Given the turmoil video games have been subject to recently and the coming change that will neuter their ability to wow—the #GamerGate imbroglio and all that—it is high time to revisit some of the immortal classics the platform has spawned.
My purpose, here, is to highlight four games that have not been as heralded as other games and why they deserve positive attention.
The Quest For Glory Franchise
Sierra Online released the first game in this series—Quest For Glory: So You Want To Be Hero?—in the late ’80’s. The adventure-roleplaying series is known for its streamlined gameplay, its funny dialogue, and the ability to import your character—along with skills and gold—into subsequent games.
There are five games in the series. The first game is set in a Bavarian-type valley, the second in a Middle Eastern-style city, the third in an African-style savannah, the final two installments in European-type settings. The gameplay is pretty basic, but it’s very accessible and highly enjoyable. The games are fairly non-linear, with plenty of side quests that complement the major story arc. The development of skills is pretty straightforward and well-done. The open environment with respect to the gameplay was a bit off the beaten path at the time.
The games are known for their funny dialogues and—often—bad puns. Every game in the series has characters who pop up in all the games, and there are quite a few Easter eggs that help maintain series continuity. The first three games are pretty breezy and lighthearted, but the fourth game was much darker than the previous three. The fifth and final game wasn’t as dark as the fourth, and ended the series on a decent note.
Rating: 8 out of 10. Easy, breezy gameplay coupled with fun and engaging dialogue, characters, and story lines. You can find a modern remake of the second installment here.
EarthBound
Fuzzy pickles, anybody?
EarthBound was a Japanese SNES video game first released in America in 1995. It was met with poor reviews and was a cult classic until very recently.
The roleplaying game revolves around a young boy named Ness, who begins the game investigating a meteor crash in his hometown with his dog, Pokey. He discovers an alien force has invaded Earth and has spread hatred around the world, turning humans and animals in violent creatures. He scraps together a rag-tag force of three other people who wield slingshots and frying pans against malicious foes in order to save the world from this hateful alien force.
The game is whimsical in many ways. The save points are telephone calls to Ness’s father; in the same vein, Ness’s father wires money to his bank account after successful battles. The game has many funny quirks and quotes—like the aforementioned “fuzzy pickles” quote—and is generally a difficult game in the body of a lighthearted one.
It might be a simple game in the vein of collecting a finite number of X from dungeons to save the world from evil, but it does it in a way that is satisfying, challenging and—at times—odd and eccentric.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10. Top-shelf game.
Exile 3
Exile 3 was released at some point in the ’90’s by the now-defunct Spiderweb Software. The adventure-roleplaying game was based on people who are cast into the caves and recesses beneath a world’s surface. The first two installments revolve around these people mastering their environment; the third and final game is about a group of these outcasts returning to the surface to save the world from its imminent demise.
The upper-world is divided into roughly six kingdoms, each with a major city and a plague of monsters. The first two kingdoms are plagued by slimes and giant cockroaches, respectively. The game gets harder quickly, as giants and golems are the bane of the later-encountered kingdoms. The final—and walled off from the world—kingdom is a society completely destroyed by vicious alien beasts.
While the graphics and sound effects are rudimentary and very simplistic, the game is of high quality and extremely addictive. The main quest itself is very long and highly engaging, while the number and quality of side quests and endeavors rivals the main quest. The map is incredibly large and the number of random cities and landscapes to explore are countless.
Rating: 9 out of 10. If this game had Skyrim-esque graphics, sounds, and interactions between characters, it would be an easy 10/10.
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is a computer game created and developed by Sid Meier—of Civilization fame—which extrapolates past the end of his Civilization games.
The game is a turn-based strategy game where a group of humans leave Earth for a human-friendly desert planet. The colonization project goes awry after the rocket ship explodes, casting the seven distinct factions around the planet. Like Civilization, the ultimate goal is to conquer the other factions, either through conquest, diplomacy, economics, or technology (the Ascent to Transcendence).
The game is extremely engaging. It is much faster-paced than Civilization games, making it more playable. The factions are highly distinct and give rise to radically different techniques for playing as or interacting with them. The technology tree is imaginative and logical. City-development is straightforward and streamlined. Battles are quick and efficient.
The game, in a nutshell, is a perfect turn-based strategy game. With virtually infinite maps with radically-varied environments and faction personalities, the game is not only highly playable in its traditional map, but highly replayable. Unlike Civilization games, which might drag on for some time with slow CPU turns, the game progresses with a quickness unlike most Sid Meier games.
