New Games Tagged 'fantasy, core, Windows' on The Great Games Experiment New Games on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg New Games Tagged 'fantasy, core, Windows' on The Great Games Experiment en-us Legend of Crystal Valley
]]> 25 Apr 2008 06:17:58 Disciples III "Disciples III will feature more than 150 different "characters"--the war heroes, monsters, ghosts, and other beasties that can make up a war party in the game, and like in the previous games, the size of your war party will depend on your leader character's leadership skill. Apparently, some monsters in the game, such as dragons, will be absolutely huge, and will take up to 12 squares on the game's combat map, which has been retouched as a grid-based map divided up into two halves--yours and your opponents"

(qtd. from Gamespot.com)
]]> 18 Jul 2007 01:20:25 Myth III: The Wolf Age Myth III is the third installment of this ground-breaking series of real-time strategy games. Set one thousand years before the other games, it explores the life of Connacht the Wolf. Set in 1421 AE, Myth III: The Wolf Age opens with the world in chaos. Most of humanity has been scattered for centuries. To defeat your enemies, you must cast spells, gain experience, collect items, and build ancient devices. The single-player campaign spans 25 levels with over 40 units.
]]> 15 Apr 2007 07:25:41 Total Annihilation Kingdoms Unlike its name suggests, Kingdoms is not a sequel nor a prequel to Total Annihilation. It did inherit the epic scale and style of play of Total Annihilation however.

Set in a world of Magic, the player plays as one of four sides:

Aramon, the traditional fantasy style race, with knights, castles, and mages.

Veruna, the powerful maidens of the sea, with almost complete ship battle dominance, crossbowmen, and cannon towers.

Zhon, the beast race, with hunters, giants, and dragons.

Taros, the 'evil' race, with skeletons, zombies, ghost ships, and demons.

Epic battles, better graphics then its predecessor, and a compelling storyline make this game great.
]]> 15 Mar 2007 02:55:51 My Bogle My Bogle is a small group tactics game, where your characters (called "Bogle", with a long O) engage in strategic and fun combat against online opponents in a variety of game types. It's extremely accessible and yet there's plenty of depth just waiting to be uncovered. It's turn-based play makes it ideal for casual pickup and play and yet the turns are quick and fast paced so as to keep the action moving.

My Bogle will be launching along side our Friends Play Free invitation service. What that means is that when you buy My Bogle, you'll get to send invitations to your friends and family, who can then download and play the full version of My Bogle online against you anytime they want, without any restrictions. The only caveat is that if they want to play when you're not around, then they'll need to buy the game too. Think of it a bit like Frisbee for Video Games. As long as you own a Frisbee, you can play it with anybody you want, right? You don't think "hey, I wonder if the person I'm throwing this to has a license to catch it." And that way your friends can be exposed to the great game of Frisbee for free (all thanks to you), but they can only play Frisbee when you're around unless they go out and buy one for themselves. Video Games should be more like Frisbee, and that's what Friends Play Free is all about.
]]> 03 Mar 2007 09:40:52 The Settlers: Heritage of Kings From the Developer's web site:

Exerpts from the FAQ:

The Settlers: Heritage of Kings still is very much about building up an economy. Affectionately made animations and a living environment have consequently been a part of the series. The player still can just sit back during the game and watch the busy little settlers doing their work.

It was important to us that the Settlers Saga evolves further. Therefore there have been several changes since The Settlers 3 and 4 including the new graphics style, the 3D environment, a storyline and the heroes.

That is also the reason why we do not speak of The Settlers 5 but of the Heritage of Kings.
]]> 29 Jan 2007 10:09:59 Warhammer Mark of Chaos From the Developer's web site:

MASTER THE ART OF WAR: Warhammer: Mark of Chaos is about WAR, focusing on the armies and battles while de-emphasizing the tedious aspects of base and resource management.

