American McGee’s Grimm: A Boy Learns What Fear Is (193Mb)
You can thank Swan for this one. I’d avoided visiting Gametap for quite some time, so when she recommended Gametap I was curious. Imagine my surprise when I found they were giving away one of the American McGee episodes, which have been released on a regular basis for some months now. I only discovered them at the beginning of January when I was buying some other games and was curios about them because they were only $3.95 per game. I intend buying the set if and when it’s released as a single set. The graphics are strange, but in an odd way beautiful. Even the ‘bad/evil’ character has a strange charm about it.
This is not a game for children though as one of the things the main character does is urinate all the time. It’s all done in a cartoony way, but still, not for the child to see. The game is rated 13 by the American standards authority; I don’t know if it’s been rated in the UK yet. Knowing how slow they are and how relatively new the game is, there probably isn’t a UK rating yet.
I didn’t actually take notice of whether you need the Gametap manager for this game. I allowed it to be installed partly because I intend buying lots of games from them in the near future. I don’t usually like game managers, but as it was being given away for free ans it’s a series that I’m interested in buying I couldn’t help myself. I’m going to post a couple more games just in case you don’t like games managers, or don’t like the game. I’ve posted a few You Tube videos of the game play, so that you can see first hand what the game play is like. One of them comes with a commentary, but I forgot which one. (I’d check, but I need to close down soon, so am rushing this). The game is set up for Win XP and Vista, but to install it on Vista you require administrative privileges’.
Actual game play isn’t as long as your usual arcade game but that’s because this game is episodic. I’ve only played for about 15 minutes, but apparently someone familiar with the game mechanics and game play can work through this game in an hour or so. (But it could take a lot longer, depending upon how engrossed you are. Remember that there are weekly episodes being released, though they aren’t free. :(
When a young boy wants to learn the true meaning of the word "fear," his father advises him to leave the safety of their village home and venture out into the wilderness. Along the way, the boy's quest for "fear" leads him to the hanging gallows, a haunted house, and even a wedding. However, he doesn't truly encounter fear until Grimm decides to enter the story.
American McGee invites you into an incredible adventure built around the world's best-known fairy tales. As Grimm, you will transform the classic tales of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and more of your favourites into darkly twisted Grimm versions of themselves in 24 all-new game episodes. Each game episode is centred around one of the world's best-known fairy tales and provides 30 minutes of game play. Each episode is a complete, standalone experience and the episodes can be played in any order. New episodes are released weekly and each new episode can be played for free during its first 24 hours of release at the GameTap Grimm site.
Reference: http://www.download.com/American-McGee-s-Grimm-A-Boy-Learns-What-Fear-Is/3000-7563_4-10872876.html Accessed 1st February 2009-02-01
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Minimum System Requirements:
O.S………………………………..Win XP & Vista
CPU……………………………….2.4 GHz Single Core Pentium Processor,
System RAM………………………512 MB of System RAM,
Graphics card………………………Nvidia 6200+ or equivalent video
Graphics RAM………………….....128Mb
Hard Disk space……………………500 MB
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You Tube Video’s
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlXKHKIR4Ys
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kWucKhPga-E
http://uk.media.pc.ign.com/media/909/909637/vids_1.html
Images:
http://uk.media.pc.ign.com/media/909/909637/imgs_1.html
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Reviews worth reading:
http://www.gamechronicles.com/reviews/pc/amgrimmboy/learnsfear.htm
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/897/897060p1.html
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Download Links
http://www.download.com/American-McGee-s-Grimm-A-Boy-Learns-What-Fear-Is/3000-7563_4-10872876.html
or
http://downloads.zdnet.co.uk/0,1000000375,39391982s,00.htm
or
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The following three games are all DOS games and require you to use DOSBox. All are suitable for Children. I remember reading Asterix comics when I was a child. They were fascinating as they seemed much more colorful and the pages were packed with gorgeously illustrated stories compared to the likes of British Comics that I used to get (The Eagle and The Beano) or my favourite American Pulp comics from Marvel, all of which were great, but they didn't have the same in depth stories that came with the comics.
