[Megazell]

Wait whoa, Psi-Ops is free now? Awesome, never knew that.
Legend of Princess is pretty awesome. The soundtrack's superb.

I suggest going over the DigiPen games. Namely, Empyreal Nocturne, Synaesthete (AWESOME), Narbacular Drop (predecessor of Portal)

Yeah man - I have a few games from PS2 and Dreamcast that went freeware on the PC.

Cool. I played Narb before I know I have it on my database. I also made a mod for Quake 2 that used a lot of reflecting portals. I am going to reedit and get it to work with Darkplaces...will be my project for the next few months.

Thanks for the leads.

[ChernobylCow]

Hey Mega, do you use any specific peripherals or controllers for any of these games? I have a couple of $5 usb controllers but I can't seem to get anything to recognize them so I'll probably pick up one or two of those Xbox360 for Windows controllers. Was wondering if you had any experience with them and compatibility with your ever-expanding library?

[Megazell]

Hey Mega, do you use any specific peripherals or controllers for any of these games? I have a couple of $5 usb controllers but I can't seem to get anything to recognize them so I'll probably pick up one or two of those Xbox360 for Windows controllers. Was wondering if you had any experience with them and compatibility with your ever-expanding library?

What controllers do you have excatly? Maybe I can help. BTW - It's the OS that decide if the controllers will work. When XP came out a lot of old controllers no longer worked with the new OS.

This is my preferred controller. They work with XP and Linux and are very affordable.

Saitek - P220 - Staples - $4.99 in NYC



I also have a few these - Saitek - P2900 - $12.99 - Amazing Savings Store in NYC



These are more for guest and my family since they hate wires and prefer to play from the couch or bed. Personally, I prefer wire.

[ChernobylCow]

Haha, for a second I thought those were going to be based off those Cube horror flicks.

How about tower defense games or possibly base builders?

When I get a chance I'll play through some of these and do a write-up. Keep up the good work.

[Megazell]

Haha, for a second I thought those were going to be based off those Cube horror flicks.

How about tower defense games or possibly base builders?

When I get a chance I'll play through some of these and do a write-up. Keep up the good work.

Give me an example of a commerical game. I have games listed by these genres - Turn Based Strategy, Real Time Strategy, Top Down Shooter, Side Scroller, First Person Shooter, Role playing, Puzzle, MMORPG, Sports, Racing and Odd.

Edited by Megazell, 10 January 2013 - 06:17 AM.

[ChernobylCow]

Give me an example of a commerical game. I have games listed by these genres - Turn Base Strategy, Real Time Strategy, Top Down Shooter, Side Scroller, First Person Shooter, Role playing, Puzzle, MMORPG, Sports, Racing and Odd.

Tower defense: Plants VS Zombies, Defense Grid

Base building: Um, you build a base then waves of enemies attack you? They're essentially the same genre. Build phase, attack phase.

[The Crotch]

Jesus, how did I not mention FreeCiv earlier?

[Megazell]

Tower defense: Plants VS Zombies, Defense Grid

Base building: Um, you build a base then waves of enemies attack you? They're essentially the same genre. Build phase, attack phase.

I think the only game I can think of that first comes to mind from this genre may be STRONGHOLD for the PC? I can look but I doubt I have them since those games are not my cup of tea.

You don't have an example? Google searches don't turn up much. The only base building I have done in a recent game was in City of Heroes. You made your base and defend them during base raids for Items of Power and/or bragging rights.

Edited by Megazell, 04 December 2009 - 03:03 PM.

[ChernobylCow]

Yeah, Stronghold...those games aren't very good.

Base-building trap laying games: Evil Genius, Dungeon Master 1&2.
Other base building: Lock's Quest (DS, uh yeah). I guess I'd narrow it down to turnbased games.

[Megazell]

Jesus, how did I not mention FreeCiv earlier?

Dude, that happens to me all the time. When I have conversations with others about free pc games in the real world I always forget the games I take for granted but love playing.

A good example of this was when I was in Family Court (I also volunteer at Family Court as a Advocate for low income fathers) I was talking to some lawyers and judges awhile back about games. They were into MMORPGs...Some played WOW. Some played Dark Age of Camelot. I was playing City Of Heroes and a MUD (MegaCity and All Flesh Must Be Eaten). So I never mention the MUD because it's like the last game I ever introduce to people...turns out they all played MUDs...Even the ones I played.

[The Crotch]

Waitwaitwait. Warzone 2100 is abandonware now?

yeah! Let's go make some Frankentanks!

EDIT: For those unfamiliar with the game, the gimmick there is that as you research/steal technology, you can use the bits and pieces to design new units. As I recall, there were three main components - body, weapon, and... means of locomotion.

