ex_navynuke!
Reviews
The Incredible Machine 2 (Windows)
A great puzzle game in the spirit of Rube Goldberg
The Good
The silly comic-book graphics are really neat on this game. When you get something to work, it's usually with a lot of motion and racket.
It has a built-in tutorial that shows you how things work, as you immediately start on the first puzzle. On one side of the screen will be a functioning puzzle with the same pieces, and on the other side will be your puzzle with missing pieces. With a working example, you can quickly see what pieces you need to make it work.
Eventually though, the tutorial section ends, and you are on your own. That's when it can get difficult. There is a hint feature though, that will offer up tips if you are getting stuck. What it will not do, is tell you exactly how to place the puzzle piece.
The game comes with several songs to play as you try to solve the puzzle. The tunes are all pretty cool. I like the "Unplugged" tune best of all.
It's really really rewarding when you get everything to work and your puzzle operates, especially on the more difficult ones.
The Bad
Some of the puzzles are really tedious. For example, you might have to get a mouse to move to a particular place. The placement of the cheese to lure him might have to be in a precise place for the timing of the puzzle to work... So although you have solved the puzzle, you might have to spend several minutes moving a part a few pixels over (or up or down) to get the puzzle to actually work, sso that you can move to the next puzzle. It can get frustrating.
The Bottom Line
Addictive and playful. Also a thoughtful and gentle game.
By ex_navynuke! on October 29, 2011
Empire: Wargame of the Century (DOS)
A simple yet engaging turn-based strategy game
The Good
This game was a nicely balanced strategy game. I usually played against the computer, rather than human foes, as it took several hours to finish a game.
At the outset, you had one city that would produce one army every six turns. After six turns your army could go forth to explore and hopefully conquer a nearby neutral city, which could then be used to produce further armies.
The entire world would start blacked out when you first started, and would come into view slowly as you explored.
It was always spooky to get your first view of the enemy - usually a red or yellow destroyer coming to sink your transport ship, or worse, a transport ship about to put armies into the heartland of your war production machine :)
The best feeling in the world was when you finally got your first battleship and aircraft carrier completed (60 turns and 48 turns respectively)
In the endgame, hopefully after many long battles and counter-attacks, you would finally get the computer foes to capitulate. Or you could choose to annihilate them, in which case they would gang up on you for a massive final battle. Fun!
The Bad
Early in the game there could be a number of things that could cause you to have significant setbacks that would affect the outcome of the game later on.
A couple of things that could occur: You would start out on an island with only one city. So you had to produce a few armies, then switch city production to transport ships and wait more turns for that to be built. Then you could send armies forth in the ship to locate and occupy cities on other continents.
Another thing is that if you initially didn't manage to conquer a second city after several tries, you were hopelessly behind the computer foes already. If you didn't knock off a second city within a few tries it was best to just start over.
The Bottom Line
Dated graphics, simple units, no resource gathering or diplomacy - just warfare like chess, but with random maps. Great replay value!
By ex_navynuke! on December 8, 2005
Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula (DOS)
An excellent sequel to a ground-breaking game
The Good
An awesome game. Trading with the various races was a lot of fun! You couldn't help having a sense of irony about the two very religious races of the Tandelou. If they learned that you had traded with the other group, they wouldn't even talk to you, let alone trade with you! I wonder where they got that idea from? :)
One race (can't recall the name right at the moment), I never did get to talk to me...
So, eventually in this game, if you don't get killed first... you get to time-travel! when you first start out, most of the starmap is covered by the cloud nebula. After you time-travel, you go back in time before the cloud nebula formed, and can see where the stars are at. Very nice touch!
The Bad
Unlike the first game, I wasn't able to put the clues together, solve the puzzles and finish the game. Got lost after going back in time.
The Bottom Line
A fun and refreshing twist on the original. Again, very open game-play, where you can move as slow or fast as you please, and in any direction you want to go.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Redneck Rampage (DOS)
A FPS with a dark sense of humor
The Good
It made fun of all the southern redneck stereotypes. Somebody on the game design team must have lived in the south...
It was fun listening to the bad guys (aliens), saying "git off my land", before they started shooting at you. Then there was the pickup truck, constantly running over the chickens. Chickens running loose everywhere, in fact. And barefoot dudes shooting at you.
Drinking cheap-ass whiskey, beer, and moon pies for power-ups. Pretty creative! It was always funny to smack the dude with the crowbar to end a level
The Bad
I didn't get too far into the game because the secrets were difficult to figure out. I never went back to redneck rampage because better FPS games arrived with superior graphics and fewer secrets.
