This Week's Most Popular Games Tagged 'DOS, puzzle' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/games/popular/week/DOS/puzzle/?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss ]]> This Week's Most Popular Games Tagged 'DOS, puzzle' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg This Week's Most Popular Games Tagged 'DOS, puzzle' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/games/popular/week/DOS/puzzle/?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss ]]> en-us Planetfall After the fall of the Second Galactic Union in 1716 GY, a ten-thousand-year dark age settled upon the galaxy. Interstellar travel was non-existent, and many star systems descended into a near-barbaric state, buring coal and gas for energy, and growing food directly from exposed topsoil.

In 11,203 GY, a treaty between the Empires of Tremain and Galium formed the Third Galactic Union. Ships of the Stellar Patrol (a pseudo-military wing of the Union government on Tremain) began exploring the galaxy, searching for the human civilizations that are the remnants of the Second Galactic Union.

You are a native of the planet Gallium. Although it is one of the most politically powerful worlds in the Union, Gallium is no garden spot. In fact, the Gallium Chamber of Commerce brochure entitled "Ten Great Reasons to Visit Gallium" ends on page 3. The author ran out of reasons after listing just two.

For five generations, your family has served in the Stellar Patrol. Your great-great-grandfather was a High Admiral and one of the founding officers of the Patrol. It was taken for granted that when you came of age you would join up.

Now, more than a year after signing up, and two months after being transferred to the S.P.S. Feinstein, you are still only ranked Ensign Seventh Class. You superior officer, Ensign First Class Blather, has been making your life miserable. You're begining to wonder if you're really cut out for the Stellar Patrol...
]]> 28 Nov 2006 02:39:20 Another World Another World, known as Out of this World in the US and Outer World in Japan, is a 1991 cinematic platformer designed and developed by Eric Chahi. The graphics and box art were designed by Chahi, while the music was composed by Jean-François Freitas.

While not a great commercial success, Another World was innovative in its use of cinematic effects in the graphics, sound and cut scenes, with characters communicating through their facial features, gestures, and actions only. This cinematic style granted Another World cult status amongst critics and fans.

The protagonist of the game is Lester Knight Chaykin; a young, athletic, red haired physicist. Lester arrives at his high-tech underground laboratory during a thunderstorm, and continues to work on his experiment using a particle accelerator. Right before the particles reach their intended destination, lightning strikes the lab and interferes with the accelerator causing the unforeseen teleportation of Lester to a barren alien planet.

The player can control Lester using the keyboard or gamepad using four directions buttons and two action buttons: one for main actions, and one for jumping. Depending on the player's current position, movement, and status, the main action key performs a variety of actions including attacking and interacting with Lester's environment. At the start of the game Lester can only kick to attack, but later he can acquire a gun. While the movement keys normally make Lester run, the game also features sections where the player must swim, roll, or drive a vehicle. The player only has one life, but there are multiple checkpoints he can return to by entering the relevant pass code given at each one.
]]> 10 Dec 2006 09:53:52 Phantasmagoria Made during the height of the "interactive movie" boom in the computer game industry, Phantasmagoria is notable for being one of the first adventure games to use a human being as an on-screen avatar. Actress Victoria Morsell spent months in front of a bluescreen filming the hundreds of actions players could direct her character to perform. The game was released on seven CDs to accommodate the massive amount of video generated by this process. Today it still stands as a record of sorts for the largest number of media cuts used in a game, though several other games including an adventure game based on The X-Files television series have matched it in the sheer number of CDs used. However, if it were to use modern day video compression codecs while keeping the same resolution, the game could probably have shipped on as little as one or two discs. On the other hand, however, the seven discs were used to highlight the seven days, during which the story takes place - the game could easily fit about five discs, even without the advanced video compression. Also, it is worth mentioning that large portions of data were repeated on each CD, to avoid disk swapping when playing the game.

The game script was about 400 pages long, four times the size of a regular movie script, and an additional 100 pages of storyboards set the style for the over 800 scenes in the game. The game required four months of filming alone and over 200 persons were involved in the production, not counting the Gregorian choir of 135 persons that was used for parts of the music in the game.

Source: Wikipedia Article
]]> 14 Apr 2007 12:45:09 Sid & Al's Incredible Toons Sid & Al's Incredible Toons is a funnier, cartoon version of The Incredible Machine. It is your job to solve 100 Rube Goldberg style puzzles by placing pieces in the right spot. The puzzle goals range from letting Al E. Cat(haha) catch Sid Mouse, helping Sid reach his cheese, or simply blowing one of the characters up.

