Continuing my recent trend of "let's steal topics from websites as a
stepping off point for new discussions", I present this one:

"8 Classic Games You Haven't Played (but should)"
https://www.xda-developers.com/classic-games-havent-played-but-should/

To save you the effort of clicking and reading, here are the games
they list:

- Day of the Tentacle
- Doom
- Grand Theft Auto III
- Half-Life
- Half-Life 2
- Legend of Zelda
- Sim City 2000
- Simpsons: Hit & Run

Which is a fair list, I suppose. These are all games still worth
playing, if not to the end then just for a little while to see what
they were all about. They certainly aren't /must-play/ games (although
some of them, I think, might fall onto that list); just games that
-despite their age- still have value as forms of entertainment.

Except maybe "Simpsons: Hit and Run". The gameplay of that one was a
bit iffy and most of its charm came from its virtual recreation of
"The Simpsons" universe. But I don't think that franchise has quite
the same cachet as it did twenty years ago, and if you aren't a
die-hard fan you probably won't get much from the game.

Of all the games, I think only "Day of the Tentacle" still stands out
as a game that can be enjoyed for its gameplay. The rest are still
fun, but advancements in game design all make them feel a bit old. You
can enjoy the others, but it takes effort. DOTT, though, feels just as
fresh and fun (if a bit pixely in its graphics) as the day it was
released.

How many have you played? Have you any suggestions for other classics
you think people should play?

>- Sim City 2000
>- Simpsons: Hit & Run
Doubt I'll ever play these; simpsons annoys me and simulations I haven't
felt an attraction to, though I do own it already on gog.

> - Day of the Tentacle
This I haven't played and could certainly see doing (haven't played any
of the MIsland games either!)
> - Grand Theft Auto III
This is still expensive to buy, pass. I do own GTA5 for some reason, but
have a general antipathy to rockstar games
> - Legend of Zelda
pass

rms

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote in
news:h89fpjhfmieipq2s06sfj4l4gvm5h0gfiv@4ax.com:

> - Day of the Tentacle
> - Doom
> - Grand Theft Auto III
> - Half-Life
> - Half-Life 2
> - Legend of Zelda
> - Sim City 2000
> - Simpsons: Hit & Run

I've played Doom, and I still have a copy of DotT.

I think the Mass Effect games 1-3 are still must-play today, along with Vampire: the
Masquerade - Bloodlines. The Shadowrun trilogy and the two KotOR games, the first Witcher
game and The Technomancer all stand out in my mind.

Along with a whole host of very honorable mentions.

Then there's Sturgeon's law.

On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 10:33:47 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> - Day of the Tentacle
> - Doom
> - Grand Theft Auto III
> - Half-Life
> - Half-Life 2
> - Legend of Zelda
> - Sim City 2000
> - Simpsons: Hit & Run

>How many have you played? Have you any suggestions for other classics
>you think people should play?

I played Day of the Tentacle, Doom and Sim City 2K. I would play Day
of the Tentacle again but not the other two. I would rather play Sim
City 3K. It has much nicer graphics and sound. I don't think I would
ever play any of the other games on that list. Maybe Half-Life at some
point.

As for my own suggestions, Diablo 2 and Age of Empires 2. Replace with
the first games if these sequels aren't classic enough. :-P

On 1/27/2025 7:33 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> Continuing my recent trend of "let's steal topics from websites as a
> stepping off point for new discussions", I present this one:
>
> "8 Classic Games You Haven't Played (but should)"
> https://www.xda-developers.com/classic-games-havent-played-but-should/
>
> To save you the effort of clicking and reading, here are the games
> they list:
>
> - Day of the Tentacle
> - Doom
> - Grand Theft Auto III
> - Half-Life
> - Half-Life 2
> - Legend of Zelda
> - Sim City 2000
> - Simpsons: Hit & Run
>
Of which I have played exactly... *counts* ...zero of them.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 28/01/2025 01:41, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 1/27/2025 7:33 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> Continuing my recent trend of "let's steal topics from websites as a
>> stepping off point for new discussions", I present this one:
>>
>> "8 Classic Games You Haven't Played (but should)"
>> https://www.xda-developers.com/classic-games-havent-played-but-should/
>>
>> To save you the effort of clicking and reading, here are the games
>> they list:
>>
>>      - Day of the Tentacle
>>      - Doom
>>      - Grand Theft Auto III
>>      - Half-Life
>>      - Half-Life 2
>>      - Legend of Zelda
>>      - Sim City 2000
>>      - Simpsons: Hit & Run
>>
> Of which I have played exactly... *counts* ...zero of them.
>

I've managed two, HL:1/2. Out of the rest, I can't say I see any that I
think I should play that.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

> How many have you played? Have you any suggestions for other classics
> you think people should play?

