Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Roanoke on July 20, 2008, 12:07:11 pm
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Y'know when you fancy a new game and go into a shop and try pot-luck, buying something that "looks" good, a total shot in the dark ? what's been your best so far ?
Mine was probably FS after seeing a singlescreen shot in (IIRC) PCZone and not being able to find X2.
The "other" one was my bro coming home with SystemShock2 and Homeworld.
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SW: Empire at War or CS:S.
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Tossup between Homeworld, A Bridge Too Far, and O.R.B.
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i've had a few random "shoot me in the dark with your uzi" moments.
my best would be Battlefield 2, got to love that t90 shooting down attack choppers ;). RTCW: Enemy territory, to rush the enemy right away and plant some explosives :lol:. System shock 2 also, the respawning hybrids or toxic spiders while taking your time modifying a gun that has bad blocks and get utterly surprised :nervous:.
my best buy by far was the old x wing fighter, which has probably the same dynamics and physics freespace does when i bought that about 5 years later. that x-wing game was a dos game and was neatly built.
i was surprised by one game though, forsaken. that was a lot of fun when you had that titan and trojacs on board.
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O.R.B.
Ugh, ORB, really?
I'd have to say Journeyman Project 3 hands down. Best adventure game I've ever played.
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RTCW: Enemy territory
That's a free game.
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The best random buy that I made (that I can remember, mind you) was C&C: Generals.
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RTCW: Enemy territory
That's a free game.
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is a free game (and the best FPS, as far as objectives and gameplay are concerned), Return to Castle Wolfenstein, however, is not.
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The "other" one was my bro coming home with SystemShock2 [...].
Low standards, eh? :drevil:
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I think TrackMania. I saw it while on holiday in England (2004) but I didn't buy it at first (opting for Street Legal Racing: Redline) but ended up having it sent. I liked it, but Sunrise and United are better IMO. Also, in 2007 (also in England) I saw Civilization III and having a vague idea that it was good, got it. I'm glad I did.
The best random buy that I made (that I can remember, mind you) was C&C: Generals.
Not random (knowing that Command & Conquer was a good series), and I didn't buy it, I got it as a present (as well as Zero Hour). A bit consternating, however, was finding in another shop a whole set of EVERY (IIRC) C&C game, with all three series. Thinking of maybe getting it.
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Ugh, ORB, really?
I admit the gameplay at times made me want to scream, but the final misson was most definitely worth it, and the storyline was excellent.
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Outpost.
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outpost? and outpost 2? what strange games they were! i liked it even so.
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The last time I bought a game like this was probably around 10 years ago. I pay a lot more attention to user reviews and opinions before getting anything these days, and try demos whenever they are available.
There were some cases where I got an unknown game bundled with hardware (but chose that piece of hardware partly for the games) and it turned out to be excellent. Deus Ex, Unreal and MDK2 all came to my attention this way. I got Assassin's Creed with a recent purchase as well, a game that I didn't know about before, but I haven't gotten around to playing it yet.
I'd have to say Journeyman Project 3 hands down. Best adventure game I've ever played.
I have the first game in the series, but it was the Mac version in the early 90s and was way too slow to be playable on my Mac. I've never actually played it since it does not run properly in any emulator I try it on. :(
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I randomly bought Rise of Nations a few years back. It's a decent RTS (more so for the time).
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assassin's creed. it's a lot of graphics. however the only way i can tell you about the game is through spoilers CP5670 :eek2:.
if i got your permission i will give out spoilers. however you play altair one of the highest ranking assassins, so main game play is around killing people by their ways...
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Assassin's Creed is a random buy? I liked it too, but with all the hype, I'd hardly call it random!
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Advent Rising for PC.
A shame this failed. Sure, even the PC version has a lot of flaws (the Xbox one was horrible according to the Reviews) but believe me, this game deserves a look. I had no idea what I was buying back then, the cover said 'epic sci-fi action' which sounded good and the game was among the rummage goods.
Imagine mixing Jedi Knight or Psi-Ops with Max Payne, add an epic soundtrack and you know this one is great. Oh my god, the soundtrack. Still rules supreme, it's even better than God of War and StarWars.