From the contributor:

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos had an amazingly rough launch. Multiplyer failed to work properly out of the box, and patches for those issues corrupted saved campaign games in addition to breaking the save / load system. At that time, the only solution to play the single player campaign was to re-install and not play multiplyer. It was a frustration that overshadowed an otherwise enjoyable game. It is important to note that the game is very much a 'build your army and fight the other guy' process and not a resource-driven RTS. It is not particularly hard, the AI is not very bright, but the visuals are well crafted and the mechanics are farly faithful to the Games Workshop system.
]]> 29 Jan 2007 09:08:46 The Wheel of Time
Enter the Wheel of Time and dare to seize ultimate power.

Based on Robert Jordan's best-selling series of fantasy novels, The Wheel Of Time is a gaming experience that will become your world. A first person action/strategy game with story-rich elements set in a lush, high resolution universe of mystery and wonder. A single player quest through mystical and expansive environments. Unique multiplayer dynamics with three game types. All with strategic spell combat. Because power is not given...TAKE IT!

Wheel of Time is a first-person 3-D action/strategy with role playing elements. The environments are taken directly from the pages of Jordan's books, vast in scope and shaped around the quest of Elayna Sedai, Keeper of the Chronicles of the White Tower. Other characters from the fictional work are also portrayed faithfully in the single player quest, as you vye with them for the remaining seals needed to unlock the greatest of powers.


Additional Game Features:

  • Seize power by the strategic use of over 40 mystical artifacts.

  • Totally immersive 3D environments with rich, state-of-the-art graphics.

  • The richly-textured world of Robert Jordan's hugely popular novels brought to life!

  • Enhanced Unreal engine technology in blazing real-time!

  • First person action in single player quest and multiplayer.

  • Wonderful atmospheres enriched by a great soundtrack of Celtic-rock fusion music created for the project by a colaborration of Robert Berry and Lief Sorbye.

Developer: Legend Entertainment Company, under license from Robert Jordan
Publisher: GT Interactive Software
Release Date: Oct 31, 1999 in the US, February 11, 1998 in Japan and Europe

Alex Harris of ACTIVENETWORK said,
Wheel of Time uses an enhanced version of the Unreal engine to bring Robert Jordan's world to life. In addition to the Unreal engine's core capabilities like 24-bit color (with MMX), multiple dynamic (and colored) light sources, complex geometry, smooth character animation, real moving/rotating brushes, seamless level transition, and a powerful scripting language, they have endowed the engine with a host of WoT-specific effects. The particle system they created for Wheel of Time makes for some of the coolest explosions and smoke effects you've ever seen. In addition, they went in and provided support for weather effects like rain, snow and wind.

System Requirements
Pentium 200, 32MB RAM, 500MB HD space, Windows 9x compatible sound card, 3-D accelerator, DirectX 6.1, internet connection required for online play.
]]> 27 Jan 2007 07:41:31 Divine Divinity Divine Divinity is a computer role-playing game. There are 3 character classes — Fighter, Mage and Survivor (Thief), each with a special move. Unlike most other RPGs, the player's gender affects his/her skills, giving a total of 6 character choices to choose from.

Divine Divinity takes the player on a fantastic quest in a land torn apart by corruption and dark magic. Throughout his journeys the player will get the chance to develop his character as one of six character types, and meet a variety of people and fantastical beings. By combining the best features of the RPG genre, and introducing many new features, Divine Divinity aims to appeal to both hard-core and new RPG players.

There are four huge maps totalling over 20,000 screens, with a very wide range of environments. For instance there is an elven forest, a demon wasteland, farmlands, towns, fortifications and extensive sewer systems. The world is extremely extensive, and includes numerous small details such as epithets on tombstones.

For the player's choice of character, there are three classes and two genders, totaling six possible starters. Each has an individual appearance which can be altered by placing equipment on them, such as armour or helmets.

The three classes are Survivor (a rogue-like character), Warrior and Wizard. They have slightly different stat conversions; for example a warrior gains 6 health points per constitution point, whilst a survivor gains only five points. Each of the character classes also has a unique movement form, such as a sneak ability for the Survivor. But other than this it is a game does not use character classes—any class can use any of the other two skill paths, which each have 36 separate skills.

A random equipment generator allows an extremely wide variety of items, and in this sense it is similar to the Diablo 2 computer game. Items can be upgraded using objects called charms, as well as the enchant item skill, allowing further customisation. There are also slightly more than 50 (relatively) fixed items, with varying powers.

