Deep in the bowels of the storage area under our basement stairs I have three cardboard boxes that were tucked away when we moved into our house seven years ago.  Within these boxes are smaller boxes of computer games that I purchased many moons before that.  I was struck by a bit of nostalgia the other day so I burrowed my way into the storage area and dug out those boxes and found some great stuff.

Sometime around the mid nineties, the Office Depot near me had a constantly revolving bargain bin of computer games.  I visited the store almost weekly just to check out what they had.  Often there wouldn’t be much of interest, but just as often there’d be a real gem in there.  These three cardboard boxes are full of games I mostly bought on the cheap from Office Depot.

Pictured above are some of the role-playing games among this old stash of mine, some of which I’ve got some very fond memories of.  Included in the picture are:

• Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra
• Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen
• Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven
• Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos
• Entomorph: Plague of the Darkfall
• The Summoning
• Eye of the Beholder
• Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon
• Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor
• Daemonsgate
• Unlimited Adventures: Fantasy Construction Kit
• Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
• The Complete Ultima VII
• Dungeon Hack
• Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny

One thing led to another and I soon found myself installing these games on my PC with the help of DosBox.  I’m kind of curious to see if I’ll be able to bring myself to play some of these again, or if their time has long past.  I never did play Ultima VII and that’s one game that I’d definitely like to check out.

The one thing that immediately stands out for me is how awesome most of the manuals are with these games.   You definitely don’t see manuals like these any more.  They’ve got pages upon pages of lore, followed by detailed references on the game mechanics, and some even include designer’s notes, which is something I really miss in games these days.

I’m going to try and spend an hour or two with each of these games and post my impressions here over the next little while.  Should be fun.  I hope.

The TG-16 ultimately failed miserably in North America, but I loved that console.  I was big into shoot ‘em up games and the TG-16 had the best library of them available.  Aside from R-Type, I can remember playing titles like Blazing Lazers, Super Star Soldier, and another of my favourites, Soldier Blade.  I was crazy-good at shooter games, and often impressed my friends with the zen-like state I entered when playing them.  The games seemed to slow down for me and I could fly through the hail of oncoming bullets like they weren’t even there.  I was Neo in a shoot ‘em up Matrix.

I downloaded the R-Type Dimensions demo and smiled when the familiar sounds and music of the opening level flowed out of the speakers.  Three enemies in I flew into a bullet and blew up.  Times have changed.

I kept a promise to myself and fought my way through to the end of Diablo II’s first act. I’m not going to lie; it was a struggle. Not because it was overly difficult or anything, but because I found it to be somewhat mind-numbingly boring.

I still consider Diablo II to be one of my all-time favourites. I’ve poured countless hours into it, which may be part of why it was so hard for me to continue playing it the other day; I can’t even begin to guess how many times I’ve been through Act I. I originally thought it most likely a case of me outgrowing its design. Click, click, click… kill monsters… click, click, click… drink a potion. Lather, rinse, repeat, ad nauseam.

Wait a second, didn’t I just describe the game play of countless other games? After all, that’s pretty much all you do in World of Warcraft. Come to think of it, I still quite enjoy Titan Quest which is the exact same game as Diablo II, just in a different candy coating. So my indifference to my old favourite has got to be that I’ve seen the content a million times before, doesn’t it?

After defeating Andariel I took my hand off the mouse and said out loud, “thank goodness that’s over”. Not, “that was cool!” like I undoubtedly said years ago the first time I killed her. There was no sense of accomplishment, no gratification, only relief. Relief that I had upheld my silly self promise to force myself to play through at least Act I.

After finishing the first act, I was going to reassess my desire to continue playing through the game. I’d still like to see the expansion content again, as I’ve only played through Lord of Destruction’s Act V once, and I’m genuinely interested in checking it out again. On the other hand, the thought of going through Acts II through IV for the billionth time appeal to me about as much as a hole in the head. I get precious little gaming time these days and I don’t want to “waste” them on a game I’m not enjoying. Fortunately, I found an answer to this most heinous dilemma.

I’m going to cheat.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier, but a quick internet search led me to a handy little program called Hero Editor. I created a new test character, a Druid named Testy, and used the editor to make him level 99 with all stats and talents maxed, along with access to all the waypoints in the first four acts.

After entering the game I teleported to the final waypoint in Hell, just outside of Chaos Sanctuary where Diablo himself lay in wait. I cast Hurricane, which creates a swirling vortex around my character, and walked forward. Every monster that touched my Hurricane died instantly. For some strange reason, I took great pleasure in my ill-gotten new powers. I activated the seals and summoned forth Diablo, who fell at my feet in about five seconds.

Next up, Act V!

Diablo 2. How many hours of my life have I lost to you? I’d be willing to bet that only EverQuest II has more of my play hours invested in it than Diablo 2. It was also the victim of one of my harshest game burnouts ever. I was already growing tired of the repetitive gameplay by the time the expansion, Lord of Destruction, came out. After LoD’s release, I whipped through the content as quickly as possible just so I could get to the end. After killing Baal, I quit the game and never went back. I was done.

For the past while I’ve had an urge to bring out my old game discs and try it out again, which I finally did following the announcement of Diablo 3. At present, I’ve had two relatively short play sessions with it and am currently standing at the Outer Cloister in the Monastery. Honestly, I’m having a difficult time seeing why I loved the game as much as I did. I like the story behind it, but gameplay-wise, so much of it feels like a chore. Regardless, I’ve vowed to at least fight my way through to the end of Act 1. After that, whether I continue or not will be up in the air. I may force myself to complete the game again, given that I’ve only killed Baal the one time.

The whole experience got me wondering if I’d be able to go back to any of my old favourites and try them again. My inability to enjoy my brief return to EverQuest II during its Living Legacy promotion has me wondering if I’ll be able to go back to it when the next expansion comes out, like I said I would.

I’ve actually got a few games on my shelf that I’d like to check out again which I’ll get to as soon as I determine how much further I’m going to take Diablo 2. At the top of that list are Baldur’s Gate II and Fallout 2. It’ll be interesting, for me at least, to see if I can enjoy them again. I’m going to do my best to dedicate some time to these older games and report my findings here.