Back in the mid 90's, when Syndicate Plus was still newish, I would be rewarded with half an hour to an hour of gametime on my math tutor's PC if I completed the lessons to his satisfaction. As if my tutor's mother bringing us piping hot servings of lemon honey tea weren't enough of an incentive! It's dated now, granted, but if you're willing to play it for the nostalgia factor, without being too judgemental, you will come away appreciating what developers were able to do with what little they had. I received it for free during a giveaway, so I can't complain, but if I were to choose between this and Syndicate Wars, I would go for the latter. It's not much older but for me it feels like a generational instead of intergenerational leap.
I remember waking up before sunrise on schooldays, rushing downstairs to boot up the family PC and playing the demo version of JJ2 online (co-op and PvP were both available even on the demo!). Those memories still put a smile on my face all these years later. Thanks to the good folks at GOG for giving it away.
Let me tell you: if you weren't there to experience the internet culture of the 90s, but more specifically the internet gaming culture of that time, you missed out on something glorious. I cannot even begin to describe how magical those times were; very little in the way of politics, of race, of division, of the things that make you want to go on a digital detox. It was a marvelous time to be alive back then. A friend of mine introduced to Warcraft II and we bonded over it until the release of Diablo I, which coincided with the purchase of my family's first PC. Along with Diablo I we saw the introduction of Battle.net and the inception of mass socialization. In person I was socially awkward, self-diagnosed "on the spectrum," but online, on Battle.net, I was free to express "my true self". It was only then that I grew intellectually by leaps and bounds. Something about being a preteen and interacting with a lot of adults (the majority of the Internet population at that time) will do that to you. Speaking of the actual gameplay, well, what can I say, it birthed an entire genre (ARPGs) and spawned hundreds of clones. As another reviewer alluded to, it's mostly a (left) clicking game. It's repetitive, it's monotonous, but it follows a formula that works. You'll never tire of clicking as the game progression is very rewarding in the form of loot, skill progression, etc. It's not as fast paced as Diablo II, Diablo III and modern ARPGs, but I prefer it since I grew up with and am accustomed to it. If you're new to the series, or if you've just played Diablo II & III, I would definitely recommend Diablo I. I haven't played it in quite some time, but I still listen to the soundtrack at least once or twice per month. Everything about the game is an all time classic for me. I'd like to see a remake of it like Diablo II Resurrected, but in the meantime it's still completely playable. Play it!
The month that Fallout 3 dropped, I bought a secondhand collector's edition for 360 which included a lunchbox, bobblehead, artbook and the game itself. Sold the game, minus the extras, and didn't play it until years later when my brother bought a bundle that included everything except the Mothership Zeta DLC. Platinum'd it (except for the Mothership Zeta DLC) the first week that I started playing. As controversial as this may sound, the atmosphere in this game, for me, is more of a sequel to Fallout 1 than Fallout 2 is. It's dreary, it's bleak, it's quintessentially postapocalyptic. Like Fallout 1 was. I feel like Fallout 3 did a better job of representing the genre than Fallout 2 did, although I still prefer Fallout 2 over 3 because I am not a fan of Bethesda's reimagining of the series nor their other games (besides Daggerfall, for the sake of nostalgia). I would've preferred a Fallout 3 made by Black Isle/Interplay, provided it wasn't like Fallout Tactics (which is a good game for what it is), but I am still content with what Bethesda managed to do. Fallout 1 and 2 are still my favorites--they always will be--but Fallout 3 is certainly worth playing if you haven't already.
In the mid 90s, long before e-sports existed, I would spectate my best friend play Warcraft II for hours on end. On schooldays I'd get off at his bus stop and spend the remainder of the day over there, and on weekends we would do nothing but play Warcraft (him playing, me spectating). Having only played SimCity (the original), Sim Ant, Duke Nukem and other primitive titles on my mother's work PC (a 486), this game was so captivating--amazing gameplay, graphics and soundtrack, it had it all. Although those days were short-lived, I still hold onto and cherish those memories dearly. Had I not convinced my mother to purchase a PC of our own, I suspect I would've spent many more years watching my friend play Warcraft II, Diablo and other Blizzard titles. And I think I would've been better off for it, too. Gaming in those days was much more social, as the internet was in its infancy, and I preferred it then to now. By today's standards the game is very much dated, but that's to be expected of anything from those times. It has held up surprisingly well, however. For me this game is timeless because of the memories it evokes, and I love it for what it is, for what it represents. It was the first game that truly grabbed my attention and didn't let go. Maybe you feel the same...
