The following article first appeared in TuneUp: Blog About Windows. It is reprinted with permission of the author.

Author: Tibor Schiemann, President & Managing Partner, TuneUp

The resurgence in classic gaming has spurred both the nostalgic and the simply curious to explore treasures like Monkey Island (1990) or Wing Commander III (1994). Back in the old days, you could power on your trusty computer running DOS, Windows 3.x or Windows 9x and point-and-click the day away. But enjoying such classics on modern machines isn’t so easy, especially considering how much hardware and software architecture has changed over the past few decades. About 90% of the time, the good old DOS, Windows 3.x or Windows 9x games won’t even start. There are, however, some tricks for running these retro games on today’s PCs.

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When we look back, I’m sure many will agree that the gaming industry has gone through a quicker and more phenomenal evolution than any other medium. The Art of Video Games is a book that celebrates this and so much more. It chronicles the early days with those who were there, all the way up to the games we enjoy today. It’s a love letter to the industry, but also an important example of creativity despite technological limitations.

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It’s understandable that Bungie would want to leave the Halo business. Once upon a time, they developed a host of different games. Around the new millennium, a bright-eyed stranger with deep pockets arrived and offered a deal they couldn’t refuse. By June of 2000, Bungie moved into the Microsoft harem, leaving behind all their children except their latest and most promising one, little baby Halo. Among those left behind were the Myth twins, two real-time tactics games known as The Fallen Lords and Soulblighter. Oppressively dark and punishingly difficult, Myth was an ancient burial ground of narrative. The bleached bones of fallen empires and the rusted armor of deadly warriors lay half-buried, whispering warnings to the players that they’ve never played something like this before. Nor have they ever since.

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I missed the Ultima boat when it first came around. My gaming diet was all action: Doom and Tie Fighter. Even years later, after understanding that an RPG’s love is different than that of a square, I couldn’t stick more then a toe or two into Ultima‘s ancient waters. I’d print out maps, manuals and spell tomes, only to stay long enough to buy the t-shirt. When I did visit Britannia, I made sure to see the well-regarded realms of Ultima VI and Ultima VII. It seemed that nothing could have convinced me to delve into the black-and-white dungeons of the Ultimas from the early 1980s. But one day, I did travel in the past, all the way to 1981, to Ultima I. Not only did I survive to tell the tale, but I also played it all in one obsessive binge.

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What do you get when you task Kurt Rolston (lead designer of Morrowind and Oblivion), R.A. Salvatore (acclaimed fantasy author) and Todd McFarlane (creator of Spawn) with creating a single-player RPG? An intense hack-’n’-slash experience called Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The game’s creators promise a massively open-world experience with hundreds of hours of gameplay, serving as a precursor to their upcoming MMORPG, codenamed Project Copernicus. Most of us are jaded from countless promises of a game experience that never delivers, so what hope of redemption does Reckoning provide? Read on to find out.

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There was a time when I could call CounterStrike my game. I logged hundreds of hours with friends before Steam even tracked such things. I replaced my gun models, installed blood mods, and even dabbled with mapping. But somewhere along the way CS and I parted ways. Sure, CounterStrike: Source was amazing, and the Gun Game mods were a hit at every LAN party, but I just couldn’t hack the competition anymore. But now the beta test of the upcoming CounterStrike: Global Offensive has stirred me out of my single-player fever dream and brought me back into the fray. So, gather around and listen, all who have eyes to read, while I document the pain and glory to be found in CS:GO.

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The gate swung open.

Revolted by the thick scent of excrement in the chamber, Locklear hastened to the ladder affixed on the far wall and ascended its filth-slick rungs. Behind him, Gorath and Owyn reluctantly did likewise, gaffing on the noxious vapors in the shaft. “This is nothing,” Locklear grunted, shoving upwards against a grating. “All the windows in the palace are open right now. You ought to smell it in the winter.”

Darkness surrounded them as they slithered out of the privy, their only impressions of the chamber provided by the faint flicker of distant firelight. Ten yards before them the hall joined with an elaborate colonnade stretching in either direction. “Somehow I hadn’t pictured my first visit to Krondor like this,” Owyn sighed, falling blindly into step behind Gorath and the Seigneur.

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Alright, strategy gamers. I finally got the chance to build a video of me playing Crusader Kings 2. Luckily, the video displays the game as it appeared on my monitor, and not what I looked like while playing it (which would be disturbing and not as much fun).

I spend a lot of time blabbing in voice-overs in these videos, but before you start watching, you should keep some things in mind. First, this was played on version 0.78 of the game engine. It’s still in beta; the current version floating around in press copies is 0.80. The game has already changed in some slight ways since I encoded this video and posted it. Second, it did have a glaring bug at the beginning, which has since been fixed. You see William the Conqueror ask Harold Godwinson of England for a white peace a few seconds after the start of the video. This kind of changes things, since the famous conqueror doesn’t even try to make good on his claims to the English throne. Aside from that, things proceed in a plausible way, but I don’t want to hear any complaints relating to William. I know he should have invaded England, the designers know it, and everyone with a high-school education in either the US or the former British Empire should know it. The AI just didn’t know it, but that has been fixed.

