All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'Mac' on The Great Games Experiment All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'Mac' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'Mac' on The Great Games Experiment en-us 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 Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos Developed by classic developer house Westwood Studios, Lands of Lore is a role playing game (RPG) that was originally released for the PC back in 1994! Since then it has won numerous awards and received much acclaim. At the time, it was one of the biggest and most detailed games available. It took full advantage of the new CD-ROM format with full voice digitization including voicing done by Patrick Stewart portraying King Richard.

The game interface is superbly done, by far the easiest and smoothest I have ever played. Many RPGs tend to have complicated interfaces that take hours of learning to master. But not here, simply click on the sword or magic symbol to use it. Other features include a compass, and a very nice auto-mapper which is a necessity in such a huge world.

Unlike some RPGs, Lands of Lore places more emphasis on adventure and less on the complexities of character and party selection. This allows you to be able to get into the game quickly without squabbling over the unnecessary details in some games, like the color of your pants.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 02:06:11 Day of the Tentacle One day, Purple Tentacle and Green Tentacle are out for a walk when Purple Tentacle decides to drink toxic waste. The waste causes him to grow arms, become evil, and eventually take over the world. It is up to Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne to travel back in time and turn off the Sludge'o'Matic before Purple Tentacle can drink the ooze and become evil. Because Dr. Fred used an imitation diamond in his time machine, it breaks and sends Hoagie 200 years in the past and Laverne 200 years in the future. You must get everyone back to the present and save the world!
]]> 26 Nov 2006 01:03:10 Spore Spore is a computer and video game under development by Maxis, and designed by Will Wright. It simulates the complete history and future of life according the evolution theory. Its concept, scope, and development philosophy (broad use of procedural generation) has drawn wide attention.

Spore is, at first glance, a "teleological evolution" game or god game: the player molds and guides a species across many generations, growing it from a single-celled organism into a more complex animal, until the species becomes intelligent. At this point the player begins molding and guiding this species' society, progressing towards a spacefaring civilization. Spore's main innovation is the use of procedural generation for many of the components of the game, providing vast scope and open-endedness. Wright said "I didn't want to make players feel like Luke Skywalker or Frodo Baggins. I wanted them to be like George Lucas or J.R.R. Tolkien."
]]> 26 Jan 2007 09:31:04 Cave Story - Doukutsu Monogatari Cave Story is a freeware sidescrolling action/adventure/platformer title with leanings towards Wonderboy and recent sidescrolling Castlevania titles. You control a little amnesiac who runs around helping out these rabbit-ish creatures called Mimigas while trying to find your way out of the giant cave inside the floating island which makes up the game's setting.

This is a free game made by one man:

Pixel said,
It's been five years since I first thought to myself, "Hey, why not try making a game?" I developed Cave Story at my own pace, taking my time, and while doing so I released a few other smaller games as well.
]]> 26 Nov 2006 01:38:13 Starcraft: Brood War StarCraft: Brood War is an expansion pack released in 1998 for StarCraft — an award winning real-time strategy computer game. It was co-developed by Saffire and Blizzard Entertainment.

The expansion pack introduced new campaigns and two additional units for each race, new tech advancements, new map tilesets, and new music. The campaigns continue the story from where the original StarCraft left off: the Overmind had been destroyed with the sacrifice of Tassadar, the Protoss homeworld of Aiur had been left desolate and rampaged by the Zerg, and Kerrigan was now left alone in her new Zerg form. Full details are in the Brood War introduction.

The first of the new campaigns involves the Protoss, (or rather, the Dark Templars), and mostly takes place on their homeworld of Shakuras. The second campaign features the newly arrived armies of the United Earth Directorate (UED) commanded by Admiral DuGalle, and the last campaign (Zerg) has Kerrigan as the protagonist.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 04:18:51 Dylo's Adventure "Help Dylo to save the world! The future of life on Earth as we know is in danger!"

A game suitable for all ages, fun and challenging for both hardcore and casual players.