Get convinced by this: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/5670.html
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Assassin's Creed is a random buy? I liked it too, but with all the hype, I'd hardly call it random!
Well, I had heard the name many times but didn't know what it was about. It seems to be a typical Ubisoft game from what I am reading, immersive and having some great gameplay ideas but lots of bugs and a bloated engine. Should be worth a playthrough in any case.
assassin's creed. it's a lot of graphics. however the only way i can tell you about the game is through spoilers CP5670 :eek2:.
if i got your permission i will give out spoilers. however you play altair one of the highest ranking assassins, so main game play is around killing people by their ways...
I'll be playing it soon anyway. If the gameplay is anything like Splinter Cell as they say, I'll like it.
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Oh Clive Barker's Undying was another random sucess. Must have looked it over about 4/5 times in HMV before getting it.
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If the gameplay is anything like Splinter Cell as they say, I'll like it.
it's absolutly not. :) However, if you love good stories, you will like it anyway.
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its sword play with the local authorities. typical bows and arrows, however yo can not use them as you will see despite the intro showing your character using a crossbow. and because it's not any real part of the game it's not a spoiler.
i love the throwing knives then dagger attacks. however thee sword attack does give about half a second to counter.. a little tip if its your playing style.
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My best random buy was Half-life. Didn't even know my specs. Didn't read gaming magazines. Never heard of it. . Bought purely on box description, screenshots and worldcraft. My Quake 2 level making history played no small part i might add :)
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ahh yes the g-man on the dam making sure the soldiers intent on killing set off that bomb where someone else was trying to defuse it. lol it brings you to blue shift next playing in no small part as one of barney's of the barney army.
what a long and very cool game especially the headcrabs.
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System Shock 2.
Though I recently picked up C&C Generals for a whopping $3 =)
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The best random buy for me would be Audiosurf, or the old Strike Commander.
Otherwise I think my last random buy would be Viking: Battle for Asgard (x360), kinda repetitive, but some better design would have made a world of difference. Usually I buy games based upon reviews, demos, comments from friends or hype (Halo3, GTA4, HL2, etc.)
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Jets'n'Guns. It cost me S$12.90, but it was definitely worth every single cent I paid for it (at that time). Now that I've Jets'n'Guns GOLD on both my computer and Mac, I keep it as a souvenir. :)
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i looked in my stockpile of almost 500 games, Pod was a random game i bought a while back. was a lot of crazy fun considering the age of the game and its physics that is still being used on other game by todays standards!.
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id have to say prey, i got it out of a bargain bin for like $8.95. last thing i wanted was another fps game, but i got the suspicion something was different with prey. i think its got to be one of the coolest fpses out there (though id say quake 4 was better). still, ive played it like 5 times.
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if you say it's good, i will see if i can find and play it on the word of a fellow peer. but my more immediate concern is the 3 campaigns and FRED 2 at this time. however i am sure that i will find the time to get it.
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id have to say prey, i got it out of a bargain bin for like $8.95. last thing i wanted was another fps game, but i got the suspicion something was different with prey. i think its got to be one of the coolest fpses out there (though id say quake 4 was better). still, ive played it like 5 times.
Oh no, Prey IS good. I saw 3D Realms' 12-minute trailer on it, and at the end, I was looking like this...
:eek: :eek2:
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Outpost.
I'm curious about this, because I actually bought the strategy guide, and from it I concluded that in fact the Outpost we got was massively dumbed down from the actual game they intended to create. In many ways I think Outpost 2 was a better game.
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the reason why outpost was dumbed down was the release date, they pulled it backward too early.
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Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
Got me into the rest of the series, so... yeah.
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Prey rocks.
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Is Ghost Babel the GBC one? Prey is too slow paced. Yes nice gravity physics and portals before valve. But in essence . . . . Plop.
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Well, I like it because of the story.
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Story cool, lack of badguys and girlfriends fate not cool :(
Nice intro though, poor old uncle grandpa :lol:
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Yes, the GBC one. Pretty darn good game in its own right.