Rating: 10 out of 10. The perfect turn-based strategy game.
Read More: Why Do Women Suddenly Want To Become Video Gamers?
Decent list. When you say classic, you went way back. As a almost daily gamer, and Redpiller, i do enjoy your articles from time to time. Ive noticed that video games today are the plastic army men of the past. They are a vector for males to enjoy their most primitive biological desire – to compete against other males and win; an alpha desire in in even the most sunk in beta males. I wish you would do an article that helps those hapless gamers who are afraid to talk to girls, to channel those competitive biological imperatives into other aspects of their lives. There is a demographic there that supplicates their male desires to a safe area – video games. I know because i was once that way.
My son played video games on occasion but never really went to the extremes I hear about other young men going to. He rarely plays at all any longer, in fact I can’t remember the last time I found him playing a video game. I suspect he never developed an addiction due to actually having an outgoing personality to begin with and he’s never had a fear of girls, he’s about as laid back happy go lucky as a guy can be around girls, at any age really. It also helped, I think, that unlike a lot of other young men, when he starts getting an itch to shoot things he can go get one of his rifles or shotgun out of his closet and actually go shoot things. War games are fun, but nothing beats cracking 200 rounds of 7.62x54R down the range on a summer afternoon.
True. But i have a limited budget and can only afford to shoot about twice a year. im in my 30’s and its nice that me and my friends can jump on the PC and play a good competitive round on battlefield 4. I work in law enforcement and i actually play DayZ several times a week with my boss who is my age. There are many online video games that are all about strategy and competition. Due to the quality of development of these games, i can get far more enjoyment and quality out of them than say mafia wars, or scrabble, or online poker.
Yeah, I was using shooting as a specific example. He also fishes, plays a musical instrument, skateboards on occasion, camps, etc. The point being that he seems to have groked at an early age that life is more fun than staring at a video console all the time, which is highly unusual from what I hear these days. It would be nice to figure out a way to teach other young men to give up the habit and get out into life. Given our anti-male culture I’m not entirely certain this is possible though.
I agree. Im an eagle scout and did lots of outdoor activites as a teenager. I think people like your son are certainly the exception these days and not the rule. My younger brother is blue pill and mirror opposite of me. He neither desires nor enjoys no masculine traits whatsoever.
Wrestling with a sailfish? If you notice, many of the most popular games mimic real-life survival skills.
Look at minecraft. Yes, super simulated, but it’s all about playing Robinson Crusoe.
Games back in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras and the early 2000’s seemed to be much more fun than any of the garbage coming out these days, feminist influence or not.
Earthbound was a great game. I heard about it as a kid when I didn’t know who Ness was in the original Smash Bros.. I finally got around to playing it five years ago.
I like to think of feminism in gaming as just a symptom to 2 facts:
1. Game studios have grown big and are now owned by stock holders, who have limited knowledge of their products or clientelle and just want to make a buck.
2. The entry barrier is really low. Nowadays anyone can afford a computer or a console. Their prices are at an all time low.
My feeling about the old games is that I feel nostalgia clouds my judgment of them a bit. I can tell you that the E rated games my sons play are utter garbage though. Infinite lives, check points every 10 feet… what rubbish. Damn games coddle them much like everything else in society.
Games back in 90’s had great storyline, that’s what made them great.
I would say the best time for video games was the PS2 and Gamecube era. You had all those older games and the GC and PS2 especially delivered some really kickass games with what I would say were the best graphics could be without sacrificing gameplay for glittery skyboxes. But it was also when microsoft burst onto the scene and gave us Halo, the first fps for the more mainstream audience gaming began to attract. So it was the beginning of the end as well.
Before game companies sold their souls for money and appealing to the casual market.
Honestly the only reason I have a Wii is for Smash Bros Brawl, and the Virtual Console since I didn’t grow up in the era of NES and SNES and have had to try to get copies of the games after they went out of stock.
I have yet to play Earthbound, but Mother 3 is one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. I might go so far to say that it might have changed my life a little, but then again, I played it as a kid.
Shadowrun FPS was the best game I ever played on Xbox 360. It came out in 2007 to lackluster reviews due to its difficulty, lack of one player mode (it was multiplayer online FPS only), and having switched from RPG to FPS format. It is a cult classic and I still play it, a lot of the features that made this game unique have been adopted by other games.
