One of the things I apparently missed when not blogging, was the opportunity to help spread the word about the -even to this day in
beta, mind-
Good Old Games site/service/thingy and let you all know just how excited I was. Well, quite a lot.
GOG.com, you see, was full of promise and seemed to be pushing all the right PC gaming buttons, turning all proper retro knobs and fiddling with the necessary anti-DRM levers. Happily it didn't let me down and -impressively- the thing keeps getting better and better. So, yes, I guess I haven't been disappointed yet and probably wont be for quite some time, so it's pretty safe to actually recommend giving it a try.
But,
what is this GOG thing, I'm sure some of this blog's aging denizens will ask. Simple, really. In its most obvious form it's an online store featuring downloadable games for the PC, some nice web 2.0 bits and a vibrant forum. What's really important about it though and what truly sets the whole service apart from anything else, is the simple fact that the available games are true PC gaming classics updated to seamlessly run on
Vista and
XP. What's more, said games come with a ton of extras ranging from avatars, to wallpapers, to manuals and extended game guides, usually cost no more than 6$ and are completely and utterly DRM free, meaning you can easily copy them, back up them up, install and re-install them without ever having to face irritating copy protection schemes. No cumbersome
Steam-like interface/loader has to be dealt with either.
As for the games on offer, fear not. They are -generally- gems of the highest caliber or -at least- quirky and unique productions. Here's a semi-random selection of what's available to give you an idea:
Fallout,
Fallout 2,
Jagged Alliance 2,
Hostile Waters, the
Oddworld series,
Gothic,
MDK,
Unreal Tournament,
Freespace 2,
Sensible Soccer 2006,
Patrician III,
Descent and
M.A.X.. Impressive, eh? And wait till we get to the newly accommodated adventure games. They are a bloody dream and include hard to find games like the
Feeble Files, hugely successful titles like
Broken Sword II and even cult classics like the incredibly funny
Simon the Sorcerer I and
II. Bliss! As for classic cyberpunk thriller
Beneath a Steel Sky and fantasy point-and-clicker
Lure of the Temptress they are both available for free.
And now for the obligatory very short review bit:
Good Old Games is indeed an excellent service. I have been using it for quite a few months -ever since its first beta really- and haven't encountered a single problem with installs, billing, downloading or anything else. Customer support is impressive, the constant introduction of new features more so and the game catalogue regularly expanding. The odd competition, gift, free game or promotion are also welcome, as is the lively and quality community built around
GOG. Oh, and these guys are really swift at accommodating community requests too.
Related @ Gnome's Lair:
Glorious piccies, wouldn't you agree dears? And to think they are here just to tease you... How very naughty of them. Anyway. Feeling teased already? Great! Now, know that Retroaction, the spanking new pdf e-mag for retro gamers, will soon be available and will -among an eclectic variety of other things- feature gnomes, amstrads, neils, amigas, text-adventures, speccies, shmups, and c64s. You will most probably get to get it from this place, which apparently also sports a forum bit.
One of the things I apparently missed when not blogging, was the opportunity to help spread the word about the -even to this day in beta, mind- Good Old Games site/service/thingy and let you all know just how excited I was. Well, quite a lot. GOG.com, you see, was full of promise and seemed to be pushing all the right PC gaming buttons, turning all proper retro knobs and fiddling with the necessary anti-DRM levers. Happily it didn't let me down and -impressively- the thing keeps getting better and better. So, yes, I guess I haven't been disappointed yet and probably wont be for quite some time, so it's pretty safe to actually recommend giving it a try.
Anyway, it's obvious I digress. Let's -for now- talk about things sillier and happier. Like The Game of Thrones for example; a luxuriant board game based on G.R.R. Martin's fantasy epic and a brilliant gift I very recently received. Now, I may well be past my obsession with all things fantasy, but I really love the still unfinished literary work of Mr. Martin and I'd even go as far as saying that, despite lacking professor Tolkien's prose, imaginary languages and incredibly detailed setting, The Game of Thrones is storywise the better book . It's brutal, gripping, unexpected, at times brilliantly smart, often sarcastic and features interesting characters (with excellent dialog) that are way more complex and realistic than genre stereotypes. Also it has apparently got itself the afforementioned board game. By Fantasy Flight no less.
Look at all those tokens... Wonderful aren't they? And have I mentioned the pieces are actually made of wood? No? Well, I will do so in the forthcoming review. Cheers!