[Megazell]

Waitwaitwait. Warzone 2100 is abandonware now?

yeah! Let's go make some Frankentanks!

I don't play it anymore but when it went free years ago...I use to ROCK it nightly!

[Megazell]

BTW - The entire MechWarrior 4 game series has gone free
since 7/09/2009.

http://www.smithandt...tletech-com.php

Microsoft has delayed the digital release of the games.

I am actively waiting for the release to be available legally before posting since many of these games are AWESOME.

The battletech series is getting a reboot also!

http://www.maximumpc...d_first_details

Edited by Megazell, 04 December 2009 - 11:02 PM.

[The Crotch]

Y'know, while I've been aware of it this whole time, I've never actually tried I Wanna Be The Guy before.

Well, two bosses (

Spoiler

Mike Tyson and

Spoiler

Mecha Birdo

) down, and I'm stuck on my most dastardly opponent yet:



this drop. these spikes. The Guy.

EDIT: Well, whaddya know? About 35 deaths later, and I'm past it. And miracle of miracles, there's an accessible save point after it!

EDIT2: Ah, you, Ryu.

Edited by The Crotch, 05 December 2009 - 02:01 PM.

[Megazell]

^^

LOL!

Yeah man that game brings back a lot of Nintendo moments when I was cussing @ the console!

[The Crotch]

Well, I made it all the way back to the central hub. I'm trying to get down to the bottom path, but I can't for the life of me figure out how. There's this weird vibrating spike on the wall near the bottom of a huge-ass drop, but it's a little hard to check out without getting exploded, so it could just be a red herring.

EDIT: So there's a shortcut in the central hub... to an area that I've already been to. And it's one-way. So now I have to play through half of the fucking bullshit I already went through just to get to this point, including the aforementioned zig-zag of doom and... oh cuntfuck, I've gotta go through the Ghouls 'n Ghosts level again, don't I? you, The Guy.

Edited by The Crotch, 05 December 2009 - 04:39 PM.

[mogamer]

Great job Megazell. And congratulations on getting this stickied!

[The Crotch]

I suppose I should comment on the earlier-mentioned UFO: Alien Invasion, a game "inspired" by X-Com.

Now, I'm a big fan of X-Com. This is not X-Com. Yes, yes, it is basically a fan-made X-Com game - hire soldiers, buildiers, and scientists, research shit that you take from aliens, turn units, laser and plasma, default bases coming with absolute shit layouts, etc.

But there are a few very... non X-Com feeling things. Specifically, regular fights are way easier, but aerial battles are way harder. Gone are the god-like supermen known as "Sectoid Navigators". There's actually a half-way decent chance that you will make it through your first battle with all your troops intact.

The chances of them all surviving the return trip, however... not as good. The fact of the matter is, your starting aircraft are pure, unadulterated shit. Attempting to intercept a UFO will result in you getting your shit absolutely wrecked in a matter of seconds. Add to that the habit that enemies have of intercepting your aircraft, and you've got some pretty good ragequit material.

The game also has some obviously unfinished-feeling bits. Some item descriptions simply read "To be added". Some walls have these pain-in-the-ass "dead zones" around them that prevent you from actually standing near them. Hope you like crouching three feet away from cover, asshole.

Also, whereas the movement of X-Com civilians appeared to be covered by a cruel and capricious RNG god, the people in UFO appear to actually have AI. Unfortunately, said AI seems to have a fetish of the sexual variety for plasma in the face. I can not tell you how many times I have seen NPCs start off in perfectly safe areas, only to run full-tilt ahead of my troops into enemy gunfire. I appreciate the meatshield and all, guys, but still...

EDIT: Oh, yeah. There is a dreadful lack of destructible environments. Wish you could make armour out of wooden handrails - that shit holds up to RPGs just fine.

Edited by The Crotch, 08 December 2009 - 02:42 AM.

[rumarudrathas]

Survival Crisis Z

Side Scroller Action
Single Player - Yes
Multiplayer - Yes

Survival Crisis Z is an open ended intense survival experience that is nearly as much RPG as it is arcade. Make money or steal it. Buy weapons or pick them off a fresh corpse. Work for the leaders of the post-apocalyptic ruin or have them working for you.

System Requirements

OS: Windows 98 SE or higher
CPU: 400 Mhz
Memory: 64 Mb
Hard Drive: 25 Mb

You might want to mention this "fix" to get that game running under Vista

[Megazell]

You might want to mention this "fix" to get that game running under Vista

^ Follow that fix if you are using Vista

I keep forgetting people may actually be using that OS

Edited by Megazell, 24 April 2010 - 06:32 PM.

