Four Great Games Your PC Can Play

Originally Posted by Dr. von Fish

Perhaps, but Myst is a bit easier game for total beginners to the genre to get into, since it's pretty straightforward see-and-click mechanics.

That, and some people (such as myself) prefer it to the "non-boring" ones, mostly because the series has one of the better plots of any adventure game series, and the quiet exploring by yourself tends to be more enjoyable for me than what most such games have.


Still, if Myst isn't your thing then The Longest Journey very well may be.

I still think StarCraft is one of the greatest older PC games ever, and is defintly the best RTS I've ever played. There have been a few good ones, like Command and Conquor, and the Age of Empires eries, but still not as good.

Marathon, which was made by Bungie and is kinda like a rough draft for the awsome gameplay they would later perfect with Halo, is another great game. However, it was compleatly ignored due to it being a Mac exclusive.

System Shock is another great PC game, and is actually quite similar to Bioshock, but has more horror elements.

Quake is another great PC FPS, although much more well know than Marathon or System Shock. Still a great game though. They need to make more mod friendly games like Quake.

Grim Fandango

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i played this once many moons ago and its AWESOME! i wish i could get it again...
Im not much of a PC gamer but there are a few:
Diablo/Diablo II deserves good mention..people STILL play Diablo II online if im not mistaken..
Myst...i think i have that somewheres....i should dig for it later

pc gaming does suck. And not all computers are backwords compatible. I have a crap-ton of games from my older computer that do not run on my newer one. So to play said old games, you need an older computer, which defeats the "all computer games are backwards compatible" arguement. Not to mention myst sucks.

Originally Posted by zeldask8r

pc gaming does suck. And not all computers are backwords compatible. I have a crap-ton of games from my older computer that do not run on my newer one. So to play said old games, you need an older computer, which defeats the "all computer games are backwards compatible" arguement. Not to mention myst sucks.

0/10

try harder

Originally Posted by sea

Contrary to popular belief, Crysis is an excellent game. It's a natural extension of the ideas in Far Cry, but with much, much better execution, great AI, excellent environmental interactivity, and superpowers. It's got one of the best "feels" of any shooter I've played as well. I don't think it's possible for anyone to dislike Crysis unless they either went in looking for something to hate about it, or never played past the first mission.

Actually I personally thought the first mission was one of the best bits of the game, but that's beyond the point; you completly missed the point of my post. This thread is for games your PC can play. If there is one game that the average PC cannot play, it is Crysis. Crysis is the absolute pinnacle of games your PC cannot play

(EDIT: And, not directed specifically at anyone, it may be that you're "average" PC can play it, but it is still one of the the, if not the, most demading games out there).

I loved Crysis, though things got worse as it went through.

Originally Posted by Dr. von Fish

Not a PC exclusive, it's available for every last gen console, I believe.

Not to sound antagonistic or anything, but so what; I can also play it on my PC. So there. You may have mentioned exclusives in the first post, but there's really no need to get you're knickers in a twist over what is and what isn't and exclusive; they're all games.

The reason I loved BG&E was the same reasons I love Zelda; charming characters and a charming world, well paced and addictive gameplay and and enjoyable story.

Originally Posted by zeldask8r

pc gaming does suck. And not all computers are backwords compatible. I have a crap-ton of games from my older computer that do not run on my newer one. So to play said old games, you need an older computer, which defeats the "all computer games are backwards compatible" arguement. Not to mention myst sucks.

You'd have to go back about a quarter of a century before you begin having compatibility issues, and in those cases, those computers are so underpowered compared to todays that you shouldn't have any issue emulating those operating systems on a modern computer.

If you're having trouble playing an older game in XP or Vista try running the game in compatibility mode. If you're still having trouble running it look online for help- there's probably a very simple fix. If there isn't a simple fix then the game was probably written like **** and isn't worth your time.

