NetHack

The Good
this game has it all !!! from items, to npc's, monsters, mazes, and you even get to have you own pet !!!!

The Bad
1. It's hard as hell, i mean, almost everything and anything can and will kill you 2. gameplay isn't very good. most of the cool commands are hidden within the docs of the game 3. text graphics is so yesterday..... 4. the turn-based mechanism of the game allows the computer to "cheat" 5. it has too many options

The Bottom Line
it's an RPG, one of the best, and it's free !!!! something like ultima, but with more options, better gameplay, and less graphics!

The Good
Everything. The interactivity is outstanding for a roguelike RPG game. You can pick from 13 different types of characters, and 5 different races. That's a pretty wide range of gameplay right there.

The Bad
I wrote this review for the Windows version and not the DOS version because the DOS version has no graphics. This was a bit of a bother for me, so I tried the Windows version and was even more amazed at the game because it had some graphics this time.

The Bottom Line
Simple. The absolute greatest game of all time. I've played a LOT of other games, beat them, passed them all, etc. And then... I went back to playing NetHack - the game I could never beat. Best PC game of all time - 10/10.

The Good
This game has it all - including the proverbial kitchen sink.

The Bad
It's very very VERY difficult. Like, V-E-R-Y. Just when you think you're going to make it, you get stuck on some devious sub-levels, or choke on your food, or find a treasure zoo (more like a Pet Cemetary, usually), or... Hey, why did I write this under the "What didn't you like"-heading - the unpredictability keeps you humble.

Then again, you might complete the game in ten minutes. It's just a matter of not dying, really...

Uh, what was it that I was supposed to write about again... oh, yeah, here goes: you find loads more interesting stuff than you can ever hope to carry (most of them are cursed, anyway), the plot isn't too good (so you might as well have no plot at all), there aren't any interesting NPCs (or I haven't found them yet), and the mouse control (sic) is pretty useless (though I guess that's pretty much a truism).

The Bottom Line
Remember what I said about "NetHack" having it all? Well, it weren't no lie. NetHack has more depth and lastability than any other game I've seen. Because it "only" has character graphics and no sound at all, and because it is not a commercial venture, the developers have managed to fit so much little (and big) features in the game that you really don't pay much attention to the fact that the point of the game is just to kill a lot of baddies and explore one-screen dungeon levels until you can beat the big baddie. Well, actually, there is a lot more to the game than that, but you'll just have to find out for yourself, won't you?

In short, NetHack is to Rogue or even Hack what Dom Perignon is to Champale. (Haven't tried either one myself, but I've seen ads...)