New Scaratings

Let's start close to the beginning. Does anyone remember playing the original Magnavox Odyssey game "Table Tennis" (It's a lot like "Pong")?

Jumping ahead some years, these are a few that really got me started:

Two games by Kevin Bales, "Castle Adventure" and "Janitor Joe" (also known as "JumpJoe") were pretty good.

How about the terribly simplistic scrolling game of WW-I fighter planes "Sopwith"?

Anything Infocom put out there was good. Yep, they were text based games, but they were challenging. My favorite was "Wishbringer". You young guys should try to find "Wishbringer" and give it a shot. You might be surprised to find out what a good game it was.

The "Commander Keen" series was pretty good. They were fun games and you shouldn't need a walkthrough to get through them.

A game that you will never find unless you really look for it is "Bolo Adventures" (Not to be confused with the old, now defunct, on-line tank game.) Now this is only available on the Soleau web site. I have struggled my way to the final room several times, but I have never figured out how to get through that last room. The first person, who can complete the entire original "Bolo Adventures" game and show me how to make it through the final room, will drink for free on me at Friday's in Louisville the night you can make it here. (Within reason as I see it.) This is a wonderful game of logic and I strongly recommend it for any of you guys, who think you are pretty smart. It's a pretty tough game, and I'm somewhat sure I won't be buying anyone any drinks any time soon. Now there's a challenge...! Come on one of you smart guys, make me have to pull the credit card out of my wallet.

Another early game that I never finished is "Sherlock Holmes in Another Bow". This is a text based game with background graphics. Anyone ever play this one?

I know that I have probably bored you young guys to this point, and I might bore you some more with what is to come, but you will learn stuff that brought computer games to the fantastic things you have today. I also know that I have skipped over many, many of the early games that some of you older guys might have played. Don't worry we will get to newer games, and we will revisit the games of the past that we loved to play too. Please feel free to help me here and take us to computer games of the past or the present.

If you are a computer gamer (Who isn't embarrassed to admit it.) jump on in and tell us about the computer games you have played and like, old or new...

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"The game is afoot."

Hopefully, I have now moved "Computer Games" to a more appropriate place.

Because there have been no replies so far, I'm worried that I might be the only computer game geek (nerd) on the "New ScaRatings". (The old "ScaRatings had a bunch of us.) Perhaps I ran you young guys off by starting too close to the beginning, and talking about computer games that came out and went to abandonware before you were born.

Feel free to jump ahead 25 years and talk about computer games that you are playing today.

p.s. Sorry, gotta run, my son's old Sega Genesis just came back to life, and I'm halfway through the "Zombies Ate My Neighbors" game. (Though it's not a PC game, it could be the best game ever...!)

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"The game is afoot."

This thread makes me feel better about my gaming preferences. I've always liked a "simpler" game. My arcade faves were Donkey Kong Jr., Ms. Pac-Man, Marble Madness & Millipede. For home gaming, Super Mario, Super Mario 2, Super Mario 3, Sonic & Spyro. I've never liked 1st person shooter games and modern games, although technically mind-blowing, have way too many buttons for me to enjoy. The roommates like these Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy and God of War-type games. (I'm still trying to figure out how "Final" Fantasy can have one sequel, much less ten.) I am lucky to find an Xbox or PS3 game I enjoy. I liked Mercury Meltdown II for PS2 very much and I do enjoy the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games.

I figure I'm about three years away from yelling at kids to get off of my lawn.

I think we had the Magnavox Odyssey Pong game, but it could have been the Atari. I remember the only game you could play was Pong. We later got the Mattel Intellivision game. At the time it was great. I really enjoyed playing the Tank Attack game with my sons. They always beat me. As my sons got older they preferred to to go to the arcades and play the video games with their friends.

The first computer games I played were on the typewriter console of a IBM 360 Mod 30
computer (64k memory) back in 1969. They were all very simple. I did get to play chess on DePaul University (Chicago) mainframe typewriter console. You needed to bring a chessboard with you to play or it would take forever to print out the board on the console. A friend was a grad student there doing research, so he had unlimited computer access. We burned up thousands of dollars in computer time.

I never really got into video or computer games. Occasionally I will play a game of Chess on my Mac. My kids are all game addicts.

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"Truth Like Football. Gets kicked around much, before reaching goal." - Charlie Chan

" Don't look back, The bastards might be gaining on you." - Satchel Paige

Frank

Oh, My God... "Marble Madness"....! I can't believe that I have met someone besides myself, who has played "Marble Madness"...! It's a game that very few have played, and yet fewer ever will, seeing that none of the modern computers will allow it to run. I never finished the game, though I got very close.

