We've got games your 10 year old wouldn't be good at.
October 23, 2008 2:38 PM Subscribe
Wanna play the first two Fallout games for totally cheap? Good Old Games is now open to the public. Via Blue's News, some interesting discussion there about "DRM Free" claims and whether or not Freespace 2 is really "free."
mmmm... Descent! I think I can be thankful no one's ported a tiny in-browser version.
posted by mwhybark at 2:53 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by mwhybark at 2:53 PM on October 23, 2008
Neat, especially since I finally have xp installed on my macbook. Fallout 2 here I come. Thanks Wolfdaddy.
posted by Divine_Wino at 2:54 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by Divine_Wino at 2:54 PM on October 23, 2008
Other than Fallout 2, "Giants: Citizen Kabuto" is one of the most interesting games there. I still miss the creativity of that game 8 years on. Sadly the Mac version I have stopped working after one of the last major OS X releases.
posted by Lectrick at 2:55 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by Lectrick at 2:55 PM on October 23, 2008
Already got them on disc. I think I have the first Fallout twice, actually. Once when it first came out and then a second time in a bundle with the second one.
Fallout 3 better be good.
I'm really glad re-releases and 'retro' gaming is coming back in fashion. (Currently playing a digital copy of Diablo II off Blizzard's own site and Duke Nukem 3D et al on Xbox Live. Fable 2 can suck it for now.)
Some absolute classics on the site: Jagged Alliance 2 (expansion pack), Descent 1 and 2, Freespace 1 and 2. I'm in love all over again.
posted by slimepuppy at 2:55 PM on October 23, 2008
Fallout 3 better be good.
I'm really glad re-releases and 'retro' gaming is coming back in fashion. (Currently playing a digital copy of Diablo II off Blizzard's own site and Duke Nukem 3D et al on Xbox Live. Fable 2 can suck it for now.)
Some absolute classics on the site: Jagged Alliance 2 (expansion pack), Descent 1 and 2, Freespace 1 and 2. I'm in love all over again.
posted by slimepuppy at 2:55 PM on October 23, 2008
@Divine_Wino: Don't forget there is a Mac version of Fallout 2 that is probably cheap somewhere too. Runs under Rosetta on Macintels but runs great.
posted by Lectrick at 2:56 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by Lectrick at 2:56 PM on October 23, 2008
So uh, anyone know a cheap source for x-com?
posted by quintessencesluglord at 2:59 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by quintessencesluglord at 2:59 PM on October 23, 2008
I've been using this service in beta, and it's very solid. Good outfit. Glad they're around.
posted by Malor at 2:59 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by Malor at 2:59 PM on October 23, 2008
I'm pretty sure I've played through Freespace 2 more than any other game I've ever played, with the possible exception of Chrono Trigger. I loved that game so much. I wish they made proper space combat sims these days. Freelancer was a poor substitute, and even that was years ago.
posted by Caduceus at 3:03 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by Caduceus at 3:03 PM on October 23, 2008
i'm really excited about this service. Fallout, Freespace, Giants and MDK?! Yes, please!
posted by shmegegge at 3:03 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by shmegegge at 3:03 PM on October 23, 2008
Shogo, too. One of the best, hardest, and buggiest FPSes ever.
I hope they get their hands on the Dungeon Keepers.
posted by Caduceus at 3:12 PM on October 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
I hope they get their hands on the Dungeon Keepers.
posted by Caduceus at 3:12 PM on October 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
Since we're already into Pepsi Blue territory here, I may as well plug GameTap which has, among many others, Fallout, Fallout 2, and 1000 other games for $10/month. Which is totally awesome when you have the attention span of a hamster like me.
posted by TungstenChef at 3:15 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by TungstenChef at 3:15 PM on October 23, 2008
Lectrick
Thanks, I had it at one point, it was a buggy piece of shit that locked up halfway through every time, so frustrating.
