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


Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't
even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them
is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this
wager?


* Fantasy Empires (via GOG)
A classic DOS-era strategy game based on the D&D game. I'd
love to sing the praises for this game, but honestly it's a
rather forgettable 4X game with some uninspired real-time
combat. It's a game that very much feels its age; it isn't
terrible, but it's not something I'd strongly recommend
except to DOS-era, D&D or strategy fanatics.


* Silver Box Classics (via GOG)
This is a selection of DOS-era D&D games from SSI. Centered
on the "Dragonlance" universe, it includes "Shadow Sorcerer"
(RPG/Strategy), "Heroes of the Lance" (action/RPG), "Dragons
of Flame" (action/RPG), and "War of the Lance" (strategy/
wargame). They all originally shipped in silver-colored
boxes (hence the name of the collection). None of them
were great games, and the none of them have aged that well.
Again, if you're not a D&D or DOS-era die-hard, there's not
much reason to play these.


* Heroes of Loot 2 (via GOG)
A top-down fantasy action game, a sort of modern take on
Gauntlet. How good the game is depends a lot on how much
you like that genre of game; I find it a bit too repetitive
for my taste, but I can imagine some people like the frenetic
challenge of it all.


* Labyrinth City: Pierre the Maze Detective (via Amazon)
Apparently this game is based on some children's book. The
visuals are nice but I've no idea as to what the gameplay is
like. It seems like it might be a hidden object game coupled
with wandering through an endless maze, neither of which
sounds all that appealing to me. I suspect that I am not the
target audience, however.


* City Legends: The Ghost of Misty Hill CE (via Legacy)
Anyone who took the wager above, you just lost. Because
of course there is another hidden object game from Legacy
here! There's ALWAYS one of those in these collections.
I'm always surprised that Amazon finds another one, but
I guess they don't take much effort to make.


That's not a very inspiring start to the month; hopefully Amazon
ponies up with some more exciting games in the next couple of weeks.
Well, I guess we'll find out eventually. See you all in a couple of
weeks!


--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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


And here's the requisite follow-up where I offer up the keys to games
I already own.

Redeem via GOG (http://www.gog.com/redeem)
Keys are super-secret protected by ROT13 encryption
First come, first get. But check to make sure you don't have the game
on your account first.

* Fantasy Empires
https://www.gog.com/en/game/fantasy_empires
79MLPO274NO5R07342

* Silver Box Classics
https://www.gog.com/en/game/silver_box_classics
CIDEP628O309R3Q2ON


Have fun!


--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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

On Wed, 03 Sep 2025 16:58:41 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't
even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them
is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this
wager?

I saw your header and thought, "I'd better check NOW!"

So I checked.

(*sad trombone*)
--
Zag

Give me the liberty to know, to think, to believe,
and to utter freely according to conscience, above
all other liberties. ~John Milton
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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

On 9/3/2025 1:58 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't
even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them
is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this
wager?

I got the games. I know I'll probably never play the old D&D games, I couldn't get through Pool of Radience last time and that was my
favorite. I've got them now. Wow I've got 334 games on GOG! I frankly
can't imagine how, I don't feel like I got that many through both
purchasing and getting all the freebees.
--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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

On Wed, 3 Sep 2025 17:57:39 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Justisaur wrote:

On 9/3/2025 1:58 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't
even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them
is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this
wager?

I got the games. I know I'll probably never play the old D&D games, I >couldn't get through Pool of Radience last time and that was my
favorite. I've got them now. Wow I've got 334 games on GOG! I frankly
can't imagine how, I don't feel like I got that many through both
purchasing and getting all the freebees.

The Number works in mysterious ways.
--
Zag

Give me the liberty to know, to think, to believe,
and to utter freely according to conscience, above
all other liberties. ~John Milton
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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

Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote at 03:16 this Thursday (GMT):

On Wed, 3 Sep 2025 17:57:39 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Justisaur wrote:

On 9/3/2025 1:58 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't
even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them
is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this
wager?

I got the games. I know I'll probably never play the old D&D games, I >>couldn't get through Pool of Radience last time and that was my
favorite. I've got them now. Wow I've got 334 games on GOG! I frankly >>can't imagine how, I don't feel like I got that many through both >>purchasing and getting all the freebees.

The Number works in mysterious ways.

that is a very big number lol
I'm sure my number is also pretty big if I counted everything on console
and emulation tho, so...
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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

On Wed, 3 Sep 2025 17:57:39 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
wrote:

On 9/3/2025 1:58 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't
even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them
is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this
wager?

