Going back to the old school!

[7254278]

Hey guys,

I just installed Windows on my macbook so I could do some light gaming. A few hours ago an idea hit me, "Hey how about I install some of my old games so I can reminisce a bit". I just finished installing some of my old Maxis classics. Namely, Simtower(which I was COMPLETELY addicted to), Simcopter(which I never really played) and streets of simcity(which I have played but never really gotten into). I am having the time of my life. I feel like games were so much better back then in so many ways! Yes the graphics are dated and they dont have as many options but they offer so many more things. I find gameplay to be much better on old games. Take simtower for example, no real graphics but so simple to use but so hard to master, a REAL challenge! I also feel like a lot more thought went into them, I love all the easter eggs an humor once can find in these old Maxis games if you take a minute to notice.

As for simcopter, I lost the manual and I cant remember how to play so I am having a hard time, I also cant find the manual, or control scheme online so I cant do much. But if I ever figure it out I am sure I will have a blast as with that as well.

Who else here likes to go back to old school gaming occasionally? Anything you guys think I should check out? I am thinking of going back to the leisure suit larry games and fallout 1 and 2. Any other suggestions?

PS: I also found the site macintosh garden, very good stuff but some of it is a little before my time, as I am only 19. I tend to enjoy stuff made around 1993 or after simply because I find the older games like simcity classic to be overwhelmingly complicated without manuals and such a raw graphic user interface.

 

[ziggyonice]

Absolutely. I've always been a fan of Maxis' titles, even some of the more recent releases (SimCity 4 has been a game I've started getting into again recently). But the big one I really liked as a kid was SimAnt! Something about building and designing your own colony was pretty awesome.


Hmm... now if they'd only get around to releasing SimMars...

 

[imassents]

Sadly, we are in an era where game companies prefer to release games that are visually impressive. If they could just somehow meet in the middle and mix some gameplay in them, that would be great. They tend to be stuck in the FPS/RTS/3rd person(/sports sim) world which can only be done in so many ways - whoopee a new gun/unit/map... The other problem is then trying to get people away from them. They are like drones who prefer to play the same crap over and over again. Companies stick to something they can make a profit off - no executive wants their business to fail.

I enjoyed the older games (I wasn't a fan of the Sim series, although I didn't mind playing them), as there was so much variety. We didn't have graphics back then, they had to be made interesting/fun in other ways.

And what's the with the rising trend to release games that don't run well on current hardware? 15-20fps on last gen hardware is unacceptable. What's the point in releasing several $80 games that you need to fork out an extra $1500 for an upgrade each time?

 

[Nickwell24]

I personally find the older I get the more fun the sim games are. When I was a kid I didn't have 1/2 a clue how to actually keep a city alive in simcity, in the past week though i've started playing SimCity 4 and love it.

 

[Beric]

Sim tower was an old favorite. Seeing as I've just got Sheepshaver up and running on my Macbook, I should try out my copy.

 

[0098386]

I've got the id, Rockstar and Unreal packs on Steam and they've got quite a few retro games. I'm mostly into my old FPS games though so Doom is for me but I loved Sim City 3k and Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 as well.

There are also a few retro-styled new games you might want to try as well. To ruthlessly self promote theres my bunch;
http://satansam.co.uk/blog/?page_id=4. One of the best games of recent years I've played has been this little bugger; Knytt Stories. It's very popular now but I was a fan before it was cool, which makes me ultracool, right

 

[TheReef]

Ah those were the days,

Sim Tower, Sim City 2000, Sim Farm (remember the menu music? )

Glider PRO and Lemmings were also awesome. I spent days trying to complete Slumberland and Castle 'o the Air on glider.

Is it just me who prefers the old isometric view of SimCity 2000 over the new 3D look?

 

[JackAxe]

This games was from 1992, but it's not overly complicated and truly one of the greats -- if you like sci-fi adventure games, It's also free and runs under OS X:
http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

I played Monkey Island on my DS last year and then started on Loom. I still own all of the graphic adventures I enjoyed back in the early nineties. Most of which I've repurchased, since my DOS copies are long gone -- I would really like to get these games on my Touch 2G :[.

 

[Jakeblu]

Mostly Harmless

One of the best games i can remember playing on my Atari St was Elite. Now I have found Oolite for my Mac and have loaded it onto my macbook. Now all I have to do is to learn to dock again without a docking computer

 

[Beric]

One of the best games i can remember playing on my Atari St was Elite. Now I have found Oolite for my Mac and have loaded it onto my macbook. Now all I have to do is to learn to dock again without a docking computer

Yeah, I've messed around with Oolite a bit. Docking took a while to learn, that's for sure.