From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


It's the middle of the month; time to see what new stuff is waiting
for us at Amazon Prime. Hey, I'm paying them oodles anyway, I might as
well get SOME use for the service.

(reminder: URLs are informational, and not for claiming the game)


* Fort Solis (via GOG)
https://www.gog.com/en/game/fort_solis
See the recent 'random nonsense' thread by rms for discussion
about this game. A good looking but --at least in my opinion--
rather lacking in gameplay walking simulator set on Mars.


* Another World 20th Anniversary Ed (via GOG) https://www.gog.com/en/game/another_world_20th_anniversary_edition
Also known as "Out of this World" to USAmericans, this
classic cinematic platformer/adventure was revolutionary when
it was first released in 1991. I still think it's pretty fun
now, but it's also very limited, with a lot of trial-n-error
gameplay. The 20th edition version updates the graphics
somewhat but mostly plays the same. I think its worth picking
up, but I'm not so sure how well it will hold up for modern
gamers who never experienced the original.


* D&D Dark Sun series (via GOG) https://www.gog.com/en/game/dungeons_dragons_dark_sun_series
Look, I'm not going to turn down more D&D! This package
includes "Shattered Lands" and "Wake of the Ravager", both
set in the harsh desert setting of Athas. The Dark Suns games
were meant to be transformative for how you played D&D and
-arguably- they achieved that in the tabletop game. The PC
games, though, played fairly similarly to any other CRPG.
They're fine, and the new setting is neat, but they're not
exceptional and they really show their age nowadays.


* Lovecraft's Untold Stories (via GOG) https://www.gog.com/en/game/lovecrafts_untold_stories
Don't get too excited by the Lovecraftian title. It's
mostly an action-shooter (with usual 'roguelike'
accouterments) that has you blasting vaguely
Lovecraftian monsters. It's more "Hotline Miami" than
"Call of Cthulhu". It's okay but I generally expect
something a bit deeper when Lovecraft is mentioned.


* Gas Station Simulator (via Epic) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1149620/Gas_Station_Simulator/
The title pretty much gives it all away what this game is
about. Buy an abandoned gas station, renovate it, and
try to make a go of it as a business. It's one of an
endless number of janky 'workplace sims' where you manage
a business from a first-person view, and while not the
worst of them, isn't the best either. Meh.


* New Tales from the Borderlands (via EPIC) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1454970/New_Tales_from_the_Borderlands/
The first "Tales from the Borderlands" was an unexpected
treat; the last hurrah from the beleaguered "Telltale Games"
studios before they folded (and were subsequently reborn).
That game had an entertaining story with relatable characters
and made the otherwise ridiculous setting of the Borderlands
universe worth exploring. "New Tales" is not that game. It's
got awful writing and unlikable characters combined with
terrible gameplay. It feels very much what it is: a callous
attempt by Gearbox to keep the Borderlands franchise relevant.
Even free it is not worth getting.


* Dark City: Kyiv CE (via Amazon) https://store.steampowered.com/app/2601690/Dark_City_Kyiv_Collectors_Edition/
My gosh! A hidden-object adventure game on Amazon? Who'd
have imagined?


* Lost and Found Agency CE (via Luna) https://store.steampowered.com/app/2562610/Lost__Found_Agency_Collectors_Edition/
Golly, TWO hidden-object adventure games from Amazon Prime
gaming. Has ever a thing happened before? ;-)


* Fallout 76 (via BethesdaNet) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1151340/Fallout_76/
This game, of course, needs no introduction; it Bethesda's
MMORPG in the Fallout universe. It's... fine. It's certainly
a far sight better than it was when it first released, and
visually it's quite nice... but it still lacks the magic of
the stand-alone games. It's also pretty grindy, with far too
much emphasis on the base-building/crafting portion of the
game (although that is, fortunately, mostly optional). Even
the exploration isn't as much fun. If you like the tropes
and grind of MMORPGs, I guess this one is okay, but frankly
this game never clicked with me.


An odd selection of games; a few good, at least one terrible, and a
lot of filler in the middle. But that's Prime Gaming these days, and
it does make The Number go up.

See you all for the next chapter of this thread in a couple of weeks!

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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


Yup, here's he requisite (and expected?) follow-up to my own post.


Firstly, a minor correction (it wouldn't be a post from me if it
didn't include at least one error): the "Lovecraft's Untold Stories"
is available through Epic, not GOG. The usual floggings will be
distributed to those responsible for the mistake.


Secondly, the bit where I give away a bonus key because I stupidly buy
too many games rather than just wait for them to eventually become
free and don't know what else to do with the excess:

* Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Sun Series
<rot13>
2HFD38QR84NORN619O
</rot13>

The usual caveats and rules apply. First to claim the key gets the
game! The key is ROT13 encoded! Go to https://www.gog.com/redeem to
use the key once you've decoded it! A GOG account is required! Blah,
blah, blah; you know all this. And if you don't, I'm not sure this
will help you. ;-)

Have fun!