There are more than 150 NPC characters, many with detailed background stories and depth, and a large number of varied villains.

A very extensive and adaptive soundtrack was written by Kirill Pokrovsky for the game. RPG vault gave Divine Divinity the award for Outstanding Achievement in Music. They said, "It very proficiently supports the changing moods and locations in the game, never becoming either overwhelming or repetitive."
]]> 25 Jan 2007 06:27:45 Icewind Dale Icewind Dale is a computer role-playing game developed by Black Isle Studios.

The game is set in the Forgotten Realms Icewind Dale region of Dungeons & Dragons, but takes place decades before the events described in R. A. Salvatore's books which popularized the area. An expansion to the game, Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter, was released in 2001.

Based on the BioWare Infinity Engine, the game features pre-rendered backgrounds, and an isometric camera perspective with sprite-based characters. This engine was used to power Black Isle Studios' previous game, Planescape: Torment. Icewind Dale is based on a real-time modification of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition ruleset.
]]> 25 Jan 2007 05:24:54 Asheron's Call 2 Asheron's Call 2 was the short-lived would be successor to the successful mmorpg Asheron's Call. The original title enjoyed great popularity, with speculation (uncomfirmed by Microsoft) that subscription reached as high as 120,000 players at it's peak. Asheron's Call 2 did not meet the expectations of the publishers, having launched in November of 2002 with "Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings" and continuing on with the "Legions" content expansion until the plug was pulled on December 30, 2005.

The original game still lives beyond it's sequel, now having been returned to the control of the developer Turbine Entertainment Software, and has moved on to it's second expansion "Asheron's Call: Thrones of Destiny", currently the latest content available.

As for Asheron's Call 2, although players were chiefly approving of the content, gameplay dynamics and greatly enhanced graphics, the original Asheron's Call player base was somewhat divided, and at release the game suffered initial problems of server instability, engine bugs, balance and combat flaws, and critical chat system problems. Also of note are the high system requirements, challenging to many gamers of the time, and perhaps even moreso to the rpg community in particular.

Although Turbine and Microsoft proved capable and commited to addressing the many release issues, the game never overcame the poor launch. Although the publishers have not disclosed the numbers, it is estimated that Asheron's Call 2 peaked briefly at about 50,000 players, and was closer to 10,000 at the time that is was cancelled.

Additional Game Features:

  • Brand new graphics engine, new combat system and an updated interface.

  • Third person adventure in a subscription based mmorpg.

  • Combat, exploration and adventure in the persistent lush fantasy world of Dereth.

  • Free monthly (or sometimes bi-monthly) content updates.

  • Create from a choice of 3 basic races, each with dozens of branches on the skill tree available to develop a unique character.

  • Complex gameplay and combat systems based on a hybrid class-skill system. Player rank levelling according to XP, increasing and unlocking skill potentials.

Developer: Turbine Entertainment Software
Publisher: Microsoft, subsequently Turbine Entertainment Software
Released: November 22, 2002

System Requirements
98SE/2000/ME/XP, 2 GHz CPU, 1GB RAM, 128MB DirectX 9.0-compliant video card w/ T&L and vertex shaders, 56K Internet access, compliant sound card
]]> 23 Jan 2007 11:28:53 Asheron's Call
The Portal to Dereth Has Opened!

Welcome to the online role-playing game Asheron's Call, where thousands of players inhabit a beautiful 3D fantasy world to make friends and seek out perilous adventure. Customize your alter ego with a unique appearance and balance of heroic skills, then enter a magical frontier of terrible monsters, breathtaking vistas, and fast alliances. With over 500 square miles that offer ever more wonders to explore, Asheron's Call gives you a world of unparalleled scope and freedom, the richest setting yet for creating your personal saga or joining your friends in an epic campaign.