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My best random buys were Tachyon: The Fringe and Hellbender.
And Nexus!
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nexus jupiter incident, it was originally called imperium galactica 3 however the company in question had problems so its rebadged. if you noticed anything is that game is still basically ig3 just with different ships and characters. i liked it, albeit a bit boring before mission 7.
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Nexus is one of the best games ever made, heretic :lol:!
But hey, it's not IG3. IG is a 4X game, Nexus focuses on tactical capship combat.
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I bought Prey for 10 bucks.
I'd have to say my best shots in the dark was Dawn of War and Overlord. Oh, as well as Rise of Nations Gold Edition, and Uprising. Too bad its nearly impossible to find Uprising 2 now.
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HahHah!! I bought it...
Can't find it though :(
Stylish air units for the time :yes:
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I bought Prey for 10 bucks.
I'd have to say my best shots in the dark was Dawn of War and Overlord. Oh, as well as Rise of Nations Gold Edition, and Uprising. Too bad its nearly impossible to find Uprising 2 now.
Did you buy it from the Black Market? I thought Prey was being sold for S$50 at local retailers. ;)
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No, bought it from my friend. I persuaded him to let it to me for 10 bucks. He doesn't like FPSes anyway. In exchange I gave him my Generals and Generals Zero Hour. No loss to me, casue I have First Decade, anyhoo.
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i have all c&c except the upcoming ra3, which i am looking forward to.
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nexus jupiter incident, it was originally called imperium galactica 3 however the company in question had problems so its rebadged. if you noticed anything is that game is still basically ig3 just with different ships and characters. i liked it, albeit a bit boring before mission 7.
I know all this.
I disagree, too, I really liked the missions even before seven. Loved that low-tech chemical drive and the plodding pace of combat, especially knowing that more frantic stuff was to come.
And, while it was meant to be the tactical layer of IG3, it's really not much like IG2 at all. As Vidmaster said, IG2 was a 4X.
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lol i never said it was crap, just said that their is not much to do before you meet the pirates after angel transports you somewhere else into a battle that is about to begin.
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HahHah!! I bought it...
Can't find it though :(
Stylish air units for the time :yes:
Yep. I loved the air units, in both Uprising 1 and 2. Especially the amount of firepower they packed into that little frame, even if they weren't boosted.
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lucky me i actually have uprising 2 in my 500 games. i have to say it gets interesting the further you play, and for an early windows game it's pretty good.
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Nexus is one of the best games ever made, heretic :lol:!
Nexus is the only game I've ever played where I did worse on consecutive attempts of the same mission. After watching each and every plan do worse than the last one, and coming full circle back to my original plan and having it do worse than the one I had tried just before it, I concluded that Nexus is a piece of crap. :P
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So is the general consensus that nexus is worth picking up?
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It's very difficult and slightly glitchy. Make sure you get the patch.
It is, however, gorgeous, lengthy, and very deep.
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Best random buy? FreeSpace + ST.
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Join the Club Aardwolf. Best random buy of mine was also FS+ST.
alongside that, there the original IL-2.
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my purchase of fs was not random, i picked it because of descent.
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Crusader series? Syndicate Wars?
I actually played No Regret first, then when I got No Remorse I was thinking, "hey, the interface is cleaner, but why only 4 guns instead of a full inventory?"
:lol:, the final days of the MS-DOS age...
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Lesse.. Homeworld II would've been one of the best if it had worked on my old machine, but I bought it unrandomly after playing the original by not so legal means... So that makes starcraft the best, closely followed by freelancer
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i do not think homeworld 2 has that special edge hw1 did even hwc had that special edge. where you can select individual fighters and hide them somewhere and make the enemy find you for hours :rolleyes:, i won a multiplayer game like that he got bored, but now. Homeworld 2 multiplayer you dont get anything more then say 16 people in hw2 lobby at any given time where in hw1 we would have 100 + people. it's become too easy.
to be honest i think even swat4 is better then hw2 :P.
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Homeworld 1 and Cata were the best, yeah, but I never really got to enjoy either of them due to constant crashing (pirated crap)
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my purchase of fs was not random, i picked it because of descent.