Sid and Al aren't the only characters in the game, however. They are joined by other cartoons such as Eunice the Elephant and Bik the Dragon. Each character acts as a different puzzle piece and is used in a different way. Eunice, for example, will toss things that hit her trunk, while Bik will blow fire any time something hits him.

There are a variety of different objects used to solve the puzzles, and they range from realistic to cartoony. There are conveyor belts and pullies to get things where you want them, but there are also guns which will cough out bullets. Once you master all 100 puzzles, there is also a create-a-puzzle mode where you can make your own crazy contraptions to stump your friends.
]]> 25 Jan 2007 05:20:42 Bubble Bobble
]]> 02 Aug 2007 12:42:25 Pushover A rather original game where you have to knock down dominoes to progress through the levels.
The fun part is that there are several different dominoe types which perform different actions.
You have one that split in two, one that floats, one that is a blocker, etc, and you have to arrange them in order to be able to knock them down with one push and making sure that one special dominoe that acts like the "goal" is the last one to be knocked down.
The game has 100 levels distributed across 9 zones.
]]> 03 Feb 2007 02:09:21 Impossible Mission GAME INFO:
(copied from back of Sega Master System cover)
Agent 4125... Half the threat of world annihilation posed by Elvin Atombender from his underground laboratory. Penetrate his stronghold an dodge or deactivate the guard robots whilst unscrambling the secret code that will allow entry to the control center. The world awaits in FEAR. Your mission is stamped 'IMPOSSIBLE'

THE GAMEPLAY:
It's a very difficult game. Each of it's thirty-two rooms are unique(only two rooms are the same), and each one has many pieces of furniture which need to be searched to get pieces of code, in which must be put together to divine the password and open the control centre doors.
The robots, of which there are many in each room, all act differently, some attacking on sight, and some are speeding back and forth, waiting for you to mistime your jump over them and kill you.
Other things include lifts which are essential to getting all the items in a room, and computer terminals which allow you to reset the lifts or freeze the robots(this is temporary) in a room.

INTERESTING TRIVIA:
The main player sprite for the C=64 version is an unused sprite for Summer Games.
It is being remade for the Nintendo DS, and is rumoured to be coming to the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console in the near future.
]]> 03 Feb 2007 10:13:36 Alley Cat Alley Cat is a game created in 1984 for the PC and Atari 800. In the game the player controls a cat trying to get the best things in life, such as mice and fish, while avoiding bad things like dogs and brooms.
]]> 06 Feb 2007 03:24:45 Fade to Black Fade to Black is the sequel to Flashback, again letting the player control Conrad B., the hero from Flashback. Instead of the side view that Flashback had, Fade to Black features third person 3d gameplay, not unlike Tomb Raider (and in fact, this game predated Tomb Raider by a year).
]]> 06 Feb 2007 04:35:08 Chip's Challenge Chip is willing to do anything for Melinda the Mental Marvel, more than anything, because he wants to join melinda's exlusive computer club, the Bit Busters. Finally Melinda has offered him membership, but on one condition! Chip must find his way from one end of Melinda's magical clubhouse to the other, picking up cosmic computer chips along the way.
]]> 06 Feb 2007 07:49:36 The Secret of Monkey Island
I cursed my luck again as I slid down the monkey's throat. Have my dreams of guzzling grog and plundering galleons been reduced to this. "Three small trials and you're a pirate like us." Fair enough. If only I could stomach the foul brew these scurvy seadogs swilled, the rest would be easy. How could I have known I'd meet a powerful and beautiful woman with a jealous suitor too stupid to realize he'd been dead for years? And how can I crawl through this great stone monkey to find a man who walks three inches above the ground and sets fire to his beard every morning?

-The Memoirs of Guybrush Threepwood: The Monkey Island Years
]]> 06 Feb 2007 04:24:31 Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
I thought I'd killed the Ghost Pirate LeChuck for good. Wrong. How many times can that bloated old fool die? Other pirates tell me there's no escape. "When LeChuck wants you dead, you're dead", they say. Legend has it that the treasure of Big Whoop holds the key to great power... I must find it before LeChuck finds me.

