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[mjau]

Oh, Zep was already suggested, oops .  But hang on, noone mentioned Free Lunch Design yet?  There's several old games there, but my favourite is ..


Alex the Allegator 4 (2003, Win/Mac/Lin/BeOS/GP2X/etc, open source)
(sourceforge page)

This is an awesome little platform game starring Alex the Allegator, who is out to save his girlfriend from evil helicopter dwelling people.  Not super huge, but it's got great level design and charming lores graphics and music too.  In addition to walking around and jumping, Alex can jump on enemies to flatten them (also gaining jump height), and eat things for points (including flattened enemies).  Soon you'll also find rotating blocks, which makes Alex curl into a ball and roll around, faster and able to break some blocks, and a little later you can throw eggs as well.  There's also lots of secrets and the occasional boss fight.  (There was three games with Alex before this one, but they're all different kinds of games.  They're mostly unrelated besides all starring Alex.)


Icy Tower should perhaps also be mentioned.  It got really popular back in the day


Icy Tower (2001, Win, freeware)

Help Harold the Homeboy jump his way to the top of an infinitely high tower, earning combos on the way.  It's a pretty simple game, just jump from platform to platform and keep going upwards, earning combos and avoiding falling back down (that's death), but it's fun when you get the hang of it.  (This recently got a port for mobile phones, too.)

[Edmund]

Savage
Oasis
Dr. Blob's Organism
Gish
Dungeon Scroll
Facade
Pontifex / Bridge builder
Rag doll kung fu
Alien Hominid (flash)
Picos school
Wik
N
Weird Worlds
Uplink
Mutant Storm
BreakQuest
Global Defense Network
Outpost Kaloki
Hamsterball

[Duckmeister]

Classics Week begins tomorrow, people!  I'm going to start playing some old games and adding them to the database tonight.  Please contribute some reviews.

Where do I contribute reviews?  Right here?  Because I'd gladly review those 4 games I mentioned earlier (WHICH YOU MUST PLAY).

[Derek]

Ya, do it right here!  I'm having trouble accessing the front page right now, though...

EDIT: K, now it's working.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i posted one i found today, tower of the sorcerer

[Derek]

Me, too - I did Reality-On-The-Norm!

Never heard of it, before.  Really cool concept.

[Terry]

I'd totally write about Lysander's RPGs if I knew the first thing about the RPGMaker Scene But somebody should! A Blurred Line is very definitely a classic.

[Skibs]

Derek seems to have a problem with self-promotion, so I'm going to do it for him.

Pick one:
Blackeye Software Mirror

[shockedfrog]

A couple of classics I still return to occasionally, both kinda chill-out games:

Fugue (http://verge-rpg.com/files/detail.php?id=260 has someone's backup but it starts with all levels unlocked, zaratustra's still not got it on his new page despite its awesomeness) is a pretty simple fly-down-corridor-avoiding-obstacles game, but with a lovely style and catchy background music that makes it feel better than it seems it should be. If the game's all horribly blurry like it is on my current comp, change the resolution via the user.cfg file - at my usual res (1280x960) it looks great.

Though they're better known for Pekka Kana 2, Q-Lat 2 (http://www.pistegamez.net/game_qlat2.html) is my favourite thing by Piste Gamez. Again, simple enough objective (hit balls together in an attempt to make them all the same colour), but addictive gameplay with great presentation. Though the gameplay does rely on a fair bit of luck with what bonuses appear, it's one of those games that makes me want to keep trying to do a little bit better, whether it's completing a certain number of levels, getting a better score, or surviving a bit longer. I think it's a real sign of fun that I'm setting myself targets, which is something that's been lost with the focus on rather artificial 'achievements' in more recent games.

[Davioware]

Worms Armageddon. That was the best multiplayer on one keyboard game i ever played. Cheers and curses filled the room whenever a match took place. The sheer allowance for customization of the game still has me playing it to this day. My last match was a few hours ago. 

[nihilocrat]

Facade

If it's the game I'm thinking of, I remember playing this as part of research for paper on AI. Pretty interesting stuff, even though you quickly noticed there were only a relatively small number of options in the game.

Uplink

I could write about this, but I didn't have the haxor skillz to get very far. Eventually the security countdowns just got too short and I didn't know how to get any further.