Let's see, I haven't played Half-Life, Legend of Zelda, Sim City 2000,
Simpsons: Hit & Run so only half. I don't think I particularly want to
play these either.

Day of the Tentacle might be something to replay. I don't think I've
ever finished it.

On 1/27/2025 7:33 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> Continuing my recent trend of "let's steal topics from websites as a
> stepping off point for new discussions", I present this one:
>
> "8 Classic Games You Haven't Played (but should)"
> https://www.xda-developers.com/classic-games-havent-played-but-should/
>
> To save you the effort of clicking and reading, here are the games
> they list:
>
> - Day of the Tentacle
> - Doom
> - Grand Theft Auto III
> - Half-Life
> - Half-Life 2
> - Legend of Zelda
> - Sim City 2000
> - Simpsons: Hit & Run

> How many have you played? Have you any suggestions for other classics
> you think people should play?

All of them.

To the ones I'd think you should play if you haven't:
I'd say GTA III VC, over III. and Half-Life are the only ones on that
list I'd say to play.

So my list of 8

Half-Life
GTA III VC
Master of Magic (arguably MoO instead, but I prefer MoM)
Fallout
Populous
Elite
Star-Control II
Ultima

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On Tue, 28 Jan 2025 07:02:48 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>So my list of 8
>
>Half-Life
>GTA III VC
>Master of Magic (arguably MoO instead, but I prefer MoM)
>Fallout
>Populous
>Elite
>Star-Control II
>Ultima

I'm definitely more of a "Master Of Orion" person myself, although I
can see the appeal of "Master of Magic" for some. For me, MOM was a
bit too nitty-gritty; I much preferred the high-level approach in the
first Orion game.

"Populous" is a genre of god-game that I think needs to make a
come-back (although I was always more fond of the sequel). There have
been attempts to revitalize the god-game genre, but they always added
too many layers of complexity to the game, and I think that what made
"Populous" so addictive was its simplicity. It was a very hands-off
sort of game, where most of the action took place outside of the
player's control, and you had to swoop in only at critical junctures
to make sure the outcome of a battle went in your favor. "Populous" is
actually one of those games that /benefits/ from its technological
limitations, with its small view-window keeping you focused on just a
tiny part of the world at once. Even just the ability to zoom out to a
more macro-level view of the world works against the game's balance, I
feel.

I'm a lot less sanguine about games like "Fallout" and "Elite". While
historically notable and certainly fun for their time, I think the
games haven't aged gracefully (and as much as it hurts me to say it,
that probably applies to the "Ultimas" as well). These classics have
value but they're hard to recommend to modern gamers because they are
so lacking in basic quality-of-life features that we've come to take
for granted. Some older games can overcome these limitations but with
others I think they're too intrinsic to the game to make for a fun
experience.

Anyway, the list was never a "must play" sort of thing, just a "hey,
these games are still enjoyable despite the fact that they are so old,
so maybe give them a chance". Pretty much all of them (again, with the
possible exception of "Day of the Tentacle", which I think holds up
remarkably well except for its VGA-visuals... and even that is less a
problem than you might think once you apply some filtering and
upscaling) will require some effort to enjoy.

On Tue, 28 Jan 2025 07:02:48 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
wrote:

>Half-Life
>GTA III VC
>Master of Magic (arguably MoO instead, but I prefer MoM)
>Fallout
>Populous
>Elite
>Star-Control II
>Ultima

I prefer MOO but I always felt that MOM was more popular so I think
your choice makes more sense.

As for Ultima, which one? The first one is too old and too weird for
classic status IMO. I would nominate either Ultima 4 or 7 myself.

On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 09:17:04 -0500, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

>On Tue, 28 Jan 2025 07:02:48 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>Half-Life
>>GTA III VC
>>Master of Magic (arguably MoO instead, but I prefer MoM)
>>Fallout
>>Populous
>>Elite
>>Star-Control II
>>Ultima
>
>I prefer MOO but I always felt that MOM was more popular so I think
>your choice makes more sense.
>
>As for Ultima, which one? The first one is too old and too weird for
>classic status IMO. I would nominate either Ultima 4 or 7 myself.