posted by Divine_Wino at 3:20 PM on October 23, 2008
Thanks, I had it at one point, it was a buggy piece of shit that locked up halfway through every time, so frustrating.
posted by Divine_Wino at 3:20 PM on October 23, 2008
As far as I was aware, for the past like 6 years you can buy a Fallout 1/Fallout 2 package for like 9 bucks. Although apparently now it's slightly more expensive (I'm guessing because you can only buy it bundled with Tactics), the version I bought came in a cheap cardboard cd case. Those were the days.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 3:21 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 3:21 PM on October 23, 2008
Gametap will actually let you download Fallout for free, no subscription, though you have to be a member. Haven't figured out what the downside to this is yet.
There was a lot of discussion of this in the Thief thread.
posted by Artw at 3:27 PM on October 23, 2008
There was a lot of discussion of this in the Thief thread.
posted by Artw at 3:27 PM on October 23, 2008
What? No Grim Fandango? :)
posted by linux at 3:34 PM on October 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by linux at 3:34 PM on October 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
Hijack-
So can anyone tell about Steam's offline mode (do I actually have the game or is this a rental until their server goes down)? Any problem or recommendations? Is this suitable for a laptop I take with me when I travel (no internet connection)?
Also, there is the Fallout collection for about the same price (it is a British company, so unknown if it is the UK edition of Fallout 2 where you can't do evilness to orphans).
Thanks to everyone/anyone.
posted by quintessencesluglord at 3:36 PM on October 23, 2008
So can anyone tell about Steam's offline mode (do I actually have the game or is this a rental until their server goes down)? Any problem or recommendations? Is this suitable for a laptop I take with me when I travel (no internet connection)?
Also, there is the Fallout collection for about the same price (it is a British company, so unknown if it is the UK edition of Fallout 2 where you can't do evilness to orphans).
Thanks to everyone/anyone.
posted by quintessencesluglord at 3:36 PM on October 23, 2008
ArtW - I've had a Gametap subscription for at least 6 months now, only downside is you can't play the games when you aren't connected to the internet, and you can't keep playing them if you cancel your subscription. It's just like a rental, it's been a great money saver for me because whenever I get tired of my current batch I just plumb the depths for new ones.
posted by TungstenChef at 3:48 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by TungstenChef at 3:48 PM on October 23, 2008
I'm pretty sure No Mutants Allowed have you covered on all necessary (and unnecessary) patches, upgrades and mods, including additional violence if you have a less-violent version of the game.
MDK makes me think of my grandmother and the original Bondi Blue iMac. For whatever reason, MDK was bundled with a few games, and the only one I remember now is MDK. Because nothing is more hardcore than Bondi Blue. My brother and I dreamed that my computer-illiterate grandmother would get adventuresome and delve into the other programs included with her system. We never installed it, but we hoped she'd ask us about it.
Alas, she only played bridge and used email through AOL.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:51 PM on October 23, 2008
MDK makes me think of my grandmother and the original Bondi Blue iMac. For whatever reason, MDK was bundled with a few games, and the only one I remember now is MDK. Because nothing is more hardcore than Bondi Blue. My brother and I dreamed that my computer-illiterate grandmother would get adventuresome and delve into the other programs included with her system. We never installed it, but we hoped she'd ask us about it.
Alas, she only played bridge and used email through AOL.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:51 PM on October 23, 2008
Mecran, I'd be willing to be that Crossover would get them working, if they don't natively. I've been running Colonization & Railroad Tycoon on it, no problem.
posted by Lemurrhea at 4:10 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by Lemurrhea at 4:10 PM on October 23, 2008
Everytime I read one of these threads about games I get this crazy desire for a subsite for this kind of thing. I haven't found a gaming community with this level of discourse and centred on classics instead of the newest games.
GameFilter could provide that.
posted by Memo at 4:16 PM on October 23, 2008 [7 favorites]
GameFilter could provide that.
posted by Memo at 4:16 PM on October 23, 2008 [7 favorites]
I'm pretty good with Wine, but I have never managed to get Fallout 2 working in Darwine, even though it's apparently working in Wine for linux. Neither Fallouts run correctly in Crossover or Crossover games yet.