Hey! I learned about it from playing Descent too! ;)
Got FS2 + FS2_Open 3.6.5 through BitTorrent and made my way here from there. My first post concerned line after line of errors.
I don't usually do random buys, though, and when I usually do, the game(s) I get is usually quite terrible.
Excluding Jets'n'Guns, my next best random buy might be Mini Golf: Megaworld by eGames. I still have the disk, but I'll never install it on any computer again unless WildTangent stops selling Polar Golfer.
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mini golf.. fuzzys world :lol:.
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So is the general consensus that nexus is worth picking up?
YES
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yes means nothing if you not a space game freak. i would say, find a demo play it and find out for yourself.
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You just said you don't play demos, remember?
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yes but i never said anyone else can or cant play demos unless you remember that also.
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CRYSIS, I can't get enough of it. I can't wait for Warhead.
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Crysis looks good, but there's nothing in it that my computers can handle.
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Deus Ex, hands down.
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Probably Freespace, since I knew next to nothing about it at the time (other than it having some vague relation to Descent). Just about every other game purchase I can think of was a result of me having heard some level of praise for the title beforehand, and I'm not that big of a game buyer to begin with. I guess you could throw NHL '98 for the Genesis in there too, since my brother picked that up for $2 at a yard sale, and it's given us countless hours of fun.
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If buying a computer was valid, Descent 3 would be my best random buy.
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is civ 4 any good
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Um, yes. It's one of the most comprehensive and addictive strategy games ever made.
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Crysis looks good, but there's nothing in it that my computers can handle.
Crysis runs on a ****ty engine. Don't worry about it. Sure, it looks good, but its DX10 support is bad. In modified DX9 mode it looks almost exactly like DX10 in most cases and runs over twice as well. But I wouldn't know, since I run it at all very high settings 20-50fps... I really need a second video card, though. Sadly, a single HD 4870 isn't enough to get good framerates out of it. Try two.
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One from left field - best random buy was Severance (I believe it was called something else in the U.S).
Third person Hack n Slash, but for its day was very well done, choice of four characters, new weapons to find, secrets etc etc....
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Crysis looks good, but there's nothing in it that my computers can handle.
Crysis runs on a ****ty engine. Don't worry about it. Sure, it looks good, but its DX10 support is bad. In modified DX9 mode it looks almost exactly like DX10 in most cases and runs over twice as well. But I wouldn't know, since I run it at all very high settings 20-50fps... I really need a second video card, though. Sadly, a single HD 4870 isn't enough to get good framerates out of it. Try two.
Don't set everything to very high. That includes several options that don't do much for image quality but have a big performance hit. I played through the game using the Triple C pack's high settings and turned a couple of very high flags on manually, mostly things related to the textures. That gave most of the noticeable effects from very high and it stayed above 40fps at almost all times, at 1280x960 on a GTX 280. The performance does drop quite a bit during the outdoor alien fights later on though, and I had to drop down to 1024x768 to keep the framerate decent for those parts.
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In fact, the Cry Engine from Crysis is not "****ty", it's a masterpiece. Considering the scale and amount of objects that are rendered at any point, it's one of the most optimised engines ever made (a good example is the first level, when you jump out of the plane and fall towards the island, the whole island is rendered there, not some cheap replacement). And that's a proven fact.
I have no idea how these guys have done this, especially the refinement of the engine for the new Crysis Warhead. Unbelievable :eek2:
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Well, I'm not sure what to make of the engine. Most parts of the game look quite stunning, especially the areas with dense grass and foliage covering the ground, but there are some things that are strangely out of place, like something from a 2002 game. For instance, most of the smaller Korean encampments in the outdoor levels have very poor textures inside and almost no lighting to speak of. The textures on many rock cliff faces are another example, and there is often a jarring difference between them and the grass textures leading up to them.
And it does show signs of bad optimization. This is masked by the amazing graphical quality at maximum settings, but it becomes apparent when you turn down settings to low or medium. It look similar to Far Cry with the options turned down (which is still quite good, but nothing like the game on high), but there isn't nearly enough of a performance increase.
