BPGE #30 – Blade Runner
We wrap up the week with today’s video on Blade Runner. The game is a point-and-click adventure game that heavily relies on your detective work. Your first task is to investigate a pet store where several animal where murdered. Due to the rarity of real animals in this universe, the crime would almost equate to killing a human. Within minutes of playing around, I got sucked into the game and it’s universe. The sharp art style, the fitting atmosphere and some communicative story telling made Blade Runner massively attracting. The game may not be flawless, but an excellent all around execution revealed a previously unknown gem of a game.
BPGE #29 – Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri
In a time where we had classic shooters like Quake release, there where other great games that seemingly flew under the radar. This sci-fi tactical first person shooter was quite different to most games back in the day. It was part of the first generation of true 3D games, but it also was unique as it featured proper open outdoor environments. Despite being well received at the time, Terra Nova was considered a failure. The game went through a long development cycle and in the end it was never able to recover all of it’s costs. While this did not directly result in the company going out of business, it was the beginning of several compounding events which would lead to their demise.
BPGE #28 – Civilization II
And here we are with another week of the best PC games ever. Today we kick things off with a turn based strategy game called Sid Meier’s Civilization II. As you can imagine, the first game in the series had enjoyed moderate success. It’s sequel brought in many new features and improvements which addressed many complaints with the first game which made a great overall game. However being a more recent player of the series, more specifically a Civilization IV and V player, I found myself having issues finding any reason to recommend this game to others. The problem is that while the core mechanics are good, the rest of the game doesn’t really hold up too well these days. In a way that isn’t a bad thing either, it just goes to show how much the improve every new title. In the end if I had to recommend this game I would point you to the latest release, Civilization V.
BPGE #27 – Quake
We end the week with one of the top 3 most important first-person shooters of all time, Quake. Like Doom, iD Software continued to evolve the FPS genre with many new features. It was considered the first full 3D FPS since Descent is arguably more of a flight combat sim than a first-person shooter. They also developed a full TCP/IP network stack for the engine which allowed for easy multiplayer gaming. Best of all was the modding community behind this game. Before releasing the demo, iD had released something called QTest which was aimed as a tech demo of the upcoming game. Literally overnight there where servers already online and simple mods already uploaded for this tech demo. With that kind of dedication, you can imagine the game was quite a success when released.
If you want to give the game a try, I suggest picking it up on Steam : http://store.steampowered.com/app/2310/
BPGE #26 – MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
Today on BPGE we get to engage in some mech combat in MechWarrior 2. For starters unless you truly enjoy mech games this is not likely your game. Especially due to it’s age, unless you have a joystick or controller configured you will be in for a surprise with all the controls available to you. Unfortunately time was not kind to the gameplay either, the game feels dated and it doesn’t bring out the fun like it used to. Fortunately for us there is a new MechWarrior in development and if that wasn’t enough, Armored Core V is also in the works.
BPGE #25 – Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares
Hopefully you all had some great holidays and didn’t miss your weekly BPGE too much. The first episode of the new year will be about Master of Orion II. The game is a 4x real-time strategy with surprising depth and strategy to it. As you will find out in our longest video yet, I’m not exactly the most experienced player there is. I only managed to play about three games before starting the recording and only by then had I grasped the basics.
If you wish to play this game, it can be found on many online retailers like GoG.com - http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/master_of_orion_1_2
BPGE #24 – Duke Nukem 3D
We end the week with this kick ass game called Duke Nukem 3D. Developed and published by 3D Realms, this would unfortunately be their last release before the the company slowly declined to what it is today. While the game did gain some controversy like many other first-person shooters did at the time, that did not stop the game from becoming a big commercial hit at the time. Duke Nukem 3D was very well received at its release and even to this day, the game still maintains an iconic position in the history of first-person shooters. I had no problems getting the game to run with the high resolution pack, so I highly recommend you to read on so you can give the game a try.
** Please note that I will be taking a one week break starting next week. I will resume the BPGE series on January 3rd. Read more
BPGE #23 – Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Warcraft II was one of the most important games in the history of Blizzard Entertainment. This game defined their RTS style which was highly praised during its release. Warcraft II was so well received that gamers elevated Blizzard among the elite gaming companies like Westwood and iD Software. As you can imagine, this sparked the Command & Conquer vs Warcraft debates for years to come. Speaking of the future, this game would also form the basis for what would arguably become the most popular RTS of all time. The game in question would be StarCraft and it’s expansion called Brood War.
BPGE #22 – Descent
We kick off this week of the best PC games ever with a game called Descent. The objective is quite simple, you have full control over an armed spaceship and you must destroy the central reactor in every mine you enter. The game is a full 3D first-person shooter with six degrees of freedom. As you will need to navigate through these complex mines, this full motion freedom allows you to easily change the pitch, roll and yaw of your ship. Of course to make things more difficult, the game throws in a bunch of enemies and a few doors locked by key cards to slow down your path to the reactor. After all, what is the point of a game with no challenge ? Read more
BPGE #21 – Command & Conquer Tiberian Dawn
We end the week with another important game in the history of the real-time strategy genre. After their success with Dune II, Westwood continued to improve and innovate their RTS formula in Command & Conquer. This marked the beginning of a new franchise which would eventually grow into one of the most popular and successful RTS games ever. While this game does not feature all the modern amenities that Tiberian Sun/Red Alert 2 had, the game was a definite leap from Dune II. Either way, if you wish to give the game a try read on for some download links.
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