It was mini game right? or maybe I’m thinking Shadow Complex
Shadowrun(2007) was a full on FPS. It was an amazing game but the learning curve was brutal and team play was essential, unlike Halo or CoD there was no respawn so your teammates had to resurrect you if you died. It was kind of like Halo with magic. The defining theme that sold me on it was the ability to teleport through walls, block bullets with a katana, and intense combat where getting the drop on a opponent did not guarantee victory. It is one hell of a game.
Dude that game is amazing love shadow run! Troll with the mini gun my favorite or the elf resurector. Dude try Gotham city in posters very similar.
My strongest build is to run Human, teleport, gust, enhanced vision/smoke toggle(so if the oppositon has smartlink or EV it won’t lock on). I run resurrect elf or dwarf if my team picks all humans. I will give Gotham a run. Shadowrun Sundays is still going on with all the hardcore players and private matches.
Look at that, vydia gaems in Return of Kings! Nothing more fitting, since feminists say gamers are exclusively white males.
No Contra, Double Dragon or Battletoads? wtf
Those were classics, but not underrated.
As someone whose favorite three games OF ALL TIME include Contra and Battletoads (the other one is Mega Man 3), let me tell you, those were hardly underrated.
Pirates Gold!, Defender of the Crown, Dynamix’s Red Baron, & Bards Tale.
That is all.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was great. Same for the Monkey Island series.
The “Art of War (in the Skies, etc.)” games were fun, used to play those on my old 286 when I was a kid. Those, and a medical game where you had to shoot blood clots and tumors inside veins (like incredible journey).
KOTOR ftw
Darth Revan man…
It should have been a movie. Plain and simple.
River City Ransom never got the respect it deserved. Great gameplay and graphics.
I fucking loved that game.
I don’t play video games and thus did not read the article, but thought I would comment anyway. I like my steaks done medium.
cid miers “Civ 2 test of time” was my first game and i think it stands on par with alpha centauri. also what do you think of masters of orion? or orion 1/2
alpha centauri introduced me to philosophy. any game that can compel an twelve year old boy to slog through Immanuel Kant’s critique of pure reason deserves a 10/10
Indeed, there are some great quotes in Alpha Centauri
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons for the SNES was the bomb.
Asteroids. Pumped way too many quarters into the machine for that stupid game back in the day. Donkey Kong, the original one, same effect; lost a lot of quarters. Dig Dug could be fun, occasionally, and Ms. Pac Man was perhaps the most addicting of them all.
Wish I had that money back, with interest. Damn you game manufacturers, damn you to hell! heh
I miss honest to goodness arcades. I got down on some Pole Position. I miss pinball too. I’m old.
Hell, I forgot about Pole Position, that was a lot of fun.
The arcade type games were fantastic, and it was too expensive to get really addicted. The addicts that did form, you just knew from experience, spent a ton of coin to be that way, which seemed even at the time really wasteful to me.
We rented a huge log cabin house in the Smokey Mountains this last summer. In the basement they had a full game room circa 1988 decked out. Ms. Pac Man, Galaga, a pool table, air hockey, foosball table, poker table. Great fun.
Gorf. Was working as a bouncer in a disco around 1980 and jammed on Gorf between grabbing free brews. There was a comedian who would do a funny skit with the theme from “2001 A Space Odyssey” playing about an ape who discovers a guitar and starts belting out the blues. Fortunately for me none of the bouncing involved actual fisticuffs or I probably would have got my ass stomped. I developed a disdain for drunkards though.
Before that era they had these machines called “pinball” where you would shoot a spring-loaded ball bearing to the top of the board and it would bump on various switches which would cause lights to flash and bells to ring. The front usually had some alpha dude with a hot chick and an electromechanical score counter. Was a lot of fun to play when stoned.
Also there were “foosball” tables which were all the rage with teens, requiring 2 – 4 people to engage in heated competition smacking a little ball with paddles mounted on rods in attempts to knock it into the opponent’s goal slot.
Then there’s “billiards”.
Did ya ever take and try to give
an iron-clad leave to yourself
from a three-rail billiard shot?
Pinball is awesome, never managed to get good at it tho. Also, don’t know about foreign countries, but football tables still exist in Brazil in clubs, some bars and such, they’re great and always play on one when I get the chance.
I’m happy to see Alpha Centauri in this list, especially as it is on the few 4X games I can say I really sunk some time into while growing up. Hopefully the new Civ: Beyond Earth game can live up to the legacy.
