Dosbox(Updated)

            Most of the games I review that are for DOS can be found at abandonia.com a site for abandonware in which I have used frequently as my main source for abandoned games. Also I use home of the underdogs and xtc abandonware once in awhile if abandonia doesn't have what I need. Abandonia includes the game, the manuals if you need them, and whatever random resource they have. Also make sure you get a hold of dosbox in order to run the games if you don't have an older computer to run them on. 

        Dosbox is a nice thing to use however i realize not all people can do it the same way I do it and some games just don't work that way so i'm going to provide a link with a full tutorial on how to setup dosbox A Beginner's Guide to Dosbox by the Fifth Horsemen this guide is really easy to follow, let me know how it goes for you. Thanks!

Space Quest The Sarien Encounter VGA

and a horrible death soon followed

      Today i'm going to write about one of my favorite adventure games Space Quest The Sarien Encounter in VGA. This is a re-release of the original with better graphics and sound as I never played the original but did play this and I was taken away on a journey the first time I died and have never once forgot of the misguided adventures of perhaps one of the most beloved space janitors of all time Roger Wilco.


     Space quest was originally released from Sierra in 1986 but was then remade from EGA to VGA in 1991 with this new improvement also came the addition of the mouse rather then inputing text commands which of course made the game much more user friendly for people who didn't really play games due to that fact alone

I see a few ways to die

Abandon hope all ye who enter here

      Now there is something that is quite unique about space quest and it's the fact that it is so crazy how often and in what ways Roger Wilco tends to die. He has got to be the most unlucky person in the whole galaxy. Now at times figuring out what to do takes a bit of trial and error but that is always something that I enjoyed I feel at times you even try your hardest to find out what ways Roger Wilco can die. It's a very hilarious game.

It looked tasty, oops

    As far as adventure games go you also have a backpack screen or some kind of thing that holds your stuff in which you collect a very random assortment of items such as a magnet or an ort finger. I'm sure your asking yourself, what would I need a magnet in space for? Who am I going to give this ort finger to? Quite the conundrum but there is always a reason to his madness and all is well in the world of Wilco when he finally figure out what to use things for.     

Broken glass and a green thing, perfect

      The Review: All in all this is probably one of the greatest staples of the adventure game era there is not a moment where you say to yourself I wish I was playing something else, From start to finish you will enjoy lots of laughs and smiles as you traverse the bowels of space in search of Roger Wilcos destiny. However one of the draw backs although a small one is there is a copy protection in the form of codes that you can only find in the manual so make sure to get a copy. Sometimes trying to figure out what to do can be slightly aggravating and confusing but you will get it eventually if you really put your mind to it. This is a game you should really pick up and give a try I give Space Quest: The Sarian Encounter a 9.0 out of 10

Get em Roger Wilco Get em!!

Wasteland

Wasteland adventure in post-nuclear American 1987 (Apple II, C64),1988 (PC)


Wasteland is one of those games that pull you in from the start and don't let go. The quirky texts and battle images provide you with plenty to think about. It's perhaps one of the only games of the time that provides you with something to imagine almost to the point of a text-based adventure. But still provides great imagery to really get that good old imagination crank going


You start wasteland out as a group of 4 Desert rangers, wide eyed and ready to traverse the desert wasteland in search of civilization and high adventure. Much of the land is mutated and wild with pockets of civilization sprinkling the radiated desert sand.

What a nice lawn they have.

 You begin with 4 premade characters which is fine, they are well made but if you are like me and want to make your own rabble of mutant hunters then head on into the desert ranger facility and start creating. Character builds are based on Seven stats including Strength(ST), Intelligence(IQ), Luck(LK),Speed(SP),Agility(AGL), Dexterity(DEX), Charisma(CHR), and finally SKP stands for skill points which you gain from leveling and can place into the great variety of skills such as brawling or climbing. Every skill has a purpose and can be used at certain points throughout the game but aren't necessary to beat the game you don't have to be good at gambling to defeat the final boss. Also there is MaxCon which is your hit points so make sure you keep track of that or you will be destroyed. The rest of character creation is easy, pick some skills you want like Brawling, Pistols, Climbing, Forgery, Pick locks, etc. Then name your character and go out Into the wastes in search of long lost treasures such as hover rounds and sham wows.