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Just the difference between tweaked High and actual Very High is proof enough of the direct X 10 problems of Crysis. That's what you get when you start developing on a graphics platform 2-3 years before it's released.
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Um, yes. It's one of the most comprehensive and addictive strategy games ever made.
Civ doesn't appeal to me from the screenshots I've seen, I've seen a few with huge soldiers and ****. I don't like that kind of thing.
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Um, yes. It's one of the most comprehensive and addictive strategy games ever made.
Civ doesn't appeal to me from the screenshots I've seen, I've seen a few with huge soldiers and ****. I don't like that kind of thing.
Civ (any) doesn't appeal to me because a single [expletive removed] spearman can take down a modern tank.
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In fact, the Cry Engine from Crysis is not "****ty", it's a masterpiece.
Creating an engine that no current PC can run is not a masterpiece, it is stupidity. :P
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Creating an engine that no current PC can run is not a masterpiece, it is stupidity. :P
Precisely. Why do you think I still play old games like Tyrian 2000 or Little Fighter 2? :p
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My best shot-in-the-dark buy ever was Descent: FreeSpace, I never bought FreeSpace2, I installed my friends FS2 cds and then cracked it.
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...I installed my friends FS2 cds and then cracked it.
:wtf:
I don't think the FreeSpace 2 CDs need cracking. I got mine from BitTorrent.
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Um, yes. It's one of the most comprehensive and addictive strategy games ever made.
Civ doesn't appeal to me from the screenshots I've seen, I've seen a few with huge soldiers and ****. I don't like that kind of thing.
So you're discounting one of the most successful and wildly popular strategy games of the past two decades because of screenshots!? Double-you tee eff, mate.
Civ (any) doesn't appeal to me because a single [expletive removed] spearman can take down a modern tank.
Someone hasn't played Civ4. :rolleyes:
But, no, you're right. Totally right. Just like how I don't enjoy the Half Life series because you can't change your gun hand to favour lefties. Yay! Let's find other quality games we can ignore for asinine reasons. :)
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You could start a new thread on that. ;)
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...I installed my friends FS2 cds and then cracked it.
:wtf:
I don't think the FreeSpace 2 CDs need cracking. I got mine from BitTorrent.
Yes, Retail FS2 needs cracking... I got FS2 from my friend about 2 months after it came out, took me about another month to find a crack. If you dont believe me, run FS2.exe (NOT FS2_Open) and try to play the main FS2 campaign without a cd.
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...run FS2.exe (NOT FS2_Open) and try to play the main FS2 campaign without a cd.
...oh, you mean cracking in THAT sense. I was thinking that FS2 had some sort of product key or copy protection like the one in Freelancer.
In that sense, yes, you need a no-CD crack. :nod:
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I am an avid RTS fan, yet I feel ashamed to say I've never played Civ[any] before.
... Damnit, my ears are ringing with blaster fire.
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Well I wouldn't worry as, last I checked, Civ isn't an RTS. It's pure strategy.
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Civ isn't an RTS. It's pure strategy.
:wtf:
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Civ is turn based. . . .not real time.
And it's not that fun if C&C is your flava.
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Civ (any) doesn't appeal to me because a single [expletive removed] spearman can take down a modern tank.
Someone hasn't played Civ4. :rolleyes:
But, no, you're right. Totally right. Just like how I don't enjoy the Half Life series because you can't change your gun hand to favour lefties. Yay! Let's find other quality games we can ignore for asinine reasons. :)
So game balance is a foolish thing to be upset about? :rolleyes:
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Best random buy?
A little gem on the N64 called Mischief Makers.
On the surface, it is ridiculous and silly in all ways. You play as a cyborg maid who attacks things by throwing things (think a much more advanced version of SMB2's combat), and must constantly rescue your creator who keeps getting kidnapped by the Evil Empire (seriously). Gameplay includes lots of shaking objects, boss fights, obstacle courses and one or two collect-a-thons... you even fight one boss riding on the back of a housecat whom you'd previously defeated in a dodgeball match!