Dylo is a cool dino who gets involved into the risky adventure of saving his prehistoric homeland from outer space invaders. Help him to take down the evil martians and their twisted plans!
]]> 30 Jan 2007 06:01:05 Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress
Dwarf Fortress is a single-player fantasy game. You can control a dwarven outpost or an adventurer in a randomly generated, persistent world.
]]> 01 Dec 2006 09:05:39 Star Wars: TIE Fighter Published by: LucasArts
Developed by: Totally Games
Genre: Space simulation
Number of players: 1
Release date: 1994, 1995

It is a time of chaos in the Empire. Rebel factions strike from hidden bases, pirates plunder unsuspecting civilian spacecraft, and traitors plot behind the Emperor's back. You, a rookie pilot in the Imperial Navy, must rise to action for the glory of the Empire and the good of all mankind.

The player's character is unnamed (however, in sources outside the game, name is Maarek Stele), but features such notable Star Wars characters as: Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and even Admiral Thrawn from the books.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter is somewhat of a sequal to Star Wars: X-Wing, however this time the player is the "bad guy." With various objectives ranging from destroying pirates and Rebels to flying wingman for Darth Vader himself, TIE Fighter offers a great deal of enjoyment for those who love the Star Wars universe.

Gameplay involves managing your weapons/engine/shield (if available) systems while dogfighting enemy spacecraft or attacking larger capital spaceships. Additionally, missiles are limited (if even available), so must be used carefully. Because this is the side of the Empire, the fighters you will be flying initially are very vulnerable to damage. Two or three hits to your TIE Fighter and you're toast, and destroying shielded enemy Rebel fighters in such a craft can be challenging.

Mission objectives are crucial to completing stages of the game, and advancing the storyline. Additionally, there are optional bonus objectives, which influence the secondary advancement in the Emperor's secret order.
]]> 24 Jan 2007 07:45:12 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 Civilization II The design team at Microprose has managed to add a score of new play elements that help the aging strategy classic evolve - without sacrificing the game's addictive qualities.

By: MicroProse, MPS Labs
Genre: Historic Turn-Based Strategy
Release Date: Feb 29, 1996
Players: 1
]]> 05 Feb 2007 10:23:37 Sam & Max Hit the Road Sam and Max are the oddest of detectives, an anthropomorphic dog and a psychotic rabbit, featured here in a cross country adventure. The game includes a wealth of crazy puzzles, nonstop humor, and sharp satire of Americana, as the trenchcoat wearing dog and and his pal search for an escaped bigfoot.


Additional Game Features:

  • Classic "point and click" adventure packed with humor.

  • 5 mini-games are also contained within the game.

  • Backgrounds beautifully drawn in 256 colors.

  • Based upon comic book characters created by Steve Purcell, who was also the lead writer of this adventure.

  • Graphical adventure using the SCUMM engine.

  • Released simultaneously on CD-ROM and Floppy, the CD version includes complete voice performances.


Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
Released: 1993 (DOS), 1995 (Mac)

System Requirements
386/33 MHz CPU, 4 MB RAM, 256 color VGA, DOS 5.0
]]> 23 Dec 2006 12:43:47 Head over Heels Control the two characters Head and Heels in this isometric arcade adventure/puzzle game.
]]> 09 Dec 2006 07:02:02 Loom Loom is a strange and beautiful adventure game set in a feudal past. The hero is Bobbin Threadbare, a weaver. In the world of Loom, everyone belongs to a guild. Apart from the weavers, there are sheperds, blacksmiths, glass makers.

When Bobbin embarks on his quest, he has no inventory (very unusual in an adventure game), he will solve problems not with items, but with "drafts", spells consisting of four notes of music. These drafts can be written down in the beautiful Book of Patterns that is present even in later jewelcase editions.

Loom first came out 1989 on floppies with EGA graphics and a 30-minute audio prologue on tape. The next year it was ported to Mac and Amiga. While the black & white Macintosh version is rather interesting, the color ports are rather crude. 1991 saw a new DOS CD version with VGA graphics and CD music.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 02:11:49 CrashBlock Crashblock is a platform puzzle game, mixing puzzle elements from Tetris and platform elements of Flashback.