The sun sets in a fine shroud of mist, reddening the stucco of a cheery hilltop inn as wind sighs through the groves; in the mountains, a giant banderling shadows a warrior party amid a lulling patter of snow; and somewhere below the flagstones of the deepest Empyrean excavation, the clicking, chittering Olthoi share mad and bloody dreams. Fond human fantasies meet strange nightmares in the magical realm of Dereth. Escape into 500 square miles of hills, mountains, deserts, forests, towns, and dungeons, where no invisible boundaries interrupt your journey over the vast open spaces. With or without the stunning effects of 3D hardware acceleration, your computer becomes the window on a living world. Storms sweep the countryside, the sun sinks into the west, the moons rise and fall, and dawn creeps over the horizon.

Asheron's Call develops a heroic fantasy setting familiar enough to draw you in yet mysterious enough to draw you onward. A varied host of monsters populate the benighted, medieval terrain; mysterious artifacts of great power embellish vast treasure hoards; and sorcerers, fighters, and rogues plot both heroic alliances and base villainy. However, Asheron's Call retains a strong flavor all its own, with an original backstory and creatures, and unparalleled flexibility in character creation and development. After selecting your attire and facial features from millions of possible combinations, customize your skill set to make your character truly unique. As you defeat foes, you can allocate experience to not only specific skills but also the base attributes like strength and intelligence. And the allegiance system grants you power and prestige as you recruit followers to your service. Enter the vast and magical world of Dereth, where a new and heroic identity awaits you!

Additional Game Features:

  • Persistent online rpg in fantasy realms.

  • Developer's made bold changes to rpg's of the time of origin, normalizing character classes and magic.

  • Multi-part quests are only part of the adventure options over an expanse of (currently) 9 servers.

  • Technical stability in a game that is believed to have supported well over 100,000 players at it's peak.

  • Extensive support, documentation, and online communities.

  • Asheron's Call is not a static game, the threat changes, and the world along with it.

  • Complex and dynamic magic system, with a spell economy in place to limit the effectiveness of certain spells.

  • Numerous melee and missile weapons include sword, staff, dagger, axe, mace, spear, bow, crossbow and more, as well as unarmed combat.

  • Complex allegiance system of monarchs, patrons and vassels benefits allies in building XP.

  • Attentive administration of the server community roots out unscrupulous cheats in order to keep the game fun and sporting for the rest.

  • Latest expansion "Thrones of Destiny" updated the graphics engine as well as making changes to gameplay dynamics (2005).

  • Subscription fee of $12.95 per month at time of this posting are in addition to the purchase price of the game(s).

Developer: Turbine Entertainment Software
Publisher: Microsoft (1999-2004) then by Turbine who continue to publish and support the content(2004- )
Released: october 31, 1999


Minimum System Requirements
  • Multimedia PC with 333 MHz processor or higher
  • Microsoft Windows 98, Me, 2000 or XP
  • 64 MB RAM
  • 300 MB available hard drive space for typical install, 100 MB available hard drive space for swap file
  • 4x CD-ROM drive or higher
  • Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
  • Internet access


    • The expansions Dark Majesty and Throne of Destiny (the latest and current edition of Asheron's Call) have added content to this original version, which has outlived it's own sequel as Turbine Software continues to sell and support Asheron's Call. The "buy now" link for this game may not apply to the original content.
    ]]>     23 Jan 2007 02:21:36     Final Fantasy VIII In a time of both sophisticated technology and powerful magic, an evil sorceress corrupts the world's largest military power through manipulation and deception, enslaving mankind to do her bidding. Her goal is not something as simple as world domination; but to completely conquer all of space and time.

    To counter the turn of events, various leaders head combat training schools, known as Gardens, that turn out elite fighting forces. Known as SeeDs, they defend, serve, and protect humankind from the sorceress. The sole purpose of these academies is to vanquish the sorceress and save humanity as we know it, although they take many other assignments for the right price.