I just played Fallout 2 again last month running the Rosetta OS X version and it was delightful as always. It also apparently works in Parallels. Fallout 3 can kiss my ass.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 4:42 PM on October 23, 2008
I just played Fallout 2 again last month running the Rosetta OS X version and it was delightful as always. It also apparently works in Parallels. Fallout 3 can kiss my ass.
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 4:42 PM on October 23, 2008
Been lusting after another installment of the fallout franchise for what seems like aeons, having seen virtually every possible ending or conclusion or method of getting there in I and II, but alas, it's not to happen for me for awhile. Can't go out and drop the $$$ required to make my PC play Fallout III, and I can't justify a PS3 for it.
Oh well...someday.
posted by rhythim at 5:01 PM on October 23, 2008
Oh well...someday.
posted by rhythim at 5:01 PM on October 23, 2008
I can't justify a PS3 for it
I think you might be overlooking an option.
posted by lumensimus at 5:31 PM on October 23, 2008
I think you might be overlooking an option.
posted by lumensimus at 5:31 PM on October 23, 2008
I'm quite excited by Good Old Games. With some of these older games, simply getting a high quality scan of the manual, a copy of the soundtrack, and access to tech support specific to the game is enticement enough for me to want to buy it. I've had a copy of Messiah sitting on my shelf for a while now, and this might be the first time that I can actually get it working well enough to play through it.
My jaw kind of dropped when I saw Shogo in their lineup. Talk about a game that time forgot. I remember playing through it years ago, and it is every bit as strange, frustrating, and fun as advertised. I'm drawing a blank on if there even are any other Mecha first person shooters out there.
posted by CheshireCat at 5:37 PM on October 23, 2008
My jaw kind of dropped when I saw Shogo in their lineup. Talk about a game that time forgot. I remember playing through it years ago, and it is every bit as strange, frustrating, and fun as advertised. I'm drawing a blank on if there even are any other Mecha first person shooters out there.
posted by CheshireCat at 5:37 PM on October 23, 2008
Can't go out and drop the $$$ required to make my PC play Fallout III
$50 goes a long way. Nothing sold by GOG needs so much horsepower, of course.
posted by unmake at 5:48 PM on October 23, 2008
$50 goes a long way. Nothing sold by GOG needs so much horsepower, of course.
posted by unmake at 5:48 PM on October 23, 2008
You don't own games. Games own you.
Seriously. Shouldn't these be free by now? Some of these games are 15+ years old.
posted by mrgrimm at 5:51 PM on October 23, 2008
Seriously. Shouldn't these be free by now? Some of these games are 15+ years old.
posted by mrgrimm at 5:51 PM on October 23, 2008
More than paying for the same game again, I'd like revised versions, like the ones released on Xbox Live.
Stuff the could be put in: audio commentary, bigger resolution, improved graphics. Resolution is especially an issue for me. Considering some mods for 2d games made the game support bigger res, I don't see why software houses shouldn't do the same.
posted by darkripper at 6:08 PM on October 23, 2008
Stuff the could be put in: audio commentary, bigger resolution, improved graphics. Resolution is especially an issue for me. Considering some mods for 2d games made the game support bigger res, I don't see why software houses shouldn't do the same.
posted by darkripper at 6:08 PM on October 23, 2008
"$$$ required to make my PC play Fallout III, and I can't justify a PS3 for it."
hire out the game and a console, or better, borrow the console from someone you know. a lot of video/game stores do console hiring nowadays, and if there's only one game you want to play, well, it's certainly the better option.
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 6:21 PM on October 23, 2008
hire out the game and a console, or better, borrow the console from someone you know. a lot of video/game stores do console hiring nowadays, and if there's only one game you want to play, well, it's certainly the better option.
