I was expecting a second-rate (or worse) Street Fighter II knock-off, but Guilty Gear is actually a top-tier fighting game! It would look right at home in an arcade; you'll be looking for the coin slot on your computer! For a 2D fighter, the production values are absolutely top-notch, the characters are interesting, and the controls are responsive and somewhat logical. I admit I've never been very good at fighting games, but I wanted to add one to my GoG collection, and Guilty Gear absolutely fits the bill. This game should please anyone looking for a good fighting game. Graphics: For a 2D fighter, the graphics and animation are absolutely great, comparable to such games as "Street Fighter Alpha" and such. There's even a very professional "anime-style" intro that really sets the bar high. The in-game graphics are no let-down, with fast, smooth movements, great animation, and nice scaling effects. There's also many animated elements in the background, just as in other top-tier fighting games. Overall, much better than I expected. Sound: The music and sound FX are what you'd expect in this genre, and are solid and well-done, with some particularly good music. There are several dialogue cut-scenes in-between matches in 'Story' mode, but it's in spoken Japanese with English subtitles. This can either be a plus or a minus, depending on your tastes. Personally, I like it. Gameplay: Everything plays pretty much how you'd expect a fighting game to play, with responsive controls and fancy special moves. I found many of the special moves hard to produce, but this is true of every fighting game I've ever played. There are many modes to play, from Training, Arcade, Story, PvP, Medal or Millionaire, etc., and many, many characters to choose from, each playing differently than the others, so you'll always have a new challenge. Overall: this is an excellent fighting game, which surprised me because I've never heard of it before GoG made it available. It's a shame that it never got the recognition it deserved, because it's clearly a great example of the genre. If you like fighting games, this one is absolutely recommended.
If games like 'SimCity' and 'Civilization' are not too complex for you, and if you enjoy them, then 'Capitalism 2' is on that level of approachability. Reading other reviews, both on GoG and on other sites, I thought that this game would be impenetrably obscure and hardcore, with dull, outdated graphics and a clunky interface. On top of that, I figured you'd need an MBA from Harvard Business School to understand this game! Well, it turns out that Capitalism 2 is quite approachable from a gameplay perspective. The 2D graphics are attractive and pleasant, the interface is relatively easy to come to grips with, and the tutorials (in Entrepreneur mode) gradually step you through the game concepts and interface before upping the complexity. Again,if you can handle the SimCity or Civilization games, then you should have no problems getting the hang of the interface here. In many ways, the interface is LESS complex than SimCity. In fact, it's best to think of this game as like 'SimCity 2000,' but with business tactics instead of city planning. But make no mistake, this is a real economic simulation. That Harvard MBA will help! But if you're inclined, the game will inspire you to learn economic/business concepts. 'Capitalism 2' is still a GAME, though, and never feels like actual work. GRAPHICS: Again with the SimCity comparisons, the 2D graphics are not unlike SimCity 2000/3000, with pleasantly attractive city graphics and a cartoony vibe. You can zoom in and out of the city in question, and you can even see cars moving on the roads and such.You can even see people shopping inside your stores! It's not modern 3D whiz-bang FX, but the graphics are more than acceptable for this kind of game. No complaints. INTERFACE: The graphic interface might look a bit obscure at first, but it's fairly logical and easy to grasp, and not as complex as you might expect. The tutorials do a pretty effective job of teaching you how to use the interface. Probably my main gripe with the interface is the 'scroll bars,' which don't seem very resonsive. When you scroll through a list of items (cities, products, etc.) , I found myself fighting a bit to scroll through the list. . AUDIO: Apparently GoG does not include all the music files of the original (from what I've read here). The music that comes with the GoG version is professional and decent, but gets ANNOYING, repetitive, and distracting after a while! Turn it off! Beyond music, the sound effects are bare minimum. For this sort of game, I suppose sound is not critical, but don't expect an audio extravaganza here. GAMEPLAY: As I've said, the interface is reasonably easy and intuitive, and the tutorials ease you into the game at an easily-digestible pace. The gameplay, again, is like a distant cousin of 'SimCity,' but with a tycoon motif. The designers didn't lose sight that this is a game, and not a spreadsheet. But, the game mechanics under the hood are complex, and you can even lose playing the tutorial modes! It helps to THINK, then play through the tutorial(s) again until you get a grasp of what's going on. You'll come to grips with the gameplay/interface as the game goes on, and by then you'll get it. You may not win, but you'll get it. Don't forget, though, that this is a real, in-depth business simulation at its core, and you'll need to learn (or know) and apply real business strategies and concepts to succeed at this game. OVERALL: Decent graphics, deep but approachable gameplay, and a reasonably intuitive interface makes this game well worth considering if you're looking for a fun but realistic economic simulation. By all accounts, the economic simulation in 'Capitalism 2' is very complex and realistic, but the gameplay itself is not too hard to grasp. Along the way, you'll start to intuitively grasp the principles of business management and take over the world! Again, think 'SimCity' meets 'tycoon game' and you should get a good picture of what you're getting into here. If that sounds appealing to you, then by all means, I recommend 'Capitalism 2!'
