Together Retro 2016 Calendar - FINAL

[prfsnl_gmr]

Solomon's Key! Right, right. So here's a bit more fleshed out based on recent conversation for y'all to let us know what's good and what's bad. Thanks for being constructive everyone!

1. Star Control II (space sim thing?)
2. Pitfall (platformer)
3. R-Type (shmup)
4. Metal Slug (run-n-gun)
5. Pokemon red/blue/yellow (RPG)
6. Oddworld (weird looking adventure thing?)
7. (horror) Alone In The Dark? Shadowgate? (where's Ack?)
8. Solomon's Key (puzzle)
9. (FPS) Call Of Duty? Doom? Perfect Dark? Golden Eye?
10.
11.
12.

Just FYI...If you pick Perfect Dark, I will play it with you. If you pick GoldenEye, I will play Perfect Dark by myself. If you pick Call of Duty, I will just play some random eShop game (like Tappingo or something).

[Lazer]

1. Star Control II (space sim thing?)
2. Pitfall (platformer)
3. R-Type (shmup)
4. Metal Slug (run-n-gun)
5. Pokemon red/blue/yellow (RPG)
6. Oddworld (weird looking adventure thing?)
7. (horror) Alone In The Dark? Shadowgate? (where's Ack?)
8. Solomon's Key (puzzle)
9. (FPS) Call Of Duty? Doom? Perfect Dark? Golden Eye?
10.
11.
12.

Looking good! I say CoD or Doom for the FPS. I've played a crap-load of Goldeneye, and Perfect Dark is meh.

Other horror suggestions: anything from the PS2 survival horror list. Fatal Frame? Silent Hill? Of course: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 45&t=43728

[TEKTORO]

Edit: Pitfall on PS1 I remember being pretty good, no?

Pitfall 3d is a very different game, that is sadly forgotten by most. Pitfall Harry was voiced by Bruce Campbell to boot.

Yes it was not a good era for Pitfall to be on the forefront, for those who gave it a chance were treated to a little gem and I didn't realize Bruce Campbell voiced Harry can't go wrong there!

For Puzzle genre Solomons Key is something I always look over but hear some good things, so that's a good suggestion honestly.

Also liking people coming onboard with Cod or Doom, that is tough considering our instincts are most likely saying Doom, but classic Cod isn't your run of the mill like they are today. So I say let's be adventurous and think about Cod.

[Ack]

I'd like to see Ack's full thoughts, is Shadowgate dark and creepy enough to be considered for October?

How about instead of just Shadowgate, I give you my thoughts on every horror game mentioned so far in this thread? A lot have had their names tossed into the ring. I figured I can sort them out and give my personal impressions.

These guys are in no order:

Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet

This is a point-and-click adventure from 1993. It is available on PC and Linux, and GOG recently released it on their website. This game pulls heavily from H.P. Lovecraft's work, particularly his stories The Dunwich Horror and The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The general gist is that you are a British photographer in 1910 visiting a town called Illsmouth in New England to witness the passing of Halley's Comet. In the process you uncover legends revolving around the comet and an ancient ritual which may awaken the hideous Great Ancients.

I won't kid, this game is supposed to be hard. It's main draw is the story, for which it has been repeatedly praised over the years, as well as its atmosphere supported by a variety of creepy locales and brilliant audio work.

Alone in the Dark

Not gonna lie, if we want something in the traditional 3rd person 3D horror vein, I'd prefer it be this. Alone in the Dark is the mother of what became synonymous with survival horror as a genre. It also pulls heavy influence from H.P. Lovecraft, as well as the work of Edgar Allen Poe. You pick to play as either Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood and must explore a haunted mansion deep in Louisiana to investigate the strange suicide of Jeremy Hartwood, the mansion's owner. In the process, you discover why supernatural creatures roam the halls, learn the mansion's bloody history, and plunge into the caverns that riddle the earth beneath its foundation.

As far as horror gaming history is concerned, this is one of the most important titles we could possibly play for its influence over the likes of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and everything else that followed in their footsteps(Fatal Frame, Dead Space, The Suffering, so on and so forth). For that alone, I feel it's worth it. It also helps that it is widely available: DOS(along with PC-98 and FM Towns), 3DO, Mac, iOS, and on GOG. It's important to note that this is NOT the game Alone in the Dark released in 2008 and available on Steam, Windows, Wii, PS2, PS3, or Xbox 360.

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

The Alone in the Dark series took a strange turn for entries 2 and 3. The New Nightmare was number 4, and it did its best to be a return to form, going back to its roots to have a pair of protagonists(Edward Carnby and Aline Cedrac) investigate a creepy mansion to discover the secrets surrounding Charles Fiske's death. This game also released in a post-Resident Evil/Silent Hill world, and it borrowed some from their influence.

It is widely available on Playstation, PS2, Dreamcast, Windows, GOG, Steam, and even Game Boy Color. I've played through a bit of it, but personally I've never really gotten into it. The weapons seem outrageous, and the puzzles never made much sense to me. The farthest I have gotten was in the Dreamcast version, but seeing as my DC has problems, the game likes to glitch out a fair bit. I'd probably go for it on GOG if it was selected, but I would really rather play the original.