The only games I've played and finished on PC:

Final Fantasy VIII (Play it every year)
Diablo (It's archaic, I know. And it's been ages since I played it. I wonder if its server still exists?)

PC games that I have and haven't finished/don't run too well on my PC:

Half Life II + episodes

Bioshock


I have a pretty fast, multi-task friendly laptop, but it's not good for games at all. Plus, I'm not a PC gamer either...

Only computer game I have played is Spore....

Originally Posted by Sam

Not to sound antagonistic or anything, but so what; I can also play it on my PC. So there. You may have mentioned exclusives in the first post, but there's really no need to get you're knickers in a twist over what is and what isn't and exclusive; they're all games.

The reason I insisted on listing exclusive PC games is that this list was geared towards all those gamers reluctant to treat their PCs as gaming machines. It does no good, in that sense, to list a game that someone can play on every console of this and last gen.

But I agree that BG&E was a good game. I wasn't too excited about it, but it was overall pretty good. High hopes for the sequel.

I got Cave Story last night and i must say im very impressed with it!

Warcraft 3, and I especailly think that RTSs are somthing that should be celebrated when discussing PC gaming because they barely ever work on consoles, and hence you get a completly differant experience to what you are used to if you are a console gamer.

The plot is timeworn, yet managed to be engaging all the same, and I am a fan of the way you focus on small groups of units and micromanage interactions between units; instead of simply creating as many foot soilders as you can, a small group of men can come out victorious against an army if you heal and attack in an effective manner.

The real successes lie in the online. Like most online games, you'll probally (either quickly or eventually) get tired of skirmishs, but you will not believe the pure scale of the fan created map and scenario community. Some maps won't even resemble the original game at all. I'm sure many of you have heard of DotA; Defence of the Ancients, without a doubt the most popular custom map, which focuses on battles between entire armies of original Heros (the ultra powerful characters which the main game allows you only three of at a time). You collect gold and items by defeating creeps and enemies heroes on the huge map, slowing getting more powerful and being able to buy more advanced equipment untill your team's heros are sufficently powered up to storm the other teams stronghold. Teamwork plays a large role, even if a good percentage of your teammates are complete jackasses who know so much about the game that they will critisize you for taking on slight wrong move that in 30 minutes time may result in you not getting the most powerful weapon for that Hero class and hence means you have a 3.37% redeuced chance of success when you attack. So, yeah.

Anyhow, great game.

I decided to make my own list, Dr. von Fish. I hope you don't mind. Mine has more games than yours, but it doesn't go over them quite as extensively. Each of the game's names links to a video of the game in action. The games whose names are in bold are games which have been released within the last two years, have expansions which were released within the last two years, or are actively being updated.

Game: Civilization 4
Genre: 4X Turn Based Strategy
System Requirements: 1.2 GHz Pentium 4, 256MB RAM, 64MB GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: Build a civilization from the ground up. Unlike most other strategy games, there is not set 'goal'. You do not need to take out other civilizations to win, nor do you need to complete the tech tree first, or build some relic first. (Though all three of these do add to a sense of accomplishment.) This game tries to simulate what it would be like to control a civilization from its birth to today. (and with the 'beyond the sword' expansion, the future too.)
Similar games: Civilization 3, FreeCiv, C-evo, Master of Orion III, Galactic Civilizations

Game: Warcraft 3
Genre: Real Time Strategy
System Requirements: 600 MHz CPU, 256 MB RAM, 32 MB GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Mac OSX, Linux(WINE)
Description: The Warcraft universe has a compelling backstory and mythology as a complex design allowing for a rich gameplay experience, and an extremely flexible map editor, which has led to the creation of countless maps- many of which stray very far from the original gameplay of Warcraft, and create almost endless replayablity.
Similar games: Starcraft, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Age of Empires 2, Emperor: Battle for Dune