[Megazell]

I suppose I should comment on the earlier-mentioned UFO: Alien Invasion, a game "inspired" by X-Com.

Now, I'm a big fan of X-Com. This is not X-Com. Yes, yes, it is basically a fan-made X-Com game - hire soldiers, buildiers, and scientists, research shit that you take from aliens, turn units, laser and plasma, default bases coming with absolute shit layouts, etc.

But there are a few very... non X-Com feeling things. Specifically, regular fights are way easier, but aerial battles are way harder. Gone are the god-like supermen known as "Sectoid Navigators". There's actually a half-way decent chance that you will make it through your first battle with all your troops intact.

The chances of them all surviving the return trip, however... not as good. The fact of the matter is, your starting aircraft are pure, unadulterated shit. Attempting to intercept a UFO will result in you getting your shit absolutely wrecked in a matter of seconds. Add to that the habit that enemies have of intercepting your aircraft, and you've got some pretty good ragequit material.

The game also has some obviously unfinished-feeling bits. Some item descriptions simply read "To be added". Some walls have these pain-in-the-ass "dead zones" around them that prevent you from actually standing near them. Hope you like crouching three feet away from cover, asshole.

Also, whereas the movement of X-Com civilians appeared to be covered by a cruel and capricious RNG god, the people in UFO appear to actually have AI. Unfortunately, said AI seems to have a fetish of the sexual variety for plasma in the face. I can not tell you how many times I have seen NPCs start off in perfectly safe areas, only to run full-tilt ahead of my troops into enemy gunfire. I appreciate the meatshield and all, guys, but still...

EDIT: Oh, yeah. There is a dreadful lack of destructible environments. Wish you could make armour out of wooden handrails - that shit holds up to RPGs just fine.

Thank you for this in-depth review. 9/10 I can not play the games all the way through. Either I just install them @ the center for the kids to play and down the line some of them come up and talk about it or I play one from beginning to the end during a long travel.

I find myself sticking to short burst arcade games or matches in some of the FPS I play.

I hope more CAGers speak up about the games they play on this list

[The Crotch]

Erm. CAGs. Not CAGers. Cheap Ass Gamerers.

[rumarudrathas]

Synaesthete!!!!!!!!!!

Just count how many exclamation point follow from the game title, and that my rating, out of ten. That is the first Free game that I loaded up in my new computer, for good reason. Highly polished, really good music, and pretty to look at, this is the game that I suggest to the DDR freaks in my circle (aside from the popular Stepmania, of course). This game will challenge people's ability to mult-task, from dodging enemies and hazards to hitting the notes precisely to unleash your attacks.

Wait, you did mention Stepmania, right (too lazy to check)?

[Megazell]

Synaesthete!!!!!!!!!!

Just count how many exclamation point follow from the game title, and that my rating, out of ten. That is the first Free game that I loaded up in my new computer, for good reason. Highly polished, really good music, and pretty to look at, this is the game that I suggest to the DDR freaks in my circle (aside from the popular Stepmania, of course). This game will challenge people's ability to mult-task, from dodging enemies and hazards to hitting the notes precisely to unleash your attacks.

Wait, you did mention Stepmania, right (too lazy to check)?

Will check it out then post it.

Don't be too lazy now - Lots of great gems in here

[Megazell]

Erm. CAGs. Not CAGers. Cheap Ass Gamerers.

Noted.

[The Crotch]

Thank you for this in-depth review. 9/10 I can not play the games all the way through. Either I just install them @ the center for the kids to play and down the line some of them come up and talk about it or I play one from beginning to the end during a long travel.

I find myself sticking to short burst arcade games or matches in some of the FPS I play.

I hope more CAGers speak up about the games they play on this list

I forgot to mention the maps. There's a helluva lot more variety in UFO than in X-Com. My particular favourite was the rather excellent dam level, which had a wave of cannon fodder aliens charge at me over a narrow pass while reserve troops stood back pew-pewing from a distance. The maps in UFO are generally smaller, but have much more depth - they can go up to eight levels as opposed to X-Com's... 4? and often go underground, too. Unfortunately, all those levels can be confusing as hell, as it's very difficult to make out what's what sometimes.

[chrisnsally]

Outstanding list!!! 5-stars, man!!!

[fish23]

Awesome thread!

[Hydro2Oxide]

Love the thread, but just wanted to give you a heads up that one of the images you posted here is NSFW and I'd hate to see you get in trouble for something like that as I think that's against site rules.

[Megazell]

Love the thread, but just wanted to give you a heads up that one of the images you posted here is NSFW and I'd hate to see you get in trouble for something like that as I think that's against site rules.

Thanks - I'll put the spoiler on it.