Apparently when you die you instantly become a skeleton

The exploration system is a bit different then your run of the mill Eye of the Beholder or Bards Tale (also an interplay game) It's top down third person perspective created a more wide world to explore allowing for a less linear experience then that of the dungeon crawler variety.

Scuba suits are common in the wastes

Think Monty Python Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog

Combat is turn based and often funny with comments about blood sausages, or spinning into a dance of death which i'm sure you can imagine looks quite messed up if seen in reality so better to be left in the video game world. Most of the enemies in the game use the same portraits which can be off putting but for it's time it is certainly full of cool looking monsters and wasteland denizens to waste. Also the plethora of weapons is awe inspiring for a game of this age. Not your usual riff raff of swords and wands from the standard portrait rpgs of the day you get pistols,crowbars,fists,proton axes,assault rifles,rocket launchers, just to name a few. Here are some of the beasts and people you encounter through combat or as non player characters that you can recruit to fight a long.

Doom for the Naked Molerat

 As you can see the characters are interesting and defiantly make you imagine a wasteland full of lunatics, mutants, and those looking to survive by any means necessary. Also one of the main componants is a lot that happens you need to have the manual to know whats going on when not in combat which can be annoying but i'll provide a link to where you can find the manual. as many classic portrait rpgs it says see "paragraph 32" when you enter a room to get a better description of the situation which may be a drawback in some peoples eyes but for me it takes me back to listening to the Dungeon Master in a dungeons and dragons game describing the surroundings which makes the game more exciting for me because not only do I get a basic visual but I also get a chance to imagine how it looks.

The Last Lumber Jack but really hes a bunny handler

Beware the unwieldy Visa Staff of Credit

The Review: Sometimes it can get really frustrating figuring out what to do and where to go but once you get the hang of the interface it becomes second nature. Paying attention to what people say and asking questions can be difficult to master but given the right tools such as a pencil and paper for instance makes it much more involving and rewarding. having to reference the manual often can get annoying quick but that's how most rpgs of the time were so I can't fault it too much for that. The amount of detail gone into character creation and the depth of skills really allow you to get attached to your characters. Also the promotion system really makes you feel like your characters are getting rewarded for their hard work more so then just getting skill points like traditional rpgs also the higher the rank sometimes allows you to enter places you couldn't before as the denizens of the wastes are impressed by your achievements. However the skills can be confusing as to which ones are more important then others but this also adds to the replay value and multiple character builds in my opinion. The story itself is a really good one that is inspiration for many post-apocalyptic games of today it's tough to get there but in the end it's really interesting for a post apocolyptic game.

Too bad Kylie is unconscious she could have gone up a rank too

     The combat is difficult at times and battles happen far too often which can be tough when you hardly have a chance to heal up after your last battle and believe me the doctors in wasteland are a scary bunch. But all in all Wasteland is a classic game that still stands the test of time even against some of the more recent titles this game still has many ideas to offer the world of rpgs and hopefully in the future we will see a remake or sequel but for now if you get a chance pick it up replay it do whatever feels right, But honestly if you haven't played Wasteland it's something you just have to do. I give Wasteland a 9.5 out of 10

pwned

Sword of the Samurai

This is my first post so bear with me.

    One of my all time favorite games, a game I still play to this day called Sword of the Samurai by Microprose made in 1989.