-The Memoirs of Guybrush Threepwood: The Monkey Island Years
]]> 06 Feb 2007 04:45:44 Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders Can one hack writer, two Yale coeds, and a stale loaf of French bread save the world from a galactic conspiracy? Not without your help.
]]> 06 Feb 2007 05:46:54 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure roughly follows the same plot as the movie it is based upon. Certain scenes are omitted, but it sticks close to the original plot for the most part. The game uses the SCUMM system that was used in Maniac Mansion before it. This system involves choosing certain verbs to interact with objects and people in the game. However, this game features something that no other adventure games of the time had. The "Indy Quotient" system gives the players points based on how they solve certain puzzles. This gives puzzles multiple solutions and adds replay value to the game. Also included in the game are action sequences where Indy must fight to get by guards.
]]> 06 Feb 2007 06:09:19 Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise It's Kayla's birthday tomorrow, and her stuffed animal Fatty Bear wants to throw a surprise party for her. Guide Fatty Bear around the house to help him get everything ready. He has to find ingredients for a cake to make it, get presents, and set up party decorations. In addition to the adventure and puzzles, there are games to be played as well. These games include bowling, piano playing, and dress up with Fatty Bear.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 05:13:00 Space Quest V: The Next Mutation Roger Wilco is a cadet and janitor at the Starfleet Academy. However, he cheats his way through the aptitude test and becomes the captain of his own ship. He is the newest captain of the SCS Eureka, a garbage scow. Roger explores space looking for trash, and eventually comes across a toxic disease that is spreading through the galaxy. You need to help roger save the galaxy and get the girl in the end.

Space Quest V was not designed by the full "Two Guys from Andromeda" team who did the original four games. Instead, only one of the two, Mark Crowe, was involved. The humor in this episode was different than that of the past games.
]]> 22 Feb 2007 06:47:34 Alone in the Dark 3 Alone in the Dark 3 is the third installment of the Alone in the Dark survival horror video game series created by Infogrames (now Atari).

After Edward's success in his previous two investigations a journalist has nicknamed him the "Supernatural Private Eye." This time, he is called to investigate the disappearance of a film crew at a two-bit ghost town known by the name of Slaughter Gulch located in the Mojave Desert in California. Among the disappeared crew is the heroine of the story, Emily Hartwood. Edward soon discovers that a curse has gripped the town, and an evil cowboy from the Badlands named Jed Stone is the villain who is responsible for the crew's disappearance. Lurking around town are many trigger-happy sharpshooters, deranged prospectors, and bloodthirsty lost souls whom Edward must ward off with both his strength and his wit.

Although the primary enemies are still human-like characters with firearms, combat has been de-emphasized a bit and isn't quite as hard. Carnby is often presented with opportunities to flee from enemies or defeat them using non-combat means, and there is a greater emphasis on solving puzzles. Also, because enemies are armed with six-shooters rather than tommyguns, the player ends up being shot less frequently than in Alone in the Dark 2.

The main theme of this game is the Wild West, as Carnby is pitted against a town filled with "zombie cowboys" who attack him with six-shooters and lever-action rifles. More traditionally mindless, shambling zombies begin to appear about mid-way through the game. Towards the end of the game, the concept of radioactive mutation plays a significant role in the story, and the player ends up fighting a few monstrous creatures created from such radiation.

Alone in the Dark 3 features a greater variety of gameplay, including sequences in which you play as a mountain lion that Carnby has been transformed into.
]]> 11 Mar 2007 06:14:23 Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh In 1996, Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh by Lorelei Shannon was released. Though still enormous in size coming on five separate CDs it was in no way as large as its predecessor.

Dropping the unique adventure game style interaction in favor of an interactive movie format, A Puzzle of Flesh was more expensive to produce and less popular with audiences tiring of video clip-driven games. Though some concluded that it was a substantial improvement over the original in several areas, others dismissed the game, criticizing it for its completely different atmosphere, lack of creativity, interactivity and excessive violence.

The plot of the second game in the series revolves around the character of Curtis Craig, a 30-year-old man working in a company managed by the enigmatic Paul Warner. Curtis' mysterious and traumatic past is a key element in the plot, as he pieces together his experience to form a picture of his soul, one whose discovery might lead to his demise. Harassed by quasi-delusions which seem all too real, Curtis aims to uncover the truth about his family, co-workers and most importantly, his own existence. As his delusions become more and more real and begin to have an enormous, terrible impact on his surroundings, Curtis must confront his fears or risk getting devoured by what lives within him.

A Puzzle of Flesh has a fairly standard interface, with the cursor shaped into the distinctive logo of WynTech

Source: Wikipedia entry
]]> 14 Apr 2007 12:48:40 Shadowgate Adventure in Castle Shadowgate and solve the many puzzles to defeat the evil Warlock Lord. Some puzzles if not done correctly lead to your death.
]]> 19 Apr 2007 11:14:43