Got this way back on release, mostly b/c it was adult-oriented and featured some nudity, thanks to CD storage and FMV. Anyway, while it is a somewhat light R-rated point n click featuring the hero Darksheer, it also has a terribly clumsy, awkward mouse interface. It has to be seen to be understood. On top of that, the hero has no super abilities, just a cape. I guess he uses the dark to hide or something. He can't call the forces of darkness to help him or levitate. Noctropolis has no groundbreaking content to offer besides being on CD. It's the usual walkaround, find things, solve puzzles, with no compelling story to drive it. There is some cool twisted imagery and disgusting visuals but that's it. Short game too, maybe five to seven hours. Even $9.99 is absurd. I'd pay no more than $4.99 for this.
One of my all-time favorites. Such a simple looking game hiding a deep experience of skill building, team leveling and tactical combat. Wasteland featured a, strangely enough, mostly text-based approach to turn based combat. You'd select your attack and then read the results, such as "Brad empties his clip into a radiated giant rat." The game works as a top-down map from which you move around. Coolest thing was the open-ended way skills were handled. You could use skills (and there were about thirty of them) anytime to solve puzzles or get out of tight situations. You could try to talk to enemies instead of fighting, you could use acrobatics to entertain a group of people and win their favor. It was quite interesting and fun to know skills had uses beyond just combat. NPC's could join the party, lots of weapons, armor and locations.
Played this on my C-64. This version was actually better than the PC/DOS remake a few years later (F-117). What it lacked in graphics it made up in data, accuracy and tension. If you played Red Storm Rising or any of the sims from Microprose in that time period, you know what I'm talking about. People today will find it restrictive and primitive but at the time it was ahead of its time as the first game to simulate stealth aircraft missions. F-19 focused on secrecy, much as a spy would avoid conflict and have to think quickly, so the combat aspect is downplayed to highlight using cover, technology and smart flight plans to get in, drop a bomb, and get out. A worthy game but not for those who don't come from that time.
