Classic PC Games you Should Play - Maniac Mansion

Maniac Mansion is one of those games that it's repetitive "music" is still following me in everything that I am doing. A game developed by Lucas Arts and the creator of the Monkey Island games, Ron Gilbert in 1997, an adventure game that let you control many different characters and gave you a sence of actualy sneaking around in a mantion you were not supposed to be at.

The story of the game was very simple, Dave's girlfriend Sandy has been kidnapped by a mad scientist who is pretty obviously leaving in a scary mansion.What is cool about this game is that you dont control only Dave but in addition you can select to play us any 2 other of his 6 friends that want to help him rescue his girlfriend. Any one of his friends has his own set of skills that influenced the flow of the game (similar with what Ron Gilbert tried to do with "The Cave" which in my opinion did not come out as good as many Maniac Mansion fans where hoping).
 
Fun Facts

• The legendary SCUMM engine was created for Maniac Mansion and  was later used on many of the company's signature "Adventure Games"
• A version of Maniac Mansion was ported to NES but with some changes as Nintendo considered some of the content of the game to not be suitable for children
• There was a Canadian Series inspired by the Maniac Mansion called... "Maniac Mansion" 
• You can play "Maniac Mansion" inside "The Day of the tentacle" on an in-game computer

Classic PC Games you Should Play - Prehistorik 2

This is one more of the first ever games i played on the PC. Prehistorik 2 is a dos platformer (an-oter sequel from which I did not play the original) developed by Titus interactive in 1993. I remember I had no idea how to install a game on the family 3.86 computer and I had to ask my cousin to come and install it for me.

The premise of the game is very simple, you are playing as a caveman finding hamburgers and fridges full with modern-day food everywhere killing animals and dinosaurs along the way while trying to get to the end of the level. It's a game full with secrets which added a-lot in the level of entertainment it was offering.

Why I love it

Like I said before it's one of the first games I played on my 3.86, it is clear that a-lot of time was devoted by the development team to make this game a fun and an enjoyable experience. The large amount of secrets that can be found and little details, like the caveman becoming out of breath if he runs for a big distance are just some of the things that show that the makers where passionate about what they were doing. 

Classic PC Games you Should Play - Arcanoid

Ok it's an arcade game but I played it on the PC so it counts...

In arcanoid you control a paddle and you try to bounce a ball against a bunch of bricks destroying them in the process, if you destroy all the bricks you win, if the ball falls under the paddle you lose, it is a pretty straightforward and simple game and that is one of the reasons that it's so attictive.

Arcanoid was developed by Japanese company Taito (now owned by Square-Enix), which is responsible for other classic arcade games, like space-invaders

Why it's Great

Arcanoid was one of the first games that got me hooked on the pc, I really loved the upgrades you would get during the game, for example the one that gave you guns, and all the effort that you had to put to try and keep them for as long as possible although usually I was getting too excited to handle it and I was ending up losing my balls (all three of them)

Games for Windows not-Live from 2014

The greatest rumor of the year in my honest opinion is that Games for Windows live is going not-live in July 2014.

The truth is that for most gamers the only thing that Games for Windows live has offered is frustration.

It was a pain to install and play the Batman Arkham games, I couldn't play Dark Souls because it was not available to my region and in general the games where freaking out with the Windows Live support so often that for most it was not even worth struggling with it.

It is my personal opinion that Games for Windows Live has led too many gamers to piracy and that it offered nothing to the industry as a return so I will be very glad to lose it.

Classic PC Games you Should Play - Grand Theft Auto

The first Grand Theft Auto was created back in 1997 from DMA Design and I am proud to say the most hated sentence.... "I was playing GTA before it was cool". The original game was a comedic action, driving free roamer with a top-down view. Unlike later instalments of the game (except GTA 2) the game was actually a score-attack like game where you were stealing vehicles and murdering people, earning points in the process

Why it's Great

Grand Theft Auto gave birth to one of the biggest (if not the biggest) franchises today for Rockstar and like Carmageddon 2 it was the subject of major controversy when it was released. Unlike Carmaggedon the franchise is still alive today and has produced millions of.. MONEY for the publishers , it is a blast to play and despite it's age it still remains amazingly enjoyable until today.

Where you can get it

You can donwload the game for free here.

Favourite Videogame Characters - Guybrush Threepwood (Monkey Island)

Guybrush Threepwood is one of my favourite characters of all time and part of one of the most underrated franchises today in my honest opinion. When someone mentions Lucas Arts everybody thinks about StarWars, I on the other hand always remember of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango

The above picture just goes to show you how much the character has changed during his five-game contract, when he firstly appeared as a wanna-be pirate in 1990 "armed with nothing more than a goofy name and an overpowering urge to become a swashbuckling pirate" to a zombie-pirate in 2009's TellTale Game

Classic PC Games you Should Play - Prince of Persia (1989)

Prince of Persia is a platformer with gate,potion and deadly spike puzzles as-well-as some basic combat elements. The game was released back in 1989 and the main objective was (surprise, surprise) recue the hero's love interest/princess from an evil guy that captured her. I do remember a countdown timer on the screen although I never figured out what purpose it served since I was always dying and giving up many ticks before the final one.

Why it's great

• It gave you a sense of being in a dungeon not knowing what exacly is happening, just like the protagonist
• Although simple it was giving you an adrenaline rush with the gates closing down slowly and the countdown timer mentioned before
• The protagonist's doppelganger that was always making the hair on back stand up 

Where you Can Get it

Good luck with that, oh this one is free and plays in a similar way