This is how Japan really looks like from space

      Sword of the Samurai takes place in 16th Century Feudal Japan, Your goal in Sword of the Samurai is to become a Shogun which if you didn't know what a Shogun is, it basically means you are a political leader and military general of Japan. You are just below the emperor in status. You start out in Sword of the Samurai as a Lowly Samurai vassel to any of the 48 provinces. Each their own clan with it's own unique warlord. Each Province has a set group of Four "Stats"  at varying levels such as Honor Three or Land Six it goes up to 7 being the maximum. 


You can choose one stat at your character creation to focus on and then pick which province best influences that stat or improves the ones you didn't pick from when you create your character these include Honor, Land, Samurai, Generalship, and Swordsmanship. Samurai being the only stat that technically isn't a stat considering it varies throughout the game depending on how often you subjugate your peasant population or have peasants up rise and try to take their land back.

Stats Shown here under assests

      

       Now in your journey to become the shogun, there are several things you can do to increase your 4 stats, there is a duality to this: honorable or dishonorable either way you can reach your goal. You choose which is the most fun, I think we can all agree dishonorable is the path we all want to walk in a game like this. There are several ways to be dishonorable such as going into your rivals manor stealing his family sword or even kidnapping his heir and holding him for ransom and in likely cases leaving a fresh present on his pillow as you skulk away undetected laughing to yourself at your enemies dismay as you join him for tea in the morning. This combination can get you far. however there is a more simple solution, go into the lords manor and assassinate him easy peasy. This can also be done if you are in the highest favor for the next position in Sword of the Samurai. 

 I have your son and you are none the wiser muhahaha

      There are several honorable things to do as well which you can usually find in your daimyo's court such as killing bandits, or taking over border fortresses defended by warrior monks or courting a bride to name a few. You can continue your legacy forever literally which yes means you can have children and heirs to your dynasty. You also have the ability to retire if and when you get too old, leaving your land to your heir. as I said before this can go on forever. As far as I have seen I have a save game that is in it's Third lord.

Honorable

Dishonrable

           There are several different play modes which you usually run into on the main map

Surprise here is the main map

There are bandit maps which are like a top down action game. You can also do these quests for honor at the court. you get castle maps with several floors when attacking a lords manor where you run around shooting arrows and using your sword to vanquish your foes till you reach your goal of killing all enemies or stealing something or killing said lord. Also you yourself can be attacked by angry lords who wish to gain higher favor with the Daimyo they will send ninjas and try their hardest to kill or kidnap. It's pretty fun

These are the top down action maps at least two of them, there are more

Also there are duels with which you and one other fight to the death which can sometimes be a random samurai or even the lord if you run into him while sneaking around his house. The same can be said for a lord that                                                        is sneaking around your house.

                                  
Also there is generalship which I have to say is pretty simplified run your army into the other army is basically how you get that done but it's still a nice facet to the game that awards you more land if successful unless of course it's a peasant uprising and we know how those go this mode does become the main form near the end when you are trying to become the hamamoto as you have to destroy each clan or at least have them surrender to your clans dominance, having that much power is a wonderful feeling which you don't get from many games even today.




      If you have read this far then you are a saint but honestly here is my opinion on the game.
I absolutely love it and have for many years it's replay value is endless,The great many options you get to choose from like storming into a lords estate and kidnapping his children never gets old, or running around subjugating your peasants for more rice and thus more samurai, or even the simpler things in life such as getting married or marrying off your daughter to your daimyo for more favor oh the joys of parenthood. having children adds a lot of flavor and the fact that the game allows you the tools to create your own destiny is far ahead of it's time. However this game doesn't come without flaws. The strategy could have been a little more in-depth in unit allocation although for the time it was still good, On the main map there are several things they could have done better including making the icons mean something instead of just being there for show. As in if I want to walk to a village i should be able to do something there instead of always having to go to the daimyo for missions. but all in all this game is a wonderful addition to any ones library and should be played It's "infinate" replayability and numerous epic situations and moments make up for it's dated appearance and it's lack of depth in some areas I give it a 9.0 out of 10 for being a bad ass game still to this day that gives you an experience of feudal japan that is unforgettable.