Which 2D and 3D games from yesteryear made you go "WOOOOOOWWWW!!!!"

[extentofmysin]

Ive been playing games since the Speccy, but I can honestly say that
perhaps the only games ever to make me go "!" in amazement were
from the 1990s... in my case, probably Sonic the Hedgehog on the
Genesis/MD, and Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64. No, really. A bit 'mainstream'
- not very close to home, and you can argue that perhaps only having a
Spectrum as a computer, I probably would have been impressed with just
about anything () - but still!

Sonic was a real showcase for the Megadrive though in the early 90s, and
the speed really set it apart from the rest. It also helped that it was a very
good title playability wise with plenty to seek out, even if it was a little
easy for some. Unarguably, it plays much better than any recent gba or DS
sequels.. why the original 3 games havent been released Ive no idea.. Sega?

You can argue over the fact as to whether Mario 64 is now truly a retro
title, since it IS in proper fully explorable 3D (is it too early in the '00s to call
any 3D adventure title truly retro)?..but having said that, it was one of the first,
and is already a whopping ten years old, released late 1996 if I remember
correctly.. so time sure does fly. Or maybe Im just getting very old- does
time pass so much quicker as you get older and older? blink and I'll be in my
80's haha - urk!

Great games that came close for me:
Bak2Skool - Spectrum (the school theme probably helped a little)
Dark Star - Spectrum (very playable space shooter)
Fantasy World Dizzy - Spectrum (and with full 128k audio! lol)
Final Fantasy VII - Playstation (great gfx, story and lastability)
Glass - Spectrum (a very out of the ordinary shooting game if I remember)
Mortal Kombat I, II and III - arcade (huge hype helped here, but MK3 best!)
Ridge Racer - Playstation (arcade perfect 3d racer! seemed at the time anyway-haha.
that one track still let it down, although nobody really noticed at the time)
Target Renegade (R2) - Spectrum (also with an impressive full 128k soundtrack! lol)
TMNTurtles - Spectrum (and in full colour! ish. lol)
Streets Of Rage/Golden Axe - Megadrive (proper arcade gaming in the home.
even if it was never (?) released in the arcades... think SOR2 was
but the MD release was first)..

[keropi]

2D gfx??? SNES game Yoshi's Island that uses that extra dsp chip... I like the giga-sprites and the fluid rotations!
also enjoyed Castlevania SOTN on the psx... excellent!

and I really enjoyed 3D ps2 games, when I got one 3 years ago! they made an impression to me!
and quake for pc too...

[extentofmysin]

Originally Posted by keropi

2D gfx??? SNES game Yoshi's Island that uses that extra dsp
chip... I like the giga-sprites and the fluid rotations!
also enjoyed Castlevania SOTN on the psx... excellent!
and I really enjoyed 3D ps2 games, when I got one 3 years ago! they made an impression to me! and quake for pc too...

Never played CastleVania SOTN, might have to hunt that one out some day.

Aaaaargh! I forgot all about Yoshis Island! wasnt there a sequel (that wasnt
that great) on the N64? ..also forgot that the fact that the original
Starfox/Starwing on the SNES was in polygon 3d, I played that one to
death and the N64 update wasnt bad either. The SNES had its fair share
of enhanced games, but even the bog standard mode 7 chip fitted some
so well, eg SNES F-Zero with its futuristic glittery look. N64 version again
was a good update, surely one of the fastest racers ever.

As for the best SNES games, thats prob another topic all on its own.. just
dont mention RPGs, or youll get everyone going! haha....at the time I only
really got into Secret of Mana, now that one really should be released some
day on the GBA/DS if it hasnt already.

Still, nothing has astounded me as much as Mario 64 and MD Sonic.
oh dear. lol

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by extentofmysin

As for the best SNES games, thats prob another topic all on its own.. just dont mention RPGs, or youll get everyone going! haha....at the time I only really got into Secret of Mana, now that one really should be released some day on the GBA/DS if it hasnt already.