Echo Night

I really enjoy this series. In fact, I find it relaxing. In the Echo Night games, you wander some kind of haunted locale, trying to find items that release the souls of the spirits which haunt that area. But there is nearly always some kind of hostile entity or something which drives ghosts crazy and makes them go all aggressive. You have to figure out how to navigate these pitfalls and soothe their spirits, with the number of spirits you save directly influencing which ending you get. Also note that your health regenerates but is limited, meaning every encounter can quickly be lethal.

Now for the downside: limited release. Echo Night only came out for the Playstation and PSN in Japan and the US. It was also quite obscure. While I'm fine with that, I figure a lot of folks would rather experience the big names they haven't gotten to try yet.

Onimusha

Set during the Sengoku era of Japan(ie. the Warring States period, roughly the 1500s) when feudal lords vied for the praise of the emperor and to unify the nation through war in the hopes of establishing a new Shogunate, a samurai named Akechi Samanosuke faces Oda Nobunaga and actually manages to successfully kill him. Then Nobunaga comes back, and Samanosuke discovers his army is riddled with demons. What must he do? Kill them. Kill them all!

Onimusha is effectively Resident Evil with samurai and finds its basis in Japanese history. Instead of city streets overcrowded with the living dead, you're facing off against demon ninjas and the like while watching power plays unfold which will inevitably lead to the Tokugawa clan taking control of Japan. I got a kick out of this game years ago when I played through it, and it is available on PS2 and Xbox in Japan, North American, and Europe(and on PC in China). I think there are probably better choices for horror games to introduce you guys too, but...well, this one isn't bad. If you can get past the voice acting.

Clock Tower

It's survival horror! It's point and click! It's got a villain influenced by The Burning! It's...well, it can be pretty rough to control. Clock Tower in the US and Europe is actually Clock Tower 2 in Japan. The original Clock Tower is a Super Famicom game that unfortunately hasn't gotten away from its native shores. So...a point and click. On the PS1. Where you play as a cast of characters who must run like hell from Scissorman while investigating the Barrows Mansion. Scissorman lives up to his name and comes after you with a big pair of hedgeclippers, and you have no way to fight back. The only thing to do is run and hide.

I like the idea behind these games, but I find the controls tough to contend with and have only ever beaten Clock Tower 3 as a result(which had a more Resident Evil-inspired control scheme since Capcom developed it). These games are notable, particularly for creating a subgenre in survival horror where you cannot fight and must instead flee and cower from your attackers(see Haunting Ground, Hellnight, and to an extent the Penumbra trilogy and Amnesia games). However again, there is a lack of access: Clock Tower is available on PS1 in all major regions and PSN in Japan. I also think the controls will give folks fits.

Fatal Frame 2

Guess who gets to explore a haunted Japanese village! YOU DO! And your only weapon is a camera! GOOD LUCK!

Yeah, that basically sums up the Fatal Frame series. You have to fight nasty ghosts with a camera, which means you have to face your hideous opponents in every encounter through a zoom lens. These games are dark and creepy, set in dilapidated locales with disturbing histories that generally also serve as gates to Hell. These gates are kept closed through ritual sacrifice. Guess who is usually on the menu.

These games creep me out more than the likes of Resident Evil, and the second Fatal Frame has a kinky twin fetish going on. I think we should instead go with the first one, personally, but the second game isn't a bad choice. Both were released on PS2 and Xbox in all regions, and both are now available on PSN in the US.

Sanitarium

After a car accident, you wake up in a derelict sanitarium with amnesia your head wrapped in bandages. Only this madhouse opens into a frighteningly surreal world. Over the course of the game, you'll face the horrific to discover the truth about your memory and your institutionalization and how it involves your sister. But you'll never quite be sure if what you are experiencing is real or all in your head.

Sanitarium released in 1998 in the US and Europe(and later on Steam and GOG). It's a point-and-click adventure that uses a bird's eye view, similar to the likes of something like Baldur's Gate. While you can die, the game uses a chapter system and always maintains your current progress, so you will never see a Game Over screen. Instead, the story, the people, and the locales are what is used to unsettle the player in one of the few psychological horror adventure games. And the story is quite good! In fact Sanitarium tied with Grim Fandango for the Adventure Game of the Year award in Computer Gaming World in 1998. It is held in high regard by the adventure game community.

Shadowgate

Again, this is a point-and-click adventure, done entirely in first person. Shadowgate is an old horror video game, originally seeing release in 1987. You must explore a castle, but you can only do so while you have a torch, and there is a limit to what you can find. As you explore, you will move from room to room trying out puzzles and monsters. The monsters will kill you. The puzzles will kill you. Seriously, everything kills you. You can even commit suicide in the game. In fact, anything less than the correct choice will likely result in your death, though there is usually more than one correct choice. The result is trial and error, where the game will graphically describe your demise in gruesome detail when you fail and sometimes openly mock you for the result.