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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Sat, 15 Nov 2025 15:26:25 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

* Fallout 76 (via BethesdaNet) >https://store.steampowered.com/app/1151340/Fallout_76/
This game, of course, needs no introduction; it Bethesda's
MMORPG in the Fallout universe. It's... fine. It's certainly
a far sight better than it was when it first released, and
visually it's quite nice... but it still lacks the magic of
the stand-alone games. It's also pretty grindy, with far too
much emphasis on the base-building/crafting portion of the
game (although that is, fortunately, mostly optional). Even
the exploration isn't as much fun. If you like the tropes
and grind of MMORPGs, I guess this one is okay, but frankly
this game never clicked with me.

It's sort of like all Bethesda games, they can work for you if you
take a couple of hours to look for and understand what you
specifically want out of it. The first season of Fallout TV invited
me to crack this game back open, and then I played it for maybe 100
hours over many months, and had some fun.

It doesn't seem to be recommended for first time Fallout players
looking for a specific experience. I had fun with it, because I was
able to lock in a few specific goals and have fun pursuing those
goals, but it was the very specific and quirky nature of those goals
(like in order to kill a specific enemy I had to find a way to exploit
the bugginess of programming that didn't allow him to navigate around
certain obstacles). So that kind of thing is certainly fun but it's
not something that can make or break a game at scale, it's more an
incidental moment that may or may not reproduce the same fun factor
later.

So I got to a point where I had lots of weight carry ability, the
combat ability to beat the ever-loving fuck out of most things I
encountered, and at that point it was kind of like trying to find the
point to keep playing. To build a structure that made people want to
walk around and look at my accolades? I was never an attention whore
who cared about validation from others IRL, much less in a dorky
MMORPG, so that wasn't going to be me.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Sat, 15 Nov 2025 15:26:25 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

* Another World 20th Anniversary Ed (via GOG) >https://www.gog.com/en/game/another_world_20th_anniversary_edition
Also known as "Out of this World" to USAmericans, this
classic cinematic platformer/adventure was revolutionary when
it was first released in 1991. I still think it's pretty fun
now, but it's also very limited, with a lot of trial-n-error
gameplay. The 20th edition version updates the graphics
somewhat but mostly plays the same. I think its worth picking
up, but I'm not so sure how well it will hold up for modern
gamers who never experienced the original.

I watched a youtube video of someone playing this as I never bothered
with it back in the day. The gameplay looked frustrating to me. Having
to quickly need to figure out what to do on each screen and just dying
over and over again until you do reminded me of Dragons's Lair. No
thanks.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Sat, 15 Nov 2025 15:37:41 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

Secondly, the bit where I give away a bonus key because I stupidly buy
too many games rather than just wait for them to eventually become
free and don't know what else to do with the excess:

* Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Sun Series
<rot13>
2HFD38QR84NORN619O
</rot13>

The usual caveats and rules apply. First to claim the key gets the
game! The key is ROT13 encoded! Go to https://www.gog.com/redeem to
use the key once you've decoded it! A GOG account is required! Blah,
blah, blah; you know all this. And if you don't, I'm not sure this
will help you. ;-)

Have fun!

I have these already or I would have taken them. I have yet to play
them but I am sure I would like them both. Anyone that enjoyed the
gold box games should take these.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Sun, 16 Nov 2025 10:05:09 -0500, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Sat, 15 Nov 2025 15:26:25 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson ><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

* Another World 20th Anniversary Ed (via GOG) >>https://www.gog.com/en/game/another_world_20th_anniversary_edition
Also known as "Out of this World" to USAmericans, this
classic cinematic platformer/adventure was revolutionary when
it was first released in 1991. I still think it's pretty fun
now, but it's also very limited, with a lot of trial-n-error
gameplay. The 20th edition version updates the graphics
somewhat but mostly plays the same. I think its worth picking
up, but I'm not so sure how well it will hold up for modern
gamers who never experienced the original.

I watched a youtube video of someone playing this as I never bothered
with it back in the day. The gameplay looked frustrating to me. Having
to quickly need to figure out what to do on each screen and just dying
over and over again until you do reminded me of Dragons's Lair. No
thanks.

It's not QUITE that bad but it does suffer from some of the same
issues. Through much of the game, quick reflexes will suffice but
sometimes you just have to know ahead of time what's going to happen
if you want to survive.

But it wasn't really the gameplay that made the game so reverered; it
was the technology and artistry of the visuals. You have to remember,
the game came out in 1991, when most platformers were sprite-based and
looked like "Mario Brothers" (especially on PC). "Another World" was
entirely polygonal, which required some impressive coding to run
smoothly. It also had a story and a very atmospheric setting; a far
cry from most of its competitors, which rarely had a deeper narrative
than 'the princess is in another castle'. Even more impressive that
the bulk of the game was developed by a single person.

These days what made "Another World" so extraordinary is de rigeur for platformers (and most games). Even its smooth-scrolling characters and
amazing introductory cinematic don't impress. But in 1991 it was _breathtaking_.


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