The aim of the game is to play a game of tetris from the inside, running around the arena, climbing over the fallen blocks,trying to complete a line whilst trying to collect enough stars to advance to the next level and collecting coins and other items to boost your score and help you along the way. There are hazards to overcome, Bombs are released from completed lines along with bonus items and stars, also captive creatures called meanies are released making your task so much more difficult.

If the blocks pile up to the top of the arena, it's game over. If a falling block lands on you, it's squishy death, if you're caught in a bomb blast, it's goodnight and if you're caught by a meanie, it's so long and thanks for all the limbs.

You have to control the crane holding the current shape by calling it over to you, rotating the shape to the correct position and then diving out of the way while it falls.. there is no controlled drop in this game, oh no!

This game is currently under development for the Pascal Game Development 2007 Competition, The end deadline is the 3rd of June 2007. Check back often for updates.
]]> 17 Apr 2007 11:12:56 AfterWorld AW stands for AfterWorld, MMOG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game) with a 3D post-apocalyptic-style world and elements of FPS (First-Person Shooter) and RPG (Role-Playing Game) merged together to offer a unique gameplay. On release it is planned to implement in AW a RCE (Real Cash Economy).
]]> 05 Dec 2006 01:42:09 Quakeworld Team Fortress Team Fortress (TF or QWTF/Quakeworld TF for this specific version) was a popular multiplayer modification for id Software's "Quake". It featured teams of players choosing from 9 different classes in matches of capture the flag, VIP escort, territorial control, and many other missions.

Team Fortress 1.0 was released July 25th, 1996 for the original Quake, and the first release for QuakeWorld (v2.0) came on December 22, 1996 taking advantage of the enhanced multiplayer functionality of the new client.

It was sufficiently successful that the developers formed TeamFortress Software to then develop "Team Fortress 2" as a commercial mod for Quake II. TF would instead be rewritten for the Half-Life engine.

Over ten years later, TF still enjoys a small community of active players, and several variations on the original TF formula have helped keep peoples interest, including CustomTF, which introduced the ability to configure your own custom class by trading frags scored as cash to purchase abilities.

[adapted and extended from Wikipedia]
]]> 05 Jun 2007 11:12:49 Spring Spring (formerly known as TA Spring or Total Annihilation: Spring), is a full 3D open source RTS engine originally created by the Swedish Yankspankers, intended to bring the gameplay experience of Total Annihilation into three dimensions. The core game engine is released under the GPL License; however, the prepackaged mod that comes with the standard installation requires that one own a copy of TA to legally play it. There is, however, an official release which uses fully free content, and there are a number of mods, both in development and released, that are also completely free to use.

Spring is being developed by the Swedish Yankspankers and the Spring community. The initial goal was to have the game run the mods and 3rd party units from Total Annihilation. This goal is now mostly complete, and the project has moved on to including additional features. The game is mainly focused around multiplayer games over the Internet or a LAN connection. There are currently no single player campaigns or missions, although there is some basic support for this through Lua scripting. There are also many skirmish AIs under development, allowing for offline play or extra players in an online game. Two skirmish AIs ship in the game package.
]]> 06 Feb 2007 11:53:14 King of Dragon Pass King of Dragon Pass is the saga of the colonization of a magical land in Glorantha (RuneQuest/Hero Wars). Your ragged clan have been driven from their homeland and have settled in the land of Dragon Pass. Your decisions will shape their future, determining whether they are remembered as a great clan, or dissappear in the winds of time.
]]> 24 Feb 2007 04:53:20 Siege of Avalon : Open Source Siege of Avalon takes place in the fictional land of Eurale. Within Eurale are seven kingdoms: Nisos, Aratoy, Oriam, Fornax, Elythria, Cathea, and Taberland. The seven kingdoms united into an uneasy alliance and built a citadel as a meeting place, which was named Avalon.