The first two games below brought back some of those memories. (Though I did buy an Asterix game for the children several years ago, but can’t find it amongst the stacks of games that have been stored away - for future use)
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Asterix & Obelisk: (3.6Mb)
"The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely."
Guide our well-known heroes as they travel all over the Roman Empire, trying to bring a souvenir from every country they cross. This is a classic arcade: no particular "storyline" included. Just move forward all the time and, with some luck, you will succeed. It looks nice: there are lots of details (as much as you can get out of 320x200 pixels) and smoothly animated characters (that's what I liked the most).
It is much more fun to play it in a "two player mode" with both Asterix and Obelix at the same time, so I recommend you get yourself a "player 2" for this one. :)
Reference: http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/72/Asterix+%2526+Obelix.html accessed Oct 08
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Download Links:
http://www.abandonware-paradise.fr/abandonware-Asterix_et_Obelix-762-fichedejeu.html
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Asterix: Operation Getafix: (<1Mb)
Asterix - Operation Getafix was made in 1989 and has very good graphics for that time, but the sound was made for some weird hardware that can’t be emulated, so you will just get occasional knocks of sound. Another problem is that the game runs slowly in DOSBox, and far too fast in Windows XP or with VDMSound. I couldn't even get Moslo to run it properly. So I pulled the old 486 from the basement to play the game. That worked just fine.
It's an action/adventure game with a lot more action than adventure in it, but it gets very repetitive. Go out, find stuff, fight people and animals in the process, bring stuff back, find out it's not what you really needed and start the whole thing over… But let me present the game in more detail anyway.
You are Asterix, the only person left in the Gaul village with some common sense!
The Druid Getafix had a huge menhir dropped on his head (thank you, Obelix) and you must cure him. In order to do so, you must collect the ingredients that he wants and bring them to him.
You can find the ingredients all over the place. In the forest, in the village (you have to buy those) or even in the Roman camp. Cooking the potion takes place to the far left side of the village. A cooking pot cursor automatically appears and allows you to mix 3 ingredients. When the potion is done either the Druid or a captured Roman can try it.
But while this is happening, there is a fortune-teller out to get all of you. Once you enter the hut of your chief, you will meet with this wolf-like impostor. He'll settle in the clearing in the forest, where the locals will bring food to him in order to find out about their future.
As I mentioned before, there are some things you need to buy and for which you need money. You can play dice with the fortune-teller or with the Romans in the camp (they always play first). Move the mouse to shake and then right-click to throw. If you win, you'll get richer. But be careful, you should really play dice with the Romans, because if you try to force your way into their camp, they'll probably wear you out. You haven't the magic potion.
In some parts of the forest you can meet wild boars and flying fish (your friends are at each other's throats again). Avoid getting hit or you'll lose life points. On the other hand, you can try to get a boar and gain points. You must strike at the boar to do that.
You also get to fight the Romans (what would Asterix be like if you couldn't?). You fight with the function keys: F1 points upwards and distracts the Roman, F2 gives him a slap, F3 delivers a nice blow and F4 sends him into the wide blue yonder.
Other commands in the game are Enter to jump, enter a building or buy something and Space to duck or pick up.
When you find the right combination of ingredients, you'll cure the druid and that's it.
Reference: http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/331/Asterix+-+Operation+Getafix.html accessed Oct 08
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Download Links:
http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/331/Asterix+-+Operation+Getafix.html
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WordTris:
This is basically a Tetris clone, but you have to make up words instead of create lines. It’s quite challenging, and well worth a download if you don’t mind using DOSBox. It’s easy to set up especially if you follow the instructions that wizzard posted in the games discussion forums a few weeks ago.
Reference: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Home-Education/WordTris.shtml accessed Jan 09
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Download Links:
http://www.abandonware-paradise.fr/telecharger-Wordtris-477.html
or
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Home-Education/WordTris.shtml
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