I honestly can't say anything that hasn't already been said by my forespeakers. Freespace 2 is a legendary game when it comes to space simulators. A great improvement over the original D:FS that was a milestone game in its own righ, FS2 not only continued with the quality and story telling of the original, but added numerous new elements and taught players to perceive space on a much larger scale that the prequel. Where Lucipher was the biggest ship in D:FS, FS2 made it pale in comparison with the Sathanas or the Colossus. The biggest quality of FS2 is the fact one can tell complex stories using simple means. That is one the biggest strengths of FS2 that can be seen in many mods that have been made over the years. If you ever played Wing Commander or any other space sim, or maybe a regular airplane sim like F-22 Raptor, FS2 should be right up your alley.
Soundtrack in original Black Isle Games releases were FREE. Unfortunately, the original PT release is no longer available just to rip you off.
I know I won't write anything that hasn't alrady been said about RtCW but still, I'll add my two cents. Despite those 17 years that passed the graphics engine still offers some fine visual effects. Try the flamethrower the Nazis use just to see how one can burn or how does it look (and feel) to be burning alive. The weapons offer noticeable differences between them so you do get the feeling of their firepower scale. Hell, there's also some humor in, too, thanks to some simple but funny dialogues. Well, and the missions offer a variety of goals, so it's not hust seek and destroy like in Doom or Unreal. Sometimes one has to be subtle and quiet or cover an allied unit or refrain from killing someone (an ally or an innocent woman). It's easily one of the finest classics and every one is invited to try it.
I really wanted to get to like that game, but the clunkiness of the UI just kept bothering me, untill I gave up playing half a year ago. It's really a shame 'cause the game has potential... but for God's sake, I'm no masochist. I have a mid-end configuration and I just can't bear to see the game's UI freezing my actions for 1-2 second, whether I save, look through the inventory or do any other action involving UI. The character development menu is no better: uglier and less coherent than in W1. But it's the Inventory that ticks me the most - a total mess, no sign of W1's functionality. I'm so sorry to say this but W2's UI is significant downgrade compared to W1's. That's what got me playing W2 no more... And I seriously ain't the only one complaining about technical execution. Bardzo chciałem polubić W2, ale przy tak badziewnym, wieszającym się interfejsie gry po prosu odechciało mi się grać. Minęło 6 miesięcy od kiedy rzuciłem W2 w kąt i nawet nie mam ochoty doń wracać. Masochizm to nie moje klimaty. Szkoda, bo gra naprawdę ma potencjał. Nie zaszedłem może daleko, ale to co widziałem wystarczy by przyznać, że od strony fabularnej jest miodzio. Tylko kurna co z tego, jeśli interfejs wiesza mi grę na 1-2 sekundy, nieważne czy save'uje, przeglądam ekwipunek czy cokolwiek innego? Jak mam docenić wysiłek programistów, skoro gra pada na takiej podstawie jak niechlujne kodowanie interfejsu użytkownika? No sorry: mam statystyczną średnią maszynę, która wiele spokojnie uciągnie i nie akceptuję zwiech przy przeglądaniu okna rozwoju postaci, czy w trakcie walki etc. Ekran rozwoju postaci jest imo niespójny i mało przejrzysty - W1 miał zdecydowanie lepszą organizację. Słabość UI widać zwłaszcza przy ekwipunku: sama grafika cholernie nieprzejrzysta, sortowanie przedmiotów niewiele pomaga i boli wspomnienie jak dobrze "prymitywny" interfejs W1 realizował zawiadywanie inwentarzem. W2 niestety pokazuje jak ch..wy UI potrafi zje...ć znakomitą grę. Z ogromnym żalem stawiam "2".
I don't understand the flaws some see in this game. Sure, it's no Skyrim, but these games are more than a decade apart. Graphics is a thing of taste - I personally liked it a lot, though it wasn't perfect like in Final Fantasy. The music is very good, just to name the boss fight theme or Wolong Cave as my favourites. The game has an original and compelling mythology, which is rare nowadays. The story and the setting is a very strong point of the game. Reaver894 wrote here on GoG in a review that some side quests are too long. Well, isn't solving the plotline and doing sidequests all part of RPG? Personally I'd rather have too much to do at the end of the game, then to do nothing else than the final task for the last 3-6 hrs of playthrough, just like the horrendously linear Final Fantasy XIII. Luckily, Summoner comes from a time when the main plot didn't end after less 20-hrs of playing like some games today. To be fair: I can understand that some don't like the user interface - I've seen better myself, but it doesn't make playing a chore and one can get used to it. The chaining system can be quickly learned, and it doesn't seem too stupid since a blockbuster like The Witcher, made a decade later, also uses a attck chaining system. Spells and Summons can be assigned to hot keys. Granted, that to some, searching for the quest givers to collect just rewards can be tedious, BUT NOT TO OLD SCHOOL RPG-ers. I still have my retail PC copy and I tend to go back to the game from time to time (Summoner still works under NT Windows types like Windows 7). Last time, 2 years ago, I made it a point of honor to go complete every quest and max out all characters - I'm a completionist. If you're an old school gamer I'm confident you'll be happy with Summoner, despite some elements that may have been made better. Still, the Volition of the old (under Interplay) is a trademark associated with great games (like Freespace 2). If you're younger than 20 and like challenges, do dare to try Summoner.