This type of game is not typical of the GOG library, being a bit (okay, a LOT) more mindless than most other GOG offerings. Therefore, make no mistake that this is an arcade-style shoot-em-up in the vein of the "Ikari Warriors" or "Gaultlet Legacy" arcade games you used to pump quarters into back in the day. The object is pretty simple: blast the bad guys, pick up power-ups, and proceed to the end of the level, and face off with a few "bosses" along the way. The graphics are serviceably great, holding up very well considering the game's age. This game would look right at home on the Playstation 2 or similar console. The 3D third-person perspective works, and I have yet to run into any major camera-positioning issues. The real problem with this game is the controls. Your character has separate controls for moving and shooting (and even strafing). You can move in one direction while firing in another, making the controls a bit hard to adjust to at first. The best solution is to have a dual-analog (or digital) joystick controller with several buttons. Playing by keyboard is very difficult. Overall, though, for the price GOG is asking, this is well worth the price for the amount of arcade-style fun you'll have with "The Expendables." Face it, if this was an actual coin-op machine, you'd have probably pumped more coins into this one than you'll spend downloading the GOG version!
"Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" is one of the most infuriating, irritating, and aggravating games I've ever had the PLEASURE of playing! Nearly everything about this game is great, except for the poorly-conceived camera system. First, the good: This is a fantastic update to the original "Prince of Persia" game(s), retaining the charm of the original while adding a whole new level of modern sophistication. The 3D graphics are great, having a colorful, cartoonish charm, and still look spectacular even without some modern enhancements like bump-mapping and motion-blurring. The plot, characters, and voice acting are very entertaining, keeping the player interested enough to want to play the game to its conclusion. Special mention must go to both the Prince himself and his female companion, Farah. The Prince has a youthful, cocky charm, making him a fun player-character. His non-player companion, Farah, is one of the most wonderfully-conceived NPC's I've ever seen in an action game! Her spunky charm makes you hope/want to see her and the Prince hook up at the end, and her skills are complimentary to the Prince's, making her a valuable ally and not a hindrance. The animation is superb! The prince is able to perform some amazing acrobatics that are exhilarating to watch, putting circus performers to shame, yet the acrobatics remain believable. The prince can run up walls, swing from ropes and flagpoles, tumble forwards, and do spectacular leaps, and other stunts that would have Jackie Chan seething with jealousy! The action elements are very fun, alternating from fighting, dodging, climbing, swinging, running, and puzzle-solving. The puzzles are often head-scratching at first, but never so obscure that you won't figure them out or defeat them after some trial and error. Some puzzles and traps do require a fair amount of dexterity with the controls, though. This is an action game, after all. The bad: THE CAMERA POSITIONING IS OFTEN CRAZY! For most of the casual parts of the game, the camera viewpoint seems to work, but at many critical points, the camera switches the viewpoint in the middle of the action, leading to many a frustrating death. For example, there's a point where you must cross a bridge by running forward as the bridge collapses behind you. You push the joystick forward (up), and the Prince runs forward. Suddenly, midway across the bridge, the camera switches to the SIDE VIEW of the bridge. Guess what? Pushing forward (up) now sends the Prince off the side of the bridge, plunging to his screaming death! That was extremely frustrating to the point of insanity! This camera positioning problem is my only major gripe. Often times, the switching camera viewpoint makes playing the game almost "Dragon's Lair-esque," where you have to time your movements against the switching camera at critical moments. Only the greatness of everything else in the game was able to compensate for this frustrating "feature." Another minor "bad:" I thought that the end boss was a bit too easy to defeat. Not enough to make the ending unsatisfying, but just a touch of a let-down. Still, this is an extremely minor gripe, especially compared to the "camera" frustrations. Overall: The camera problems nearly made me quit the game many times in frustration, but EVERYTHING else in the game is classic stuff, possibly making "Sands of Time" one of the greatest games ever made! The very fun play mechanics and swashbuckling action, along with a great story and a wonderful NPC in the form of Farah makes this one of the best games I've ever played. I consider PoP:SoT to be one of the best games ever made, despite my hatred of the camera system. I STILL recommend the game highly, but be forewarned that the game may push your frustration threshold to the limit.
