MonsterXRed Posts: 6 Registered: 6/30/2016
STEAM_0:1:63992412
# 1 - Posted on 6/30/2016 6:00:40

Recently I got somewhat into The Sims through watching my niece play through The Sims 3, I'm not usually into simulation games of any kind and I've always been hesitant to try out The Sims, but watching her play it totally changed my mind, so I went looking for the 1st Sims online -- cause I like to often play the first game in a series -- but couldn't find it anywhere. I checked EA Origin and it only had The Sims 3 & 4 for sale, and so I don't get why EA doesn't want to include older Sims games in there, like they never existed even though they were best-sellers and they hold such an important legacy for the entire series and creating and popularizing the genre.

So I thought about all the other games that came and went and the only way to enjoy them today would be to either own a physical copy or to pirate them.

It's such a shame for them to not preserved, to be lost in history like that..

So anyways, here's the list of PC games I'd love to see released digitally:

  • Jazz Jackrabbit (1 & 2)
  • Black & White
  • The Sims

I'm curious to know what other games you guys think should also get a digital release! Please share!

moho_00 Curator Backer Posts: 6844 Registered: 6/10/2011
moho_00
# 2 - Posted on 6/30/2016 12:15:19

Ohhhh man....The Sims. That's the first game I ever skipped school to play. The original one was so amazing for the time. Sure, it's nowhere near as polished and quite limited compared to the sequels, but it has an undeniable charm (or maybe that's the nostalgia talking). I would absolutely give EA money to play it again. Actually, I might just find a copy on eBay now that I have my Windows 98 box running again :D

As for other games, I don't have enough time to list out all of the ones I'd like to see receive an official digital release :P But I'll start by scanning my shelf. And I'll test out one of the new forum features, which is to embed box art!

Heavy Gear - I only played the demo back in the day, but it seemed pretty cool....even if I didn't really understand it (or at least the controls). I'd love to give it a real shot.

The Gladiators - This is a fairly unknown game that I picked up dirt cheap after it tanked. It received pretty solid reviews, but again, I didn't spend much time with it. I've never been able to get it to work on Windows 7 and it didn't work on my Windows 98 machine (I think due to my video card).

Big Scale Racing - This one actually works on Windows 7 pretty well, so I think the real issue is licensing. It was released by a small company and I'm fairly certain they no longer exist. It didn't have a huge fanbase to begin with, so I'm sure it's one of the games that will be completely forgotten with time. It's a surprisingly really fun RC racing game. It's kinda like Re-Volt, but a realistic version...but not too realistic so it's still fun for non-simulation types (like me).

Blade Runner - I played through this one back in the '90s and it was awesome. It was one of my first PC games and I guess it's one of the best movie-related games of all time? I'm sure this one is in licensing Hell, plus I seem to recall reading something a while back about how the source code was lost?

Shivers I and II - Shivers II was another one of my first PC games and I never managed to finish it. I picked up the original one a few years ago and haven't even tried installing it since I just assumed it wouldn't work on Windows 7.

Chasm: The Rift - This is a budget Quake-clone and it doesn't try to be anything else. I'm totally okay with that.

KISS: Psycho Circus - The Nightmare Child - I think I've posted about this somewhere else, but yes, I'm one of the three people would bought, played, and enjoyed this game.

Wizards & Warriors - I missed this one when it came out, but found a copy at Half Price Books a few years ago for like a dollar. It's from D.W. Bradley (Wizardry) and always seemed like it'd be a fun (and long) RPG.

Heavy Metal .F.AK.K. 2 - I'm a huge fan of the first Heavy Metal movie and while this game has nothing to do with that, it's still a lot of fun :P

Dark Earth - Another game that was almost universally ignored, but was surprisingly pretty cool. This is another example of a game that I played the demo of as a kid, but didn't pick up the full version until the past few years.

Strike Series + Future Cop - The only Strike game I had as a kid was Soviet Strike and I LOVED IT! I played through Future Cop: LAPD a while back, which ran surprisingly well on Windows 7. It'd be awesome to see EA release the whole series.

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - I assume licensing is the reason this one hasn't been released yet, considering the other games have been readily available for years. I never managed to beat this one on PS1 as a kid and I'd rather play the PC version since I think the load times should be better.

Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear - Another conspicuously absent game from a well-known franchise, which also happens to be my favorite among the Rainbow Six games. I would loooove to have this one available for LAN parties again.

Heretic II - I played this one around 2001 or so and really enjoyed it. Even then, some 3-4 years after its release, I was amazed at the graphics. I'd love to play through it again.

Drakan: Order of the Flame - I finished the PS2-only Drakan sequel a while back and enjoyed it quite a bit. Now it's time for me to play the original!

American McGee's Alice - So I know this one is somewhat available, but I thought it was for preorders only or something weird like that? Or maybe its readily available now, not sure? If it is, someone should point me in the right direction...

Trespasser: Jurassic Park - Oh hey, another widely-panned game that I enjoyed! I enjoyed this game A LOT and have very fond memories of playing it every day after school until I finished it. And then it was time to just mess with the physics :D

Oni - Bungie's much-hyped and much-disappointing (to some) anime action beat 'em up melee thingy. I played it a bit when it came out and seemed like my kinda game....too bad I never finished it.

Myth I, II, III - I have nothing to say, except WHY!?! Why are these games not available? They were extremely popular (at least the first two), have a dedicated following, and are just waiting for someone to make a lot of money from. All I can think of is licensing and the fact that they (or at least the first two, I didn't play the third one) relied heavily on Bungie.net and would potentially require some code changes.