The game has actually been waiting some 8 months for me to have a look at it. I made the purchase on the spurn of the moment, as it was on sale. I had heard a few times that the trilogy was made but apart from that I didn't look any info up in the net - being a die-hard Final Fantasy Fan is already demanding on free time reserves. Ultimately, it was my friend at work who got her Blood and Wine expansion for W3 for a birthday gift from her husband, who talked me into playing the original release. Our discussions prompted me to insttall the game and play. Being somewhat acquainted with the Witcher mythology I had a vague idea what to expect. Suffice to say that the prologue in Ker Mohren got me so involved that I would juggle save/load just to explore consequences of any action I took (most notably when given the option to fight the monster Frightener/Przeraza). Once past the prologue the story got me so involved that I immediately dropped two other games I'd been playing simultaneously at the time. There's everything an RPG freak would desire: a compelling story with numerous moral dilemmas (which made me sit looong hours), very good character development, combat and magic systems, spectacular alchemy system and the chance to be the badass Geralt I heard and read quite a lot about. The characters are palpable - they have motivation, ambitions, love/hate, sex and flirting. Btw. avoid pissing off red-head ladies in this game ;). It's much like in real life some 600 years ago. I don't mind some alterations in the story when compared to the books - that adds flavour to the game, especially the change made to Triss' story. It took me 1 month and 3 days to beat the game, while playing as though as possible without walkthroughs. Many quests are logically driven (like the autopsy) which is a delightfull change. I strongly recommend the Witcher EE to anyone who's into RPG. I always play the original language version. Playing the original Polish version was a delight.
Not that I consider the prequel a bad game. Au contraire: No Remorse offered alll the joy of an isometric visual interface, coupled with smashing, bashing, blasting people and blowing stuff up. No Regret is No Remorse but BIGGER, FASTER, MORE EXPLOSIVE, in plain speech: a notable improvement over the original in several aspects: 1) controls & movement: more useful hotkeys, including weapon selection and circulation, additional Silencer moves added (crouching, rolling over, side stepping ). This helps a lot and ands new twists to combat 2) MUCH more richer armory: it's not just guns and lasers but all useful gadgets like my favourite Spider Bombs, Transporter Signal Disrupters, Radation Shields etc. More tactical applications - Tacticians unite and kill'em all. 3) a more compelling gameplay: the levels are much more sophisticated and there is usually more than one way to progress through a given level. Heavier protected areas usually give you the hint that you need to tinker around a bit to open the jackpot. A kind of a voluntary challenge. 4) better story telling - first two-three missions are connected like scenes from a good movie so the transition is natural. The choice of next few missions feels like the effect of situation development due to your activity in LMC base. That makes the story much more compelling compared to No Remorse 5) More "alive" NPC - I got to like the Rebels from the Moon Base a lot more than in Echo Sector, because of their personalities and humor. Some of them get more screen time and character development, which is why you get to like them a lot more. After all they are your brothers in arms. 6) more great music. It's just a personal opinion but I do think that No Regret's OST is better than No Remorse's
This was one of my two very first cRPGs (the other being Dungeon Master 2), and I still think of it very fondly after having played quite a few RPGs to date. I still take time to play it again every now and then. From cRPG point of view Stonekeep is a bit atypical, but thanks to the way it is it serves as a perfect introduction to all RPG novices. The unique 1-rune magic system, the very simple and intuitive user Interface and simple playstyle make the life of any beginner Roleplay gamer much easier. However, the players-friendly approach doesn't make this game shallow. Partly because it's a classic dungeon-crawl, and partly because of quite a deep story to unravel (even though it's linear), you will have a lot of fun. Memorable bosses (Khull-Khum, Scourge), great and funny dialogues, well designed levels and riddles (yes, some took me a few days to figure out, and there was no Gamefaqs back in 1990s), rich armoury and epic atmosphere. It all gives you pleasure while playing. Graphics-wise the game was a bit dated when it was released back in 1995, but it works well under Windows XP and Windows 7 (even the original CD retail copy I own). Back in the days it was the content that made games memorable, and special and Stonekeep is such a game. Personally I go back to it, because character dialogues make me giggle all the time. If you're having doubts, watch some playthrough on YouTube, but I can tell you with a clear conscience that it's a very good old school cRPG.
