From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


Oops. I've been remiss in my duties to announce the latest releases on
Prime Gaming. (The fact that none of you mentioned this lack only
shows how polite you are and, I am sure, does not reflect in the least
on how unimportant these posts actually are to the group ;-). But I'm
back, if a few days late. Still, no time to waste; let's get right to
the games!


----


* Rebel Galaxy (GOG)
https://www.gog.com/en/game/rebel_galaxy
Last time we got "Rebel Galaxy: Outlaws" and I criticized
it, perhaps unfairly because I'm not sure if it was that game
or this one that I actually played. So you can understand if
I'm a bit chary about giving my thoughts this month. It's a
game; let's leave it that. Surely I can cause no uproar by
saying that much. ;-)


* Sir Questionnaire (GOG)
https://www.gog.com/en/game/sir_questionnaire
An Indie dungeon-crawler with retro-graphics, this game's
hook is that each turn you are offered a choice of two options
(which vary from moment to moment) rather than the usual
mechanics associated with the genre. This means you can't
depend on your usual strategies, but otherwise the game
doesn't seem to stray too far from the mold. An interesting
twist but lacks the polish to make it worth it. Or at least,
so indicate the reviews; I haven't actually played this one.


* Mahokenshi: The Samurai Deckbuilder (GOG) https://www.gog.com/en/game/mahokenshi
Look, it has the word 'deckbuilder' in its title. I'm not going
to be able to judge this one fairly because of that. Reviews
are good... but that eponymous mechanic; ugh! No! Ptuiii!


* Veil of Darkness (GOG)
https://www.gog.com/en/game/veil_of_darkness
A DOS-era single-character top-down CRPG featuring vampires.
Honestly, I remember this one mostly because it was made by
the same people (and mostly featured the same engine) as the
mostly-forgotten CRPG "The Summoning", which I consider a
lost classic and personally adore. This one isn't bad, but it
feels every bit its age. If you dig CRPGs from this era, maybe
give this one a try. But otherwise, it's probably not worth
your time.
(Also, why didn't I check Amazon three days ago, back before
I bought this on Steam? ;-)


* Siege of Avalon Anthology (GOG) https://www.gog.com/en/game/siege_of_avalon_anthology
A top-down CRPG from the late Win9x era. It was, at the time,
a no-frills game feeling very much like something from the
shareware era in terms of polish. It hasn't aged well since
then. That said, it's surprisingly fun and deep; it's a lot
better than it initially looks. But it's very old-school
and apparently this version is rather buggy. Probably for
fans of the genre only.


* Turmoil (EPIC)
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/turmoil-26318a
A light-weight oil-rig simulation. Don't expect anything too
deep --it's more akin to a quick party or mobile game than
anything you sink weeks into-- but not too bad.


* Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep (EPIC) https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/tiny-tinas-assault-on-dragon-keep-a-wonderlands-one-shot-adventure
That Borderlands spin-off themed as a CRPG tabletop game.
Amusing the first time, the series has longer overstayed
its welcome.


* Tattoo Tycoon (EPIC)
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/tattoo-tycoon-b4352c
Another 'workplace sim'; guess what job you're pretending to
be this time? This one is slightly different in that it uses
an interface similar to The Sims. Also, there's a tattooing
minigame. Otherwise, nothing special.


* Total War: Rome II Emperor Edition (EPIC) https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/total-war-rome-ii-764f74
A classic "Total War" game; it's like all the rest in the
series. This one is set in ancient Rome. It's fine; if you
like the franchise, you'll like this one. It just doesn't
do much different from any of those other games either.


----


Alright, that's it for this time. Not a bad selection, but then again
I'm a fan of old-timey CRPGs so of course I view these games more
favorably than others might. Whether you feel the same about any of
these games, only you can say.

I'll try to be on time for the next set of games... but no promises!