Post Edited on 6/30/2016 14:14:41
Drymonema Curator Backer Posts: 395 Registered: 5/31/2016
drymonema
# 3 - Posted on 6/30/2016 14:04:12

I'd love to replay a bunch of the games you guys mentioned. Especially Jazz Jackrabbit and Legacy of Kain. I kept all my Sims discs so I still have those hanging around somewhere if they'd run on my computer now, but I kinda doubt it :-/

The one I've been dying to find and replay that I adored as a kid was Are You Afraid of the Dark? The Tale of Orpheo's Curse

moho_00 Curator Backer Posts: 6844 Registered: 6/10/2011
moho_00
# 4 - Posted on 6/30/2016 18:37:57

@Drymonema - I hadn't heard of that game before, but it kinda reminds me of Phantasmagoria....but for a younger crowd, pretty cool! Hmmm..I think I'm due for another Phantasmagoria playthrough, I'm strangely drawn to that game (and its even worse sequel) for some reason.

Drymonema Curator Backer Posts: 395 Registered: 5/31/2016
drymonema
# 5 - Posted on 6/30/2016 18:49:56

@moho I hadn't even heard of Phantasmagoria. But I just added it to my GOG wishlist. I can't get enough of the classic FMV horror adventures.

Post Edited on 6/30/2016 18:50:15
moho_00 Curator Backer Posts: 6844 Registered: 6/10/2011
moho_00
# 6 - Posted on 6/30/2016 18:53:25

Oh, gee, I seem to have dropped this extra key hidden

Drymonema Curator Backer Posts: 395 Registered: 5/31/2016
drymonema
# 7 - Posted on 6/30/2016 19:02:02

You rule. Thank you so much! The Chosen will have to wait another day while I give Phantasmagoria a shot tonight. Again, thank you!

boffo97 Posts: 767 Registered: 1/25/2015
boffo97
# 8 - Posted on 6/30/2016 21:31:59

I'd love to play SWAT 4 after Spoony's Let's Play videos of it, but apparently, it's in rights limbo. Activision has even said they don't think it's worth the resources to determine whether or not they own it.

SWAT 3 is on GOG though.

moho_00 Curator Backer Posts: 6844 Registered: 6/10/2011
moho_00
# 9 - Posted on 7/1/2016 1:41:45

@Drymonema - You're welcome! I've had that key for a while and was waiting for someone interested in the game to take it :D I wanted it SO bad before I had a PC and by the time I finally got one, they had released the "Stagefright" pack with both games. I looooved them back in high school and tend to play them every few years.

Speaking of Sierra horror games, I need to play the Gabriel Knight games...

@boffo97 - That's disappointing to hear about SWAT 4, although I've never played it (but licensing issues are annoying). The original SWAT was another game I wanted to play really bad before I had a PC. I ended up borrowing it from a friend, but never really got into it. I keep telling myself I'll play it one of these days....maybe we need a Sierra bounty month :D

Drymonema Curator Backer Posts: 395 Registered: 5/31/2016
drymonema
# 10 - Posted on 7/1/2016 14:57:16

@moho Played Phantasmagoria for an hour and a half last night. Love it. Absolutely hit the spot. And yeah I just joined GOG for this recent Summer Sale and picked up a few packs so ended up getting the 20th Anniversary Gabriel Knight game free. Looking forward to playing it. And replaying the Alone in the Dark series.

On a similar note, I'm not sure why I hadn't gotten into GOG before. Replaying Dungeon Keeper 2, Theme Park, and Empire Earth has been spectacular. Last time I played Empire Earth was when it first came out and my PC couldn't really run it lol.

MonsterXRed Posts: 6 Registered: 6/30/2016
STEAM_0:1:63992412
# 11 - Posted on 7/2/2016 3:37:10

"" Blade Runner - I played through this one back in the '90s and it was awesome. It was one of my first PC games and I guess it's one of the best movie-related games of all time? I'm sure this one is in licensing Hell, plus I seem to recall reading something a while back about how the source code was lost? ""

-- Oh, yeah, totally forgot about that one. I never played it but I loved the movie and only recently watched a walkthrough of it and I became instantly interested, but alas I couldn't find it anywhere. So yeah, it definitely needs a digital release.

"" Drakan: Order of the Flame - I finished the PS2-only Drakan sequel a while back and enjoyed it quite a bit. Now it's time for me to play the original! ""

-- I actually have that one in my backlog, I got it because I wanted to play more western/action RPG's on my PS2. Think I need to give it a go soon.

"" American McGee's Alice - So I know this one is somewhat available, but I thought it was for preorders only or something weird like that? Or maybe its readily available now, not sure? If it is, someone should point me in the right direction... ""

-- I don't know about PC, but it was available as a digital code with my Alice Madness Returns (Xbox 360 copy). I did download it and only played it for a while but I still liked it. The code expires on 2021 if you're interested in hunting down copy before then. And no I didn't pre-order my game, I actually bought it about a couple of years after its release so if you don't mind playing it on an Xbox 360 rather than on a PC, you're good to go there.

Post Edited on 7/2/2016 3:38:00
MonsterXRed Posts: 6 Registered: 6/30/2016
STEAM_0:1:63992412
# 12 - Posted on 7/2/2016 3:42:51

I didn't play a lot of PC games growing up, (which I regret since I'm now in love with point&click adventure games) I was more of a console gamer. Looking at all these games introduces me to so many goodness I didn't have as a kid, so thanks, guys, this is great!