The Bottom Line
A funny FPS based on southern stereotypes. About what one would expect from a Build-engine based game (for other stereotype Build-engine games, see Shadow Warrior and Duke Nukem 3D)
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (Linux)
I ought to *love* this game, but I don't...
The Good
Awesome graphics. It has wonderful maps and finely detailed buildings. A neat bonus is the underground sections you can explore, and pop up in a different part of the map.
The Bad
I can't help it... I have to compare this game with its predecessor. And by comparison, this game just doesn't measure up :( I wish that it did.
I can't get past how busy the graphics are on the map. Everything is so detailed that it's difficult to spot the important items that you ought to be looking for.
The cities and monsters are more complex than they need to be. I've never gotten past the fact that you have to wave the mouse over just the right place on your city screen to see if it's possible to build a new building.
How many types of cities do you need? Why can't the graphics just be sharpened up and the game play left as it was?
The Bottom Line
HOMM II, but without the simplicity, straightforwardness, and understanding.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Mah Jongg Solitaire (DOS)
One of my favorite time-wasters!
The Good
Mahjong is simple to understand and play, yet difficult to learn and win frequently. This version is very easy - the blocks are quite large, numbered, and easy to tell from one another. Later versions only have the chinese characters, so you have to look closely at the squares to see if you have a match.
Another nice feature allows the PC to display all the remaining matches, in the event you get stuck.
The Bad
No tunes
The Bottom Line
A very nice PC mahjong game. I wish later windows-based games were as simple and elegant.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon (DOS)
This game cost me *years* of my free time!
The Good
Where to begin...
This game is a jewel, and you really only begin to appreciate its depth at the higher difficulty levels. On the higher difficulty levels, you have to manage a complex economy. For example a city will only pay you to deliver hops if there happens to be a brewery within the city limits.
Or, you could build a brewery in the city, if you had a large source of hops nearby, waiting to be exploited... but that'll cost you a lot of cash up front. Decisions, decisions. And of course, ANY old city will pay for the beer that you deliver, right? It's so wonderful, taking coal to one city to make steel, delivering the steel to yet another city to make manufactured goods, then delivering the goods to a third city for the final money-making run.
Then there's the constant concern about purchasing back enough of your company stock that the other tycoons don't get majority shareholder status of your company and run you out of town.
Then too, you have to worry about them tying their railroads into your cities and starting a fare war. You lose a major economic engine if you lose a major city, and then you are sunk!
There is incredible replayability to this game because although the maps are the same, the size of the cities and placement of minor impediments to building tracks vary. The stock market goes up and down like a yo-yo, forcing you to make economic decisions about borrowing money and paying off debt.
There are four starting scenarios: England, the first trains, Europe, pre WW I, Easter US with the first trains, and the Western US Post civil War. Each requires a different strategy to succeed, and strategies that work well in the opening game begin to fail in the mid game and are liabilities at the end-game.
The Bad
I liked everything about this game. I'd like to see a nearly identical game based on Windows, with cleaner graphics - and nothing else added or subtracted. That's an endorsement for a world-class game.
The Bottom Line
A really cool blend of trains, economics, and markets. Play at your own risk - you may never spend your free time the same again!
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Space Rogue (DOS)
Awesome open-ended space-shooter!
The Good
This game is everything that Freelancer ought to be. It's open ended, there are tons of ways to make a living, and everything you do affects how the various factions treat you.
I wish I owned it right now, instead of borrowing it, way back when.
The Bad
I remember traveling through the worm-holes was a pain in the butt. Otherwise, no issues.
The Bottom Line
A great game with a lot of replayability.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Tales of the Unknown: Volume I - The Bard's Tale (DOS)
A great early dungeon crawler
The Good
What I loved about this game was that it greatly improved on Wizardry's graphics. Now you had color, textures, and motion of the monsters whenever you had an encounter!
I liked too the fact that you could level up your spell casters (conjurer and magician, I believe) to their max spell learning level, and then have them change class, learning each other's spells. Now that made for some powerful characters! Then you could make one of them a wizard, the other a sorcerer, and max them out again, then switch classes again. Super neat! Eventually both your spell casters could cast every spell in the book!