Game: Zork
Genre: Interactive Fiction
System Requirements: Any computer bought in the last 30 years
Operating systems: If you're running an operating system that can't run Zork you already know
Description: Zork; one of the most heralded games in existence. When you enter the world of Zork you may feel underwhelmed by the complete lack of graphics, however, if you stick with it for a few minutes you may find to world to be incredibly rich, surreal, and above all, overly sarcastic. Playing Zork is like playing through a Douglas Adams novel, if any of his novels took place in an abandoned underground city. The puzzles in Zork range from simple to mind-bending, and I've found that even the most experienced puzzler will find Zork to present quite an epic and rewarding challenge.
Similar games: Zork 2, Zork 3, Zork Zero, Enchanter, Bureaucracy, Leather Goddesses of Phobos, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Planetfall

Game: Half-Life
Genre: First Person Shooter
System Requirements: 500 MHz CPU, 96 MB RAM, 16 MB GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: In Half-Life you play as the newly PhD'd theoretical physicist, Gordon Freeman. While preforming an experiment with some glowy stone thing and a giant laser beam something goes horribly wrong, and strange creatures begin appearing all over the massive 'Black Mesa' complex. You then spend the rest of the game trying to escape the complex with your head attached; slowly unraveling more and more of the mystery behind these strange creatures and the situation you've been put in. Half-Life is notable for its great mixture of first person shooter gameplay, platforming, and some great puzzles. Also quite mentionable, is the amazing cinematic quality of this game which is somehow achieved without ever stripping the player of their ability to control Gordon, or forcefully changing the players perspective.
Similar games: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Episodes, Unreal Tournament, Counter Strike, Team Fortress, Balder3D

Game: Knytt Stories
Genre: Platformer/Level Editor
System Requirements: If you can run Windows XP you should be able to run Knytt Stories
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: Knytt Stories is an environmental platform game which follows the various adventures of Juni, a 'knytt', and our titular hero. While there is an 'official' level pack, Anyone can use the very intuitive level editor which comes with the game, and the online database and 'drag n' drop' level install process makes the game feel very much like the recently released LittleBigPlanet. The major differences between KS and LBP are that KS is completely in 2D while LBP is rendered in 3D, KS allows the level designer to enable several collectible 'power ups' allowing for better level customization, the controls in KS are a little less floaty, and while some of the levels in KS match LBP in length, KS is extremely scalable and has many levels which one can spend hours, days, even weeks in before completing.
Similar games: Knytt, Within a Deep Forest, Super Mario Forever, N+, Gravitation

Game: Nethack
Genre: Rougelike
System Requirements: Again, couldn't find any actual requirements, but if you can run Windows XP you wont have a problem
Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Amiga, FreeBSD, DOS, OS/2, Atari, Windows CE
Description: Nethack is a game with almost endless possibilities. Enter the randomly generated Mazes of Menace, and fight your way to the bottom. Nethack is such an incredibly intricate and detailed game that you'll probably learn something every time you play- however, one of the coolest features is the permadeath system. If you die in the game, your character gets deleted. This makes every decision edge-of-the-seat, nail-bitingly exciting, and a successful character is all the more rewarding. Nativly, NetHack is text based- it uses alpha-numeric characters to represent objects in the game. There are, however, some great graphical interfaces- for example, NetHackW, which comes with the Windows install, is an amazing interface. There are even some 3D interfaces such as Falcon's Eye.
Similar games: Rouge, Hack, Dungeon Crawl, Crossfire, SLASH'EM, SporkHack, Dwarf Fortress, Ancient Domains of Mystery

Game: Thief II
Genre: Stealth
System Requirements: 266 MHz CPU, 48 MB RAM, 8 MB GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: In Thief 2 you play as a thief in a steampunk world. Your goal in most missions is to infiltrate an area, get whatever loot is needed, and get out, undetected. You can fight guards, though straightforward attacks almost never leave you on the winning side. If you like Metal Gear or Splinter Cell you'll probably like Thief 2.
Similar games: Castle Wolfenstein, The Operative: No One Lives Forever, Splinter Cell