I have lurked this website for a long time and have benefited greatly from applying various ideas in real life… but I am disappointed to see an article like this. I began researching male/female relations in high school because I wanted to STOP my lifestyle of video games and only hanging out with my clique of nerds. Why the fuck are we talking about revisiting old video games? Single-player ones at that, not even an opportunity to engage oneself socially. Video games are what spawned our generation of narcissistic betas. It allows your mind to fantasize about “releasing your manhood” or whatever the fuck some of you are saying. So this whole time your brain is racing through all of these intense scenarios, some of which require a little critical thinking and/or thumb-skill (wow!). These scenarios can make your brain think you’re accomplishing something, or think itself a man…. But the REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCE was simply sitting down with very minimal movement. The brain entertained these ideas, but the body did not FEEL them. Video games can make you feel so fucking smart and good at problem-solving… but it’s all fantasy. This is how Elliot Rodgers are made. You have a boy who thinks himself a man because his brain has had the experience of hard work, domination and success, but the body and emotional responses of a totally sedentary creature that has never suffered in its life. Video games are NOT the ideal release of male fantasy… I would argue that simply vigorous exercise, with some imagination, is the best way to engage your neglected primal desires.
That’s a very interesting and valid critique. I noted below that my son rarely plays video games, instead preferring to shoot real guns at real targets, or go fishing, etc. There is something missing when young men no longer experience real life and live vicariously through video games.
I went many times to a shooting range with my old man (Army vet.) long before I played a shooter on playstation. I have had both worlds (videogame/reality) and it’s worked great for me. I think balance is key for your son, and for all boys too. There has been a great post on this very site expressing the same thing: “…Videogames arent doing anything to men. They are inanimate objects. Men are choosing to squander their own potential. Moderation is where the beast lies…” – User: GeneralStalin
Men aren’t even choosing to squander their own potential, the feminist-marxist is grinding them on a meat shredder.
And now it wants to grind their videogames down as well.
I once heard a half-mad half-wise man say “when times are tough, good men tend to their own private gardens.”
Hmm, I agree with your clever quote and your description of the feminist-marxist ways of the world. However, I disagree where you mention young men no longer having a choice (with squandering their potential). Its always a young mans choice to squander his potential away by living vicariously through videogames. It doesnt matter how crushing his environment has become (the society you accurately described). He will either rise to the occasion and live his own life as best as he can (tend to his own garden) or be annilihated.
There’s nothing wrong with games in moderation – it’s a much better way to kick back than watching TV and often requires engagement, thought, and problem solving skills.
That being said I hardly ever play games these days and addiction is becoming a real problem.
That’s true, but it’s not a secret that a lot of young men have entirely retreated into the video game world to the point of absolute obsession. They use it as a buffer against the anti-male outside world.
Games and Porn. I agree just wanted to add that point. I deal with a lot of people in Molecular Biology research and related fields in my professional life, and these guys are not the most social if you get my drift. When I engage them in conversation, outside of a professional context it is sports,video games,porn and pretty much nothing else.
Not unless the video game translates into real world results. It is generally only worthwhile as a treat.
That’s a good remark… I too prefer gaming over watching tv for the reasons you just said. Moderation is definitely key to most things in life. I played WoW for a good 4 to 5 years… many of those being 5-8 hour days so you can understand my disdain; I didn’t know what I was doing to myself at the time.
True, but a lot of us are from the older school where video games weren’t a 24-7 pursuit and instead a treat in life. It’s okay to be a little nostalgic every now and then.
I think it’s important to note what kind of experience the game actually provides – there are a plethora of genres after all. However, like all things, any lessons, wisdom or plain ol’ dopamine that could be imparted by video games (I’m speaking of games of the caliber of Deus Ex or Alpha Centauri mentioned in the article) is still subject to the law of diminishing returns. That, I think, is the point games are becoming in a lot of ‘gamers’ lives; there is no new utility to be extracted from the activity for them, yet they continue to play. An addiction.
Good point. I really appreciated the Zelda games and how deep they were philosophically. Also there’s nothing like revisiting mario party or pokemon stadium with your old friends. I suppose I am too focused on my own past experience with WoW, but an alarming number of young men lived an adolescent life very similar to mine.
A life that I too shared, with some given points of difference. On that note, I’d wager that you too would have grown up when playing games was considered ‘nerdy/geeky’ among other cliques; a stark contrast to the field today, where no one remembers that Call of Duty used to be a WW2 game. So I can guess that your experience with games is possibly around the 10+ years. Compare that to the experiences of a lot of ‘gamers’ today, especially women and the cliques that never played games in adolescence. By comparison, your own experience eclipses theirs. So, as i said before, any font of gaming looks quite boring to you now.