Within the land is a civilization of nomads known as the Sha'ahoul. Their religion values very highly the earth and nature and therefore they are against farming, the building of permanent structures, and similar practices which they feel destroys the earth. After discovering the existence of Eurale, they declared war on the seven kingdoms to eradicate their way of life.

Many refugees of the destruction caused by the Sha'ahoul took shelter in Avalon. The seven kingdoms sent military support to defend Avalon and the refugees. To the people of Eurale, Avalon is seen as the last hope at stopping the Sha'ahoul. The Sha'ahoul and their leader, Mithras, chose to overtake the citadel by setting up a siege around it.

The game begins with an entry in the hero's journal. The siege has been going on for several years. His brother, Corvus, serves as part of the military in Avalon. When their father dies, the hero feels that it is his obligation to inform Corvus of the sad news, so he becomes part of the crew of a ship sailing from Elythria to Avalon to deliver supplies. The Sha'ahoul manage to sink all of the ships except the one the hero is on. The ship reaches Avalon, but has lost most of its supplies. It is not possible to make a return voyage to Elythria and so the hero decides to stay at Avalon, inform Corvus of their father's death, and help out Avalon in whatever manner he can. The player gains control at this point and begins by speaking to Corvus and informing him about his father's death.
]]> 06 Mar 2007 06:51:38 Secret of Ultimate Legendary Fantasy Unleashed Secret of Ultimate Legendary Fantasy Unleashed is a third person perspective fantasy hack and slash RPG from the creator of Egoboo, called SoulFu for short.

Currently the game has been released for Windows only, and Mac and Linux versions are in development.
]]> 05 May 2007 05:23:01 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic It is Four Thousand years before the Galactic Empire and hundreds of Jedi Knights have fallen in battle against the ruthless Sith. As the last hope of the Jedi, you must lead a band of freedom fighters in an epic struggle to save the galaxy. Can you master the awesome power of the Force on your quest to save the Republic? Or will you fall to the lure of the dark side?
Hero or villain, savior or conqueror...you must choose wisely as you alone will determine the destiny of the entire galaxy!
]]> 25 Nov 2006 04:18:12 Blockland The game where you build stuff.

An open-ended, non-competitive, multi-player construction game. You build online with bricks.
]]> 09 Oct 2006 01:38:19 Full Throttle Motorcycles. Mayhem. Murder.

One minute you're on the road, riding. Then some guy in a suit comes along, says he's got a deal for you and your gang. But when you come to, you've got a lump on your head, the law on your back, and a feeling that the road you're on is about to get a lot rougher...
]]> 26 Nov 2006 05:42:45 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 VoiD.net

- What is it?

VoiD.net is a 2D platformer that tries to take advantage of current technology for revisiting and expanding the platformer genre. It's being developed with Blitzmax.

- What is it... not?


  • It's not retro or a remake. No "classic" control or feel.
  • It's not all about jumping down on enemies and collecting coins or rings. No random items floating around. It tries to make the player feel inside a (somewhat) coherent world.
  • The objective of the game is not get to the end of the level to find out the princess is in another castle. As the story develops, the player will have to adapt to each plot-driven situation.
  • There's no destined all-good hero trying to save the world. You control a group of characters that have their personalities, lives, and motivations.

Note: I love oldies like Mario Bros and Sonic! - It's not that they're not great games, but this game isn't aiming at that!

- Features?

At this point you'll have figured out VoiD.net has a big adventure component, and this heavily influences the gameplay. It has some RPG aspects (character levelling, skills / "magic") and even tactical wargame or fighting games ones.
Let's say I try to mix what I liked most of each (2D) genre into a platformer. This is the result:


  • High-res 32bit, hardware accelerated graphics (supporting OpenGL & DirectX currently; probly DX support will be discontinued).
  • VoiD Engine scripting language for developing customizable campaigns.
  • Deep immersion in the sci-fi world of Void through ingame narrative, playable cutscenes, "alive" game maps and npcs...
  • Up to 5 selectable characters at the same time in the player party.
  • Fast paced control system, designed for heavy action scenes.
  • Vehicles, some controlable by the player.
  • Levelling system for characters. Character classes & subclasses, skills (including some kind of magic), buyable equipment, award system a la Tactics Ogre...
  • Fluid character animation, thanks to VoiD Engine 2D Skeletal Animation System.
  • Ambient, weather and cinematic effects (graphic effects via shaders, when available).
  • Lots of developer love :)

- Personal note

I've been into development (on my own) for more than 2 years, and I know I still have long ways to go. The game has evolved a lot since its first form and has become somewhat complex.
This may sound crazy for just one dev, but I have my reasons. It's a very personal project, because I see it as my "ultimate freeware game" before starting to think more... commercial.