Game: I Have no Mouth, and I Must Scream
Genre: Survival Horror
System Requirements: Once again, if you can run Windows XP you can run this game
Operating systems: DOS
Description: Meet AM. AM is the super computer who gained sentience and promptly killed off all life- with the exception of 7 people. AM has tortured you for the last 100 and some years. Today, however, AM is feeling bored. He wants to play a game with you. If you win you get your... freedom. Based on the award winning short story by the same name, I Have no Mouth, and I Must Scream is a truly chilling horror game. The game follows the story closely- playing like an audio book in some respects. Much of the script is taken directly from the story, and it's all read by the author.
Similar games: Clock Tower, Alone in the Dark,

Game: I Wanna be the Guy
Genre: Hardest Game Ever/Platformer
System Requirements: Will play on most any Windows 98 and up machine
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: This is the hardest game ever made. This game will eat you, throw you up, eat its puke, **** you out, grind it into a powder, and snort it. And that's just in the first two screens. You will be frustrated by this game. You will think it's unfair, you will get angry. If you are using a USB controller you will throw it, if not you will wish you had a USB controller to throw. However, despite its difficulty, this game is a lot of fun, pretty damn funny, ingeniously designed, and INCREDIBLY rewarding to complete. If you do play it, I recommend playing on medium. The only difference between medium and the harder difficulties is that medium has more save points and there are some aesthetic additions to medium mode. (Personally, I prefer the additions, as one makes dying slightly more fun, and the other is hilarious.)
Similar games: La Mulana, Cat Mario, Super Mario Frustration, Nikujin, Punishment (none of these are quite as hard as I Wanna be the Guy)

Game: Sega Smash Pack 2
Genre: Game Collection
System Requirements: 133Mhz CPU, 16MB RAM
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: This is a collection of classic SEGA games for PC. This is probably my favorite collection of this type, as it contains a few great games from a variety of genres. Sonic 2, Vectorman 2, Comix Zone, Kid Chameleon, Super Hang-On, Shinning Force, and Flicky are all classics. The addition of SEGA Swirl, a puzzle game original to Sega Smash Pack 2 is also pretty nice. Of course, if you are willing to play game ROMs this collection is mostly useless to you. That's another thing old computers tend to do well- play game ROMs.
Similar games: Sega Smash Pack, pirated ROM collections

Game: Touhou: Subterranean Animism
Genre: Bullet Hell
System Requirements: 1GHz CPU, 32MB GPU, 128MB RAM
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: Subterranean Animism is the most recent Touhou game, just one of eleven with a twelfth nearing release. The Touhou series are Bullet Hell games. I'm sure you're familiar with Galaga, right? Bullet hell games are kind of like Galaga, except that a majority of the screen is usually filled with projectiles rather than empty space. Your character's graphic is also a bit deceiving. You actually have a much smaller hit box than your graphic- which is nice- and you get extra points for having projectiles pass through your graphic but not your hit box.
Similar games: the other 10 Touhou games, Batsugun, DonPachi

Game: M.U.G.E.N.
Genre: Fighter/Level Editor
System Requirements: Pentium 90
Operating systems: DOS, Linux
Description: Ever wanted to pit Ronald McDonald against Megaman? Peter Griffin against Jesus? Godzilla against Micheal Jackson? Well, now you can! M.U.G.E.N. is a fighting game/engine which plays much like Marvel VS. Capcom, SNK VS. Capcom, and other similar games. The difference, however, is that the characters, move-sets, music, sounds, and stages are all completely customizable, allowing the player an unlimited number of possible combinations.
Similar games: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, Immaterial and Missing Power