This is not unique, as I too find it very difficult to find games at all enriching or entertaining as i used to (the ‘enriching’ part especially so…but that’s a topic for another day). Instead, I find joy in running 6km to the closest gym, reading a book or creating something rather than sitting in front of a TV… but they’re relatively new experiences for me. Ten years ago, I’d be playing Homeworld online for god-knows how many hours. Today? Probably not.
My point here is that the law of diminishing returns is in full effect among the ‘new’ gamers of today, living in the ‘early’ part of the curve. I’ll bet you a bazillion gazillion dollars those people raving about games today will have moved onto other things in another 10 years… hopefully.
Right now there are special forces “operators” stationed overseas, sitting next to hundreds and thousands of dollars worth of kit, who’ve been trained to kill like no other man in history, calling over the base/facility intercom, “It’s time for tactical training in Building C.” And by tactical training, I mean shit talking while blasting each other in Call of Duty.
Right now a squad of US Marines somewhere are using VBS3 to train in infantry patrolling.
Right now hard-dicked fighter pilots are tearing it up in the skies of Falcon 4.0 BMS.
still looks like skyrim.
I am a lot older than most on this forum so my introduction to video games actually involved the arcade. When I was growing up the arcade was the place to be for young teenagers(girls and boys), and video games were released in the arcade then home consoles. I actually met a lot of cute girls at the arcade and had learned to socialize there. Now days the arcades are gone because home gaming is better and some people can become completely immersed into online games, however games are fun and not every waking minute need be spent on self improvement. I am quite successful sexually, growing professionally, and hit the gym regularly; I also like to play video games. On more than one occasion after going out and hitting the club, pulling a girl and fucking her down, while she is asleep post fuck down I jump on Halo, CoD or Battlefield and have a couple hours of mindless, self absorbed ,me time getting head shots online. I am a gamer , but I also get laid, life is balance.
That’s the way to do it. My post is more focused on those whose lifestyle revolves around their gaming habit. My coworker literally thinks higher of himself because he is ranked on League of Legends. I mean good for him but most people don’t give a fuck, and his confidence most certainly does not carry over to his social life… that’s the main point I want to make. Gaming is great for a casual hobby, I still play games myself. It becomes dangerous when the imaginary success is mistaken as an actual source of validation.
‘classic’ video games are not the genre for those who’s lifestyle revolves around gaming. If the article had focused on WoW and minecraft, I maybe could understand the rancor.
Myself, I happily dust off Alpha Centauri once every couple of years and have a Go, and still have a Champions game every Tuesday with the same group of friends I have been playing with since ’85. That makes me neither a ‘gamerlifestyle’ nor a ‘perennial fatbeard’. It simply means I have a hobby.
I was actually never fond of arcades. I always came away feeling like I had wasted my money.
There’s nothing wrong with playing video games to blow off some steam
And winning in a video game does not mean winning in real life.
You mean I’m wasting my time? Geez, I thought I was somebody…
If video games is a treat there is no problem. But mistaking virtual accomplishment for real world accomplishment is where problems arise. Unless video games are designed to not only be fun but to effect real world results.
Should we criticize being a sports fan too? Because if our team wins a championship we still haven’t won shit in real life.
Yes. That also applies being a sports fan. Considering such victories are vicarious. However its not fandom by itself that is at fault but that of living vicariously through others.
You might want to check yourself–you sound like a SJW. Some people doing something you don’t approve of? Whine about it on the internet.
Not everyone who plays video games turns into Elliot Rodgers. Some people are able to enjoy things in moderation.
I understand my post was emotionally charged. I don’t want to argue, but present my ideas and contribute to our growing body of knowledge. I agree with your opinions and I’d like to reiterate that I fully support video gaming as an interesting hobby. An MMO addiction is different than the casual hobby however, and this is what I intended to be the focus of my original argument.
Fair dos, you should just be aware that your original post did not come across that way. It sounded like a dig at everyone who plays video games.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m new to blogging and whatnot, and I want to start editing/publishing my own work now that I have my degree and have time. I want to be aggressive in my writing though… I suppose this necessitates more precise arguments so as not to be misunderstood.
