Gabriel Knight 3 - $5.99 from GOG ('Month' of Activision)

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The temporally unorthodox 'Month of Activision' continues with Gabe's third iteration & move into full 3D adventureland.

Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned $5.99

Metacritic:
Gabriel Knight 3 (80)

Gabriel Knight 3 Demo (courtesy of The Sierra Help Pages


Previous Weeks here:
==========

Weeks 1&2 here:
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In the 2nd Week of the 'Month of Activision', GOG brings us Nihilistic's classic RPG set in the World of Darkness.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption $5.99

Metacritic (74)
Demo

Once again, GOG has neglected to give an Activision release a soundtrack bonus. Fortunately, the game's music by Kevin Mathei (Sacrifice, JA2, Wizardry 8, Champions Online) should be available in the /sounds/music subdirectory.

A stickler for the P&P rules? Get the WODMOD from PlanetVampire [Redemption/Bloodlines resources].

Last week's releases (Arcanum/Gabriel Knight 1) here.

Week 3


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In the 3nd Week of the 'Month of Activision', GOG brings us a few of Sierra's catalog of classic adventure games: 3 of the adventures of Roger Wilco in Space Quest 4, 5 and 6 - as well as one of the first FMV adventures in Phantasmagoria.

Space Quest 4,5,6 $9.99

Phantasmagoria $9.99

Demos:
SQ5 Demo
SQ6 Demo
Phantasmagoria Demo

Mobyrank:
SQ4: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers (72)
SQ5: The Next Mutation (83)
SQ6: Roger Wilco in the Spinal Frontier (76)
Phantasmagoria (64)

Soundtrack have, once again, been disappointingly left off the extras list.
SQ OSTs: [from QuestStudios]
Phantasmagoria OST: [checking if extraction possible, TBD]
Week 4
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This week, GOG brings us one of the classic city-building series from Sierra/Impressions as well as the funkiest car combat game ever. All compatible with current MS OSes and DRM-free.

Caesar III $5.99

Interstate '76 Arsenal $5.99 ['76 & the Nitro Pack]

Mobyscore:
Caesar III (84)
Interstate '76 (86)

Interstate 76 Demo
I can't find a working Caesar II demo, so try the Pharoah Demo. (More Nile ebbs, fewer plebs.)

Be sure to visit the Caesar II site at HeavenGames for additional scenarios and utilities.
The great I'76 soundtrack was originally incuded on the disc in Redbook audio. We'll see how GOG handles that.
Week 5:
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Thursday's releases are the Civ step-child Call to Power II and a compilation of the middle King's Quest games, King's Quest 4,5,6.

Tuesday brought us an FMV adventure starring gaming's favorite Schattenjäger, Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within ,attractively priced at $5.99.

Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within $5.99
King's Quest 4,5,6 $9.99
Call to Power II $5.99

Mobyscore:
The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery (91)
King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (78)
King's Quest V:Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder (77)
King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (88)
Metacritic:
Call to Power II(72)

Demos:
The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery
King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (AGI)

[demos via The Sierra Help Pages ]

==========

The continued reluctance of GOG/Activision to include soundtrack bonuses with their releases troubles me. Here's music from KQ IV, V, and VI and some stray tracks from Gabriel Knight 2 [via QuestStudios].

[Based on the trailer on GOG's site, It is currently unknown whether KQIV also includes the AGI version; whether KGV also includes the EGA version; whether KQVI also includes the disk version.]
Week 6:
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The temporally unorthodox 'Month of Activision' continues with a pair of Sierra sequels. The macabre Phantasmagoria sequel, 'A Puzzle of Flesh', is a stand-alone story of mental illness & the classic 'Betrayal in Krondor' receives a direct continuation in 'Return to Krondor'.

Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh $5.99
Raymond E. Feist's Return to Krondor $5.99

Mobyrank/Mobyscore:
Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh (64) (3.6)
Raymond E. Feist's Return to Krondor (77) (3.6)

No demos available, so watch the custom trailers on the game pages for a better sense of the gameplay.

You might also like to read Feist's novelization of 'Return to Krondor' here. (3rd in a trilogy)
 
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The difference with GOG is that if they did release Bloodlines, the latest fanpatch would already be installed. :D
 
Bloodlines was the first game I ever bought on Steam. Awesome game.

Still on fence about Redemption, probably will bite.
 
Glad to hear that about the Steam version of Bloodlines :applause: might just have to purchase. Been waiting forever for a hard copy from Goozex.
 
1st post updated with Space Quest & Phantasmagoria.

It's arguable if the Space Quest pack should be called a 'deal'. A Space Quest pack is available from other download services for more $$ (such as Steam's distribution of the recent pack by VU), but includes the first three games, as well (however, that pack substitutes the VGA remake of SQ1 for the original).