Oh, and don’t bother asking me why certain troop types do certain things, or why certain buildings cost a certain amount. These things are still changing, so don’t sweat that stuff. Instead, sit back, listen, watch, and then ask me intelligent things, such as “Why did the AI just send the entire Holy Roman Empire into the oblivion of a civil war?” or “Holy Machiavellian politics Batman, why did you just spend 10 years crushing your own vassals?”

The video is broken up into three separate chunks. They can be found here, here and here.

Despite the proliferation of games designed for mobile platforms, the casual computer games market continues to flourish. The personal computer, because of its openness and ubiquitous presence, remains a primary development platform. So, while many other game sites still focus their attention exclusively on conventional big-budget AAA retail offerings, for your playing pleasure I have unearthed the very best hidden PC treasures that casual gaming has to offer. This represents the latest in a series of annual awards articles that now has continued for well over a decade, by far the longest consecutive casual-games award series anywhere.

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I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Samuli Syvahuoko, one of the founders of Recoil, the team behind the very cool indie title that’s coming soon called Rochard. In the game you control an astro-miner, John Rochard, who finds an ancient structure hidden deep within an asteroid that proves mankind is not alone. John and his team then find themselves stranded as space pirates trying to use the secret for their sinister intentions. He must use both his wits and mining tools to battle the space pirates, save his team, and find out the secrets within the asteroid.

After you watch this trailer, I’m fairly sure you’ll agree that it looks and sounds both fresh and exciting. So, without further ado, here is what Samuli had to say about the game!

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In case you missed out on Thursday.

Friday

Backing up a bit to Thursday, we arrived a little late due to seating issues, but Jill and I did in fact get to jump into the Gears of War 3 panel. What I can tell you is that the graphics and sound definitely appeared to have been given a bit of an upgrade. The creators told the fans that the finale wouldn’t answer all of the questions people had, as they wanted to keep the universe a bit open, but many plot points would be resolved.

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This year marked the first time ever my wife, Jill, and I attended the San Diego Comic-Con. As two proud geeks, it has long been on our bucket list, so we were thrilled when we got our tickets and made our arrangements. When the schedule was released each day, Jill and I poured over it with excitement, meticulously choosing the panels we wanted to see the most and which activities were not to be missed. But, you want to know about the Con, so let’s dive right in!

Thursday

As we approached the San Diego Convention Center, we couldn’t help but be amazed by the sheer number of people who surround us. An estimated 130,000 people attend the event each year, all descending on the downtown area for four days of nerd-dom. You may have heard that you have to wait in endless lines almost around the clock. This is partly true, and we first experienced it when we had to pick up our badges, bright and early, the first morning. But waiting in line is half the fun. Almost everyone around us was brimming with excitement, and extremely friendly. Also, Comic-Con is perhaps the best place in the world to people watch. About 20% of con-goers are dressed up in elaborate costumes and 85% have quirky, unusual t-shirts worn proudly. It’s not uncommon for people to stop those in costume to take pictures of or with them (I rocked out this Captain Hammer outfit the first day).

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I recently had the chance to do a quick interview with the folks at Kerberos concerning Sword of the Stars. Producer Chris Stewart was kind enough to take the time to answer my questions amid the team’s busy development schedule. Since I have a real interest in game mechanics and story elements, I pressed him on a number of issues that went beyond simple considerations of graphics.

Avault: I’m glad I’m getting the chance to interview the Sword of the Stars team. Back when I reviewed SOTS: Ultimate Collection, I was impressed with how Kerberos managed to create a 4X game that was as interesting as it was nuanced. I’m sure some of my readers are chomping at the bit to hear all about the Lords of Winter in the upcoming Sword of the Stars II, but before I ask about aliens, I want to talk about game mechanics. SOTS utilizes an approach that gives each race its own unique way of traveling the stars. I’m guessing we’ll see a return of that mechanic, but I’m wondering if the races we’ve seen before will return with their unique drives? Will the Hivers be using jump gates and the Humans node drives? Or have you planned some surprises for us with the returning alien cultures?

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Have you ever wondered if some of the reviews you’re reading are influenced by outside sources? Do some alleged AAA titles get preferential treatment in the media? The answer to both could be yes, depending on where you go to read your reviews, but not here. Part of our mission statement reads: “The Adrenaline Vault (Avault) was launched on November 1, 1995 with the goal of becoming an independent source of unbiased information about video games.” And our team here at Avault takes that very seriously.

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The final day of this year’s E3 was reserved for the smaller publishers, at least for the most part. You could tell that they were the smaller publishers because they were all sequestered in a previously unused portion of the convention center, nestled conveniently between the two main exhibit halls. The room was arranged in rows of high-walled cubicles; an overhead map of the area made it look like a gigantic ice tray. But it was here where I had some of the most productive conversations of the entire show.

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