I've been gaming since the days of Pong and still own a working Atari 2600 (among other elder statesmen systems!). I tend to ramble on about retro games, whether they be board games, video games or PC games. Sometimes I digress. Decades after earning it, I'm finally putting the skills I learned while completing my history degree from the University of Victoria to good use. Or so I think. If you're into classic old school gaming, this blog is for you!
Got a game or product you want reviewed? Send me an email! Will review board games, PC games, video games and accessories (Xbox 360 or Wii, but also new releases for classic systems – you know who you are!)
Rules of Etiquette:
All comments welcome, excepting those that:
1. Are obvious SPAM
2. Contain profanity
3. Are full of p0rn
4. Advertise or contain links to retail websites
5. Are abusive or potentially libelous
We are definitely living in an interesting timeline, as we are now able to purchase a NEW Atari 2600 game console. It comes with a 10-in-1 game cartridge, and is incredibly backwards compatible with most Atari 2600 AND Atari 7800 games. (Full list HERE) It even has DB9 ports to allow for using original joysticks and other controllers, but you can buy new ones if you want!
Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI for short) brought AD&D goodness to the world with the Gold Box series of games, but they also were well known for being masters of wargaming. Back in 1988 you could put your order in through their catalog service for multiple platforms: Apple II, Apple IIGS, Atari 8-Bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64/128, Commodore Amiga or IBM PC.
Want to play Roadwar 2000 on your Apple? No problem, it’s just $39.95 + tax and shipping! ($44.95 + tax and shipping for the GS). Want to play Pool of Radiance on your Apple II, C64, as well as your IBM PC? You got it – just fill out your order and get your credit card ready!
And the good news was that the catalog was included in the box with every new purchase!
Check out all the offers by clicking on the image of the front page (below)!
Who remembers playing pc games where the importance of getting the main character bedded drove the storyline? Not every titillating game was a winner, but the Spellcasting series by Steve Meretzky certainly were! The quest to get Ernie Eaglebeek hooked up with Lola Tigerbelly, graduate his first year of Sorcerer University, and solve the mystery of what happened to the Sorcerer’s Appliance, made for a fun text graphic adventure to play in the 1990s.
Like many games published in this time, the copy protection was the treasure hunt model, where you had to find the right word or phrase in special documents designed for this purpose. Woe to you if you lost those documents!
Good news! Below are the two critical copy protection documents used in Spellcasting 101 (the Sorcerer University Registration Form and the game map showing the land of Peloria), brought back to life for the use of anyone who may need them!
HISTORY Based in Minneapolis, the SLASH Corporation was a game company which repackaged and resold classic 1980s PC titles from such companies as Sierra On-Line, LucasArts Entertainment, Electronic Arts, The Software Toolworks, and others. Its President (founder?) was Charles F. Bond, and it existed as an independent company from 1991 to 1995. In June of 1996, GT Interactive Software Corp purchased SLASH, and reintroduced it as part of their Value Products Division. Mr. Bond was given a seat on the board of directors and the title of Vice-President, SLASH Division.
HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE So how can a collector of classic games distinguish between an original PC game and a re-published SLASH version? Well, this guide would be fairly pointless f it couldn’t answer this question, wouldn’t it! In fact, there are FIVE (5) distinguishing features of a SLASH product. (Note: not all characteristics will be common to every game; some will have one or two features from this list, some more, some all.)
The Box
The Label
The Box Cover Art
The Diskettes
Manuals & Other Documentation
1. The Box: SLASH re-releases come in cheap, white, one-piece cardboard boxes with flapped openings on either end. Original releases are usually come in higher grade cardboard boxes, often with the company logo affixed in some way upon them.
2. The Label: Most system requirements labels for older games were affixed onto the box or slipcover casing AFTER it had been manufactured. This permitted companies to use the same box for different platforms (such as MS-DOS, Apple II or Macintosh). SLASH re-releases have their labels as part of the box itself. Further, SLASH re-releases often use black lettering on white labels, whereas original releases will have color within the label or graphic images (such as the company logo). For those SLASH re-releases that use the original system requirements box on the cover, and not the white background/black print, the lettering is difficult to read. The reason is:
3. The Cover Art: Original releases often have crisp, breathtaking covers. Due to the inferior quality of computer graphics of the day, covers were not of game images, but of conceptual art. A SLASH re-release uses those same covers, but since they are reprints of scanned images, the quality is somewhat poor. SLASH covers seem out-of-focus, fuzzy and difficult to read the printing. Often, the black print/white label stands in stark contrast to the cover image, appearing to have been placed over the original release cover, scanned in, and then reprinted.
4. The Diskettes: The 3.5″ and/or 5.25″ disks found in original PC game releases usually have color labels, company logos or graphic art. SLASH re-releases use plain black lettering on a white label.
5. Manuals & Other Documentation: SLASH re-releases use photocopies of the original game documents, printed in monochrome on cheap paper, clearly in an effort to keep the cost of their reproduction as low as possible. No special brochures, high-quality glossy covers, or any other extras that the original PC game releases used!
One last thought: if your goal is to play one of these classic games, a SLASH re-release is one of the least expensive methods of acquiring a physical copy of it. Don’t forget that your new computer may not be able to play those ancient games, though!
I just read a wonderful Christmas-related retrogaming post from 2011 that I hadn’t seen before, all thanks to the magic of google! It’s called 12 Days of Retro Gaming, and it’s worth a read!
In 1994 my father decided that it was high time to replace that old Commodore 64 (which wasn’t even considered a PC anymore) with a brand new Pentium 90 mhz PC. I remember coming downstairs on Christmas morning and there it was, a beautiful boxy white machine with a VGA monitor, printer, and took up all the space our wide oak desk could spare. CD-ROM was brand new and this bad boy came equipped with it and a few initial CDs, including Myst and an Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia. At that time, however, not every game came in the CD version and many PC gamers were selling off their floppy disc versions of games to upgrade. It was at this time that I became enamoured with PC gaming and began stopping by the used PC game shop near my part-time job and blowing my money on classics.
Recycled Thoughts from a Retro Gamer 