow Man, really I did. For some reason it just has never really clicked with me. In fact I mostly just found it frustrating than anything.

That said perhaps it's because I've always compared it to Soul Reaver, which is just effing awesome and deserves a decent official remake. There's an unofficial remake called "Soul Revenant" and it looks awesome, so I guess there's that.

[korbain]

The original Delta Force games, friends and I used to play 1v1 sniper matches in the maps that were essentially endless hilly grasslands that lasted hours, stalking each other, often not seeing anyone for hours before taking that awesome shot they weren't expecting.

Those were tense matches, back in the old days of dialling into each others modems and some inconsiderate family member picking up the handset disconnected the line -.-

Hell yeah! I remember how amazed i was at how much more advanced the game looked when delta force 3 came out haha i think i played delta force 2 the most...besides the black hawk down spin off they did. That was a bit more arcade-y, but i loved that game. Especially the MP

I really want a new quake game, set in the quake 1 universe. That gothic fantasy setting, i just don't think Id software can recapture the magic of their prime though

Also want another single player unreal game, even a remake of the first on U4 engine would do

[Brewr]

That said...I really tried to like Shadow Man, really I did. For some reason it just has never really clicked with me. In fact I mostly just found it frustrating than anything.

Yup the controls on PC for Shadow Man are frustrating as all hell unfortunately almost unplayable so much for a remake.

Thanks vcat I will check out Soul Revenant.

[vcatkiller]

That said...I really tried to like Shadow Man, really I did. For some reason it just has never really clicked with me. In fact I mostly just found it frustrating than anything.

Yup the controls on PC for Shadow Man are frustrating as all hell unfortunately almost unplayable so much for a remake.

Thanks vcat I will check out Soul Revenant.

Looks promising, there's nothing out yet though...

[Stoibs]

Fallout
Resident Evil
Thief
C&C
Elder Scrolls
Heroes of Might and Magic..
Duke Nukem/Shadow Warrior
ROTT
All got shittier with new age releases IMO.

Then there's a bunch of 'spiritual successors' that I guess tried to emulate and capture a taste of these original classic offerings (Dragon Age - Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect - KOTOR, Sword Coast Legends - NwN) that kind of fell flat and didn't come anywhere close to being as good as the days of old.
The industry certainly has moved in another direction that doesn't favour us fans of the classics.

Zoombinis
it's has recently been rereleased on iOS and Android.

And on Steam. There was an entire new HD re-release the other week. I actually almost backed the thing on kickstarter due to similar memories of playing this in school

[Venom]

I have been playing through Diablo 2 as I never finished it as a kid. Got my GF tagging along too, its much more fun with a friend. The drop rate seems a tad more favorable than I remember haha, so many rares and several uniques and we have only just finished Act 1.

For Nostalgia; Unreal Tournament '99 (my first game ever that I played) and Deus Ex. May they never age.

[Mini]

Another of mine is Constructor, as a game made by Acclaim back in '97...
And I just found that someone is doing a HD remake of it... Found here

[kharis]

the incredible machine was always good value and stuff like quake arena, the original Unreal tournament, and AvP

[Jesse R]

Starcraft (with brood war). I feel it's old enough to fit here now. I still hold that game higher than any other...

[jambo]

A few random ones that haven't been mentioned here yet.

Commander Keen - both trilogies were great. There is also a fan made final trilogy that I've been meaning to play
Star Goose - A very old shmup for PC, where you played a goose in a goose shaped space ship
KKnD - Aussie made post-apocalyptic RTS that was a lot of fun
Sam & Max Hit the Road - A classic point n click adventure game from LucasArts, easily my favourite