I bought 1NSANE back when it was first released. I still don't get the name, but I had a lot of fun with it. When I found it on sale, I immediately snatched it up. Coming back to the game was an eye-opener. While it's got some issues that I don't remember from back then, it's still a worthy purchase for the right person. The game was very advanced for its time. I'm a racing game junkie and when I see Codemasters on the box, I buy. This didn't disappoint back then, and it's surprisingly good today. It's sparse graphically, but it works here. There's also support for 1920x1080 resolution, which shocked me. The game engine is apparently more scalable than I assumed. Two main problems with it: controls and hysics. Controls are good for the era: I'm playing with an Xbox One controller and while quirks abound and need to be addressed, it's possible to make the game control well enough. The main problem is that some weird defaults seem to exist, so the left thumb stick LR axis functions as up and down. Be warned, you absolutely need analog controls for at least the throttle, if not the steering as well. Even with analog the steering works in digital steps, and adjusting the One controller to this isn't easy thanks to the settings given. It's possible but it takes some experimenting. The physics are realistic, but punishingly so. The vehicles seem to flip over and spin out far too easily. The flip side of this is that your opponents often struggle with the same thing. Again, you need a light touch on the throttle and steering to combat this. But when you figure it out and everything works perfectly, the joy of winning is immense. The game progression is lacking though and doesn't give much reason to push forward, I could probably go on about this game for at least another thousand characters, but GOG has a limit, so I've trimmed it down. It's very much still a good game, I didn't even get into damage or vehicle models, if you're a fan of racing games, buy it cheap.
This game is a perfect example of how strong the effect of nostalgia is. That's the only reason I can fathom why anyone would give this game more than one star after playing it within the last ten years. It also goes to show that you shouldn't be buying your games based off the first couple reviews that you see. There are a handful of FMV gems that are fun to play, and this game is NOT one of them. 7th Guest is similar to its sequel, The 11th Hour, but The 11th Hour at least had a few redeeming features. There was some humor, some great music, and decent FMV. 7th Guest doesn't really have any of these. Neither game has much of a story, but 7th Guest goes out of its way to ruin any semblance of a story by showing you FMV clips randomly, and out of sequence, often repeating the same clips you've already seen. Not only does it not make sense, but it's repetitive. There's no gameplay at all. The house is completely empty, and the only time you come across anything resembling a ghost is in the FMV clips. The "game" involves clicking and solving random puzzles, most of which are easier to accomplish by guessing instead of attempting to use any logic. I'll sum it up like this: no gameplay; crappy FMV; random, illogical puzzles; no coherent story. When the game first came out, it got a TON of hype, probably because it came on several discs. Don't be fooled, this isn't even really a game. Anyone rating it higher than 2 stars must be relying on nostalgia.
I don't see why people like Tomb Raider so much. The control scheme and camera are terrible. I tried playing Tomb Raider again the other day and I just can't put up with it. Tomb Raider 2 looks nicer. I guess that's good. This game was okay back in 1996, but not in 2012.
The story here is interesting and the FMV is good, but the core gameplay is so mind-numbingly stupid that you won't want to finish the game. You don't collect things or use objects in this game, you just click on things. What do you click on? Whatever the disembodied house voice tells you to click on (assuming you can decipher the asinine riddles). Sometimes you have to solve a puzzle to be able to click on the thing. What does the puzzle have to do with anything? Absolutely nothing, it's just a puzzle. Click, click, puzzle, click, video. Repeat. Over and over again. The pre-rendered graphics are nice, music is awesome, the atmosphere is creepy, and the humor is dark. The only thing that is missing here is the actual GAME. It's worth a try for $5, but not for $10.