The bard adds a nice touch too. He plays the tunes that protect and enhance the party, but needs to be liquored up from time to time :)
The Bad
Skara Brae reminded me too much of Southern California housing tracts - a numbing sameness of shape and color buildings in every direction. Any color house you want to look at, as long as it's spanish style - stucco, with a ceramic tile roof!
I really looked forward to getting into the dungeons!
The teleporters in the final levels of the last maze kicked my butt, and I never did finish the darn game.
The Bottom Line
A great dungeon RPG in the day!
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight (DOS)
Yes, the sequel is better!
The Good
I enjoyed everything that I liked about the original Bard's Tale. The best part was that there was so much more to it! You weren't stuck in the same town, you were allowed to travel to different places.
The Bad
No automapping. I still have (somewhere) the original graph paper that I used to draw out the dungeons and mazes on after I moved forward a step and turned a 360 to determine where the walls and doors were in the new square.
The Bottom Line
An excellent follow up to an excellent game.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Freelancer (Windows)
A pretty decent space-shooter
The Good
I like the graphics and the film-noir feel of the game. The acting is a little overdone, but I also think that's part of its charm.
The Bad
Like the above reviewers point out, the game plays out in a linear fashion, which I (and apparently everyone else) feel is not how such a game should work.
After a few failures and re-starts (and a couple of PC failures), I got tired of watching the very familiar cut-scenes. I still haven't yet found a way to avoid them.
As a space fighter pilot, I'm pretty lame. So I would have preferred to trade my way to success. But that really just isn't do-able in this game, is it? I thought there were other options, but there aren't... so I haven't even finished the game. I just keep getting killed off.
I have a love-hate thing with making outer space look like a US road atlas. Yeah, it's kinda cool to know what sort of place you are going to... The Colorado system, the California system, the New York system. But then again, what the heck? Couldn't outer space be a little more alien, and a little less like driving across Interstate 70, for crying out loud?
The Bottom Line
Space shooter meets the US interstate highway system. The asphalt isn't as bumpy in the game.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Warlords (DOS)
An early version of Heroes of Might and Magic!
The Good
This is a very cool turn-based fantasy-strategy game!
You decide which of the eight master cities to start in, and away you go. Each city has advantages and disadvantages, of course! Some cities are well-defended, but that just means they are difficult to get out of and conquer surrounding towns, getting them to churn out more gold and armies for you.
Other cities are poorly defended and make weak armies, but there are other cities nearby that you can quickly conquer and make your own. Still others make really tough armies, but at a slower rate, so you can't move at such a fast pace...
And then there are the ruins that can give your heroes special powers, or add demons and devils to your army of Orcs, wolf-riders, archers, or trolls... sigh I do so miss having a DOS-based Operating System.
The Bad
It was always the same dang map. And it was tough to win if you didn't start with the right town!
The Bottom Line
A very nice early fantasy-strategy game. No complaints about it at all.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (PC Booter)
One of the *great* original dungeon-crawlers!
The Good
It was the first computer game that I ever saw that attempted to graphically render the D&D game. There may have been others out there that I was unaware of, but for me, it was ground-breaking.
Where to start? Character creation like D&D. Random numbers for wisdom, strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence. Pick a class, pick evil good or neutral. Buy armor for the front three guys and go down in the dungeon to kill monsters and gather treasure!
It doesn't get any better than that! (well it does, but it didn't in 1985). So over the course of weeks or months you built your characters up (and sometimes they would change from good to evil - forcing you to start over with a new priest or mage). But eventually you would get to the final showdown with Werdna! ...and he would kill everyone in the party. After several tries though, you could kill him. And that was the coolest thing in the world!
The Bad
Characters changed alignment occasionally when they leveled up, and sometimes you would have to start a new character up in the needed alignment to match the rest of the party.
Another thing I disliked was having to type out the exact text of the spell I needed my mage or priest to cast. In excitement or in the wee hours of the morning, I occasionally misspelled a word, so no spell was cast. A bummer when one of the other characters desperately needed healed, or I needed to cast a massive damaging spell.
The Bottom Line
D&D without the dice or graph paper.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Full Metal Planet (DOS)
Cool futuristic resource-gathering game!
The Good
You selected a landing point on a planet and started mining minerals. Then you had to build offensive units to defend yourself, and your minerals. It's an enjoyable resource-gathering game that starts off slowly, then eventually builds up to a pretty good tactical fight.
The Bad
The map was always the same, resources were always in the same place too.
The Bottom Line
Gather metal, build tanks, keep the enemy from destroying you!