I got the games. I know I'll probably never play the old D&D games, I >couldn't get through Pool of Radience last time and that was my
favorite.

I always leaned a bit more towards "Curse of the Azure Bonds" as my
favorite 'goldbox game' but "Pool" has a special place in my heart
too.

But, yeah, it's really hard to play them these days, even _with_ mods
(like the "All Seeing Eye" mod) to improve the experience. They're
just so rough around the edges. But the SSI D&D CRPGs aged incredibly
quickly; even just a few years after their release, they felt really
old. Three decades on and you have to be a real fan to want to play
them today.

And that's the Gold Box games. The Silver Box titles weren't nearly as
good when they were new, and haven't aged any better over the years.

I've got them now. Wow I've got 334 games on GOG! I frankly
can't imagine how, I don't feel like I got that many through both
purchasing and getting all the freebees.

The Number sneaks up on you. ;-)

But Amazon has been shoving a lot of GOG games our way recently; if
you've been halfway-serious about collecting games from Prime Gaming,
you could easily get to at least half of that number just from those
freebies alone. Throw in free stuff from other sources, and the
occasional purchase, and 334 doesn't seem that incredible any more.




(And because I'm a sucker for a long list, here's a mostly-complete
list of GOG games you could have gotten for free from Amazon Prime
over the past three years:

9 Years of Shadows * Arcade Paradise * Arcadegeddon * Baldurs
Gate Enhanced Edition * Baldurs Gate II Enhanced Edition *
Beserk Boy * Bioshock 2 Remastered * Bioshock Infinite Complete
Ed. * Bioshock Remastered * Blade of Darkness * Blast Brigade
vs the Evil legion of Dr. Cread * Blood Omen 2: Legacy of
Kain * Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain * Blood West * Call of
Juarez * Cat Quest II * Chasm: The Rift * Civilization 3
Complete * Close to the Sun * Colt Canyon * Coma 2: Vicious
Sisters * Cursed to Golf * Dark Deity - Complete Edition *
Dark Envoy * Dark Sky * Death Squared * Deus Ex GOTY * Deus
Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut * Deus Ex: Invisible
War * Dishonored: Definitive Edition * Doom 3 * Dredge *
Duck Paradox * En Garde * Falconeer, The * Fallout *
Fallout 2 * Fallout 3 GOTY * Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood
of Steel * Fallout: New Vegas * Fantasy Empires * FATE *
FATE: The Traitor Soul * FATE: Undiscovered Realms *
Forager * GameDec - Definitive Edition * Ghost Song *
God's Trigger * Golf With Your Friends * Greedfall *
GRIP: Combat Racing * Hard West 2 * Hell Pie * Heroes
of Loot * Heroes of Loot 2 * Hive Jump 2: Survivors *
Hypnospace Outlaw * Industria * Jupiter Hell * Jurassic
World Evolution * Kerbal Space Program * Last Spell *
Legacy of Kain: Defiance * Lego Star Wars: The Complete
Saga * LEGO The Hobbit * LEGO The Lord of the Rings *
Lullaby of Life * Mafia II: Definitive Edition *
Mafia III: Definitive Edition * Mail Time * Midnight
Fight Express * Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp *
Moonlighter * Moonscars * Mordheim: City of the Damned *
Mutazione * Necroking * Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced
Edition * Outer Worlds * Overcooked 2 * Overcooked!
Gourmet Edition * Ozymandias * Predator: Hunting
Grounds * Quake 4 * Quake II * Riot - Civil Unrest *
Saints Row 2 * Saints Row IV: Re-Elected * Saints Row
The Third: Remastered * Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell *
Shogun Showdown * Showgunners * Silver Box Classics *
Sir Whoopass: Immortal Death * Smurfs 2: Prisoner of
the Green Stone * South of the Circle * Space Hulk:
Death Wing Enhanced * Spells & Secrets * Spelunky *
Star Wars Battlefront II (2005) * Star Wars Dark
Forces II Jedi Knight * Star Wars Rebellion * Star
Wars: Bounty Hunter * Star Wars: Galactic
Battlegrounds Saga * Steamworld Quest: Hand of
Gilgamech * Stray Gods: Orpheus Edition * Stray
Gods: The Roleplaying Musical * Styx: master of
Shadows * Syberia: The World Before * Talos
Principle: Gold Ed. * Textorcist * Thief 3 Deadly
Shadows * Thief 4 Definitive Edition * Thief Gold *
Thief II: The Metal Age * Thronebreaker: The Witcher
Tales * Tin Hearts * TOEM * Tomb Raider Anniversary *
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered * Tomb Raider: Legend *
Tomb Raider: Underworld * Town of Light * Wild
Country * Yes, Your Grace * Zombie Army 4: Dead War

