Good Old Games
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Little Big Adventure (aka 'Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure') now on GOG
After earlier reports indicated ongoing negotiations over the availability of action-adventure classic Little Big Adventure, the game suddenly appeared on Good Old Games this morning. Its sequel, however, remains absent, though we can't imagine that'll stay the case for much longer. Regardless, for $5.99, you can head back into Twinsun and get your 1994 on starting right now. Hot dog!
Broken Sword: Director's Cut now free on GOG
You all did your part in downloading a ton of stuff from Good Old Games. Now, after the goal of six million downloads has been achieved, it's GOG's turn to reciprocate and give everyone Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars for free, until October 1 at 7:59 AM EDT. Even better, you'll actually sort of get two copies of Broken Sword for free. The GOG version includes both the remastered Director's Cut, with an exclusive extra chapter, and the original version, in case you don't like your Broken Swords all fixed up.
Important Mark Hamill news: Wing Commander 3 now on GOG
Wing Commander 3: Heart of The Tiger is available now on GOG.com for $6. Promoted at the time as an "Origin Interactive Movie" and filmed in Hollywood (remember when that mattered?), the game is still a great example of early 3D graphics, FMV and an industry having a "movies are the future of games" identity crisis. Beyond Mark Hamill (Star Wars) in the lead, the game also featured John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings, Sliders) and Malcolm McDowell (Clockwork Orange, Heroes). If sprites and animations are more your thing, Wing Commander 1 + 2 are also available on GOG as a bundle for $6. There's no Mark Hamill, but there's totally a main character with blue hair.
Magic Carpet rides to Good Old Games
As a contrast to the disappointing recent news about an EA game disappearing from an online store, here's a story about one being added. The last of the six EA games announced for addition to Good Old Games is now available: Bullfrog's 1994 first-person upholstery flight game Magic Carpet. The others include Wing Commander: Privateer, Dungeon Keeper, Ultima Underworld 1+2, Crusader: No Remorse, and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. More unannounced EA games are expected, for a total of "more than 25." If you wanted to spend your weekend sitting on a carpet tossing fire around, for the sake of your family and neighbors spend the $6 to do so in this game.
GOG updates site, gives away 1994's Dragonsphere
GOG.com has delivered two much-awaited site updates to their online game store. First, the team has developed a special downloader app, now available for Windows, that will optionally take care of your various GOG.com games downloads, running things like error checks easily and automatically. And there's also a new messaging system on the site, allowing users to chat and message each other about games and other topics. Both new features are optional, but GOG says they're meant to fill out the online experience. And to celebrate the big update, GOG (a.k.a. Good Old Games) is also giving away a title for free, MicroProse's point-and-click graphical adventure Dragonsphere, from all the way back in 1994. The game hasn't aged all that well (you young whippersnappers probably won't remember a time when all we had were 256 colors and fewer pixels than an iPhone), but if you're in the mood for a trip to retroland, the price is right.
GOG adds yet another RPG timesink: Icewind Dale 2 Complete
It seems that digital games retailer GOG isn't just content with abusing your trust -- now it's turning its sights on abusing every last second of your free time. The site recently added yet another gargantuan RPG to its catalog: Black Isle Studios' Dungeons & Dragons 3E-inspired RPG, Icewind Dale 2. The game comes in its "Complete" edition, which also includes the aptly named "Adventure Pack." As far as we can tell, it contains a metric ton of undiluted adventure. The game will run you $9.99, creating yet another terrifying playtime-to-cost ratio. Seriously, with $50 and 10GB of free space, GOG downloads could occupy your leisure time until the end of days.
GOG offering Rebellion titles for up to 50% off this weekend only
You probably don't need to buy 11 games this weekend, but for the low-low asking price of (approximately) $41, GOG.com is offering a smattering of Rebellion's titles. The entire Empire Earth series, Judge Dredd's battle against an entire planet, and Evil Genius (among others) are on sale for 30 percent off individually or 50 percent off in a big ol' bundle. Forget about Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and next week's Vanquish -- you've got strategy games to play. For, like, ever. The sale ends Monday at 11:59PM EDT, so get on it before these good old games go back to more appropriate prices.
GOG offers community favorites for half off this weekend
Assuming you're still buying games from GOG.com after last week's shutdown stunt, there are some excellent deals to be had this week on the site's "Community Favorites" list. All of the games on the list are half off, which means you can pick up Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition or Myst: Masterpiece Edition for just three bucks, and Psychonauts or Syberia for just five. Sure, the site may have played a little too hard on your heartstrings with its fake story of shutting down for good just to promote a site revamp, but everybody appreciates cheap, classic PC games, right? And even if not, you can always go grab one of those iPhone games instead -- that's a great sale, too.