Agreed. We aren’t forced to read every article on RoK; we can pick and choose according to our interests. Anything otherwise will turn this unto Jizzabel and those other sites.
If it’s an addiction to anything then it’s wrong to begin with. Let’s not blame video games for that. Otherwise you might as well blame alcohol for any alcoholics that have ruined their lives by drinking too much.
The poster called Philosobro is making an amazing argument here…
There is a legion of confused and misguided men now, particularly in the technologically developed world, who have intellectual capabilities far superior to any previous members of the species in history, and who are yet stunted in life accomplishments and even basic activity owing to their underdeveloped physical and spiritual skills. And Philoso very correctly points out that it’s at least in part coming from the incongruence of what a virtual reality experience is offering, be it in the really mild form of television or the more captivating and interactive video gaming experience…
To me this is a genius point, one that can even explain the emasculation of the west and how the vast majority of men in the developed world have had to check themselves out of positions of power and control, treated and discarded like second class citizens in comparison to the much more docile and consumerist women, whose perpetuation a police state like the U.S.A. ultimately prefers over independent and powerful individualist men for its parasitic survival…
It all comes together gentlemen… and there is no way to improve the man’s status in the world without first acknowledging that something is terribly wrong with the way things are in most civilized parts of the world right now…
First of all, we play games for entertainment, and fuck what society thinks. Society can gargle on my balls for all I care.
i agree. im surprised how many ROK frequenters play and worship video games a well. i stopped playing video games at nba2k2, because i grew out of that shit like a pair of old footies. wtf are grown ass men doing talking about video games? worse, taking to the internet and “pushing back” against feminists “infiltrating” such territory? who cares? let them. they’re fucking video games! they’re for kids and losers anyway. SMH
WTF are grown ass men doing talking about video games? Football? Movies? Books? Technology? The weather? It’s because we enjoy those things.
It’s almost like we have a life outside of working and fucking stupid chicks, who knew?
So you don’t like computer games. Good to know. Try to relax though man, some other people enjoy them.
Just go become a feminist if that’s how you see things. Real men have interests, hobbies, and do what they want. I haven’t been with every female, but from what I’ve seen I enjoy the company of ‘nerds’ more than even my best lays. I’ve yet to find a girl that did anything useful or good. Sex is so shit I enjoyed the dom aspect more than any orgasms or stimulation leading to it. Redpilled men and mgtow know this and that’s why we enjoy our misogynerd hobbies like lifting, vidya, drugs, literature, etc.. Women are bitching because that’s all they can do. Don’t fall for their lies and thdtk you should quit having fun so maybe they give you some approval. Live for yourself. Or not, I have a date Friday with a bottle of bourbon, plug.dj, vidya, and doublechan.
You are entitled to this opinion. Have a nice Friday
Very powerful critique of the video gamer lifestyle and its inherent weaknesses, Kudos to you Sir !!
You don’t know how much your support means to me. Thank you for the motivation to keep writing
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You’re sounding like a feminist, telling me what is right and how video games are ruining us, though you’re using “narcissistic” instead of “misogynistic”.
I go through enough hard shit every day, some of it worse than you could possibly think of. If I want to get away from that by distracting myself with watching some sports or playing some video games, that’s my own business.
I’m not a fucking loser who only knows video games and makes his accomplishments in life based on solely what I do on a video game console, but gaming has been a huge part of me, and I fail to see why you should be telling me that it’s more important for me to fuck a hoe instead of beating Contra. And for the record, I’ve done both, it’s just that Contra was my favorite game as a kid and it means more to me now than most other things.
The original Descent is one of the greatest 3D action games ever made. Immersive environments, ferocious AI, perfect gameplay balance – and a tight, responsive feel that’s still great today. It feels so much better than virtually any other clunky first gen 3D game and is an underrated classic.
I’m a bit disappointed I forgot about Descent.
My parents bought a new computer back in the day and it came bundled with a package of games – the first Descent was one of them.
Your comment is spot-on: game was engrossing and fairly difficult. Loved the first and second games. So many great memories.
I will probably do another installment some months into the future: I will include Descent on the list.
Check out this clip – it gave me goosebumps:
I almost forgot about Desert Commander. It was an early military strategy game and you got to play as Allies/Patton and Montgomery or Axis/Rommel. My brother and I played the crap out of that and Conflict. Yet somehow I avoided the military and suck at strategy still…
Haha me and my bro played that quite a bit.
I enjoyed Street of Rage. Feminazis would protest the violence against women in the game now probably.
