Gaming’s Classic Titles

I've been away on holiday for a while, and I haven't done a post. This is here to rectify that.

Now, I've been an avid gamer for a while now. Not quite Pong era, but I was there for a few classics. Some of these we still hear about, some have faded into history. So I'm going to do a few mini reviews for you.

Half-Life:

The original Half-Life was Game of the Year several times in a row. players attempting it now might find the graphics archaic, but that's about the only thing that is. Half-Life was a pioneer into plot development and puzzle FPS. Even today, there's few shooters that also use puzzles to impede the player. Granted, it was a simple plot, but it was there - aliens invade secret testing facility, player must escape the facility. There was even mystery in the form of the G-Man - who still doesn't explain anything useful.

However, I fully recommend trying this game. Ignore the graphics, and you'll have a really fun time. I guarantee it.

Metal Fatigue:

One of the games that only causes blank looks when I bring it up. Metal Fatigue was an RTS, and quite a good one, at that. Simple units consisted of hover tanks and surface to air missile carriers. You know, your standard RTS units. But the crux of the game is the Combots. These are large robots manned by pilots (a separate, weak, non-combat unit) which are formed of several different parts. Two different arms, a pair of legs, and a torso. Each part holds different properties, and you can mix and match them to create your ultimate fighting machine. And, of course, the three factions have different parts for you to use. Flying torsos, eletric arms, missile legs - it's all great fun. And when a Combot falls, sometimes it drops a part which you can attach to your own Combots, or research to create your own. It's just the sort of thing I enjoy. You probably will, too.

Other fun toys to play with are the mobile wall - towers which can link up with others to prevent enemies from moving through an area, while it fires at them, and the minig units, for tunnelling in the lower part... Oh yeah, almsot forgot. There are three levels of play - sky, ground, and underground. They link in interesting ways, with teleporters and flying units, to provide a huge battlefield to experiment with.

This is my favourite RTS ever, and I suggest you try it, especially if you enjoy things like Command and Conquer.

The Sims:

The original. My associate, Mr. Anderson, has said that it's probably the best due to little girls sticking with what they know. Possibly true. Personally, I don't see why anyone would play this instead of 2 or 3, except for maybe the unique expansions. I kept getting a glitch where I couldn't interact with anyone outside my current family. It was like it contracted paranoia or something.

And children never grow up. It's like a Neverland of computer games. Sure, you can have babies, and they grow into children (According to Wikipedia. Never saw it happen, myself.) but the children never grow up. It's not my preferred game.

I'd advise sticking to 2 or 3, myself, but it's still a classic title.

I think I'll save my other classic titles for my next article. This should keep you going for a while yet.