PacManPolarBear
05-29-2008, 12:15 PM
May 29th, 2008
by PacManPolarBear (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/author/pacmanpolarbear/)
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/classic-copy.jpg
When it comes to my generation and the one before it (say 26 ala PMPB to 39 ala Grandpa Rothbart), the breadth of our video game experience is vast. Just about all of us can remember owning the original Nintendo console. Some (like myself) can even look all the way back to the Atari 7800 and Commodore 64 with more than a little nostalgia.
I’m a huge fan of going back and playing classic titles. Not lame ports, or rehashes, but the real games, on the setup they were intended to be played on. So what I like to do when I play these old games is to get my friends together about once a month and attempt to “out do” each other by pulling out some of the oldest, forgotten, but still great video games ever made.
Check out which three uber ancient games we pulled out of moth balls after the jump!
The young gamers of today, playing titles like Halo and Command & Conquer, can never truly appreciate (damn teenagers) how far those games have evolved from the days of their video game forefathers. It seems like only yesterday that Marathon and Dune 2 were setting trends.
This week SonOfMom, DarkTrix and I got together to take turns reliving our childhoods by playing some truly classic video games. Here’s what we ended up playing:
1. Hammer of the Gods
Platform: PC-DOS
Year: 1994
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/hammer.jpg
Using good ol’ “DOSBox,” we managed to get this game up and running. HotG is a turn-based fantasy strategy game set in the age of the Vikings and the Norse gods (Odin FTW!). The basic goal of the game was to build an empire through military expansion while completing objectives given to you by the gods. There are four playable races, Humans, Elves, Trolls and Dwarves. The combat was similar to Heroes of Might & Magic. The game has some basic diplomacy features and randomly generated maps. Long before the LotR’s games came along and shoved elves down our throats again and again, Hammer of the Gods delivered a great fantasy strategy experience that never got the props it truly deserved.
2. The Ancient Art of War
Platform: Mac
Year: 1984
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/war.gif
While Dune 2 is hailed by many as the father of modern RTS titles, The Ancient Art of War was one of the very first games to bring that style of video game warfare to the world. Named after The Art of War by Sun Tzu, this game is definitely among my all time favorite games. Players were able to use three different unit types in combat, Knights, Archers and Barbarians. Players could also use Spies, which you could only use on the campaign map.
The combat was pretty simple, Knights pwn Barbarians, Barbarians pwn Archers, Archers pwn Knights. What made this game great was all the subtle details that affected how battles played out. The game incorporated formations, hunger, morale, distance and terrain in terms of the advantages or disadvantages influencing your forces. The game also allowed players to create their own maps, campaigns and formations. Basically this was the game that made me an strategy geek for life.
3. Joust
Platform: Atari 7800
Year: 1986
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/joust.jpg
Ok, I realize the idea of riding around on an Ostrich with a lance in your hand may not sound very cool by todays standards, but back in the day it was a blast. Basically you’re a knight with a jousting lance who rode around on an Ostrich (if your player 1) or a Stork (if your player 2). The bad guys ride huge buzzards. The game screen never changed and featured a bunch of platforms hanging in mid-air as well as a small chunk of ground surrounded by lava. The controls were pretty simple, move left or right and tap the main button to fly. If you smoked a bad guy, he turned into an egg that fell to the ground, which you must touch before it hatches and respawns into a bad guy. Ostrich’s lay Knight eggs, who knew? One of the first two player games I ever played, though the fact you could still kill the other player even during co-op led to more than one brotherly throw down.
I have to say, playing these old titles was a real blast. I seriously felt like I’d been picked up in a Delorean and driven back to the 1980’s. Sure I would have rather played Dune 2 or Wing Commander Armada instead of Joust, but SonOfMom’s mom made us cookies so we let him pick that one.
by PacManPolarBear (http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/index.php/author/pacmanpolarbear/)
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/classic-copy.jpg
When it comes to my generation and the one before it (say 26 ala PMPB to 39 ala Grandpa Rothbart), the breadth of our video game experience is vast. Just about all of us can remember owning the original Nintendo console. Some (like myself) can even look all the way back to the Atari 7800 and Commodore 64 with more than a little nostalgia.
I’m a huge fan of going back and playing classic titles. Not lame ports, or rehashes, but the real games, on the setup they were intended to be played on. So what I like to do when I play these old games is to get my friends together about once a month and attempt to “out do” each other by pulling out some of the oldest, forgotten, but still great video games ever made.
Check out which three uber ancient games we pulled out of moth balls after the jump!
The young gamers of today, playing titles like Halo and Command & Conquer, can never truly appreciate (damn teenagers) how far those games have evolved from the days of their video game forefathers. It seems like only yesterday that Marathon and Dune 2 were setting trends.
This week SonOfMom, DarkTrix and I got together to take turns reliving our childhoods by playing some truly classic video games. Here’s what we ended up playing:
1. Hammer of the Gods
Platform: PC-DOS
Year: 1994
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/hammer.jpg
Using good ol’ “DOSBox,” we managed to get this game up and running. HotG is a turn-based fantasy strategy game set in the age of the Vikings and the Norse gods (Odin FTW!). The basic goal of the game was to build an empire through military expansion while completing objectives given to you by the gods. There are four playable races, Humans, Elves, Trolls and Dwarves. The combat was similar to Heroes of Might & Magic. The game has some basic diplomacy features and randomly generated maps. Long before the LotR’s games came along and shoved elves down our throats again and again, Hammer of the Gods delivered a great fantasy strategy experience that never got the props it truly deserved.
2. The Ancient Art of War
Platform: Mac
Year: 1984
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/war.gif
While Dune 2 is hailed by many as the father of modern RTS titles, The Ancient Art of War was one of the very first games to bring that style of video game warfare to the world. Named after The Art of War by Sun Tzu, this game is definitely among my all time favorite games. Players were able to use three different unit types in combat, Knights, Archers and Barbarians. Players could also use Spies, which you could only use on the campaign map.
The combat was pretty simple, Knights pwn Barbarians, Barbarians pwn Archers, Archers pwn Knights. What made this game great was all the subtle details that affected how battles played out. The game incorporated formations, hunger, morale, distance and terrain in terms of the advantages or disadvantages influencing your forces. The game also allowed players to create their own maps, campaigns and formations. Basically this was the game that made me an strategy geek for life.
3. Joust
Platform: Atari 7800
Year: 1986
http://sarcasticgamer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/joust.jpg
Ok, I realize the idea of riding around on an Ostrich with a lance in your hand may not sound very cool by todays standards, but back in the day it was a blast. Basically you’re a knight with a jousting lance who rode around on an Ostrich (if your player 1) or a Stork (if your player 2). The bad guys ride huge buzzards. The game screen never changed and featured a bunch of platforms hanging in mid-air as well as a small chunk of ground surrounded by lava. The controls were pretty simple, move left or right and tap the main button to fly. If you smoked a bad guy, he turned into an egg that fell to the ground, which you must touch before it hatches and respawns into a bad guy. Ostrich’s lay Knight eggs, who knew? One of the first two player games I ever played, though the fact you could still kill the other player even during co-op led to more than one brotherly throw down.
I have to say, playing these old titles was a real blast. I seriously felt like I’d been picked up in a Delorean and driven back to the 1980’s. Sure I would have rather played Dune 2 or Wing Commander Armada instead of Joust, but SonOfMom’s mom made us cookies so we let him pick that one.