    A small, loose-knit group of SeeD graduates find themselves wrapped in a much bigger endeavor than simple military combat. Now, a gunblade specialist, together with a diverse group of young heroes, must set aside his fears, face the emotions he's run from, and become the leader that he never wanted to be.
    ]]>     14 Jan 2007 09:18:24     Dark Messiah A dark cloud has fallen over the Might and Magic universe, and as the young hero Sareth, you must stop the spread of this dismal plague. Your epic journey begins 18 years after the events of Heroes V, and now, the revelations of your past may light the way in your pursuit of the truth. As you explore the secluded region of Ashan, you'll be confronted by the Dark Messiah's many minions, such as the orcs, the savage goblins, the elusive trolls, the fire-breathing dragons and the most morbid of all, the dreadful undead.
    ]]>     14 Jan 2007 06:46:29     The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind A strange land, home to the dark elves, is under siege from within. The evil Dagoth Ur strives to conquer all, and the Tribunal which protects the land are weakened and can no longer hold out against the onslaught. To Morrowind, to the island of Vvardenfall, you are sent, to do battle with Dagoth Ur and free the false gods of the Tribunal from their ancient folly.
    ]]>     09 Jan 2007 10:43:39     Septerra Core Septerra Core is a PC only rpg developed by Valkyrie Studios. Players encounter intriguing puzzles, strong character development and fast paced strategic combat, all driven forward by a story which takes place in the original, highly detailed fantasy world of Septerra, so named after it's 7 layers, each with distinctive characteristics, geography and politics.


    Additional Game Features:

    • Hundreds of locations for players creates a large, fully explorable world with seven continents.

    • Highly developed storyline and characters offer fifteen chapters of gameplay.

    • Simple interface allows players to tap into the complex options of the game, without overly complex menus.

    • In addition to the main character, players may choose from eight companions, each with a unique background story, motivation and skill set.

    • Engage enemies in a combat system that has all the strategy of turn based combat, but keeps the game fast paced.

    • Over 140 NPCs that respond to your characters with over 5 hours of recorded dialog.

    • Experiment with item combinations to create over 100 spell effects by collecting a deck of "Fate Cards."

    • Large 16-bit backgrounds that are natural and non-repetitive.

    • Hundreds of Items and Weapons allow you to tweak out your characters.

    • Highest quality production, including 640x480 graphics, 16-bit color, completely recorded dialogue and fully animated movie sequences.

    • Artwork inspired heavily by the Japanese anime genre, employing stylised characters and fantastic landscape, combining futuristic science fiction elements with, for example, medieval concepts.

    Developer: Valkyrie Studios
    Publisher: Monolith Productions
    Released: October 31, 1999

    Minimum System Requirements

    Windows 95/98, DirectX 5.0, Pentium 200, 4X CD-ROM, 32 MB RAM, DirectX-compatible sound card, Mouse and Keyboard
    ]]>     19 Dec 2006 10:42:49     Afterlife As a Demiurge, your job is providing an afterlife for arriving souls. Constructing and managing Heaven and Hell are at your disgression, including whether you even provide both options! But in spite of your somewhat godlike powers, you are expected to make the whole thing profitable while providing services divine and infernal for the eternal residents of your "planet".

    Only the most dedicated sim players are likely to keep up with the high management requirements, though the game's unique humor and barrage of puns makes the game fun for all (Guess which realm contains a prison called San Quentin Tarantino?).

    Your responsibilities are extensive, as you must train angels and demons, advance technologies, and plan and manage effective zones within your realms. Your management expertise must include a "feng shui" sort of skill for balancing the "vibe" of adjacent structures for maximum efficiency.

    Additional Game Features:


    • Interface will seem familiar to Sim City 2000 players, though the excellent 3D isometric graphics, unique wit and outstanding soundtrack stand apart.

    • Soundtrack by Peter McConnell, whose extensive work for LucasArts included the many Star Wars titles of the 1990's, Grim Fandango, Sam & Max Hit the Road, The Dig and so many others.

    • Single player only, featuring 3 difficulty levels.

    • Game doesn't actually end unless your management fails badly, causing the Four Surfers from Apocalypso pay a visit and you're back to square one!