Game: Ragnarok Battle Offline
Genre: Beat 'em Up
System Requirements: 1GHz Pentium 3 CPU, 64 MB GPU, 256MB RAM
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: Enter the vibrant and colorful world of Ragnarok. While the original MMO is a beautifully drawn, boring as hell grind fest, RBO is far more interesting. RBO is a 1-4 player class based Beat 'em Up game. Each player can play as an acolyte, archer, magician, merchant, thief, swordsman, or another hidden class.
Similar games: Splatterhouse

Game: Google Earth Flight Sim
Genre: Flight Simulator
System Requirements: 500Mhz P3 CPU, 256MB RAM, 16MB GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Description: The Google Earth Flight Sim is a relatively simple flight simulator which can be accessed from the Google Earth application through a key combination. (Control+Alt+A) While it's simple, the ability to fly over any portion on the planet creates a certain sense of realism not present in other flight simulators.
Similar games: Microsoft Flight Simulator X, World War II Online, X-Plane

Game: President Forever 2008 + Primaries
Genre: Political Simulator
System Requirements: 1 GHz CPU, 256 MB RAM
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: President Forever is a game for the hardcore political strategy fan. This game allows you to play as one of the democrat/republican 2008 U.S. primary election candidates or one of multiple 3rd party candidates. The goal of the game is to win the primary and general election, or receive 5% of the general vote if you're a 3rd party. While visually very basic, this game is incredibly detailed in design.
Similar games: Political Machine, Democracy, Commander in Chief, SuperPower

Game: Yo Frankie!
Genre: 3D platformer
System Requirements: 1.5 GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, OpenGL 2.0 graphics card
Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Description: Yo Frankie! is a fun 1-2 player 3D platformer created to show off Blender's 3D modeling and game engine capabilities. The game follows Frankie, a cartoon squirl, as he runs, jumps, and glides from point to point.
Similar games: Mr. Robot, I-Ninja, Psychonauts, Tonic Trouble

Game: Trackmania United
Genre: Arcade-Style Racer
System Requirements: 500 MHz Pentium 3, 256MB RAM, 16 MB video card
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: Trackmania is an arcade style racer with an extensive map editor. Trackmania has three major game types: race, platform stunt and ouzzle, as well as multiplayer. The right track can get you into some pretty intense situations. (Such as the one shown in the video.)
Similar games: Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, Street Racing Syndicate, FlatOut 2

Game: Baldur's Gate II
Genre: RPG
System requirements: 200 MHz CPU, 32 MB RAM, 4MB GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: Baldur's Gate 2 is an isometric WRPG set in the Forgotten Realms universe. The player controls a party of 1 to 6 characters. Much like D&D, the game it's based on, character building is deep, and the storyline is equally deep.
Similar games: Baldur's Gate, Bloodlines, Mount&Blade, Planescape: Torment, Fallout

Game: Battle for Wesnoth
Genre: Tactical RPG
System requirements: 1 GHz CPU, 512 RAM
Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, BSD, BeOS, Solaris, Amiga
Description: Battle for Wesnoth is an open source, multiplayer turn-based strategy game. (Tactical RPG) Battle for Wesnoth comes with a single player campaign, however, the real depth comes from the extensive map editor and the game mods.
Similar games: Worms: United, Axis & Allies, Heroes of Might and Magic IV

Game: Racer
Genre: Racing Sim
System requirements: 500 MHz CPU, OpenGL GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Description: Racer is an open source racing simulator with emphasis on realism and extreme customizability.
Similar games: netKar Pro, rFactor, Live for Speed, X Motor Racing

Game: Toribash 3
Genre: Turnbased Fighter
System requirements: 1GHz CPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux
Description: Toribash is a turn-based... fighter... It sounds weird, yes, but it's actually pretty cool. The characters are rag-dolls. The players select the joints of the characters, and define how they want them to act, then the players hit 'play' and the rag-dolls act out their commands over a set time interval. (one turn)
Similar games: Truck Dismount (sort of...)