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 6:21 PM on October 23, 2008
What? No Grim Fandango? :)
Grim Fandango runs fine on XP. Just buy it from your local bargain bin and it plays perfectly.
posted by gd779 at 6:25 PM on October 23, 2008
Grim Fandango runs fine on XP. Just buy it from your local bargain bin and it plays perfectly.
posted by gd779 at 6:25 PM on October 23, 2008
Yes, I've been using the beta of gog.com for a while now, and really enjoying it.
Me wanty: Tie Fighter, Thief 1, Dungeon Keeper and many, many more.
posted by Ritchie at 6:50 PM on October 23, 2008
Me wanty: Tie Fighter, Thief 1, Dungeon Keeper and many, many more.
posted by Ritchie at 6:50 PM on October 23, 2008
Why, some of these might even run on my old PCs!
There should be a "Search by processor/RAM/video requirements."
posted by rokusan at 7:26 PM on October 23, 2008
There should be a "Search by processor/RAM/video requirements."
posted by rokusan at 7:26 PM on October 23, 2008
Fallout 2 is damn cool for its time, but it is super hard to get into after all the amazing graphical achievements that we have grown accustomed to after the last 10 or so years. Instead of trying to work past the graphics and interface to try to enjoy the game, I'd advise checking out the Let's Play archive from the somethingawful forums. They play games and document their gameplay, giving you a good, immersive experience without all the reloading and nagging details.
There is a Fallout 2 run through that has "Breetai" playing the game as "Trogg," a super strong melee-oriented character with...moderate intelligence. The game can be found here, and I would highly recommend at least perusing it if playing the game seems like too involved a task.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 8:00 PM on October 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
There is a Fallout 2 run through that has "Breetai" playing the game as "Trogg," a super strong melee-oriented character with...moderate intelligence. The game can be found here, and I would highly recommend at least perusing it if playing the game seems like too involved a task.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 8:00 PM on October 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
ok... why do I only now really have money for these games when I'm officially on a Mac with no access to a windows machine?
I could just cry.
I know I could bootcamp, but then I'd have to buy a copy of XP.
posted by Sam.Burdick at 8:14 PM on October 23, 2008
I could just cry.
I know I could bootcamp, but then I'd have to buy a copy of XP.
posted by Sam.Burdick at 8:14 PM on October 23, 2008
Shit yes!
posted by echo target at 8:16 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by echo target at 8:16 PM on October 23, 2008
Ha ha! I have an original copy of Freespace 2! For once my packrattery pays off!
posted by breath at 8:23 PM on October 23, 2008
posted by breath at 8:23 PM on October 23, 2008
Grim Fandango runs fine on XP. Just buy it from your local bargain bin and it plays perfectly.
Or...if you really suck at the game, you can just watch Grim Fandango: The Movie.
posted by graventy at 9:39 PM on October 23, 2008
Or...if you really suck at the game, you can just watch Grim Fandango: The Movie.
posted by graventy at 9:39 PM on October 23, 2008
Wow, no one's mentioned Operation Flashpoint: GOTY yet? Too much of a Euro thing? Brilliant game. Ugly as all hell, but when patched to its final version, really a blast to play, especially local multiplayer with a bunch of people who know what they're doing. It's still the king of realistic infantry FPS games, with a plethora of mods and other community content available.
I already have it, of course, but I might buy it again just to support the business, especially with the DRM promised gone. I don't know how they've done it, since it had one of the peskiest and most peculiar DRM schemes of its time - not in the modern sense of installing crap on your machine, but in the sense of "Man, three of the ten guys at this LAN party don't have the game, maybe we'll just copy it to them for the duration... shit, I can't make a working copy of this to save my life."
Highly recommended.
posted by lifeless at 11:36 PM on October 23, 2008
I already have it, of course, but I might buy it again just to support the business, especially with the DRM promised gone. I don't know how they've done it, since it had one of the peskiest and most peculiar DRM schemes of its time - not in the modern sense of installing crap on your machine, but in the sense of "Man, three of the ten guys at this LAN party don't have the game, maybe we'll just copy it to them for the duration... shit, I can't make a working copy of this to save my life."