Shadowgate has seen a release on the Mac, Amiga, DOS, NES, Windows, Game Boy Color, and even Pocket PC. While not available everywhere, there is at least a version of it in every major region. A remake of the game was released in 2014 on GOG and Steam. It is, to me, one of the kings of the horror genre and horror adventure gaming. While it is often compared to the likes of Deja Vu and Uninvited, Shadowgate was considered an improvement over its kind because of its multiple possible solutions. In the end, you will face off against the Warlock Lord as he opens the gates of Hell to summon Behemoth. Do you think you can survive?

Because I promise you, you won't.

A couple of mentions for other games that have been tossed into the ring: I'd rather see Ghosts 'n Goblins get credit for being a solid platformer than being a solid horror game, just as I would rather see DOOM get the nod for FPS than horror. Both games have their roots in horror, but both games are more important to their respective genres.

[noiseredux]

Looking good! I say CoD or Doom for the FPS. I've played a crap-load of Goldeneye, and Perfect Dark is meh.

Other horror suggestions: anything from the PS2 survival horror list. Fatal Frame? Silent Hill? Of course: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 45&t=43728

we already did Silent Hill 2, so I'd love to branch out of franchises we've already done. Hopefully Ack drops some science on us.


RE: Ack's post...

Having read what he wrote, my Horror pick would be Alone In The Dark. (Though I'd be ok with Cthulhu and Shadowgate). Clock Tower is amazing, but it's not cheaply/easily available, and it's not for everyone.

Also liking people coming onboard with Cod or Doom, that is tough considering our instincts are most likely saying Doom, but classic Cod isn't your run of the mill like they are today. So I say let's be adventurous and think about Cod.

Totally my point. I think people have this misconception "oh no! COD is a dudebro game!" and have no idea what they're missing out on. Part of what I love about TR is being exposed to games I would have missed out on otherwise. Playing Galaga for TR made me a shmup fan for instance.

[Ack]

The original Call of Duty is one of the greatest single player FPS experiences you will ever get to play. It jumps around the battlefields of WWII, letting you experience the war through the eyes of British, American, and Soviet soldiers. It also has one of the greatest moments in an FPS I have ever experienced, when you have to cross the Volga and climb a hill into Stalingrad while the Nazis pound you with artillery and strafe machine gun fire all over. You cannot turn back. You will not turn back. All cowards will be shot. For the glory of the Motherland.

[ExedExes]

I completed CoD 1 and 2 on the PC and their respective Gamecube ports in the past few years, so if that happened to make it I'd be finding a copy of CoD 3. I myself would just play the more classic WWII themed games in the series for sure. The console ports would be a good experience for those who haven't played them yet, but 2 is far better and has voice acting from the Band of Brothers cast.

Ack's right though, you can't go wrong with the first two. Production values were high and the three country perspective made things interesting.

[noiseredux]

I completed CoD 1 and 2 on the PC and their respective Gamecube ports in the past few years, so if that happened to make it I'd be finding a copy of CoD 3. I myself would just play the more classic WWII themed games in the series for sure. The console ports would be a good experience for those who haven't played them yet, but 2 is far better and has voice acting from the Band of Brothers cast.

Ack's right though, you can't go wrong with the first two. Production values were high and the three country perspective made things interesting.

if you guys think that COD2 would make a better intro (and has better console ports) then I'd be all for that installment.

[strangenova]

I agree with the nomination of warcraft 2. It's my personal favorite rts game.

Also I'm gonna nominate the ps1 era of need for speed games. In particular hot pursuit.

[noiseredux]

I agree with the nomination of warcraft 2. It's my personal favorite rts game.

Also I'm gonna nominate the ps1 era of need for speed games. In particular hot pursuit.

Thanks for this - we do need to talk about some other genres...

I've never been good at RTS, but I'd be interested in giving Warcraft 2 a go. And perhaps a racing game woulnd't be bad. What does everyone think? We still have a couple of empty spots that we're not really sure what genres or whatever we want to play.

How bout some oft-overlooked ones? A rogue-like? I mentioned Diablo for instance. Or I don't know, something we haven't even mentioned? Let's all go back a few pages and see if we've forgotten to thumbs-up somebody's pick!

Also something else I wanted to touch on: I do think Pokemon is a classic. And I think it's a good pick. But before letting that settle in, are we all sure that's the RPG we want? There was talk of a few interesting things like Bard's Tale or Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (this looks cool, and it's on PC and Xbox).

Heck, do we want to keep Pokemon/JRPG one month and do a WRPG another month? Do we prefer to not have 2 RPG's? Sky's the limit, y'all. Talk, talk!


And as far as what seems cool w/ everyone...


1. Star Control II (space sim thing?)
2. Pitfall (platformer)
3. R-Type (shmup)
4. Metal Slug (run-n-gun)
5. Pokemon red/blue/yellow (RPG)
6. Oddworld (weird looking adventure thing?)
7. (horror) Alone In The Dark? Shadowgate? Call Of Cthulhu?
8. Solomon's Key (puzzle)
9. (FPS) Call Of Duty? Doom? Call Of Duty 2?
10.
11.
12.