GOG.com's Guillaume Rambourg explains what happened last week
Last week's GOG.com stunt was nothing short of confounding. For reasons (at the time) unknown, Good Old Games shut its virtual doors and offered little information regarding its future, leaving customers to wonder what would happen to their ability to re-download purchased games. This was after a tweet from the company's official account obliquely stated, "Sometimes it's really hard being DRM-free ... hard to keep things the way they are and keep management and publishers happy." When the site relaunched less than a week later and revealed the hoax for what it was, after days of ... less descriptive explanations as to what was going on, fans and customers were understandably upset. GOG publicly apologized last Wednesday on Twitter, saying, "We really are sorry to those who felt deceived. It was done with the best of intentions, hopefully we can make it up to you." After all that, we asked GOG managing director Guillaume Rambourg what in the world happened. First and foremost, he said that last week's temporary closure of GOG was inevitable for the site's relaunch. "98% of the code of our website was rewritten to be able to welcome more users and deliver a better experience, which required a major change in our backend and as a matter of fact, taking down our platform for a few days," Rambourg explained. He told us that management was faced with two options: make an "official 'boring' statement" or take "a more creative route." As evidenced by the past week, it's pretty clear management chose the latter. And even though the reaction hasn't been 100 percent positive, Rambourg said he'd do the same thing all over again given the chance.
GoG not dead, relaunching with new site
So Good Old Games finally put an end to its wretched "we're pretending to close" stunt today. In a bizarre announcement, for which the company's leaders appeared in monk's robes, it was announced that the service will relaunch with a revamped website. There were also plenty of (much-needed) apologies from the company for its hoax, which turned mourning for the site's demise into waves of vitriol from a jilted fan base. Update: So, here are the broad strokes of the new GoG.com: Facebook integration that allows you to "Like" games A new recommendation system based on games you've bought and rated A download calculator GoGmixes: user-created lists of titles grouped around a single theme Baldur's Gate will be added to the service when it relaunches tomorrow at 9AM ET
GOG closed, but 'this doesn't mean GOG is dead' [update]
For a little over two years, CD Projekt's digital distribution platform, Good Old Games, has offered shoppers shelves stocked with DRM-free indie gems and beloved classics. Sadly, it seems the site's run has come to an end -- an update on GOG.com announces "we've decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form." CD Projekt might not have given up on the classic archive altogether, as the update later adds, "this doesn't mean the idea behind GOG.com is gone forever. We're closing down the service and putting this era behind us as new challenges await." If you've purchased games on the platform before, don't panic, as the site will soon "put in place a solution to allow everyone to re-download their games." Update: It's starting to look like the platform's shutdown is just a marketing stunt. Good Old Games spokesman Tom Ohle told us that "as the site says, this doesn't mean GOG is dead. We will have more to share in the next couple of days." A NeoGAF poster dug up a Polish business forum, in which CD Projekt co-founder Michał Kiciński purportedly mentions a conference dated for this Wednesday, adding, "we'll post information about this soon on GOG.com (please do not panic after reading the information contained there.)" We'll keep an eye out for more info. Update 2: It looks like answers to what's going on over at GOG will surface on Wednesday. Another update on the shut-down site reads, "the official statement from GOG.com's management concerning the ongoing events is planned on Wednesday." Earlier in the update, the site explains, "we guarantee that every user who bought any game on GOG.com will be able to download all their games with bonus materials, DRM-free and as many times as they need starting this Thursday." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Space Quest pack for $10 on GoG
Think about how much it would cost you to embark on a quest into space. First, you've gotta build a ship (or, at the very least, secure the services of one Billy Bob Thornton). Then you have to fill, like, 80 baggies or so with Cheerios, probably pack a juice box or seven and get yourself a space suit. It's not cheap. That's why we'd like to bring the latest deal from digital distribution hub, GoG.com, to your attention. The Space Quest 1 + 2 + 3 pack -- a bundle of classic Sierra adventures Space Quest, Space Quest 2 and Space Quest 3 -- is now available for $10. Look, we're not trying to force you to buy this game bundle or anything, but you should really buy this game bundle. Seriously, do you know how much of Billy Bob Thornton's time $10 will get you? Maybe day at most if he doesn't really have much to do and doesn't mind hanging out. Oh, and these games won't get all drunk and break stuff either.
Solve a Puzzle of Flesh on Good Old Games
If you like your adventure games to be rife with mature content, gore and unimaginably insane plot twists, you might just want to check out GOG.com's latest downloadable offering: Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh. This sequel to Roberta Williams' adventure-thriller (which is also available on GOG) will only cost you $5.99. And for just six bucks, you'll be getting a whole bunch of crazy. The game follows the exploits of pharmaceutical engineer Curtis Craig, a former psychopath who begins to suffer vivid hallucinations while seemingly being framed for murder. During these hardships, Craig also begins to explore his own sexual preferences, leading to a multitude of on-screen sadomasochistic encounters. Also, zombies.
