The Battle.net version of Warcraft II was a cash-grabbing repackaging of Warcraft II and the Beyond the Dark Portal expansion. Blizzard wanted to give the game a second wind, and also wanted to cut-down on manufacturing costs. So, they cut and downgraded the sound and music materials in order to fit the base game and the expansion onto a single CD - because Blizzard was too cheap to put them on two CDs, like they originally released on. And then Blizzard put it in a small box and called it the Battle.net edition - and voila, a downgraded version of the game that sounds like it must be improved in some way. And then they sold it. You'd think that GoG would have enough self-respect, and respect for this gem of a game (which is a gem in its original form, not the B.net version), that, since they're doing a digital release that isn't restricted to the size of a single CD, they'd restore the game's music tracks and sound quality. But no, they didn't do that. GoG's version of Warcraft II features the same poorly-edited, cut-down music tracks as the B.net edition, and it features the same horrendously low-fidelity sound effects as the B.net edition. GoG's edition of Warcraft II is a lazy, careless port, and running the original game with the expansion in DOSBox provides a higher-quality experience. My advice is: Don't waste your money on it, and don't reward them with your money, since they clearly don't care about the quality of what they put out, or about doing this game justice.
The first Cyberia is a genuine PC classic which received wide praise when it released in '94. And before the GI charade was universally lauded by those who knew about it: http://www.gamespot.com/cyberia/user-reviews/2200-429246/ http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/comments/39/ http://www.csoon.com/issue3/cyberia.htm http://www.giantbomb.com/cyberia/3030-18074/user-reviews/ It still holds up today as a unique and high-quality experience that very successfully blends together various genres: action, adventure, puzzle, Dragon's Lair-style arcade, flight. Cyberia 2 does not really impress on the same level as the first Cyberia, and seems much less like a serious effort: - While the first Cyberia was a pioneer in gaming technology, and also in mixing together various genres, Cyberia 2 uses the same graphics style with perhaps less overall detail than the first game, and also just mimics the same basic gameplay formula, which feels a bit more streamlined than the first game. - While the first Cyberia has an intriguing story, diverse locations, and interesting characters, Cyberia 2 feels like it was written by someone different, someone much more amateur, and who just aimed to create game time using the first game's models, rather than interesting characters, story, purpose, intrigue, etc. - The music in the first Cyberia is one of gaming history's better and most aesthetically-stylized soundtracks, and while Cyberia 2 uses the same instruments, effects, and some similar themes, it lacks the personality and melodic qualities of the first game's soundtrack. Still, it's nice to have another game in the Cyberia series, at least to experience the unique sensations of the first game for a little longer - even if in an inferior overall presentation. And if you like to immerse yourself in early PC gaming atmospheres, then Cyberia 2 allows for plenty of that, too. I'm giving Cyberia 2 one bonus star in my rating, because the first Cyberia is just that awesome.
Cyberia is a highly unique game, with fun adventure-style puzzles to solve, exciting flight combat levels, and a continually progressing story that doesn't aim to repeat the same experience twice from start to finish. It's like the game only knows how to go forward, and knows how to do it very well. It also has some very good music, and an awesome end to its adventure. I played this game in its day on a sub-average 486 SX-33, without problems, and my friends played it on their 486 66, and another on their luxurious Pentium 133. None of us encountered any performance problem, and I don't recall ever having technical issues. A below review claiming that PC's from 1989 couldn't run the game is absolutely ridiculous, as the minimum requirement of 486 33mhz didn't exist yet. In 1994, when the game released, a 486 33mhz was not rare, and was sub-average - Pentiums had already been released a year earlier. Unfortunately, the ratings and reviews for Cyberia are going to be somewhat skewed, by the little boys hopping on a GameInformer Super Replay bandwagon that purposely set out to disparage and mock the game by deliberately playing it worse than humanly possible and acting, yes, purely acting as if they weren't the screw ups rather than the game itself. GameInformer did this game a greatly dishonest disservice, and the average rating of 4 stars for this game, despite the irreverent GI noise pollution, is testament that this is actually a great game, both in its original day and still now.
