The common opinion among the "Worms" fans is that Armageddon is the "pinnacle of the series". Now, tis true that it was the first game in the series to feature the layout and customization used in later title, but for the most part, compared to "Worms World Party" for example, it differs little. The gameplay remains the same as in the entire series (shame on you if you don't know anything about it :P); the premise is simple - each player (up to 6 both online OR as hot seat) control a team of up to 8 worms and take turns in trying to annihialate the opposing teams (mind you, you can form teams with other players, playing 3 on 3, 2 on 4, 1 on 3 etc.). During the match crates are dropped that either increase your worms' health, provide accessories that make playing easier or contain new weapons (including super ones), which you can collect. Whoever has the last worm standing wins the round. Dependable on the setting, you can play just that one round or more. Not particularly complex, but it sucks you in, making you totally forget about the outside world ;) As with most titles in the series, Armageddon is highly customizable - you can choose which weapons are accessible to you (well, that is true for MOST weapons available - some super ones, like the Concrete Donkey or the titular Armageddon you'll just have to gain through crates, sorry). You can also greatly customize the setting for the match - the length of a round and turns in it, how many wins are required to be the ultimate victor, wether or not you can place your worms before the match or allow the game to do so randomly... the list goes on. Some features aren't provided (even to this day), like in stead of wins required to complete the game, I would personally prefer for the game to let me set an actual number of rounds (say 5, regardless to who wins each), but generally that is personal preference. The game retains its humorous take on the topic, providing players to pick voices for their teams, most of which are hilarious (you can have your worms talk like robots, gangsta or flirtatous women to name just FEW) and weapons themselves tend to be outrageous as well - you can send mad cows at your opponent, launch a flying sheep or sew chaos with exploding banana. The arsenal is wide and takes a bit of getting used to, but that's part of the fun. Compared to later titles, the game lacks features added later, though most of these are "flavour" rather than something ground-breaking; "Reloaded" for example allows you to give your worms a special, victory dance and put hats on them, while "World Party" pushes match customization even further, allowing you to add extra rules for its duration. All of it nice, but not particularly neccessary. Basically, few important changes were brought to the series after "Armageddon" (possibly the biggest ones being "Clan Wars" with worm classes and the recent "W.M.D." with vehicles, buildings etc.), so you can treat this game as the shining example of the best Worms has to offer. If you never played Worms than first - where the heck were you the past, couple of decades? :P Second - Armageddon is a good place to start. If you don't have any Worms' game, you MAY consider going for World Party (also available on GOG) as it provides the same experience, only slightly more customization. But which ever you choose, I don't think you'll regret the decision - Worms as a whole (aside from the 3D instalments) is tons of fun, especially if you have PEOPLE to play with you, cause that is where the series truly shines. Just don't take it too seriously ;)
Before anything be advised: the rating is for the game, NOT the price!!!!! As of this writing, the game is priced at about 4$, which I think is a little too much. Don't get me wrong though - back in the day "Lion King" and "Alladin" were VERY good (never played "Jungle Book", so I can't make any judgement there): unique levels, great music and original (at least for that time) mechanics. The problem is that these games end quickly: you can complete each of them within 2 hours and there's really little point in going back to it soon after, because (as with all old platformers) there isn't much replay value. You may want to get through the game again in several months, but honestly the price of 4$ is not really equivalent to the amount of time you spent playing. Now the music is awesome... but that you can find on the net or simply buy a soundtrack. And while graphics are very nice as well, you can feel the 16-bit limits, if you're a platformer fan. Generally, if you like platformers, these games are worth playing - I would say they're a great piece of the genre's history alongside "Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers" series, "Darkwing Duck" (again Disney license... why weren't those included), Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, Mega Man, Metroid and Sonic. Sadly, I would say that the price is MUCH too high - it should be at least cut in half in my opinion; on GOG I've managed to find newer games with loads more content, that cost LESS or roughly the same.
Worms are the type of game that doesn't age - it's strength isn't in graphics (though the cartoonish style rarely grows old, so even now it looks great, considering that the game is meant to be humorous) or massive gameplay. It lays in its simplicity and replay value. The premise is simple: you control a team of up to 8 worms and your goal is to annihilate any, oppositing team of... well, other worms. However, you can do so is a great variety of ways, most of them comical - you can sent your explosive sheep at them (or even unleash the Super Sheep), drop a powerful Donkey Stample or make way for the herd of Mad Cows. Bah, even grandmas can be helpful. The arsenal is wide and it takes a while to master, but that is part of the Worms' charm. Every aspect of the game adds to the humor - the mentioned, cartoonish graphic makes 'violence' funny and putting ridiculous audio to the mix (your Worms can have a gangsta accent, talk like robots or be overly dramatic, to name just a FEW) often takes you by surprise when your worms (or your opponents') comment on the happenings upon the battlefield. Each match can be played by 6 teams at one time, all on one PC in a hot seat type of game, so while you can play via internet, there's nothing to inviting your friends over to have a cournage. And, since the rounds are time limited and usually don't last longer than half an hour, time is a none issue, unlike with Heroes. Still, Worms can keep you entertained for hours, if you let them. To top that off, the game is HIGHLY customizable, allowing you to change the power of any weapon, their range etc. Later titles in the series offered less in that regard, so these Worms give you the best chance of creating a game YOU really like. Basically its one of the two titles (Heroes 3 being the other) that I always enjoy returning to, especially if I have less time to play. The AI, after a while, is no match, but you ALWAYS play with friends, so no biggie. A must-have for simple fun.