LOL

You may be interested in my old thread then http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=22669

[extentofmysin]

Nice, mustve taken a fair while, was it difficult to set it all
up to run straight from the disc? There must be programs to let
you do it all, if not id probably not get very far not knowing much
about the pc registry. It would be nice to know how though.
Any helpful websites? At the moment I stop somewhere around
very simple sinclair spectrum +3 basic programming

Have you done a graphical menu for selecting each snes game
as it starts up on your dvd? Id love to see that if you could post screenshots

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by extentofmysin

Nice, mustve taken a fair while, was it difficult to set it all
up to run straight from the disc? There must be programs to let
you do it all, if not id probably not get very far not knowing much
about the pc registry. It would be nice to know how though.
Any helpful websites? At the moment I stop somewhere around
very simple sinclair spectrum +3 basic programming

Well, first of all it took me ages to select / download the 1200+ SNES roms that I wanted to include. It then took me roughly another month to plan the structure / write the SETUP.BAT / test. This was all done about a year before I actually posting on EAB...

As you can see from the start / end date of the thread, it took roughly another 1.5 months of hard work (getting some very good suggestions / feedback, adding in extra menu options / another emulator and finally adding the autorun.exe)

I'm no programmer, I just wrote one killer batch file to handle everything I wanted to achieve (menus, working out your first CD / DVD drive, writing temp files to record choices, running registry settings etc). Once totally complete, I then used a program to change the .BAT file into an .EXE file...

There are probably programs that would allow you to do the same thing e.g. AutoPlay Media Studio 6.0 but that in itself would have taken me ages to learn / figure out. Basically I decided to use batch files as I could see what I wanted to achieve and also how to get there logically

Originally Posted by extentofmysin

Have you done a graphical menu for selecting each snes game
as it starts up on your dvd? Id love to see that if you could post screenshots

The frontend LusSpace shows game titles, there a picture of this on the first page of the thread http://eab.abime.net/attachment.php?...2&d=1144268528

PS. Sent you a PM...

[Retro-Nerd]

Or you use the awesome GameEX frontend. It scans the games for you. Screenshot packs can be found in the net. It's shareware, but worth. There is a 20 seconds boot delay for the unregisterd version.

http://tomspeirs.com/gameex/

http://tomspeirs.com/gameex/Includes/..%5CImages/16.jpg

http://tomspeirs.com/gameex/Includes/..%5CImages/9.jpg

http://tomspeirs.com/gameex/Includes/..%5CImages/10.jpg


Screenshots

http://localarcade.com/screenshotarchive/

http://no-intro.dlgsoftware.net/main.php?lang=1

[extentofmysin]

nice work with both- damiens is great with not being a programmer!.
Ive noticed the 'adult roms' from that first gameex frontend screenshot.. tsk.. surprised no one has mentioned the sheer amount of them in the SNES Goodrom collection compared to most other systems. lol!

Shigs wont be happy or will he

[mr_a500]

Games that made me go WOW!:

Berzerk (arcade) - one of the first arcade games I ever saw and it had digitized speech and laser sounds!

Montezuma's Revenge (Atari 800) - unbelievable number of screens (for the time) to explore and no stupid time limit (rare for the time)

Ballblazer (Atari 800) - first 3D game I ever saw... it was split screen two player and you could see the other player in 3D! It wasn't "real 3D" of course, but two players moving independently in (multi-colour non-wireframe) 3D was bloody amazing on an 8-bit computer

Faery Tale (Amiga) - unbelievably huge game that takes weeks to explore

Shadow of the Beast (Amiga) - unbelievable colours and graphics, unbelievable music, unbelievable speed, unbelievable parallax scrolling (...ahem...unbelievably average to poor gameplay....*cough*)

DOOM (PC) - amazing 3D detail and endless gaming possibilities (and loads of fun getting monsters caught in the crossfire and watching them attack each other)

Half-Life (PC) - amazing 3D game interaction (not just blowing away guys, but requiring some thought)


Besides these, there were lots of great and impressive games, but they didn't really make me go "WOW!" like these games did.