    Developed and published by Lucasarts, June 1996

    System Requirements

    MAC: Requirements: MacOS version 7.1 or higher 33Mhz 68040 or higher, PowerPC recommended Double Speed CD-ROM drive or faster 8MB of RAM, 5 MB free; 16MB recommended 256 color 13" or larger display required 8MB hard disk space

    PC: 486 DX2-66 MHz or higher, Min 8Mb memory,MS-DOS 6.00 or higher, Hard drive required with 1Mb free, Double speed CD-ROM drive or faster, MSCDEX version 2.2 or higher, 256 color VGA or SVGA display (PCI or VLB recommended), SoundBlaster 2.0, Sound Blaster Pro, Sound Blaster 16, AWE32, Pro Audio Spectrum, Gravis UltraSound, Ensoniq Soundscape, and 100% compatibles, Microsoft compatible mouse.

    Trivia! Typing SAMNMAX three times while holding the shift key unleashes a hoard of bunnies (Maxes) which destroy your afterlife by their relentless hopping.

    MS-DOS/Windows 95 compatible.
    ]]>     18 Dec 2006 09:26:21     Freedom Force vs The Third Reich
    When Nuclear Winter returns with a plot to destroy Freedom Force and the free world, gaming's greatest heroes must team up with a flurry of fresh faces! As the sinister soviet's plan unfurls, patriot city's finest find themselves flung through time into the greatest conflict the planet has ever seen: World War 2!


    The second of the series, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich is a superhero tactical-rpg/strategy game with an extensive character customisation system. As in the original Freedom Force game, the interface is intuitive and easy to use, the storyline is lighthearted and humorous, and there are excellent character development tools.

    Missions are framed within stylish cutscenes that are highly reminiscent of the golden age of comics. Nearly all of the action and movement in the game can be controlled by mouse, but shortcut keys are also functional. Gameplay is in real time by default, but with a turn based aspect, as with a tap of the spacebar you can pause the game and issue orders.


    Additional game features

    • A brand new chapter in the ever-expanding Freedom Force universe.

    • Six new playable heroes from two distinct eras of comic books.

    • A hoard of new villains bent on world domination.

    • Radically enhanced graphics running on a brand new engine (Gamebryo).

    • Vastly improved multiplayer, including several completely new modes.

    • For the first time in gaming, a trip to the Golden Age of comics.

    • Create your own comic battles with story-based multiplayer.

    • Fully destructable environments.

    • Real-time shadows, dynamic lights and more new rendering features.

    • Create your own hero with the hero editor.

    • Robust Modding tools.


    Computer Gaming World's Strategy Game of the Year 2002!


    Developed by Irrational Games, and released in the U.S. on March 8, 2005 by publisher Vivendi Universal Games.

    System Requirements:
    733 MHz P3 or Athlon processor or equivalent. 128MB RAM, ATI Radeon 7000 or NVIDIA Geforce GTS or equivalent DirectX 9.0c compliant 32MB video card with hardware T&L. 700MB hard disk space. DirectX compatible sound card. 56K modem or broadband internet connection for online play. Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
    ]]>     16 Dec 2006 03:04:54     American McGee's Alice Based upon characters and elements of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", this 3rd person adventure contains elements of platform jumpers, shooters, action and puzzle games, all in a highly stylized and colorful world of fantasy.

    Years have passed since Alice's trip through the looking glass. After surviving the fire that killed her parents, Alice is driven by despair into a catatonic state and institutionalized. The famed Cheshire Cat is teenaged Alice's constant companion as she finds herself once again in Wonderland.

    The land is not as she had left it though, more twisted than ever, and her journey reflects that of the depressed, anxious, even suicidal girl battling for sanity and balance once more as she fights to overthrow the cruel Red Queen and put things right.

    Alice's arsenal includes an exploding Jack-in-the-Box, nasty dice, an ice wand, and much more.

    Powered by the Quake III engine, Alice was designed by American McGee, developed by Rogue Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, who released the game in October, 2000. It is of possible interest that American McGee's site no longer holds reference to the game.

    The game features a soundtrack composed by former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna. The voice of Alice was performed by Susie Brann.

    The related Universal Pictures film "Alice", starring Sarah Gellar in the title role is apparently set for release to coincide with the publication of Duke Nukem Forever.
    ]]>     15 Dec 2006 06:21:37     Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura Imagine a place of wonder, where magic and technology hold equal sway, and an adventurer might just as easily wield a flintlock pistol as a flaming sword. A place where great industrial cities house castle keeps and factories, home to Dwarves, Humans, Orcs and Elves alike. A place of ancient runes and steamworks, of magic and machines, of sorcery and science.