Anyone else played Liquid War?
http://www.ufoot.org/liquidwar

Also, I can't find anything about Circa 7000: Armies of Armageddon. I remember it came out awhile after the shareware craze, so it felt kind of odd but strangely heartwarming getting the manual in plain-jane black-and-white with Kinkos binding.

[AdamButcher]

Ooh. Anyone remember Plasma Spheres II? It was from the era when making all the sprites just circles was totally acceptable. Or acceptaBALL!

http://abnormalsoft.com/archive/plasma2.html

Plus that "3D" effect was totally exciting at the time.

Is this thread all just our memories from the loading up the CDs and Floppies that came with PCGamer magazines? The Shareware section was always my favourite.

[ness io kain]

OK, here's my review. One could argue that I'm not the best person to be posting this... but it's so neglected.
Anyway, use it, or leave it, or feed it to your dog; whatever you want.
(Oh, and here's a picture to use: http://egoboo.sourceforge.net/screenshots/screen024.jpg)


Egoboo is a dungeon-crawling ARPG first released in 1999 by Aaron Bishop. After his brother Ben convinced him to release it as open source, the game began to enjoy quite a bit of development thanks to a willing community. It's had its ups and downs, but currently the game is being developed at a fairly steady rate. Though sometimes gaps between stable versions can be a bit long, the in-development beta version can be accessed through a subversion repository, which is updated any time a change is made.
The original idea of Egoboo was to create a game like Nethack, but in real time and with 3D graphics. Although most of the gameplay resembles a typical ARPG, there are a lot of subtle aspects that are reminiscent of roguelikes (and Nethack in particular). There are quite a few strange secrets and "Easter eggs"; discovering a couple of these can even result in unlocking an extra class to play as in addition to the eight you can normally choose from.
To start the game, you must choose a class and beat a "starter module" before you can go out into the game's main dungeons. These modules will help you become familiar with the specific abilities of the class you chose, and require you to apply strategies that will help you use your character more effectively in the future.
After you beat the starter module, you are ready to play through the main game. The main series of modules consists of seven dungeons (two of them are divided into two separate halves, so there are actually nine in total). Once you beat one, you will be able to play through the next, and you are always welcome to go back to modules you have already completed. There is also a small town that is available from the beginning and a larger city that is unlocked later on. You can visit these peaceful areas to purchase more gear. There are also a few NPCs who will send you on side quests, most of which will culminate in the discovery of rare and useful loot.
You can play through most of the game with up to four players (on the same machine) using the keyboard, mouse, and joysticks. The only exceptions to this are starter modules and a few side quest dungeons that are only available for one player. (Many of the modules that can only be played by one person do include AI-controlled companions, though.)
Most modules consist of playing through until you find a boss monster, then defeating it. The game isn't all hack and slash, though; there are also puzzle elements every once in a while that make the game feel a little bit like something from the Zelda series.

Egoboo is still a little rough around the edges, and some people may be turned off by its graphics, which look a little like something from the N64 era. But beneath the questionable exterior lies a very charming game with unique style, solid gameplay, and a fair amount of depth. It's definitely worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of ARPGs or Zelda-esque adventures. Be on the look out for when the next version is released in a few days; it should have quite a bit of new content.

[Bood_war]

Hmm, I have a disc of 1000 best games for Windows 95, so I'll look through that.

In the meantime, I would very strongly suggest Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol. 

[ForTheUSSR]

I definitely agree that Destruction Carnival deserves some coverage.  Egoboo was also pretty fun.


I'm not sure if this game has been covered yet, but I had a lot of fun with it.  It's called XEvil.  It came to me on this CD called 300 Arcade Games, which was basically a collection of free games on the internet burned to a CD.  I just remembered it today, and here's the link to the site : http://www.xevil.com/.

XEvil



XEvil is a fun, free, ultra-violent 2D-side scrolling deathmatch arena.  It was developed by, believe it or not, an M.I.T. student named Steve Hardt (it's freeware and open source).  Released in 1994, it runs on Windows, Linux, and Unix platforms.  You can play as many different characters (including a soldier, ninja, alien, robot, and several others) in a variety of game modes.  You have your run-of-the-mill elimination mode, team deathmatch, and even a campaign mode.  Also, the levels are randomly generated.  Each character has unique abilities (ninjas can crawl on walls), but there are weapons and items that all the characters can use (like a pistol, laser, and my personal favorite: the chainsaw).