If you have any comment, ... well, just leave it, or mail me or whatever you want!

Void does not forgive.
]]> 11 Feb 2007 12:38:40 Deus Ex The year is 2052 and the world is a dangerous and chaotic place. Terrorists operate openly - killing thousands; drugs, disease and pollution kill even more. The world's economies are close to collapse and the gap between the insanely wealthy and the desperately poor grows ever wider. Worst of all, an ages old conspiracy bent on world domination has decided that the time is right to emerge from the shadows and take control. No one believes they exist. No one but you.
]]> 22 Nov 2006 09:26:12 True Combat: Elite What Is TrueCombat:Elite?
TC:E is a modern world total conversion modification of the free, popular, stand-alone first-person shooter Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. That is, TC:E is an entirely free game, made by gamers, for gamers.

TC:E is currently being developed by GrooveSix Studios and TeamTerminator. While TeamTerminator is known for the famous Q3 based TrueCombat series, GrooveSix Studios was initiated by retired TeamTerminator co-founder Coroner to develop a Return to Castle Wolfenstein modification that is not released. Thus, as very experienced Q3-based content creators, we hope to be able to serve the gaming community with a quality offering.
Now, the most important question: "What can you expect from TC:E?" TC:E is a tactical-team shooter, set up in a modern-world environment. TC:E puts you into the role of elite mercenary soldier in the conflicts of two internationally operating forces.


SpecOps vs. Terrors
The Global Intervention Force (GIF626) is a special force formed of the top of the world experts joining from US Delta force, UK SAS, German KSK and GSG9, to mention a few. An international mercenary organization known as "The Unit" is their opponent. It is reported that some of these dudes are were once with the above forces, but the lure of money is strong. You say "Yet another terror counter-terrorism shooter. Why the hell should I go for it?". We say "Cause you don't have to spend a cent and it features:"

  • Texture Tone Mapping
  • HDR Lighting
  • Realistic scaling
  • Free climb
  • Free Aim
  • High quality sounds (44khz)
  • rich, deluxe graphics, based on high-resolution digital-camera shots
  • Letterbox & widescreen modes - TrueVision
  • Dynamic Eye Adaption - DynEA
  • Cross Platform Gaming (Win, OS X, Linux)
  • tactical-teamplay oriented, modern-world combat simulation
  • realistic weapon behavior simulation
  • iron sight aiming system, no crosshair
  • sophisticated ballistic simulation including multiple-layer object penetration
  • professional mode: 1-life, short-timed, objective driven scenarios in realistic environments
  • bodycount mode: team deathmatch style, gametype to relax?
  • Reinforced OBJ, as Capture the Flag in stock maps
  • balanced, team specific set of real-world weapons (Grenades, Pistols, SMG's, Assault-, Shotgun- and Sniper-Rifles)
  • lag compensation, client-side bullet prediction, punkbuster support
  • immersive and lethal, fast-paced action"


    • You will need to download and install Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory to install and play this game. But it's all free, so it's all good!
    ]]>     27 Feb 2007 08:35:25     Starcraft An excellent RTS. Control one of three races to battle and destroy the opponents. The three races have different properties and abilities, but the balance in gameplay is superb.

    Made by Blizzard, creators of Warcraft.
    ]]>     07 Dec 2006 01:22:55     The Ur-Quan Masters A port of Star Control II for modern computing platforms, with code released under the GNU GPL.

    Latest stable version v0.6.2 here (17 January, 2007).

