Month: April 2008

1…. First and Foremost – Elite ! The original computer space game. You’re on your own with a beat up ship. No weapons to speak of and minimal equipment. Your aim – to shoot your way to the top ratings and to trade your way into all-shiny bits for your ship. Elite’s gone through several versions and is about the only game I know to have a version for Every! computer platform and some consoles too.

2…. Pacman. Another really old classic. This one has the gift of being oh so simple to play and incredibly addictive.

3…. Civilisation. Simple in theory, epic in scale. However, it did get a little frustrating though when your tank army got held up by a spear toting savage. (One for the aliens in Harry Turtledove’s Worldwar books!) This one has sprouted 3 sequels so far, with a multitude of other games also using the same game concept. It’s always a sign of a top game when others copy it.

4…. Revs. Another BBC Micro game. This one wasn’t the first racing game to hit a computer screen but it was probably the first to really go for accuracy. If you’ve heard of Geoff Crammond’s Grand Prix series, then this is Geoff Crammond’s GP Version Zero.

5…. Badminton. Hey ! You thought I was going to put 13 pooter games in here 🙂 Quick, fast, energetic but there’s still a chance for the old git with a little bit of skill to put one over on the young ‘uns. I haven’t played enough of this game lately, I still love the game despite it being the reason why my right shoulder has pretty much disintegrated.

6…. Master of Orion 1 and 2. I’ve mentioned this one before and it got me the link to the Moo2 Blogspot site. Another pair of strategy games here, this time set in space. You start with just your homeworld and before the end you’ll have a Star Empire sending ships across the galaxy through immense stargates. You’ll have not just one Death Star but a fleet of them. You’ll turn asteroids into planets and dead planets into garden paradises. In between defeating all enemies and crushing all resistance of course. Moo3 was a bit of a let down. It was much bigger but kinda missed the thing that makes a game Great.

7…. Pen and Paper Role Play Games. Lots of people go down the pub to have a laugh with their mates. I’ve never really been into that, I enjoy it more having a cleric or a mage or a mad warrior going down the pub in some fantasy place. And then there’s the mysteries and the monster slaying too.

8…. World of Warcraft … Up to level 60/70 ! Making an important distinction there as this is a game that changes utterly when you get to the maximum level. Before, it is most certainly the best game I’ve played. Full of content, variation and before a recent patch, well paced. However, when you get to the maximum level you’re at the mercy of the other players around. It only takes a couple of people to turn a few hours play into severe hard work when it should be fun.

9…. Cricket. Another one where anyone can play it. The big skinny lanky bloke can bowl fast, the short chubby batsman makes the fielders run to the boundary. The whippet boy will terrorize from the close field. The youngster provides the energy and spirit that drives the rest on. Crafty guy will put the batsmen in a spin and the crotchety old git will be the rock that holds the batting together.

10.. UFO Enemy Unknown. Also known as X-Com. This one has you as the commander of an elite group charged with saving the world from alien incursions. It blended a real time portion where you had fighter aircraft to intercept UFOs with a take turns based portion where you sent in the boys (and girls) to give those aliens a jolly good kicking before stealing all their loot. This one spawned a clone of a sequel that I never played and an exceptional second sequel called X-Com Apocalypse. Apocalypse was a little different and a good evolution on the first. There was also X-Com Interceptor, same again but in space with light fighter craft and finally the ill-fated X-Com Enforcer.

11… Karting. I’ve had a chance to race in a few karting sessions and it’s always a thrill. A kart is pretty much just a frame with a seat bolted to it, a lawnmower engine, a little steering and four wheels at the corners. The driver is connected to it through the seat of their pants and they’ll feel every bump and every slip where the tyres are itching to go in a different question to the one you intended. Far more immediate than driving something with springs, plus it’s competition and competition always gets me interested 🙂

12… Mischief Running. Otherwise known as seeing whether you can get away with winding people up. Mischief because that’s the fun part. Running because that’s what you’ll end up doing if you push it too far 🙂

13… Microsoft’s Windows games ! Many a lunchtime has been spent chilling out to Freecell, Spider, Solitaire and Minesweeper.