Highly recommended.
posted by lifeless at 11:36 PM on October 23, 2008
I know I could bootcamp, but then I'd have to buy a copy of XP.
Bootcamp (or use Grub) to dual boot Linux with Wine. One Wine DB entry already shows the GoG version of Fallout 1 running flawlessly. Other Black Isle team games working:
Fallout 2
Arcanum
BG2
Planescape
posted by kid ichorous at 12:12 AM on October 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
Bootcamp (or use Grub) to dual boot Linux with Wine. One Wine DB entry already shows the GoG version of Fallout 1 running flawlessly. Other Black Isle team games working:
Fallout 2
Arcanum
BG2
Planescape
posted by kid ichorous at 12:12 AM on October 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
Damn, there goes my weekend.
posted by ghost of a past number at 1:00 AM on October 24, 2008
posted by ghost of a past number at 1:00 AM on October 24, 2008
Oh yeah, Arcanum actually runs OK on Darwine and Crossover/Crossover Games for Mac, and it's not dissimilar to the Fallouts, especially with the recent amazing fan patch.
I agree that it can be hard to swallow 1990s graphics these days, although <momsbasement> it's a crying shame that Fallout 3 (or, the second iteration of Fallout 3) wasn't conceived as a(n apocalyptically) gorgeous isometric turn-based game instead of SHOOT TEH ORCISH SUPERMUTANTS WITH A NUCULAR BOMB IN BULLET TIME TO COLLECT ACHIEVEMENTS. </momsbasement>
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 4:58 AM on October 24, 2008
I agree that it can be hard to swallow 1990s graphics these days, although <momsbasement> it's a crying shame that Fallout 3 (or, the second iteration of Fallout 3) wasn't conceived as a(n apocalyptically) gorgeous isometric turn-based game instead of SHOOT TEH ORCISH SUPERMUTANTS WITH A NUCULAR BOMB IN BULLET TIME TO COLLECT ACHIEVEMENTS. </momsbasement>
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks at 4:58 AM on October 24, 2008
lifeless, I'm 100% with you there. Operation Flashpoint was fantastic! It was the last really immersive game I played, though, that said, I don't game much at all anymore due to the lack of a powerful enough pc and time. Still want to try playing its successor ArmA: Armed Assault (ArmA: Combat Operations in the US).
posted by Onanist at 5:49 AM on October 24, 2008
posted by Onanist at 5:49 AM on October 24, 2008
I've been replaying Freespace 2... it locks up the machine when loading about one level in five. Guess it says something that I'm still playing it.
posted by Harkins_ at 6:07 AM on October 24, 2008
posted by Harkins_ at 6:07 AM on October 24, 2008
Fallout 3 better be good.
posted by slimepuppy at 4:55 PM on October 23 [+] [!]
Not saying how I know, but...
It is.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 7:33 AM on October 24, 2008
posted by slimepuppy at 4:55 PM on October 23 [+] [!]
Not saying how I know, but...
It is.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 7:33 AM on October 24, 2008
Hey, when I play fallout 2 in Parallels with xp it traps my mouse in the fallout window. Anyone know how to defeat that?
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:42 AM on October 24, 2008
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:42 AM on October 24, 2008
Hot damn, I just finished playing Wasteland again in DosBox, to prep for F3. And you know what? If you dally long enough in your escape from Base Cochise at the end and get caught in the self-destruct, the game erases your characters. All of them. Saves no longer work. THAT is some hard-core, old school gaming.... well actually it's caused sort of by a glitch based on the auto-save feature whenever you change areas, that could be avoided in the original by refusing to swap floppies when it requested.