You can play by yourself against computer opponents, but the best part of this game is, in my opinion, the ability to play networked multiplayer.  You have to manually type IP addresses, and I had some problems with this at first (If you're not sure which IP you should tell others to type, use ipconfig in a DOS prompt).  Once you get it working, it's really addicting.  The cooperative campaign mode is a fun challenge, and you get a short title after you die depending on how well you played (e.g. Hell's Gatekeeper).  You can play against bots in team deathmatch or just have a free-for all with your friends.

There are several things that I think make this game fun.  The plot, characters, sound effects, and backrounds are ridiculous and somewhat humorous (There are signs in the backgrounds saying things like "Strangle your Pets").  The variety of items ensures that the game doesn't get too repetitive, and lets you develop strategies.  And nothing, NOTHING, beats co-op games (unless you can't find anyone to play with  )

At times, the game is a little buggy, and the AI isn't very intelligent.  In addition, the control scheme takes some getting used to.  But none of that seems to matter when you're chainsawing your way through a screaming cluster of aliens, robots, ninjas, and Flying Burger King Guys while high on PCP.  And the best part is, you don't need a fancy computer to play it.  If you have some cruddy old PC and a bored friend, just hook it up to your network and play away.

Anyways, check it out if you're in the mood for some fast-paced, old-school action.  You might get a kick out of the website, too.  Especially the character page (http://www.xevil.com/xevil/profiles/ look under the Characters and Weapons tab).

(You can use that as the review, I can add stuff if needed)

[mr. podunkian]

Hey dude how many old ass Klik games do you have lying around that don't exist on the internets anymore?

i have destruction carnival, astrospoon, crop crusader, ultra car, naimstaith, and i might have future fantasy. too bad most of these games aren't very good, and there's always that strange sound bug that makes knp games go crazy and die.

[astrospoon]

I have the astrospoon.cca file still, and i could probably recompile in MMF2 to avoid sound bugs and crashing issues. Though some of the sound effects will probably just flat out be missing then... I'm not gonna go back and replace them all again in each frame heh.

[Derek]

Thanks for posting those reviews, guys!  XEvil's going up now, and Egoboo will go up later.

[Bood_war]

   


   When people hear Mordor, they think of the works of Tolkien. I'm not even going to say 'most people' there. That's because Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol, released in 1995, is virtually unknown today. Don't yell at me yet. I do know of the community, and sequals inspired by Modor, but again, Mordor fans register among the legions of fans that follow the Polo league. They're few and far between.
   
   Despite this, Mordor is an enduring RPG. I've been playing several characters over 2 years-and I can barely get to level 4. Now does this mean I'm bad? Maybe, but even so, Mordor is one hell of a hard game.

   When you start out, It's like a lot of RPG's. You choose race, guild (class), skills yada yada yada. Then, you go to the store, and pick up supplies. You head over to the Guilds, and possibly get acquainted with another guild. Finally you head to the dungeon for the first time. Nothing special so far, right?

   This is when Mordor picks up. Once your in the dungeon, you walk around, exploring from a primitive map, fighting 100's of different monsters, looting treasure, and getting more powerful. It's a really fun experience. But then you die. Sucks right?

   If your lucky, and near the exit, your body will be found withing a few days (If you choose to wait to be found). But you only have 4999 gold and you need 5010 to be resurrected. When this happens, another of Mordor's features becomes extremely handy. It's the Multiplayer. Mordor's multiplayer is great fun, especially if you have a few people who play on the same computer. They can get on their character, and mosey on down to the Morgue, and have you resurrected. Players can also go find other players, band together, lend gold, and more.

   Other notable features are 100's of monsters (many of which you can have as pets!), 100's of items, a perfect leveling system, 9 races, many guilds (I can't remember exactly how many...) and 15 levels, ever increasing in difficulty.

  In conclusion, if your looking for an RPG with classic first-person gameplay, it doesn't get much better than Mordor.

[Bood_war]

Also, has no one mentioned Rouge?