Re: Speaking of old games...

On Fri, 26 Apr 2024 01:54:15 -0400, shawn
<nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:

On Fri, 19 Apr 2024 19:30:57 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>

... Which ACTION PC games do you still own when you bought them back
then? My parents still kept my Fire Hawk (Thexder 2) which I discovered
in my toy box that they kept. I remember playing that game on my IBM
PS/2 model 30 286 10 Mhz PC back then. :O

>
I still have Crusader: No Remorse and the original box.

I really quite enjoyed Crusader.

Not just because it was a smashing game, although it was. It allowed a
destructibility in the level that was really quite novel for its time.
Armed with an array of overpowered weapons, it seemed like almost
everything exploded (or at least showed signs of damage) when shot.
Often, this was only a visual effect (although, back in the DOS days,
even this was a tremendous evolution from the normally static levels
of other games) but sometimes, it would affect gameplay.

It had a rocking soundtrack too. It used 'tracker' music (MOD files),
which - for a while - seemed like it was going to become the new
format for game-music, supplanting MIDI. I still have the MOD files,
ripped from the game, on my hard-drive and they get the occasional
listen.*

But it was also the fact that the game was based on the Ultima 8
engine. "Ultima 8" was such a disappointment in terms of gameplay; it
was more action oriented, offered fewer player options, and was
generally a very clunky game. But seeing its engine re-purposed to
make an actual action game seemed to indicate that Origin - the
developers - had recognized their error and were back on track for
making the usual, excellent games. It was a promise of better things
to come.
(It was, unfortunately, an unfulfilled promise, with disappointments
like "Ultima 9" and "Wing Commander Prophecy" soon to kill the
company... but in 1995 it felt like renewed hope).


The box of "Crusader: No Remorse" itself was quite striking too. The
eponymous Crusader, in his red, plasticy armor, was eye-catching, as
was the "if you don't have a bad attitude, you don't have a chance"
tagline on the back cover. And Origin was still knocking it out of the
park with its manuals, filled not only with instructions on how to
play the game, but lots of added lore details.

A fun game, all around.
















* technically, I listen to MP3s made from the original MOD files. It's
just easier that way, and I can dump the files into my usual player so
they show up in the random shuffle with all the other MP3s.