--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


This is the requisite give-away-the-extra-keys follow-up post to any
Amazon Prime Gaming announcement! Here are some free games for you
cheapos too frugal (read: smart!) to pay for Amazon Prime! ;-)

The usual 'rules' apply: the key only works once, so first-come
first-serve; you redeem it at https://www.gog.com/redeem ; a GOG
account is required; the keys are ROT13-encoded, etc. etc. etc. We've
done this enough times; you all know the drill.


* Rebel Galaxy (GOG)
<ROT13>
D66632Q727366030S8
</ROT13>

* Siege of Avalon Anthology (GOG)
<ROT13>
G8OGQ98Q37N881N85S
</ROT13>


Enjoy the games! ;-)


--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Sun, 22 Mar 2026 15:33:51 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

* Rebel Galaxy (GOG)
<ROT13>
D66632Q727366030S8
</ROT13>

* Siege of Avalon Anthology (GOG)
<ROT13>
G8OGQ98Q37N881N85S
</ROT13>

I love old school RPGs so I took Siege of Avalon. If it plays
anything like Jeff Vogul's games, then I think I will like them.
Honestly though, I never even heard of them until your post.

Thank you Spalls!
--- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Sun, 22 Mar 2026 15:05:21 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

* Veil of Darkness (GOG)
https://www.gog.com/en/game/veil_of_darkness
A DOS-era single-character top-down CRPG featuring vampires.
Honestly, I remember this one mostly because it was made by
the same people (and mostly featured the same engine) as the
mostly-forgotten CRPG "The Summoning", which I consider a
lost classic and personally adore. This one isn't bad, but it
feels every bit its age. If you dig CRPGs from this era, maybe
give this one a try. But otherwise, it's probably not worth
your time.
(Also, why didn't I check Amazon three days ago, back before
I bought this on Steam? ;-)

I did not forget The Summoning. I own the game and with the help of
the hint book, I almost finished it at one point but didn't quite get
there, unfortunately. I keep meaning to go back to it and give it a
another go as I did like it a lot. It is permanently installed in my
DOSBOX game directory.

I own Veil of Darkness as well but never got around to playing it.

--- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:23:38 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> said
this thing:

I love old school RPGs so I took Siege of Avalon. If it plays
anything like Jeff Vogul's games, then I think I will like them.

If you like it so much, you can get a second copy from rms in the post
below this one! ;-)

I must admit, I only have the vaguest memories of playing this game
back in the day. I remembering not being all that impressed. I don't
think that was entirely the fault of the game, though. "Siege"
originally released in 2000, and the games of that era were radically
changing over what had come before. Every month, it seemed we were
seeing new technologies and new ideas being put into development, and
any game that lagged behind seemed instantly old and unoriginal.
"Siege" looked like something released five or six years earlier, and
its mechanics weren't much improved either.

These days, with game design and visuals having stabilized somewhat,
it's easier to go back and judge a game on its own merits. As such, it
is easier to see where "Siege" did a lot of things right. But back
when I first played it, I struggled to keep an interest in the game.
There was just so much new and exciting going on elsewhere for me to
spend so long in something that seemed a pale imitation of something
I'd already played years ago.


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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:32:04 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> said
this thing:

I did not forget The Summoning. I own the game and with the help of
the hint book, I almost finished it at one point but didn't quite get
there, unfortunately. I keep meaning to go back to it and give it a
another go as I did like it a lot. It is permanently installed in my
DOSBOX game directory.

Even when it was released, it was a bit old-school in comparison to
more modern titles like "Underworld" or "Arena". And, at heart, it
really wasn't much more than a dungeon-crawler. But I enjoyed its
unique-ish magic system, and some of the interactions you could have
with the environment. It didn't feel NEW, but it had a surprising
amount of depth I wasn't expecting from a game of its sort.

I only learned years later it was actually a sequel to a game called "DarkSpyre". You can see a few of the ideas that later made it into
"The Summoning" appear there but, on the whole, I found the sequel the
much better game.


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