GoG weekend sale: Myst, Riven and The Manhole for $14
If you've been sitting around, staring at the ceiling and wondering what you're going to do this weekend, you may be interested in the GoG.com weekend deal. It's a bundle of three Cyan Worlds games, all for under $14 -- a 25-percent savings. You'll get Myst: Masterpiece Edition, Riven: The Sequel to Myst and The Manhole: Masterpiece Edition. All three games recently arrived on the DRM-free service, ready to show you just how out of shape your brain's logic center and not-getting-lost-in-Myst's-maze cortex are. The sale lasts until Monday, January 25 at 11:59PM ET.
Real Myst added to GoG.com lineup
Cyan Worlds' late-2000 remastered version of the classic adventure game, Myst, is now available for DRM-free purchase on Good Old Games. Real Myst takes the classic graphic adventure title and refines it with free-roaming and real-time 3D graphics, replacing the original's pre-rendered stills. According to GoG, this is the Myst designers Robyn and Rand Miller originally wanted to make. So, like George Lucas before it, Cyan Worlds reworks the original to take advantage of modern technology -- but with the added benefit of not ruining our childhoods in the process. The title is a steal at $5.99 and recommended for any adventure game junkie.
GoG holiday sale includes Freespace, MDK and much, much more
GoG.com is having its biggest sale ever. Many of the good old games still hold up, even as we stand on the precipice of a new decade. The site's entire catalog (excluding December releases) of 171 games is discounted 25 to 40 percent -- and don't forget, you can still pick up two Tex Murphy games for free. The sale ends January 3, but don't dawdle. Once your brain is filled with the fat globules of your holiday bird of choice, it may be hard to remember the special is going on. Highlights of the sale are ... well, almost everything. But, let's say that both MDKs for $8 and Freespace 2 for $4 is a good deal. Seriously, Freespace is less than a jar of Nutella. At that price, it's almost worth playing Freespace while sucking microwaved Nutella through a straw. Bliss.
GOG.com gets Cyan Worlds' Myst games
If you consider the daily crossword puzzle a suitable mental exercise routine, then, buddy, you've got it all wrong. That's child's play for baby brains and yours needs a bit more stimulation than that. Thankfully, GoG.com is here to put a few wrinkles in all the right spots, as it's announced Cyan Worlds' beloved Myst series is coming to its library of DRM-free titles.You can actually check out Myst: Masterpiece Edition right now for $5.99, but you'll have to wait a bit for Riven: The Sequel to Myst and The Manhole: Masterpiece Edition -- the latter of which is admittedly not part of Myst canon, but comes from the Myst creators and should interest fans nonetheless. Both will also be priced at $5.99 and can be yours "soon."
A mighty good deal on Might and Magic games
Do you like vintage first-person RPGs? Do you have a decent supply of graph paper at hand? If so, Good Old Games has an offer on Might and Magic classics that could provide you with thousands of hours of gameplay for a pittance.The site has has added the Might and Magic 6-Pack to its shop, which is essentially the same as the Might and Magic VI Limited Edition. It packages the first six Might and Magic games bundled together, with (digital) bonus materials like soundtracks and maps. The whole package sells for just 10 bucks! Considering that we'd get lost about fifteen minutes into the first one and never finish it, the set offers infinite gameplay.[Via Big Download]
Good Old Games offers buy one get one free deal on Interplay titles
To celebrate the one year anniversary of its inception, digital classic games retailer Good Old Games is offering a pretty sweet buy-one-get-one-free deal on select Interplay titles. There are 12 games available for $5.99 a piece, and the deal can be extended to as many pairs as you feel like purchasing. For instance, for just $11.98, you can pick up Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics and the Redneck Rampage Collection -- though this particular bundle would likely serve as an apt diagnosis of some form of schizophrenia.
GOG.com offers good ol' deal on Unreal titles
Believe it or not, there was a time before Unreal Tournament III when the series was (gasp!) not purely about multiplayer. It had ... a story. This story is about how the purveyors of good ol' games at GOG.com remember these less competitive times, and want their patrons to, as well. So, from now through next Monday, August 31, the site is offering the plot-driven Unreal and Unreal II: The Awakening for $8.49 a pop.Of course, if you're still keen to revisit the transition into a tournament-play franchise, the first Unreal Tournament and still-quite-excellent Unreal Tournament 2004 are also being sold at the same low prices, through Monday. Us? We'll be playing other games, but are still glad we managed to make it through this post without referring to GOG.com's sale as an "unreal deal." (Wait, did that count?)