No Prince of Persia? Certainly not underrated, but a classic and epic game nonetheless. Several keyboards must have been destroyed when a jump didn’t work out and the pits were inevitable LOL
http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/Original-Apple-II-Prince-of-Persia-Source-Code-Found-in-Forgotten-Closet-2.jpg
it had no save function, if you died you had to start all over
Fallout: New Vegas is my favorite modern game. No gods, no masters. But yeah, Earthbound takes me back. I was just a kid then.
Video games are like books, movies, and TV shows: they’re fine in moderation. Some are great, most are garbage.
ever play the fallout classic games? those are really fun as well
To me, “old video games” means video arcade games of the 1980s: Galaxian, Battle Zone, Defender, Centipede, Pac Man, Scramble, etc.
A little TOO old ha
Leisure Suit Larry. Now that was fun as a kid.
Was that game as fun as I thought it was?
I haven’t played it since I was a wee tyke either, but all I recall is how crafty my buddies and I felt getting past that opening questionnaire on important, worldly, adult matters, designed to weed out youths from playing… ah, how times have changed!
Great list! Especially Quest for Glory 2. If you are into role playing games or adventure games and you haven’t played that one, you’re missing out. It’s highly atmospheric and epic.
Also, Spiderweb Software is not defunct. They’re still around and putting out games similar to Exile 3 (for the iPad even.)
I remember PC Gamer giving Alpha Centauri their highest rating of any game ever (98%), so maybe not literally under rated, but still not appreciated on the level it should be by gamers. The good news is, you can pick it up on gog.com for $6, all ready to run on a modern PC: http://www.gog.com/game/sid_meiers_alpha_centauri
The only game I’ve ever played that I cared about was F22 lightning 2.Flew for 10 years in that game call sign JOSEPH.Now I play world of tanks that’s it.1999 game that lasted till 09 when they shut the server down.Fuck everything else don’t care.
Ah, good old Atari 2600. Good old ET…no wait….that wasn’t very good at all.
Metroid was awesome on the NES. Super Mario Bros. 3 was one of the best games ever. If you want a good platformer/action-adventure game play Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Oh yeah, can’t forget Mega Man X on the SNES. Sadly, I could never live down my younger sister kicking my ass at Mario Kart 64.
Not enough people have played Onimusha, sadly. Best way to play those games is not to button-mash but to just try and kill everything with critical attacks.
I think it’s important to keep in mind that in the West that gaming is one of the last masculine bastions. It’s not that women can’t have stuff for them too (and they do), but the other forms of media are mostly overwhelmed with the PC influences and for the most part gaming has escaped that. That’s a big reason why there’s been such harsh blowback against the feminists, politicos, and SJWs from the outset a few years back, because everybody realizes these people aren’t about furthering the quality of gaming and gamers but their own selfish non-gaming agendas, as gaming clearly is one of the most innately diverse and inclusive hobbies on the planet. Not to mention the HUGE diversity in game developers around the globe. This is why their assertions of gaming misogyny and being all white guys has been so thoroughly ridiculed and mocked.
Gaming is also very much an INTERNATIONAL hobby and as we know across the world, things like political correctness and feminism are not seen the same way. Since I’ve learned of the manosphere early last year, I’m noticing more and more “red pill” people on the forums. And even non red-pill people recognize the bullshit these people are spewing because it clearly doesn’t match up with reality.
A big reason you see women in the West get pissy about gaming is because MEN FIND GAMING MORE INTERESTING THAN BEING AROUND WOMEN. The women are so repugnant in character and/or appearance that men would rather just play games with their friends or alone than be around them. If women over here actually behaved like women and got in shape the men would actually play the games less, or maybe, the women should try playing the games with men.
But either way, it’s not all games are bad, in fact many games are based on history and non-fiction, so a game can be fun and educational for sure. And of course sometimes there’s nothing wrong with some plain old brain candy.
The trite that comes out of women’s mouths, is one of the most painful things in the world to have to listen to.
Going back to the 80s and 90s, Burger Time, Ninja Gaiden and NHL 94 top my list.
Gawd QFG was the best game ever growing up. Commander Keen, Indiana Jones, The Dig, as well. I think what made these games great was the lack of hyper-targeting to a specific audience. They were just fun games to play, regardless of age or gender. It’s a similar thing with movies now. You used to be able to plop yourself on a couch and watch a movie with Billy Crystal or Chevy Chase that a whole group of people could enjoy. Now, the only thing that’s not hyper-targeted movie-wise seems to be super hero movies. Which probably explains why there’s so many of them.