[Muzkat]

Okay, older games that really made me go wow, that really blew me away:

On Amiga:
Another World - best cinematic game experience ever. Coolest intro too.
Gods - the graphics, the sounds, the title music, the ancient setting
Speedball 2 - "Playing by the seat of your pants" gets redefined in this game.
Wings - dogfights at their best
It Came From the Desert - I loved the story, the sense of desperation as the time passed, and the nostalgia of the game
Shadow of the Beast - gorgeous graphics, music and atmosphere
Moonstone - so much fun! So much blood!
Shadow Fighter - finally, a decent Street Fighter clone on Amiga! I had been waiting years!!!

PC:
Doom - The scary enemies, the misery-laced music, the overwhelming sense of dread...the game really was Hell.
Quake - Similar reasons as above, but this game felt more like a Lovecraftian nightmare.
Half-Life - great story, great immersion.
Thief 2 - excellent atmosphere, the coolest anti-hero in a game, the best stealth game out there.
Crusader: No Regret - the best boy's game. Heaps of ridiculously powerful guns and heaps of enemies. Everything is destructable, meaty explosions, great action.
DethKarz - gorgeous graphics, very playable car combat racer.
Alone in the Dark: A very moody and scary experience.
Planescape: Torment - Not a game, but an experience. Its lack of sales proves that today's gamers are stupid.

Mega Drive:
Streets of Rage 2 - perhaps my favourite scrolling Beat em Up
Splatter House 2 & 3 - I never knew games could be so twisted!

Nes:
Castlevania 1 & 3 - gorgeous gothic platformers

Arcade:
Mortal Kombat series - My favourite fighters. Brutal, hard hitting and ultra fun. MKII is my favourite.
Lucky & Wild - ridiculously entertaining driving shooter.
Final Fight - classic beat em up that still holds it own against most modern day competitors.

[Adropac2]

Mario 64 (of course and still far better than anything else)

Zelda (Graphics were simply amazing and felt like being in a virtual world)
Game was to die for as well

Elite c64(Iv'e probably not been bowled over quite so much as this game)
It felt so real and i wish developers would pull there fingers out
their arse and make the best Elite game ever.Tired of waiting.

Goldeneye(Just because it played so damn well.Graphics were great also)

Sword of Sodan(Graphics music and sound were very high quality and i )
truely was astounded at the time.

Radiant Silvergun(Worth every penny i paid for it second time round at )
£103 and simply the best shooter of it's type.In a class
of it's own.

Nights(Pure fun and unlike any other game , it's dream like quality was )
what impressed me most

Sentinel (Amiga - Again nothing like it.So wierd yet totally believable

Rescue on Fractulas (This was very tense when you were for potential )
aliens to board your craft instead of your own pilots
super atmosphere and graphics at the time

F18 Interceptor(It was very impressive and made me very jealous at the )
time with it's sound and cool graphics - i had an ST

Starblade (Stunning arcade experience for me to the point that i chucked)
in £10 so i could complete it

The Pawn(First game i got for my St.It amazed the bolax off me)

[manicx]

-Blood Money. First game that I saw on the Amiga
-Kick Off. I was used to slow football games. When I saw this my jaws dropped to the floor.
-Super Hang On on the ST
-Turrican 2 on the ST. One of my fave games ever
-Target Renegade on the CPC. This beat em up was kicking ass
-Max Payne on the PC. Bought my first PC because I really wanted to play this one.
-Quake. Thank god I did have read/write access to the PC in the uni and the super duper network. First on-line gaming for me and a complete mayhem.
-Robocop on the CPC. Serve the Public Trust, but hey, I can listen this through the crappy CPC speaker
-Last Ninja C64. What an awesome surprise this one was. Still play it rhough emulators these days
-TV Sports Basketball. I still think this one is one of the most underrated games on any platform, yet one of the best basketball games ever.
-Shinobi (arcades). Wow, wow, wow! If I had all the money I spent on this one, I would be Richard Branson today
-Double Dragon (Arcades) See above.

[alexh]

Originally Posted by keropi

2D gfx??? SNES game Yoshi's Island that uses that extra dsp chip... I like the giga-sprites and the fluid rotations!

It actually used the 2nd Gen SuperFX chip, originally used in StarFox etc. not a DSP

[Figi]

I'll limit my choice to games that made me *instantly* go "wow", not after a while of playing them. Naturally, this is mostly achieved by technical fx and eye candy...