Game: Dark and Light
Genre: MMORPG
System requirements: 1 GHz Pentium 3, GeForce 3 256mb
Operating systems: Windows
Description: Dark and Light is is a pretty standard MMORPG... except that its map is approximately 15,000 square miles. Yes, it's huge. Incredibly huge. It's perhaps the biggest game map ever. The game sports a feudal system for managing this land- The land is split into 13 different kingdoms controlled by GMs, and then those kingdoms are split into smaller blocks of land controlled by powerful characters, and so on and so forth... There are various mounts to help you cover the huge amount of land.
Similar games: World of Warcrack, EverQuest 2, Guild Wars

Game: Yume Nikki
Genre: Environmental
System requirements: 800MHz Pentium 3, 128MB RAM
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: Yume Nikki, which translates to "Dream Notebook" in English, follows the adventures of a girl through her surreal dream worlds. Nothing is as it seems in Yume Nikki, with the exception that everything seems incredibly bizarre. That is true.
Similar games: Seiklus

Game: Neverball
Genre: Labyrinth Marble Puzzle
System requirements: 1GHz CPU, OpenGL GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Description: This is an open source game very similar to Super Monkey Ball. The goal is to collect a set amount of coins for each level and then enter the level's exit.
Similar games: Super Gerball, Hamsterball, MarbleBlast Gold

Game: NationStates 2
Genre: Web MMO
System requirements: Web browser...
Operating system: All
Description: Nation States 2 is an interesting little web game, and it's surprisingly complex. You start out by naming your nation, it's currency, national animal, etc... then you take a quick questioner to figure out where on their 3 way political system to locate your nation. For example, my nation is a 'Left-Wing Utopia' With superb civil rights, world benchmark political freedoms, and almost no economic freedoms. You then receive two questions per day, which will change your nation's freedoms/rights accordingly, as well as your GDP, population, industries, and spending. You can also set trading status and diplomacy status, join alliances, and eventually declare war.
Similar games: NationStates, ERepublic, Kingdom of Loathing

Game: Kongregate
Genre: Flash game collection
System requirements: If you can view ZU's temple theme without issues you can play just about every game on Kongregate. If you can't view ZU's temple theme then you can probably still play most of them
Operating system: All
Description: I know, I know, Kongregate isn't really a game, it's just a site which hosts a lot of flash games, however, there are a few things about Kongregate that help bring it together, as well as distinguish it from other similar sites. First, Kongregate uses an achievement system. By completing different challenges in different games you collect 'badges'. These badges get you points, and once you get enough points you level up. Kongregate also features a chat window to the right of the game you're playing, and gives you access to a general room and a room for the specific game you're playing at that time. Kongregate also sports a card game, and a weekly challenge through which you can gain special cards to use in this game.
Similar 'games': Newgrounds, Armor Games


The $100 computer seen here should be able to play all of the above games and then some:

http://www.erpcsales.com/products/se...L-GX260-82.4SB

A game I would recommend would be The Elder Scrolls I: Arena, A great RPG, offers exploration of the entire continent of Tamriel, unlike later games in the series. The graphics are crap, but it has a great story, I think it's still available for free download on Bethesda's site. May require dosbox to play though...

I'll go over a few of your mentioned titles, 8bit:

Game: Half-Life
Genre: First Person Shooter
System Requirements: 500 MHz CPU, 96 MB RAM, 16 MB GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: In Half-Life you play as the newly PhD'd theoretical physicist, Gordon Freeman. While preforming an experiment with some glowy stone thing and a giant laser beam something goes horribly wrong, and strange creatures begin appearing all over the massive 'Black Mesa' complex. You then spend the rest of the game trying to escape the complex with your head attached; slowly unraveling more and more of the mystery behind these strange creatures and the situation you've been put in. Half-Life is notable for its great mixture of first person shooter gameplay, platforming, and some great puzzles. Also quite mentionable, is the amazing cinematic quality of this game which is somehow achieved without ever stripping the player of their ability to control Gordon, or forcefully changing the players perspective.
Similar games: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Episodes, Unreal Tournament, Counter Strike, Team Fortress, Balder3D

Yup, this is a good one. However, if you've played lots of newer FPSs before playing Half-Life (like I had), you might find Half-Life a little "generic", and may therefore wonder what all the fuss is about. Of course, this is simply because HL introduced so many elements we take for granted in modern shooters, so you may not find much originality in it today, but the design is still pretty sharp, and the AI has actually aged really well.