I like the other games you mentioned also. I've played some, and the rest I will have to look for. Welcome aboard, and keep your comments and recommendations coming.

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"The game is afoot."

It is so good to see you again, FrankC... I might be wrong, but thanks to you, I might not be the oldest person posting here.

If you like chess computer games, there was one more than a couple years ago called "Battle Chess". As I recall, it was a regular chess game, with the exception that once you captured an opponent's piece, it didn't just disappear. I think the captured piece was hacked to death or decapitated right on the screen once you took it.

There were a bunch of great tank games in the early years of computer and arcade gaming. I can't remember the name of this arcade tank game. It was one where you started out with a little guy, who fought his way into a tank. There were little tanks and big tanks. I believe the little guy was armed with hand grenades, and could hop into and out of tanks as he worked his way up to the enemy's fortified line of defense. Does anybody remember this arcade game? What the heck was it called?

It might have been called "Commando", which was an upscrolling game like the one I remember, but after Googling it, I don't think so.

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"The game is afoot."

Anyone ever play any of the "Monkey Island" games? Originally, I believe there were just four:

"The Secret of Monkey Island" (1990)

"Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge" (1991)

"Curse of Monkey Island" (1997)

"Escape from Monkey Island" (2000)

After a long wait, I thought I would never see Guybrush Threepwood again, until lo and behold, three new "Monkey Island" games came out last year. They are all good games, and if you like a wee bit of a challenge, and a lot of laughs while you play, I strongly recommend the "Monkey Island" series.

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"The game is afoot."

Thank You Cloudy. I think you are few months older than me. Great to see you back again. I and others had some fun on the old "Chip the Bartender" thread on the BT forums.

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"Truth Like Football. Gets kicked around much, before reaching goal." - Charlie Chan

" Don't look back, The bastards might be gaining on you." - Satchel Paige

Frank

You'd probably really like New Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. Excellent game, and more inline with the "simpler" (but still difficult) brand.

I think you have the right one. The name of the game is Commando. It was on Commodore 64. Used to have it and play it. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commando_%28video_game%29

Battle Chess was a good game -- I believe you can still find it, might need DosBox to run it though.

May 17, 1946 was the date I started out. I had a long wait before computer games came along, but somehow I knew after "Howdy Doody" and "Hopalong Cassidy" disappeared that something else would be coming.

It's good to be back again. My time after playing NTN trivia at night has been occupied by creating computer game walkthroughs for the games I currently own. I don't write them. I find them on the Internet and copy them, and make nice booklets with my Ibimatic machine. So far there are about 150 (Not 300, as I posted prior to this edit.) walkthrough booklets that I have made.

Sadly, I think "Chip the Bartender" is now but a wonderful memory of the past, but who knows...?

p.s. A belated edit. I'm not close to 300 walkthrough booklets, 150 is a much better estimate. Give me time and I'll get there. Damn, the paper is cheap, but the ink costs an arm and a leg.

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"The game is afoot."

Is the "New Super Mario Brothers" a game that you can play on a PC? If so, I guess I need to go out and get it.

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"The game is afoot."

DANTE, the game I remember playing was an arcade game. Perhaps it was before your time, when players would go into an arcade and slip tokens into the machines to play games. I hope you are right and there is a version of it that might play on a personal computer. I'll check out the link you have given us. Thanks.

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"The game is afoot."

Ikari Warriors?

-- RWM

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"...It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED...."

Any gamer who has never played "Martian Gothic: Unification" needs to. It is an incredible game that gives you all sorts of challenges. Saving your game progress is a little tough, because you can only do it if you can make it to one of the in-game computers, many of which are guarded by zombies, who want to kill you. Though saving your game at certain points is a good idea, don't waste your saves, because the in-game computers have a limited number of saves that they will allow.

The game has a glitch, and you need to go to their web site to download a patch to be able to complete it.

This game is played on the keyboard, which gives you younger guys with nimble fingers an advantage. Yeah, keyboard play means more work, but the game is worth it.

"Stay alone. Stay alive..."

p.s. I think this is where to find the patch for this game, but if it isn't, it shouldn't be too hard to find:

Martian Gothic: Unification 3.0 patch download.cnet.com/Martian-Gothic...patch/3000-7564_4-10236719.html

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"The game is afoot."

Yes, I remember "Ikari Warriors". I played it as a PC game. I still have it, but unfortunately it is on a 5 1/4 inch floppy, which makes it more than a little bit difficult to play today. You are right, it is very similar to the game I was talking about earlier, but I don't think it is the same game.

Anyone who can remember "Ikari Warriors" is a true gamer in my book. I am impressed. Keep your posts coming. I've got a feeling that you have a lot to add...

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"The game is afoot."

Cloudy, pretty sure it started as an arcade game.