All Amiga, of course

Flashback - the animations. And the gun sounds.

Super Stardust - Rendered asteroids. And the tunnels, of course!

Pinball Illusions - Multiball, anyone?

Brian the Lion - I really liked the zoom effect

[Dastardly]

2D

Everything by the Bitmaps
The Newzealand Story
Flashback
Lemmings
Hired Guns
Heimdall
Shadow of the Beast
Robocop 2
Lotus
Super Mario World
Sonic the Hedgehog
Super Mario Kart

3D

Formula One Grand Prix
F/A 18 Interceptor
Armour Geddon
Damocles
Frontier

[DDNI]

@Dastardly Damocles.... Pure Genius I loved those Paul Woakes games.

My Dad and I sat for weeks exploring Targ in Mercenary!!

"Mechanoid Ship attacking"!!!



Windows port http://membres.lycos.fr/vesta/merce.htm It is really quite good

[Dastardly]

I only ever played Damocles but really enjoyed the sense of freedom.

I think Ill check out Mercenary soon.

[Zetr0]

hmmm games with WOW factor...

by computer ( no later than 95 )

binatone / atari2600

Tanks
Airplane
Boxing
pole position
Empire Stirkes Back (llama attack on other computers lol)

z80/81 spectrum 16/48 + Model A

Lunar Jetpackman (with curra speach unit)
Ant Attack
Attic Attack
Chequered Flag
Knot3d
3d Death Chase
Robocop (with the voice sample - amazing... serve the public trust... )
Saboture
Cyclone
Knights Lore
Head Over Heels
Oracle / Valhalla

Pet / C16/64/128

Elite
Mission Impossible
Way of the Exploding Fist
GI Joe
ShadowFire
Enigma Force
Aliens (US version & UK version)
Wizball
Mutants
Green Berrett
Cyborg ( it looked great in the demo... got it home... s**t )
SPYvSPY
Thrust
Paradroid
Uridium

Amiga 500/600/1200

Sword of Sodan (one of the first games i saw... amazing!)
Whurlygig
Gauntlet
Captive (lets see if bippys word search picks it up..)
EOB I&II
BardsTale
Space Hulk
Space Crusade (as close to the board game as ever!)
F1 Grand prix
Robocop 3
Wing Commander III


PC 3/4 and 586 win 95

Doom ( the only reason to own a PC in them days lol)
EOB3 ( the second reason to have a pc )


----------------------
i have run outa time... need to add to this list later....

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by manicx

-Last Ninja C64. What an awesome surprise this one was. Still play it rhough emulators these days
-TV Sports Basketball. I still think this one is one of the most underrated games on any platform, yet one of the best basketball games ever.
-Shinobi (arcades). Wow, wow, wow! If I had all the money I spent on this one, I would be Richard Branson today

Agree with all of these, especially Shinobi. I love many, many arcade games but I never get sick of playing this just to see how fast I can finish it. I usually select all the highest dip switch settings as well (fastest bullets, very hard difficulty)

When I get some time I'll try to create my list, will take a bit of though

[spiff]

I miss that hype feeling in games. Most of the time I just don’t get that excited. Last time I followed a game release was Knight of the republic II, sith lords, and that crap wasn’t even finished when it came out. The endless stream of console FPS excitement is a mystery to me. Not only do they play worse then their PC counterpart due to controls, they all pretty much haven’t improved since half life or Halo.

DOOM (PC): The game that sold the PC. The graphics where amazing, and then I got to play my first network death-match Wow, the intensity beat anything on my poor amiga could offer at that time.

StreetfighterII(Arcade) : It’s hard to remember the feeling since every beat em up these days offer more cool things, combos and o on. But there was a time when the character design, gameplay and specials on SF II were original, especially Dhalsim and Blanka.

Systemshock I/II: Not the most technically impressive game ever, but the big bad shodan when you step out of the elevator.. still the best sound design I know.
http://www.fabian-siegismund.de/blog...20at%20you.wav

Metal gear solid PSX: The game that for me killed the discussion of (new) 3d games can’t play/look as good (old) 2d. One of the first really “big” games, for good or bad that showed what a large development team can do with some money.