Game: I Wanna be the Guy
Genre: Hardest Game Ever/Platformer
System Requirements: Will play on most any Windows 98 and up machine
Operating systems: Windows, Linux(WINE)
Description: This is the hardest game ever made. This game will eat you, throw you up, eat its puke, **** you out, grind it into a powder, and snort it. And that's just in the first two screens. You will be frustrated by this game. You will think it's unfair, you will get angry. If you are using a USB controller you will throw it, if not you will wish you had a USB controller to throw. However, despite its difficulty, this game is a lot of fun, pretty damn funny, ingeniously designed, and INCREDIBLY rewarding to complete. If you do play it, I recommend playing on medium. The only difference between medium and the harder difficulties is that medium has more save points and there are some aesthetic additions to medium mode. (Personally, I prefer the additions, as one makes dying slightly more fun, and the other is hilarious.)
Similar games: La Mulana, Cat Mario, Super Mario Frustration, Nikujin, Punishment (none of these are quite as hard as I Wanna be the Guy)

Yeah, this is the game you'll download, play for a bit, and haul it to your recycle bin shortly after. I didn't find it to be really frustrating, because I didn't really care about progressing; it was a pretty horrid game, difficult for all the wrong reasons. There's really no skill involved in the game, just trial-and-error. Everything is out to kill you, and it will, and you won't see it coming 'till afterwards. It's no fun. Of course, I suppose the goal of the game is not to be fun, but to satisfy those you take some sense of pride in overcoming something trivial and nearly impossible, which it accomplishes. However, I'm not one of those people, and if you aren't either, then don't bother with this game.

A short metaphor, to drive my point home. Imagine if someone shuffled a deck of cards, then told you to guess the top card. Is that difficult? No, it's impossible, there's no way you KNOW what it is. Now imagine if you could go back in time and adjust your guess, then you could get it correctly. That's IWBTG: not a game a skill, but of foreknowledge.

Game: Neverball
Genre: Labyrinth Marble Puzzle
System requirements: 1GHz CPU, OpenGL GPU
Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Description: This is an open source game very similar to Super Monkey Ball. The goal is to collect a set amount of coins for each level and then enter the level's exit.
Similar games: Super Gerball, Hamsterball, MarbleBlast Gold

Oh man I loved this game.

It also comes with a pretty nifty mini-golf game that's great fun, especially when playing with a friend.

I have no mouth and I must scream. A game that needs to be played. period. One of the most unappreciated games in history.

Originally Posted by Dr. von Fish

Yup, this is a good one. However, if you've played lots of newer FPSs before playing Half-Life (like I had), you might find Half-Life a little "generic", and may therefore wonder what all the fuss is about. Of course, this is simply because HL introduced so many elements we take for granted in modern shooters, so you may not find much originality in it today, but the design is still pretty sharp, and the AI has actually aged really well.

I dunno, HL seems pretty timeless to me. It seems like most modern shooters fail to replicate what HL did over 10 years ago. It was the perfect blend of combat, puzzle solving, platforming, story, and adventure.

Also, I love how gradual everything in HL is. You slowly build up a reputation... no, you don't have a reputation stat or anything, but you notice these things slowly start to appear in the world around you. Or how the -situation- slowly escalates around you... it's really amazing.

Also, the sense of size I got from the Black Mesa complex was great the whole concept of placing the entire game within a single complex was amazing, and when I first got out of the complex, it was... it was like being nude, like my protective exoskeleton had been torn off.