I went through something like 3 C64s back in the day, almost entirely to play that game over and over again. Go Desert Rangers!
posted by FatherDagon at 8:45 AM on October 24, 2008
I went through something like 3 C64s back in the day, almost entirely to play that game over and over again. Go Desert Rangers!
posted by FatherDagon at 8:45 AM on October 24, 2008
Or...if you really suck at the game, you can just watch Grim Fandango: The Movie.
THANK YOU! I've always wanted to go back and finish this game, but this option is so much more...realistic.
posted by straight at 10:35 AM on October 24, 2008
THANK YOU! I've always wanted to go back and finish this game, but this option is so much more...realistic.
posted by straight at 10:35 AM on October 24, 2008
God damn did I ever dedicate myself to Freespace 2 when it first came out. There really haven't been many games that captured my attention the way that one did (yet oddly, when I played it again a few years ago, I wasn't interested much at all.)
Still, the developers out there need to realize that there is a big gaping hole in the space-flight combat sim market right now.
For anyone who hasn't seen them, the intro movies to Fallout and Fallout 2 are magnificent little pieces of artwork in and of themselves.
In fact, watching them again has made my desire to play Fallout 3 burn that much harder.
posted by quin at 10:57 AM on October 24, 2008
Still, the developers out there need to realize that there is a big gaping hole in the space-flight combat sim market right now.
For anyone who hasn't seen them, the intro movies to Fallout and Fallout 2 are magnificent little pieces of artwork in and of themselves.
In fact, watching them again has made my desire to play Fallout 3 burn that much harder.
posted by quin at 10:57 AM on October 24, 2008
I tried to play Fallout. I tried really hard to like it, even, and I found it intriguing. The gameplay felt so glacially paced, though, that I just couldn't stick with it. I am looking forward to giving Fallout 3 a shot next week, though.
Also, after everything I had heard about Fallout, I was half expecting a blow job when the game first booted up. Slightly disappointing, that.
posted by owtytrof at 12:07 PM on October 24, 2008
Also, after everything I had heard about Fallout, I was half expecting a blow job when the game first booted up. Slightly disappointing, that.
posted by owtytrof at 12:07 PM on October 24, 2008
i think it's worth mentioning that you can get a blowjob in game, in fallout.
posted by shmegegge at 1:08 PM on October 24, 2008
posted by shmegegge at 1:08 PM on October 24, 2008
Other Black Isle team games working:
Fallout 2
Arcanum
BG2
Planescape
Dude, Arcanum didn't even work properly on Windows.
posted by shmegegge at 1:10 PM on October 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
Fallout 2
Arcanum
BG2
Planescape
Dude, Arcanum didn't even work properly on Windows.
posted by shmegegge at 1:10 PM on October 24, 2008 [1 favorite]
More than paying for the same game again, I'd like revised versions, like the ones released on Xbox Live.
Yes, ditto. I am loving the nostalgia trip I get from Duke Nukem 3D on XBLA (despite the danger the static side images pose to my plasma TV). The list of content-refreshed PC games I would re-purchase is long indeed.
Although I imagine in some cases it would be hard for publishers to even come up with the repository of original code and assets for decade-old games. Or is there an industry standard practice of archiving such data?
posted by [user was fined for this post] at 4:41 PM on October 24, 2008
Yes, ditto. I am loving the nostalgia trip I get from Duke Nukem 3D on XBLA (despite the danger the static side images pose to my plasma TV). The list of content-refreshed PC games I would re-purchase is long indeed.
Although I imagine in some cases it would be hard for publishers to even come up with the repository of original code and assets for decade-old games. Or is there an industry standard practice of archiving such data?
posted by [user was fined for this post] at 4:41 PM on October 24, 2008
I recently used GOG.com to buy the first Fallout, and could not be happier! I absolutely love this game, and can't wait for Fallout 3!
posted by Nixie Pixel at 9:23 PM on October 27, 2008
posted by Nixie Pixel at 9:23 PM on October 27, 2008
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posted by mwhybark at 2:51 PM on October 23, 2008