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Space Quest II: Chapter II - Vohaul's Revenge (DOS)
Hysterical follow-up to another great game
The Good
This is just a darn funny game. You have "planet of the apes" moments, "alien" moments, and "star wars" moments. You even have a brief cameo by a "Tasmanian Devil" type creature. The list could go on forever.
The Bad
Some tedious sections, like climbing through tunnels with a glowing rock in your mouth, come to mind.
The Bottom Line
A very funny space action game.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Myst (Windows 3.x)
Myst did to PC gaming what grunge rock did to the hair/metal bands!
The Good
Myst came out and PC gaming was never the same again...
Then again, just because it was new and different and successful, doesn't mean every developer has to imitate it. That's their fault, not Myst's.
Where Myst does best is in delivering ambiance. It does this through outstanding (for the time) graphics, background noises, and yes, even the non-interactive aspect of each screen.
The retro-futuristic puzzles are difficult to master, but not impossible, given a little thought. It was fun unlocking the puzzles, and then entering and solving the different ages.
The Bad
Not much replay value, because nothing changes. I still remember many of the puzzles, as well as the ending - so what's the point of doing it again.
And unfortunately, Myst broke the old adventure game formula, and in becoming so successful, became the adventure game formula - at least for a while. sigh.
The Bottom Line
A fun and immersive little diversion from real life.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Renegade Legion: Interceptor (DOS)
An excellent tactical (and strategic) space fighter game
The Good
This was a very enjoyable game that allowed you to make battle tactical and individual tactical decisions, in a turn-based environment. I haven't played it for a long while, but I recall that starting out went something like this...
You would start by selecting a side, the Empire or the Renegade Legion You would start with a limited amount of money, and have to select 7 pilots, and purchase 7 ships. Most of the purchased ships were pretty weak, and you tended to lost them (and often the pilot as well).
When you were ready with your ships, you would be sent on a mission, with some back-story or another. That part usually didn't affect gameplay much (see below for the exception). What mattered was setting yourself up tactically in the little star-field hex map that the battle was to take place in.
You arranged all your ships, and the computer would arrange the enemy ships, and after that point it was about turning radius, pilot skill, firepower, and getting yourself positioned behind the enemy. And then - blowing his ships up!
You were frequently outnumbered by the enemy in this game, but that never seemed to be much of an issue, unless they were able to gang up on one of your weaker ships.
In battle you always wanted to be behind the enemy ship, blasting away. Most often you would start out with your fleet cruising toward the enemy. Slowing down and turning around would usually place strain on your ship. If you attempted too many maneuvers in one turn (especially on a larger, heavier ship), it could be damaged, and then it would be shot to pieces.
To an extent, the smaller, less maneuverable ships were the most effective at getting behind the enemy and shooting them... But they lacked serious firepower, and sometimes the enemy could escape before you could take him out. Heavier ships with more firepower couldn't turn well, and didn't accelerate well. The same problems that military ship builders have struggled with for millenia, hahaha.
So at the end of the battle, you hopefully would have racked up a few kills. That would earn you money to purchase better weapons. And your pilots might have gained experience. Here's where the strategy factor comes into play. Your pilots developed skill based on the ship they were using. This skill was important, because it meant your pilot got to move earlier in the movement and battle phases. If you replaced that ship with a superior one, the pilot skill dropped again! Trade offs...
I liked that you could create a fully custom ship. You could even put turrets on it to shoot backwards (although that made the ship about as nimble as a super-tanker).
On to the back-story though. The only time it really mattered was when you had to rescue a spy for your side. He would be drifting in outer space (inevitably moving 5 hexes per turn, hahaha), with the enemy fleet about to overtake him. If they caught and killed him before you engaged and destroyed them, you lost the battle. Frequently in these 'save the spy' scenarios, you would be ambushed. Once you placed your ships, the enemy would show up right behind you. Then you would have to slow down and turn around while the computer enemy blasted you for the first round or two.
The Bad
A bit repetitive. Even the ambush and spy scenarios. The battles never seemed to have an end, turning point, or even a point. It was just battle after battle after battle. Then sometimes your best pilot would be promoted out of your squadron... What a bummer!
The Bottom Line
A fun tactical space game that ought to be played. Wouldn't recommend it for high replay, but it's fun in the beginning and mid-game.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Star Fleet I: The War Begins! (DOS)
A highly addictive PC version of the old mainframe Star Trek game
The Good
The tactics of this game were what made it so enjoyable. Perhaps the most fun you could have was firing a spread of 5 photon torpedoes that you had manually input the firing angles for, and then hitting all five enemy ships!