    New features in v0.6:

    • Netplay! You can now engage in Super Melee over the Internet.
    • Key configuration is now entirely in-game.
    • UQM now compiles and runs on 64-bit systems.
    ]]>     01 Dec 2006 10:01:46     Sid Meier's Civilization Sid Meier's Civilization is a landmark turn-based strategy game. It is inspired by Avalon Hill' board game of the same name.

    The game begins in 4000 BC, where the player gets a small tribe which have to be controlled and made great through the ages until modern and near-future times. The game is also known simply as Civilization, or abbreviated to Civ or Civ I.
    ]]>     05 Feb 2007 10:25:27     Jets 'N' Guns Jets 'N' Guns is a space-shooter that truly distinguishes itself because of it's amazing gameplay, graphics and music. This action-filled game includes lots of graphical humor in various environments such as space, sea, jungle and lava. The ability to fully customize your spaceship is also very interesting. Additionally, it features an excellent rock soundtrack by Machinae Supremacy.
    ]]>     10 Mar 2007 01:11:51     Determinance A multiplayer sword-fighting game in development for three years.
    ]]>     29 Nov 2006 10:50:06     Ultima IV - Quest of the Avatar From the Moby Games entry:

    The fourth game in the now well-established Ultima series featured an improved game engine, with color graphics and better character interaction (you could now have actual conversations with NPCs). But what really makes Ultima IV shine is its radical departure from any other RPG made before or since in terms of the story and goal.

    Instead of building up your character by any means possible in order to face the Ultimate Evil in a big bang up showdown, in Ultima IV you were trying to become the Avatar, a role model of sorts for the people of the land. This meant upholding the "eight virtues" and basically trying to become a better person. In most RPGs you chose to be a just/nice hero because the people you'd help would usually provide you with some nice equipment for your services, but in Ultima IV you helped people not for a reward or to advance the plot but simply because it was the "right thing to do". The game actually frowns on behavior that was typical of most other RPGs, such as backstabbing fleeing monsters or picking up everything that wasn't nailed down even if it didn't belong to you. The game keeps track of all your actions, so if you went about killing and looting like in most RPGs, you'd never finish the game.

    This VERY different approach to the game's ultimate goal is what makes Ultima IV famous so many years later, and became the sort of design philosophy that made all the following Ultimas so unique in their genre.

    Of course, the game still has plenty of traditional RPG elements such as dungeons to explore and hostile monsters to kill, as well as a typical final "Holy Grail" type quest where you had to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom to complete your transformation into Avatarhood.

    In 1996 Computer Gaming World named Ultima IV as #2 on its Best Games of All Time list on the PC.

    The game was released for free to the public. The original MS-DOS version is available on many sites, and a game engine recreation is now available for for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux.
    ]]>     05 Dec 2006 01:59:25     Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares Master of Orion II is like Civilization. Rather than take over the world, you focus on the galaxy, taking worlds instead of cities. Pick or create your own race, pursue technologies, employ strategic fleet deployments, and engage in extremely advanced diplomacy.

    Various paths to victory.
    ]]>     02 Feb 2007 04:54:21     Lemmings Lemmings, a computer game developed by DMA Design (now Rockstar North) and published by Psygnosis in 1991, was one of the most popular computer games of its time. Several games magazines of the time awarded the game maximum review scores.

    Psygnosis, also known for the Wipeout series, had its greatest success in Lemmings. Famously, the concept for Lemmings came from an animation created by Mike Dailly over a lunchtime, to prove a point about how small a character could be on screen. [1]

    The game was unique and based around a concept previously untried. In the original Commodore Amiga version, there are 120 levels, and on each level, the player must guide a group of up to 100 lemmings (or 80 in many versions, such as DOS and Windows) home by giving individual lemmings various commands. The "lemmings" of the game are small, green-haired humanoid beings that mindlessly walk en masse into any danger in their path, following the popular myth that real lemmings behave in a similarly suicidal fashion.

    Of the numerous sequels the only one to achieve the success of the first was Lemmings 2: The Tribes, which added twelve specialist tribes of lemmings, each with their own type of level and specialist workers.

