So. EA on GoG.
Now, some people will say that the dam has broken, but please note that GoG is (rightfully in my opinion) pointing out that this 25-game deal does not include either the Syndicate games or the System Shock games.
Still, this is entirely good news, and judging from the fact that I could barely get the site to work long enough to buy the games they currently have on offer, I think the Syndicates and the System Shockses will pop up eventually.
But still, what are we getting? What are these 25 games included in the deal?
Well, we’ve already got Dungeon Keeper, Privateer, and Ultima Underworld 1 and 2. We’ll also be getting Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, Magic Carpet and Crusader: No Remorse.
Wait…
Back when I was working at Origin, a lot of these games were already old. Rather than letting them go out of print, EA was putting them as “CD-ROM Classics” (which I must grudgingly give them credit for). You could get one or two good (but older) games for $15. Since I was an EA employee I could get them for $10, and I did. Oh, did I ever. I bought nearly every one of those suckers. And I’d be willing to bet that EA’s deal with GoG consists of “Okay, you have all these old ‘CD-ROM Classic’ games.”
Which would mean that we’re in for…
From Origin:
Bioforge
Crusader: No Remorse
Crusader: No Regret
Cybermage: Darklight Awakening
Shadowcaster
Strike Commander
Ultima 7 Complete
Ultima 8
Wing Commander 1
Wing Commander 2
Wing Commander: Armada
Wing Commander: Privateer
US Navy Fighters
Advanced Tactical Fighter
AH-64D Longbow
Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire
Worlds of Ultima: Martian Dreams
From Bullfrog:
Dungeon Keeper
Theme Park
Theme Hospital
Populous 2
Powermonger
Magic Carpet
Magic Carpet 2
Gene Wars
From EA itself:
Need For Speed II
Road Rash
Sig Meier’s Alpha Centauri
SimCity 2000
The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes
Fade to Black
And…unfortunately…
Noctropolis (please for God’s sake nobody buy this game)
I also think Wing Commander 3, 4 and Prophecy are strong contenders; as is the complete Ultima Collection (which included Ultimas 1-8). We could also get SimCity 3000. Dungeon Keeper 2 is also a strong possibility and is one of the games I’d most like to see (its sound/crash problems would be trivial to fix if we just had access to the unprotected game).
In all, a good thing, which I will be supporting, and there are some real gems in that list (The Savage Empire is one of my all-time favorite RPGs. In it you make flintlock rifles and use them to hunt dinosaurs. It doesn’t get any more awesome than that.)
US Navy Fighters was a surprisingly good game.
I remember when my Dad was buying us our first Pentium PC, egging him on to get 16MB of ram instead of 8MB so I could get hi-res textures for USNF. Seems amazing now. Sixteen… mmmmmmegabytes.
It had a level editor and I used to set up about 20 Shulka soviet anti-aircraft batteries and then about 20 apaches coming in from the other side. Cue ensuing mass explosions and utter chaos. 😀
I want me some Dungeon Keeper 2. DK2 was one of those games I always meant to get but never got around to it, even though I loved the first game.
Also, here is to hoping that some day they will get Syndicate Wars up there. Actually, I’d probably be down for both of the Syndicates, it has been long enough since I last played them.
Funny story about Syndicate Wars, I never seemed to get past that one mission they give you Sattelite Rain. I just replayed it over and over, devasting different parts of the map!
If there is one thing I could take from a game into real life, it would be Sattelite Rain. I would drive out somewhere real barren on July 4th, set it up, and drive away real fast. Now that would be a firework display!
In my opinion DK2 was far inferior to DK. I am so looking forward to Ultima Underworld! I also may pick up Privateer…
Still hope GOG gets a deal with LucasArts soon, I would really like to play the TieFighter games again…
Infer…INFERIOR? DK2 had more rooms, more monster types, more traps, better graphics, a more intricate storyline and you could torture a fairy until she joined your evil cause. I’m sorry but I couldn’t disagree more, DK2 is the better game. It doesn’t quite supersede DK1 but it comes close.
But I concur on the LucasArts point. Between DOSBox and SCUMMVM, all the LucasArts games I actually care about are playable on modern systems; it would be great to see them on GOG.
What can I say? There isn’t anything I can point a finger at, I just remember not enjoying DK2 as much as I enjoyed DK1. Maybe it was just me, or maybe something came out at about the same time that interested me more…
I LOVED DungeonKeep though, when Bullfrog was on, they were ON.