Another enjoyable part of this game was the Zaldrons (like the Romulans) had the ability to 'cloak' their ships. So you might be getting pummeled by someone invisible, or inadvertently ram them while trying to flee.
It was also a lot of fun merely crippling ships, then towing them (and prisoners) to the nearest star-base for a reward. The downside of this would be that prisoners would escape and sabotage your ship!
Another enjoyable part in the mid-stages of the game, was saving star-bases whenever they came under attack (plus it got you tons of points toward medals). Often there would be one invisible Zaldron that would take you several turns to locate and destroy to save the star-base.
The Bad
As stated in a previous review, configuring shields manually could be confusing. Also as stated in a previous review, at the highest levels it's mostly a race for time finding your only star-base before the numerous enemy ship encounters as you search for it break down your ship.
Also, at the higher levels, you are constantly distracted by saboteurs, star-base attacks that the star-base resolved before you could arrive. Other non-tactical and distracting annoyances.
The Bottom Line
Highly fun and addictive tactical space warfare game.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Price of Loyalty (Windows)
Turn-based fantasy RPG crack cocaine!
The Good
This is a hugely addictive game, where there is a near-perfect blend of strategy, fantasy, and role-playing. This expansion pack for the original game has eaten more of my free time than any other game, by far. I continue to play this classic to this very day. The maps in this expansion are far superior to the original, plus you get a map editor to make your own!
The music is pretty cool. Each type of castle has its own musical theme (wizard, sorceress, necromancer, knight, warlock)
Battles are turn-based, so you can take time to ponder which units and spells to use against your enemy's units. Or (if you're feeling brave) you can let the PC do it for you.
It's an absolute joy defeating guardian monsters, then gathering artifacts and seeing how they improve your heroes.
The Bad
There was nothing that I dislike about this game. The graphics are dated by today's standards, but in my opinion, this game is a flawless gem. I wish its descendants with the prettier graphics were as clean and tight - but instead they look too busy.
The Bottom Line
Thoughtful, turn based strategy, in a setting with fantasy armies - hydras, golems, orcs, gargoyles, titans, you name it, they're here!
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Simulator (DOS)
State of the art PC flight sim, back then.
The Good
I enjoyed the variety of the aircraft available to fly. You could fly the sopwith camel, fokker triplane, P-51, cessna, SR-71, and some wild 1950s and 1960s x-series jets!
There were a couple of remote 'airports' to land and take off from, so you could practice from other locations than your home airport. You could land anywhere, really.
It was also fun to play the air races game, although I never was able to outfly the computer opponents.
Crashing was even fun. You got a pixellated view of Chuck Yeager telling you what a screw up you were :)
The Bad
The colors were absolutely monotonous, and the ground features for mountains were simple pyramids, cones, and cylinders.
Flight physics were pretty simple.
The jet engine howl got old and you had to turn the volume off.
The Bottom Line
A fun game to hop on the computer and try your hand at several types of aircraft. Easy on a beginner.
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Wasteland (DOS)
One of my all time favorites! It's much easier to give up tobacco than Wasteland.
The Good
The best part of this game was the apocalyptic RPG aspect. I loved the "temple of the mushroom cloud" where all the priests whispered NRC, NRC, NRC. And you had to avoid all the radioactive areas. Then there were the secret locations you had to locate and solve... and more mutants and bots to kill!
I think this was one of the first games that allowed NPCs to join the party - that really made it special back then.
The Bad
Falling into the river wasn't fun. If you fell in and nobody in the party had swimming skills, expect a couple of drownings. And skill points were too important to invest in swimming!
The Bottom Line
"Fallout" only with dated graphics and a better plot!
By ex_navynuke! on April 13, 2005
Starflight (DOS)
This game rocks!
The Good
Tremendous depth and space-opera quality. Wonderful story line, and wide-open choices for setting up your ship and crew. Absolutely non-linear. You could star-travel wherever you wanted to in their universe. How cool is that??? I cannot name another game before or since that lets you explore exciting (or boring!) star systems and planets... But pretty soon you started getting clues that you had to perform some tasks. Wonderful story there...
The Bad
It was very easy to get killed if you weren't careful. The save game feature absolutely sucked. Replay value was poor.
The Bottom Line
Rich interstellar story-telling and adventure. Great gameplay!
By ex_navynuke! on April 12, 2005