    The game briefly gave rise to a new genre, described in magazines at the time as the "save 'em up", a joking reference to other popular genres like beat 'em up and shoot 'em up.


    Source: wikipedia.com
    ]]>     15 Jan 2007 07:43:50     Diablo II: Lord of Destruction Diablo II: Lord of Destruction (commonly abbreviated LoD) is an expansion pack for the popular hack and slash Action role-playing game Diablo II. Unlike the original Diablo's expansion pack, Diablo: Hellfire, it is an official expansion designed by Blizzard North.

    More than a standard expansion, Lord of Destruction not only added content in the form of new character classes and an additional scenario, it also dramatically revamped the gameplay of the existing Diablo II for solo and especially multiplayer. As a result, LoD is largely considered a "must-buy" instead of only being an addition, making it a huge multiplayer success and one of the most successful expansion packs of all time.
    ]]>     12 Feb 2007 12:58:34     Quest for Glory 2: Trial by Fire Directly following from the events of the first game, the newly-proclaimed Hero of Spielburg travels by flying carpet with his friends Abdulla Doo, Shameen and Shema to the desert city of Shapeir. The city is threatened by magical elementals, while the Emir Arus al-Din of Shapier's sister city Raseir is missing and his city fallen under tyranny.

    After defeating the four elementals that threaten Shapeir, the Hero travels to the city of Raseir. There, he is imprisoned by Khaveen and under hypnosis helps the evil tyrannous wizard Ad Avis to resurrect the evil genie Iblis. In the final fight, the Hero attacks the palace and battles with Ad Avis, who falls to his presumed death begging for assistance from his Dark Master. As thanks for the Hero's success in liberating Raseir and restoring its lost splendor, the Sultan of Shapeir, Harun al-Rashid, rewards the Hero by adopting him as his son.
    - from Wikipedia
    ]]>     22 Apr 2007 07:55:46     ToME - Tales of Middle Earth ToME (The Troubles/Tales of Middle Earth) is a rogue-like based on angband. It features several races, classes, spells, powers, monsters, artifacts, quests, etc. The list could go on and on.

    Unlike vanilla angband, ToME has several cities based on a map fitting for J.R.R. Tolkien's works. There are several dungeons you can explore, their levels are randomly generated from their design to contents and quests, but not everything is random, there are special rooms, quests, unique artifacts and unique monsters players can hunt for.

    ToME is also an unique rogue-like by the fact that it's not entirely level based, players can customise their characters by increasing skills which range from weaponmastery to necromancy and summoning, just to name a few.

    Because it's constantly in development, ToME has a very active community and several MODs player can create and use.
    ]]>     26 Jun 2007 05:21:09     Fractured Universe Ages ago, the universes were all connected through fantastic portals created, some say, by the gods themselves. These portals were used by royalty, travelers, merchants, peasants... anyone that had need to travel from one world to another could use them.

    Whomever, whatever, however they were created was lost through the ages. Everyone believed that since the portals had existed since the beginning of time then they would last until the end of time. But then things changed.

    Nobody knows exactly what happened. The disappearance of the portals are as much a mystery as their origins. The portals didn't all disappear at once. No, as my great-great grandfather tells it, it took about a year until the last known portal from this world to another was gone. The year was called the Year of Chaos.

    Today, everything changed...
    ]]>     21 Nov 2006 05:57:43     Strife Strife is a first-person shooter computer game based on the Doom engine from id Software. Strife added some role-playing game elements and allowed players to talk to other characters in the game's world.

    The world is a comprehensive environment, not divided into levels like most other 3D shooters of the time. Instead, the player travels from a cental hub-like area in the city between various levels which will stay the same as when the player left them.
    ]]>     24 Jan 2007 10:51:36     Bolo Bolo is a 16 player graphical networked real-time multi-player tank battle game. It has elements of arcade-style shoot-em-up action, but for the serious players who play 12 hour games with 16 players working in teams in different networked computer clusters around an office or university campus, it becomes more of a strategy game. You have to play it to understand.
    ]]>     08 Dec 2006 06:48:15     Snowman Village In Snowman Village you must roll your snowball along and dodge the various obstacles in your path, gradually making it bigger and bigger. When you're done you can take it back and use it to build a snowman. Keep building snowmen until you've got your very own village full of them!