And yes, I remember arcades.

"And yes, I remember arcades."

No way... You are too young... You couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 years old when the video game arcades closed across the country, and took with them dozens and dozens of great games. However, knowing you, I can see you pocketing your 1st grade milk money and heading over to the video arcade, before the school bus showed up to take you home.

p.s. I went to the link you gave me on the tank game I mentioned earlier. "Commando" is pretty close to what I was looking for, but I don't think it is the game that I used to play at the arcade. (No mention of tanks is the reason that I think it is a similar but different game.) I've got a feeling that most of the old arcade games from the 1980's are gone. (Hopefully not forever, but they probably are.) Where did they all go...?

p.p.s. I am going to try to find a list of the old arcade video games that have disappeared.

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"The game is afoot."

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/```\
(o\_!_/o)

Okay, "Chip the Bartender" here we come...

p.s. Don't worry, I ain't forgetting about the "Computer Games" thread, and will be back with more...!

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"The game is afoot."

At first I thought the hidden object games were kind of neat. However, after playing a bunch of them I've come to view them as boring.

Every day there are more of them. Their boxes look like they are real thinking computer games to get you to buy them, but don't be fooled. Before you get suckered into buying one of these games, read the fine print that say's it's a "hidden object" game.

When I find the time, I will try to post a list of the "hidden object" games I've played.

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"The game is afoot."

Okay, call me a sissy, but I really like the "Nancy Drew" series of computer games. What I like about them is that they are challenging, but not so ridiculously hard that you are forced to resort to a walkthrouh to be able to complete them.

Here's a list of the "Nancy Drew" games I have played so far:

1- "Secrets can Kill"
2- "Stay Tuned for Danger"
3- "Message in a Haunted Mansion"
4- "Treasure in the Royal Tower"
5- "The Final Scene"
6- "Secret of the Scarlet Hand"
7- "Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake"
8- "The Haunted Carousel"
9- "Danger on Deception Island"
10- "The Secret of Shadow Ranch"
11- "Curse of Blackmoor Manor"
12- "Secret of the Old Clock"
13- "Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon"
14- "Danger by Design"
15- "The Creature of Kapu Cave"
16- "The White Wolf of Icicle Creek"
17- "Legend of the Crystal Skull"
18- "The Phantom of Venice"
19- "The Haunting of Castle Malloy"
20- "Ransom of the Seven Ships"
21- "Warnings at Waverly Academy"
(What ever happened to the Nancy Drew games 22-26? I'll need to check this out.)
27- "The Deadly Device"

Don't worry about being a sissy. Try these games, and I think you will more than likely enjoy them.

P.S. (Belated Edit) There is a new Nancy Drew computer game about to come out. "Trail of the Twister" should be available very soon.

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"The game is afoot."

Okay, I'm not really a sissy. You younger guys will probably need to get your parents' permission to play my next list of great games I'm going to toss up here...

Yep, you probably guessed them already...

The "Leisure Suit Larry" series.

Here is the list:

1- "Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards"

2- "Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (In Several Wrong Places.)"

3- "Leisure Suit Larry III: Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals"

4- "Leisure Suit Larry: Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work"

5- "Leisure Suit Larry: Shape up or Slip Out"

6- "Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail"

6- "Leisure Suite Larry: Magna Cum Laude" (There is a PG rated box cover for this game and a X rated one.)

Play them with your girlfriend. At first she will think you are a complete geek, but before long she will start having passionate thoughts that might prevent you from completing the game. Hell, it worked for me, more than once... Before opportunity causes you to log your computer off, be sure to save your progress. You can always pick up where you left off, and finish it the next day.

p.s. I should say that these games are actually pretty good.

p.p.s. Damn, there might be some new "Leisure Suit Larry" games that have come out. Sorry, gotta run and check out Amazon.com to see if there are some new ones that I need to add to my collection.

Did it, and Yep I need to get "Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust". Hell, as long as hot babes hang around, this series of naughty computer games may go on forever...

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"The game is afoot."

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liljol, still residing in a humble lil abode in Buzztime's Backyard, San Diego County, in The Horribly Site-Poor Golden State, California...

<--805 NTN Buzztime sites visited as of 11/13/2018...

F CUBS!!!!! FBOSOX!!!!!

FPDRES!!!!! FCHGRS!!!!!

It worked for you too...! At first the gals don't like the game play, but as things progress the message turns them on.

Others don't need to ask, they simply need to play the game, and they will know what we are talking about...

p.s. I actually dated Passionate Patti for a while, but we broke up because she hated it when I took her over to Friday's to play NTN trivia.

p.p.s. BIGSKY is another guy, who is a master of the "Leisure Suit Larry" games.

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"The game is afoot."