    Welcome to the Land of Arcanum

    Arcanum is the first game to come from the development house Troika Games, LLC, started by former Fallout team members Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, and Jason Anderson. This team takes the depth of gameplay and world-building in role-playing games to entirely new levels of realism and excitement.

    Arcanum creates a compelling new world where magic and technology coexist in an uneasy balance. As Arcanum opens, the mechanical age has only recently arrived in this ancient land where Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and other races have learned to survive in the new sprawling industrialized cities. But this radical shift from magic to technology has created a potentially explosive situation. As the townspeople and other thinkers begin mass production of light bulbs, batteries, eyeglasses and guns, the Mages grow leery. This tightly wound setting is the starting point from which the character must set out on his quest.
    ]]>     05 Dec 2006 05:04:59     Ultima VII - The Black Gate From the Moby Games description:

    You are the Avatar, returning to Britannia after 200 years of absence. Strange ritual murders are committed in the land while an organization known as The Fellowship is gathering a huge following. And there is this being known as The Guardian whose mockery follows you on your travels. Your old companions will join you on your quest through Britannia as you slowly discover the secret behind the Fellowship and the Guardian.

    Ultima VII features completely revamped graphics and controls. The traditional Ultima top-down view of the world now fills the entire screen, with other informational windows overlaid on top of it only when necessary. Both world interaction and dialogue are fully mouse-controlled. The tactical combat system of previous Ultimas was replaced with a real-time system where only general strategies can be set and party members fight automatically.

    The Britannia of Ultima VII is a large virtual world with lots of details: hundreds of NPCs can be talked to, virtually every object in the game is usable in some way and many side quests await the player.
    ]]>     05 Dec 2006 02:27:09     Planescape: Torment Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game developed for Microsoft Windows by Black Isle Studios. Released on December 12, 1999, the game takes place in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Planescape campaign setting. Unlike other computer role-playing games, such as Baldur's Gate, Torment places emphasis on conversation and storyline instead of combat.

    The game begins in Sigil, where the protagonist, an enigmatic and heavily scarred immortal dubbed The Nameless One by the game's interface, wakes up in a mortuary with no memory of his identity and past experiences. Assuming the role of The Nameless One, players embark on a quest to solve the mysteries surrounding him.

    Torment received almost universal critical praise, and has since become a cult classic. The game was added to Gamespy's "Hall of Fame" in August 2004, and to Gamespot's "Greatest Games of All Time" list in October 2005.

    (from the Wikipedia page on Planescape: Torment)
    ]]>     04 Dec 2006 09:51:58     Dominions 3: The Awakening The Dominions series are created by [user=Illwinter] studios (2 guys) out of Finland and published by [user=Shrapnel Games], one of the last online refuges of PC-based, independently produced war- and strategy-games. Dominions is a turn-based game of province conquest, income management, army customisation and management, combat tactics and management and ultra-light diplomacy (single player that is, multiplayer you can make diplomacy as intricate as you like). Finally, there's bit of stat-based hero management, as your units age, obtain experience and battle wounds, learn new spells and obtain power-up items (crafted by trained mages and based on supply of magic gems). It's a blend of Sid Meier's Civilization, Risk, [game=Heroes of Might & Magic], [game=Europa Universalis] and about 10 different mythologies, fictional and historical. Just for kicks, there is a dash of roguelike, Nethackish randomness, in that in any particular battle any of your carefully groomed commanders may die a sudden, horrible death regardless of how well-protected you think they are.
    ]]>     29 Nov 2006 08:57:25     Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Step inside the most richly detailed and vibrant game-world ever created. Oblivion is the latest chapter in the epic and highly successful Elder Scrolls saga and utilizes the latest PC and next-generation video game hardware to fully immerse you into the experience.
    ]]>     25 Nov 2006 06:28:05     World of Warcraft Four years have passed since the aftermath of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and a great tension smolders throughout the ravaged world of Azeroth. As the battle-worn races begin to rebuild their shattered kingdoms, new threats, both ancient and ominous, arise to plague the world once again. Rich in legend and filled with adventure, the World of Warcraft awaits! For the first time, players experience the lands of Azeroth from a new, in-depth perspective. As heroes, they explore familiar battlefields, discover new lands and take on epic quests and challenges in Blizzard's massively multiplayer, on-line, role-playing game. Welcome to the World of Warcraft.