Yeah, this is the game you'll download, play for a bit, and haul it to your recycle bin shortly after. I didn't find it to be really frustrating, because I didn't really care about progressing; it was a pretty horrid game, difficult for all the wrong reasons. There's really no skill involved in the game, just trial-and-error. Everything is out to kill you, and it will, and you won't see it coming 'till afterwards. It's no fun. Of course, I suppose the goal of the game is not to be fun, but to satisfy those you take some sense of pride in overcoming something trivial and nearly impossible, which it accomplishes. However, I'm not one of those people, and if you aren't either, then don't bother with this game.

A short metaphor, to drive my point home. Imagine if someone shuffled a deck of cards, then told you to guess the top card. Is that difficult? No, it's impossible, there's no way you KNOW what it is. Now imagine if you could go back in time and adjust your guess, then you could get it correctly. That's IWBTG: not a game a skill, but of foreknowledge.

Aw, Dr. Fish, I really don't think you're giving this game enough credit. Yes, this game does try to kill you in unexpected ways, however, they are mostly pretty funny. (being vaulted into a spikey pit of death by a couch in the background, for example) however, once you learn where those traps are, the challenge is still there. Take this screen, for example:



Those brown platforms move up and down. You start at the bottom next to that save box. You need to get to the top where that hole is.

If you even slightly touch one of those spikes from any angle your character will explode, and you will re-spawn at the save.

There are no unexpected traps on this screen, however, I don't think there's any denying that this screen is incredibly hard, even without weird traps.

It's a puzzle of sorts, and a reflex challenge. You have a double jump and a gun (which is useless on this screen) and that's all.

If this sounds like an interesting challenge, then go ahead, download this game. If you just wouldn't want to bother, this probably wouldn't be the game for you.

It is also important to remember that this game is a parody of the difficulty and design of NES generation platformers. There are a lot of references to different games of that generation and the game kind of feels like a 'super smash bros' style game for platforming.

After playing IWBTG for a while I went back to Mega Man 9, and found it easy, I whipped through the game, without dying on most levels, without any recent practice, and with little foreknowledge of the game. I think that's a testament to the difficulty of IWBTG, if it improved my platforming skills that much in only a couple of months.

Oh man I loved this game.

It also comes with a pretty nifty mini-golf game that's great fun, especially when playing with a friend.

Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned that. I'm just not a big fan of minigolf games

I have no mouth and I must scream. A game that needs to be played. period. One of the most unappreciated games in history.

I couldn't agree more!

Originally Posted by Dr. von Fish

A short metaphor, to drive my point home. Imagine if someone shuffled a deck of cards, then told you to guess the top card. Is that difficult? No, it's impossible, there's no way you KNOW what it is. Now imagine if you could go back in time and adjust your guess, then you could get it correctly. That's IWBTG: not a game a skill, but of foreknowledge.

You mean rather like the vast majority of old-school platformers?

A lot of difficulty in gaming is because of poor design. Think about it--who hasn't completed Resident Evil 4 and Ocarina of Time? (if you have those games, which you should)

*cough*

On PC gaming: I always kinda has a mental prerequisite that I be quaranteed to be able to play the game, (and that I have fun, which I find impossible with PC gaming, but that's beside the point) and with PC gaming I can never assure myself that I'll be able to play the game and have fun.

You can get an Xbox 360 for £200 (americans, get ready to convert)--show me a PC you can buy for £200 that can play, let's say, sea's list of games. All of them.

(hey, at least is some smart alleck somes out with a link, I can bookmark it for the future)

(lolbrackets)

The only game I really ever played on PC (that was actually meant for PC) was Roller Coaster Tycoon (which I loved). Maybe a little of Myst (which I never played far into). ....Yeah, I'm not a PC gamer at all. I'll stick with consoles, thanks.
But I tried a bit of Cave Story last night, and so far, it's good.