The handling of the first three games by GOG will determine this in the end. One can hope that (as in the case of the Ishar games) they will add the remaining games to the pack free of charge at a later date.
 
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Very disappointed with the new offers. $9.99 for only the last three Space Quest games? The first three better be only $5.99 then. This series is decent, but I think people highly over-rate it. Either all six together should be $9.99 or the two halves should be $5.99 each.

Phantasmagoria just isn't worth $9.99. I still have the six (or is it seven) disc original. I really think it's bad. But, IMO, Roberta Williams was vastly over-rated anyway. She created a few really good games to start out with, then went straight downhill (especially with this series).
 
Its nice to see phantasmagoria getting some attention. It wasnt the best game but it was atleast presented well and I enjoyed it. Course I support gog in most everything because unlike other digital services you can download the actual install file instead of being required to connect to a service to validate it and such, and they actually make sure the game will run on newer operating systems.

Just to throw in, for 15 on amazon you can get the space quest collection with all 6 games. I have this one and it works great on winxp-win7, just install it and put the cd away and play them.

I got space quest collection, leisure suit larry, police quest and kings quest collections. I was so happy to get these.

http://www.amazon.com/Space-Quest-Collection-Pc/dp/B000AYH89M
 
I'd bite on Space Quest if the collection was sold together, but $9.99 for the latter 3 titles is a bit too much. A local gamestop has a sealed (yep unopened omg) Space Quest Collection for $14 which is tempting.

Phantasmagoria was a pretty awesome game back in the day, its one that I'd snare for old times sake when its on sale for 5.99 or something from one of GOG's usual deals.
 
I actually thought Phantasmagoria was a great game for the time. I recall some pretty messed up violent scenes in that game, something I probably shouldn't of been playing at that age. I also remember being pleased that it had an in game hint system I believe? I don't know, it's been so long.

Anyways, I would possibly grab on sale, though it probably doesn't hold up very well over the ages.
 
[quote name='Crazyhowie']I actually thought Phantasmagoria was a great game for the time. I recall some pretty messed up violent scenes in that game, something I probably shouldn't of been playing at that age.[/QUOTE]

You'd be correct, although alot of it looks rather silly nowadays. Here's a refresher:

http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/phantasmagoria/
 
Bought Phantasmagoria

I had fun with it when I was younger (thanks Dad for letting me play that when I was 10) and it was actually a pretty decent adventure game.
 
Phantasmagoria, hell yeah! This game is not cheap second-hand, if I recall. Also, it'll be nice to not have to deal with the 8 CDs or whatever.
 
I think Phantasmagoria is the first CD-Rom game I have ever played... Definitely the first point-and-click game I've ever played. It was ok for its time; defintely no 7th Guest.
 
Even back in the day, I thought Phantasmagoria went beyond bad, past cheesy, and once again into crap.
 
[quote name='lllGurulll']$10 seems kind of high for Phantasmagoria. That should be 5 bucks or even less.[/QUOTE]

$6 would have been cool but since it is 1.7GBs, I can't blame them for making it $10

[quote name='argyle']Phantasmagoria is horrendously bad. Superman 64-level bad.[/QUOTE]

hyperbole thy name is argyle
 
Interstate '76 was one of the first LAN games we tried playing at school that had more general appeal than Quake. Good times. Sequel sucked, tho.
 
Buyer beware - Interstate 76 has a TON of problems.

Graphical errors, about 1/4 of the weapons don't work correctly, story mode problems, and other issues.

I bought it as soon as it hit, because Gog apparently makes these games work under XP / Vista, but it seems they really don't do much of anything. I'm starting to doubt these games are even tested - first major problems with Divine Divinity, now Interstate 76.

And these aren't bugs that take awhile to notice - it's stuff you can run into asap. I used to get stuff from gog right away because I knew they put in extra effort, but this is the second time I've bought a game which has been either a) a hassle getting to run or b) downright broken and needed to be patched.
 
[quote name='animalspinners']Buyer beware - Interstate 76 has a TON of problems.

Graphical errors, about 1/4 of the weapons don't work correctly, story mode problems, and other issues.

I bought it as soon as it hit, because Gog apparently makes these games work under XP / Vista, but it seems they really don't do much of anything. I'm starting to doubt these games are even tested - first major problems with Divine Divinity, now Interstate 76.

And these aren't bugs that take awhile to notice - it's stuff you can run into asap.[/QUOTE]

Did you try reporting the bugs to GOG through their forum? They are usually amazing at listening to the community and fixing bugs after the fact.

Getting these old games working on all modern systems isn't a exact science yet. They test as much as they can with the resources they have.

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/interstate_76_arsenal/__/1266705573/
 
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[quote name='Sporadic']Did you try reporting the bugs to GOG through their forum? They are usually amazing at listening to the community and fixing bugs after the fact.