I began my adventure with Heroes series with second instalment. At the time, that game was incredible: beautiful (hand drawn) graphics, a wide variety of units and armies, plenty of aspects you need to look out for to win... a true, golden standard at the time (and even now, though to a lesser extend). And I can honestly say that Heroes 3 improved on, literally, EVERY aspect of its predecesor. The graphics are beautiful, even today; it's the type that just doesn't grown old (like the one in Baldur's Gate series or Worms 2D) and I still find it much more engaging than any of the later instalments (grant you I have not played Heroes 7). The gameplay remains the same, but that isn't a bad thing: why temper with something that is already awesome? Yes, there are turns and RTS fans may have their doubts about that, but trust me: as a guy who isn't too keen on prolonging anything, turn-based nature of Heroes is no-issue. The simplicity of the gameplay, couped with a great variety of tactics, simply makes you appreciate that you have the time to think over your decision, before making it, in stead of determining the outcome on "who's faster". You get to choose a side from 9 (yes, NINE) armies/castles, each very different from the others; as undead Necropolis you'll flood your enemies with numbers... as Tower you'll wreck havoc from afar, while as Castle you can overpower them with strength. Each town plays a little different and it's rarely beneficial to use the same tactics with each. Furthermore, the game allows you to play up to 8 players on the same computer. Even Worms cannot compete with Heroes in that regard. Heroes 3 is one of the few games (Worms being a close second) that I always enjoy returning to, despite it being nearly two decades old. Arguably the best title in the series, it's a must play for those who enjoy fantasy strategy and don't mind turn-based gameplay. For GOG price, you shouldn't even think twice before buying.
Dust is one of those games that mix genre rarely mixed, creating something rather unique. Unlike most of these cases, the final outcome of it is very pleasing. I'm a big RPG fan and "hack & slash" titles rarely grab me for long... but Dust did - don't kid yourselves, it is an action game with just a tad of RPG elements, but you get swallowed in it quite fast. The gameplay is rather simple: you move around, much like in a platformer game and fight monsters using elaborated combos. These combos may even bring to mind "Devil May Cry", "Prince of Persia" or "Bloodrayne" with their specularity and all, but quite often it basically comes down to mushing buttons as any, more complex techniques are hard to properly implement in the midst of battle. For an action game, you are given a surprising freedom in roaming the world and even get side-quests that AREN'T necessary to complete the game. A nice touch, though again be warned: plotwise you don't get to influence the outcome of events, even though you sometimes get directly involved into dialogue. This is generally a movie that you're guided through, though you get to choose the order of the scenes to some extend. The RPG elements comes down to the likes of original Diablo: when you level up, you can improve your health, attack, defense or Fidget (you'll play, you'll know)... and that's where RPG basically ends. An interesting touch is that there IS equipment and you can upgraded it; the trick is that, for your blacksmith, to prepare an item, she must have both blueprints and materials for creating the thing (both are found on dead enemies). That kinda pushes you to explore the world, especially since there are a lot of "secrets" scattered around. Generally the game grabs you. It may not be the most sophisticated and deep experience out there, but its unique, fluid and beautiful. It's a good way to pass the time, just keep an eye on the watch: this game can eat your time up without you noticing ;)
The plot behind "Prehistorik"... if you can call it that... is as simple as it gets: a caveman by the name Prehistorik gets hungry and thus he sets out to hunt down his dinner. Yes, those were the 90-ies, story didn't play much of a role in such games back than... but you don't need an engaging story to enjoy a platformer. Graphically, Prehistorik uses cartoon-like style, which means that, despite have over 25 years on its back, the game still looks pretty. It may not be flashy, but the humorous presentation is very well done and fits the overall tone of the game itself. The sequel may seem a tad "over-the-top" in this regard, but it still draws you in. The gameplay is nothing fancy - you jump, you hit with your club and you collect food (in part two you also collect Happy Meals, ice cream and donuts... how they ended up in prehistory is a mystery though :D), but this is what most platformers are generally like. The game is enjoyable, despite lacking 3D enviroment like most, current platformers. The sequel of the game generally expands on all aspects of the original - it's longer, more diverse (both in enemies, enviroments and pick-ups) and provides a tremendous amount of secrets which are commonly discovered by swinging your club at the right spot, jumping to a certain location or dropping from one (kudos to anyone who can clear the game at 100% without a walkthrough). Overall Prehistorik series may not be "the best platformer" out there, but it certainly was at the top back in the day and, even now, it can bring lots of fun. If you enjoy these kind of games, you'll definately gonna enjoy this as well and the price seems pretty fair, even without the discount. Be adviced though: the overall time required to pass both games is roughly 2 hours, but that's when you're familiar with the game. And that's not counting all the secrets in part two ;)
I believe Turok began on Nintendo 64, so it's quite old. The problem with FPS is that graphics tend to get old and, sadly, Turok is such a case - those that played newer games from the genre will likely be disappointed by the level of that, particular area of the game. On the plus side, Turok does offer some pretty unique arsenal and enemies, plus a relatively open level design (for that time period anyway). As far as FPS games go, Turok, even after all these years, is pretty original and that's saying something, considering the genre is rather stale on new ideas for some time now (though every now and than one title gives promise for something). Generally, if you like old-school shooters and don't mind the graphics shown on the screen, I can recommand the game - doubt you'll be disappointed. I do, however, feel the need to point out that the usual price for the game (20 as standard and 16 on sale as of this review) feels a bit high... I'd say half that price (10) seems more appropriate... None the less, Turok is a title that any FPS fan should AT LEAST check -it's not Doom, Quake or Unreal... it's something different from any FPS out there, as far as I know.