Oh, Ultima Underworld for sure. It's the most playable and most
accessible of all the Ultimas, especially to modern gamers.

If we're going to include the main line of games, Ultima 7 is a
shoo-in, but I'm on the fence between Ultima 4 and 5. U4 had its
unique story-line, but U5 added a lot of necessary QOL features that
just made the game a lot more fun.

Definitely Doom and HL games. ;) I never played GTA FPS games. I only
played its original top views (e.g., GTA1) in college.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> Continuing my recent trend of "let's steal topics from websites as a
> stepping off point for new discussions", I present this one:

> "8 Classic Games You Haven't Played (but should)"
> https://www.xda-developers.com/classic-games-havent-played-but-should/

> To save you the effort of clicking and reading, here are the games
> they list:

> - Day of the Tentacle
> - Doom
> - Grand Theft Auto III
> - Half-Life
> - Half-Life 2
> - Legend of Zelda
> - Sim City 2000
> - Simpsons: Hit & Run

> Which is a fair list, I suppose. These are all games still worth
> playing, if not to the end then just for a little while to see what
> they were all about. They certainly aren't /must-play/ games (although
> some of them, I think, might fall onto that list); just games that
> -despite their age- still have value as forms of entertainment.

> Except maybe "Simpsons: Hit and Run". The gameplay of that one was a
> bit iffy and most of its charm came from its virtual recreation of
> "The Simpsons" universe. But I don't think that franchise has quite
> the same cachet as it did twenty years ago, and if you aren't a
> die-hard fan you probably won't get much from the game.

> Of all the games, I think only "Day of the Tentacle" still stands out
> as a game that can be enjoyed for its gameplay. The rest are still
> fun, but advancements in game design all make them feel a bit old. You
> can enjoy the others, but it takes effort. DOTT, though, feels just as
> fresh and fun (if a bit pixely in its graphics) as the day it was
> released.

> How many have you played? Have you any suggestions for other classics
> you think people should play?

--
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Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 11:19:20 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>Oh, Ultima Underworld for sure. It's the most playable and most
>accessible of all the Ultimas, especially to modern gamers.

Definitely agree here but I was going off of Justisaur's post and I
assumed he was thinking of the mainline entries.

>If we're going to include the main line of games, Ultima 7 is a
>shoo-in, but I'm on the fence between Ultima 4 and 5. U4 had its
>unique story-line, but U5 added a lot of necessary QOL features that
>just made the game a lot more fun.

I agree again. I like Ultima 5 more then 4 but I went with 4 because
of how damn unique it actually was and still is. I went with 7 as an
alternative due to its incredible 'living' world and I also think it
is just the best game in the mainline series.

On 2025-01-28, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 28 Jan 2025 07:02:48 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> "Populous" is a genre of god-game that I think needs to make a
> come-back (although I was always more fond of the sequel). There have
> been attempts to revitalize the god-game genre, but they always added
> too many layers of complexity to the game, and I think that what made
> "Populous" so addictive was its simplicity. It was a very hands-off
> sort of game, where most of the action took place outside of the
> player's control, and you had to swoop in only at critical junctures
> to make sure the outcome of a battle went in your favor. "Populous" is
> actually one of those games that /benefits/ from its technological
> limitations, with its small view-window keeping you focused on just a
> tiny part of the world at once. Even just the ability to zoom out to a
> more macro-level view of the world works against the game's balance, I
> feel.

I never played Populous, never understood it, but then again I never
really looked at it or tried. My younger self just thought it was a rip
off of Powermonger without the fighting.

I played Powermonger a lot on the Amiga, I sometimes just played the
intro over and over. The music was great to a younger me sitting in a
dark cold bedroom staring at a 14" CRT with small speakers blasting out
the soundtrack, happy days. I also somehow stubbled across some kind of
bug that gave my troops infinite strength, but they looked a little
glitchy.

I just tried searching to see if this glitch was a thing. I couldn't
find anything about it. The only bug mentioned was that sometimes the
shepard's looked like they were doing something lewd to their flock!

Sorry, but I can't help thinking of Powermonger whenever Populous is
mentioned. Now I'm going to watch the intro on YouTube and maybe look up
Mega-lo-mania also. Thanks for the memory trigger..

--
Don't be afraid of the deep...
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