Getting these old games working on modern systems isn't a exact science yet. They test as much as they can with the resources they have.[/QUOTE]

I can run the game 100% fine in software mode. The glide doesn't work at all on my ATi card. Anyways, the forum is full of information about it, so I'm sure something will be done.
 
[quote name='Sporadic']Did you try reporting the bugs to GOG through their forum? They are usually amazing at listening to the community and fixing bugs after the fact.

Getting these old games working on modern systems isn't a exact science yet. They test as much as they can with the resources they have.

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/interstate_76_arsenal/__/1266705573/

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/interstate_76_arsenal/the_groovin_amp_039_i76_workaround_thread[/QUOTE]

All the bugs are up there on their forum - the most maddening one, to me, is that all mortars and flamethrowers do not work, because of frame rate issues. The game simply runs too fast.

I really can't recommend anyone to drop the $5.99 until they fix this release up. GOG has yet to address any of these issues, but the community seems to be trying to pick up their slack, so hopefully something can be done.

Hell, the first melee I did I killed myself because the mortar shoots out an inch in front of your car and damages you.
 
KQ 4-6 for $10? nuts. they should have gone 1-4 and 5-8 if breaking it up

but gabriel knight 2 is the greatest fmv of it's genertion not that there is much strong competition
 
Gabriel Knight 2 is a fantastic game. It's often cited as the one FMV game to do it RIGHT. Imagine a point and click adventure where every dialogue branch was filmed with actors. Decent actors, good enough to let you really enjoy the story.

[quote name='guicao']hi before i pull the plug

will gabriel k.2 run in windows 7 64 bits ???

tks !!![/QUOTE]

The whole idea of GOG is that these are old games reprogrammed to work on modern systems. If it doesn't work on Windows 7 x64, it'll definitely work in XP mode.
 
I'm kind of intrigued by it, partly because there are wolves in the screen shots :whistle2:D

Man, 2.4GB was HUGE back in 1995!

I've thought there have been several games that use real actors really well, including Wing Commander 3 and 4, but I know more than that.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']What's Call to Power?[/QUOTE]

After the brouhaha involving Activision and Microprose over the rights to the Civ brand was settled, Activision got a license to publish its own Civ game: "Civilization: Call to Power". When they decided on making a sequel, they no longer had the license, so the 'Civ' was dropped. They won't be replacing the Firaxis games, but they're quality titles.
 
I was so disappointed in the King's Quest series as a whole. The first one I played was VI, which is, I think, easily the best in the series. So I played the others later, and was disappointed in them. The others aren't really BAD, but none are nearly as good as VI, which, upon playing it again years later, I still think is fantastic.
 
Ive been looking for the Gabriel knight games. How does this site work? is it similar to steam or is it just a direct download?
 
[quote name='bigsick']Ive been looking for the Gabriel knight games. How does this site work? is it similar to steam or is it just a direct download?[/QUOTE]

No client like Steam (though there is an optional downloader if you want to queue up a bunch of dl's). The games are downloadable - direct & unlimited, run on XP/Vista, DRM-free, most come with extras like soundtracks.

Oh, and you get your games on a snazzy virtual shelf like this:

GOG_shelf.jpg
 
Call to power 1 got a bad reputation. But CTP 2 was great. I played it all the time back in the day. It was released before Civ 3, iirc. So it feels like an improved Civ 2. The biggest changes are in empire management to remove a lot of the micromanagement at the city level and more focus on combat, which uses the same format as civ2 but with multiple-unit battles and combined arms elements to the strategy.

I can't say it's perfect, but it had slot of great ideas that set it apart from all the others. So it's definitely worth checking out.
 
[quote name='Yanksfan']Man, the Moby scores are far too low on the KQ games, especially V.[/QUOTE]

It probably has something to do with their infamous examples of unwinnable situations.

Still good games, but gamers now have too many options to be forced to replay hours of work because they didn't find a boot a few hours ago. Being warned of those unwinnables before you fall into their grasp makes for a better experience.

See the Sierra section of this and this.
 
[quote name='cheapo72']It probably has something to do with their infamous examples of unwinnable situations.

Still good games, but gamers now have too many options to be forced to replay hours of work because they didn't find a boot a few hours ago. Being warned of those unwinnables before you fall into their grasp makes for a better experience.

See the Sierra section of this and this.[/QUOTE]

Ugh, that slaps my nostalgia back into reality. I really hated adventure games that did this. Instant death or being unable to progress through the story was a much better design.
 
Updated with Phantasmagoria 2 & Return to Krondor.

The general feeling regarding these two sequels is that they aren't as good as their gaming forbears, but offer some interesting gaming experiences (Krondor much more so).

Hopefully this means that Betrayal in Krondor and Betrayal in Antara are headed for release.
 
Phantasmagoria 2 is awful in an awesome way. Check out the Spoony Experiment video of it for mass hilarity.

It's technically still pretty bad, but I enjoyed more than the first game.
 
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