Total war is a great game.. Must play.. It’s a game that takes skill to beat.
Most game now a days do suck… Waste of time rather hit the gym..
The series went downhill after MTW2. I binged on Empire when it came out, but that game was buggy as hell.
I recommend rome total realism for a more fuller immersion:
http://www.rometotalrealism.org/download.html
If you look closely at Earthbound, it is actually a parody of suburban middle class America. Ness and his background especially.
Id like to express one main reason why femenism is eroding the artistic integrity of videogames, below.
False/misleading representation of women and their roles to a situation in a game, respectively. Take the character Ellie from “the last of us” for example. She would have no damn chance of surviving an apocalypse without the assistance of an adult male. In the game, however, she can wield many firearms with precision, kill armed adult men with nothing but a rusty shank, and end up saving the adult male character (Joel) when hes almost killed. She performs all of these feats, while under life or death pressure. Most teenage girls cant tie their fucking shoe laces. They get scared at the sight of a cockroach and cant push up their own measly body weight. Give me a fucking break.
You left out the important fact that Ellie was born in that post-apocalyptic world. And if you played the DLC “Left Behind”, you would know that she had been through some tough shit prior the story of The Last of Us.
I did leave out the fact that Ellie grew up in a post-apocalyptic world, indeed. The reason being that this fact makes no difference. She cannot be stronger or more capable than a modern teenage girl simply because she was born in an apocalyptic world and went through some trouble (Riley etc.). Shes is STILL an average teenage girl: weak, dependant, quick to stress and panic, incompetent, lacking co-ordination, bitchy/whiney etc. the game does not potray her in this light in any truthful manner.
Earthbound is garbage.
in the last month or so, every other ROK post has been about video games or gamergate (whatever that means) or feminists as they relate to gaming culture. what the fuck is this shit? is this a website for “masculine men” or butt-hurt nerds? no disrespect but video games are for fucking losers. i stopped playing the nba2k series at 2k1. not because the quality of the game got shittier, but because i grew up. video games is something you do when you’re 11 years old and not fully interested in pussy or life yet. they’re not for 50-year-old grown men with careers and mortgages. maybe the manosphere isn’t comprised of as many real-life “alphas” as i once thought.
” . . . 50-year-old grown men with careers and mortgages . . .”
. . . might be well advised to sit down for a while and consider where they fucked up.
PC is the master race. The end.
I remember playing Alpha Centauri 13 years ago, it’s extremely well made. Probably the best turn-based strategy game ever.
Spiderweb Software is not defunct. They have continued to produce new games every 1.5 years or so, and their most recent game, Avadon 2, was released in 2013. They are working on a new game even now.
All the stuff Paradox brings out is great, nothing like playing as a small nation, trying to “deal the cards” and seeing how long you are able to survive (:
Jesus H. Christ, another dogshit post on ROK…
Guys, jump ship for Reddit.com/r/TheRedPill
More uplifting, and relevant…this site is now only good for Quintus, Rollo and Lance Christopher comments
Gradius III. Game was hard as fuck!
Spiderweb Software still exists, churning out old style RPGs – now releasing them on iPad and Android as well as Windows and Mac.
I must admit I’ve never finished any of their games though (tried the Avadon and Avernum series), I used to be a huge CRPG fan – all time favourites being Planescape Torment, Fallout 2 and the Mass Effect trilogy (even if it got a little shaky at the end) – but these days I just don’t have the inclination to play 30-50+ hours story based games (ME3 was the last, and that was a rarity at that recent point).
I never played Alpha Centauri, but I imagine I might buy Civ: Beyond Earth.
From what I saw of Civ: BE, its a toned-down spiritual “sequel” that’s more like a Civilization V mod. It really looks plain and boring compared to Alpha Centauri, but SMAC was pretty much the best thing Firaxis released, ever, and I really believe they will never release another SMAC-level game because the people who used to make such great games left Firaxis long ago.
Go play SMAC, really. Its the best.
I played exile three hears ago when I was a teenager. I remove being completely and totally sucked in. It was an experience for sure!
With this article, I am finished with ROK.
See you next week!
Wow I can’t believe Exile was mentioned.
That’s some seriously old school shit right there man. Great game.
A reasonable article on RoK? Color me surprised!!
Earthbound is also depressing as fuck towards the end. Pulls the old switcharoo on you.