But, the hell of it is, this game is FUN! None of it makes any sense, but who cares? You get to throw things around and cause mayhem! You get to fight a group of Power Ranger wannabes! You get to fight an overly-cliched supervillain! You get to defeat housecats in dodgeball! And it's fun! :D
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Best random buy for me is Original War. It was in a pack with Fallout Tactics I wanted, and some game that was really, really terrible, the pack for like 49 Francs (about 8€)
You probably never heard of it, OW was a RTS with - unfortunatly for it - poor graphics and an awesome plot and gameplay.
What I liked is that it was a RTS with a limited number of guys for the whole campaign. Basically, USSR and US (and some other guys, but spoiler) sent an handful of troops back in time to secure an all-powerful ressources, the Alaskite/Siberite (depending on the time continuum). So you've got those few guys, with exp. points, level, and stuff, and you won't get any more, so preserve them. Same for the guys in front of you (even though they start with more people in the campaign).
Anyway, that was one of the best game I ever played. Top 5 in my book, and much better than Fallout Tactics (which was not that good anyway - but it was the reason I bought OW)
As for more famous game, Vietcong I
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So game balance is a foolish thing to be upset about? :rolleyes:
Abyssina, Italian efforts to put down a rebellion. Look it up. Essentially it did happen. :P
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Um, yes. It's one of the most comprehensive and addictive strategy games ever made.
Civ doesn't appeal to me from the screenshots I've seen, I've seen a few with huge soldiers and ****. I don't like that kind of thing.
Spearmen armed with plastik, mind you. :D
But seriously, Civ 4 supposedly fixed this problem, but I haven't played it. I liked Alpha Centauri better because you can customize your unit designs, this way you (probably) wont have a situation like one modern tank vs. another modern tank. Plus the factions were far more dynamic. Even the AI seems better and doesn't cheat quite so much. I've actually seen it launch coordinated offensives, establish front lines, although it does have some trouble using the navy for anything except shore bombardment (and it's amphibious assaults/invasions could use some work). Rant over.
Civ (any) doesn't appeal to me because a single [expletive removed] spearman can take down a modern tank.
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for me, definetly Blitzkrieg. got it several years ago, the day i got my braces, ad i still play it almost every day.
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Yes, Retail FS2 needs cracking... I got FS2 from my friend about 2 months after it came out, took me about another month to find a crack. If you dont believe me, run FS2.exe (NOT FS2_Open) and try to play the main FS2 campaign without a cd.
Here's an idea... run the 1.2 patch, then delete the retail EXE. Insert FSOpen EXE. Run game.
Voila!
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Um, yes. It's one of the most comprehensive and addictive strategy games ever made.
Civ doesn't appeal to me from the screenshots I've seen, I've seen a few with huge soldiers and ****. I don't like that kind of thing.
Spearmen armed with plastik, mind you. :D
But seriously, Civ 4 supposedly fixed this problem, but I haven't played it. I liked Alpha Centauri better because you can customize your unit designs, this way you (probably) wont have a situation like one modern tank vs. another modern tank. Plus the factions were far more dynamic. Even the AI seems better and doesn't cheat quite so much. I've actually seen it launch coordinated offensives, establish front lines, although it does have some trouble using the navy for anything except shore bombardment (and it's amphibious assaults/invasions could use some work). Rant over.
Civ (any) doesn't appeal to me because a single [expletive removed] spearman can take down a modern tank.
I'm kinda sad that they didn't use all those things Alpha Centauri introduced, like the weather system and the movable tile system.
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Looking for an old game, WW2 era, Allies versus Nazis. Basically it had a map on the campaign screen, like an area of a country, and it showed all the sections. In the game, you controlled squads of units and whatever, and you could set infantry to crouch/crawl and also hide in buildings and fire out. I think it may have been C&C.
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Close Combat. Or possibly Blietzkrieg.
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for a moment their i was thinking hes looking for, dogs of war :D.
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More likely to be Close Combat. I think I actually used its user manual as research for a WW2 based history project once.
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are those games freeware now? i played the demo to... 4 of them, and i loved them all (in case you're wodering, the only one i didn't try was the original)