    The current version is playable and polished, but it's still under development. If you've got any features or requests that you'd like to see added then please leave a comment. Thanks!
    ]]>     14 Feb 2007 07:33:26     Chesspark Chesspark was created by chess lovers to bring chess to a wide audience of casual, club, and professional players. Our modern and easy to use interface makes use of the latest technologies for the Web as well as Instant Messaging in order to make online chess accessible to everyone, not just the elite players. However, those elite players will find features at Chesspark that are available no where else and made just for them.
    ]]>     07 Mar 2007 08:08:05     Football Manager 2007 Latest in a long line of Football Management simulations primarilarly designed for playing on the PC or Mac but now also available on the Xbox360 console.
    ]]>     29 Mar 2007 09:24:37     The Continuum The Continuum combines classic turn-based wargaming, collectibility and RPG character development into one multi-player adventure that will change the way you game. Characters, abilities and equipment combine with in-game artifacts, epic battlefields, and changing scenarios to provide an experience that is at once familiar and all-new.

    Players will have a huge impact on the ultimate design, features, and direction that the game takes as the beta rolls out. Pre-registration for the beta is open at the official website for The Continuum.
    ]]>     17 May 2007 01:28:46     Armagetron Advanced Armagetron Advanced is a 3D online multiplayer game modeled after the light cycle sequences from the film Tron. Armagetron Advanced is licensed under version 2 of the GNU GPL.
    ]]>     09 Feb 2007 11:14:37     Total Annihilation A long time ago, the galaxy was ruled by a wise and benevolent central body known as the Core (named after their location, at the core of the galaxy, although some believe it is a portmanteau of "Consciousness Repository"). This organization pushed scientific progress and planetary colonization forward until the human race covered almost the entire galaxy. Ironically, it was the Core's final triumph against mortality that would prove to be its undoing, for when the Core mandated uploading all peoples' brain patterns into machines in a method known as "patterning," there was a massive rebellion from the Arm (named after their location, an arm of the spiral galaxy), an organization which banded together from the edges of the galaxy and demanded to keep their physical bodies. A war like no other began, which has since raged on for four thousand years. The Core copy their finest warriors' brains into fighting robots, and the Arm respond with cloning and powerful manned units.
    ]]>     25 Nov 2006 04:43:04     Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate was the first great daptation of the classic tabletop, role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons that reinvigorated the hardcore role-playing genre for the PC.

    It offers six separate races and eight core character classes, from which the player can create a completely original character. The game world is beautifully designed in the best 2d renders of its time, and players are free to explore this wonderful game environment in any way they see fit, all against the backdrop of a thoughtfully conceived and versatile plot written by the genre's finest at Bioware.

    Your adventures begin as a young orphan living with your stepfather within the safe and scholarly confines of Candlekeep on the Sword Coast. It is an idyllic life until you are forced to leave the place in order to ensure the safety of everyone within. Your stepfather is killed on the night of your journey, and it becomes clear that you are intended to be next. You, as the young protagonist, then set out to discover your true identity, which your stepfather kept from you, and your ultimate destiny.

    During the adventures, you recruit a number of personable allies, battle foes, delve into dungeons, trek across wilderness, solve mysteries, and complete a plethora of epic quests that are seamlessly sown into the fabric of the overall plot. The story line unfolds in response to your choices to reveal your character's true identity as well as the nature and motive of your enemies.

    Baldur's Gate is the epitome of the classic role-playing experience. It won several awards in 1998 for being the Role-Playing Game of the Year, and as such, it sets itself as the standard by which all such games will be judged. Games like Planescape: Torment, Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic all take inspiration from the masterpiece that is Baldur's Gate.
    ]]>     25 Jan 2007 03:49:28