    A monthly subsription fee is required.
    ]]>     25 Nov 2006 05:25:09     Styrateg Are you in the mood for some great turn-based strategy? Or a fantasy quest that cuts straight to the tactical combat? Styrateg combines simple yet compelling turn-based strategy with traditional roleplaying-game elements to create an easy-to-learn, fast-playing adventure!

    Your odyssey begins when you receive a letter from your old friend, Gregorius, now a prior in the western march. Evil is pouring over the border and the kingdom's armies are being overrun. He begs you to defend the kingdom with your unique powers and martial skill. Before long, you will amass a small army of your own to protect the kingdom and strike back at the heart of the invading darkness!

    Styrateg allows you to play one of several characters with their individual special abilities. As you undertake several quests your character will gain experience, levels, magical items, and new powers. You will also gain new and unusual troops to command as you do battle with ferocious enemy forces. The turn-based gameplay allows you to take your time with your moves, but the pace remains brisk and exciting.
    ]]>     23 Nov 2006 03:30:32     Kingdom Elemental Kingdom Elemental is a light-hearted and comical real time tactics game with serious game play. Set in a fantasy setting Kingdom Elemental takes core game play elements from RTS, tactics and RPG games and combines them into a game that is easy to play without investing most of your real life. Kingdom Elemental features an unlimited number of possible tactics by pitting combinations of your ten hero units and their unique abilities against waves after waves of enemies ranging from the lowly kobold to the mighty minotaur.

    Kingdom Elemental combines the popular fantasy, strategy, tactics and RPG genres into a compact gameplay package. It is easy to pick up and play and has a simple 2d interface to get users involved in the 3d action.
    ]]>     23 Nov 2006 12:34:44     Cute Knight A young woman seeks her destiny, and the truth about her past in this roleplaying game from Hanako Games. Beneath the city lurks a deadly dungeon full of perils and treasure. But most of the action and tough decisions take place when the young woman is in and around town, trying to find her place in this life and unravel the mystery of her past. Find romance, find a job to pay for fighting lessons, or spend time as a street musician learning your trade and playing for tips. This is not your traditional dungeon - delving, dragon-slaying tale! It's something of "The Sims" meets "Princess Maker" meets "Dungeons and Dragons".

    Everyday decisions such as where to work, what to learn in school, or how to handle one's social life has an effect not only upon your short-term wealth and well-being, but has long-standing ramifications in what your character will eventually become as she reaches full adulthood.

    There are over 50 possible endings, from warrior to barmaid to princess and plenty in-between. The dungeon beneath the city, and events that occur during the game, and the items that can be found are all different every time you play. This is a game that is designed with replayability in mind, so there is plenty of fun and excitement to be had.
    ]]>     23 Nov 2006 12:18:33     Aveyond Aveyond is an independent RPG in the style of the classic 16-bit console RPG adventures like the best selling "Final Fantasy" series and "The Secret of Mana."

    Rhen Darzon's life in her quiet village has been peaceful and uneventful until the day a mysterious priestess, barely alive, comes to her for aid. Within hours, Rhen becomes captured by the evil forces that had attacked the priestess, and she slowly becomes aware that her life has never been what it seems. She discovers powerful magical powers within herself, coupled with a dark destiny that she must choose. As the "chosen one," she and her companions must face the powerful demon Ahriman bent on destroying the land.

    Aveyond is a thrilling fantasy role-playing game with tons of secrets, items, spells, vast dungeons, monsters, mysteries, and quests! It features beautiful 2D graphics, an epic story, and a completely original musical score. Boasting over 50 hours of gameplay, 60 quests, and hundreds of locations across five large islands, Aveyond offers MANY MANY hours of exciting adventure!
    ]]>     22 Nov 2006 11:52:04