The list is almost certainly missing a few GOG games, since I didn't
always label the source when announcing them, but it should give you a
good idea as to the scope of the give-aways ;-)


--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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

On Thu, 4 Sep 2025 14:00:12 -0000 (UTC), in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, candycanearter07 wrote:

Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote at 03:16 this Thursday (GMT):

On Wed, 3 Sep 2025 17:57:39 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Justisaur wrote:

On 9/3/2025 1:58 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't
even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them
is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this >>>> wager?

I got the games. I know I'll probably never play the old D&D games, I >>>couldn't get through Pool of Radience last time and that was my >>>favorite. I've got them now. Wow I've got 334 games on GOG! I frankly >>>can't imagine how, I don't feel like I got that many through both >>>purchasing and getting all the freebees.

The Number works in mysterious ways.

that is a very big number lol
I'm sure my number is also pretty big if I counted everything on console
and emulation tho, so...

Your Schwartz is bigger than mine?

(Spaceballs reference)
--
Zag

Give me the liberty to know, to think, to believe,
and to utter freely according to conscience, above
all other liberties. ~John Milton
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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

Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote at 19:45 this Thursday (GMT):

On Thu, 4 Sep 2025 14:00:12 -0000 (UTC), in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, candycanearter07 wrote:

Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote at 03:16 this Thursday (GMT):

On Wed, 3 Sep 2025 17:57:39 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Justisaur wrote:

On 9/3/2025 1:58 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't >>>>> even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them >>>>> is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this >>>>> wager?

I got the games. I know I'll probably never play the old D&D games, I >>>>couldn't get through Pool of Radience last time and that was my >>>>favorite. I've got them now. Wow I've got 334 games on GOG! I frankly >>>>can't imagine how, I don't feel like I got that many through both >>>>purchasing and getting all the freebees.

The Number works in mysterious ways.

that is a very big number lol
I'm sure my number is also pretty big if I counted everything on console >>and emulation tho, so...

Your Schwartz is bigger than mine?

(Spaceballs reference)

Your Number is probably waay bigger lol
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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

On 9/4/2025 7:59 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Wed, 3 Sep 2025 17:57:39 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
wrote:

On 9/3/2025 1:58 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't
even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them
is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this
wager?

I got the games. I know I'll probably never play the old D&D games, I
couldn't get through Pool of Radience last time and that was my
favorite.

I always leaned a bit more towards "Curse of the Azure Bonds" as my
favorite 'goldbox game' but "Pool" has a special place in my heart
too.

Curse was o.k. but I never finished it. I only even ever finished Pool
once. I actually liked Hillsfar too, which was panned as I remember,
but it was different, and I did finish it.

The only other D&D SSI game I remember I liked was Dark Suns: Shattered
Lands. If we expand to other tun based D&D CRPGS then I liked ToEE and
BG3 better too, though again I never finished either.

It still beats the realtime D&D games; BG1, Planescape, the couple D&D
MMOs. NWN1 & 2, I finished, so I guess that means they beat it too.
--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Thu, 11 Sep 2025 08:27:01 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
wrote:

On 9/4/2025 7:59 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Wed, 3 Sep 2025 17:57:39 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
wrote:

On 9/3/2025 1:58 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Hey, time for free (if you squint) games from Amazon Prime! I haven't
even looked to see what the games are, but I bet at least one of them
is going to be a hidden object game. Anyone want to take me up on this >>>> wager?

I got the games. I know I'll probably never play the old D&D games, I
couldn't get through Pool of Radience last time and that was my
favorite.

I always leaned a bit more towards "Curse of the Azure Bonds" as my
favorite 'goldbox game' but "Pool" has a special place in my heart
too.

Curse was o.k. but I never finished it. I only even ever finished Pool >once. I actually liked Hillsfar too, which was panned as I remember,
but it was different, and I did finish it.

<reminiscence mode triggered>

Hillsfar was very arcadey. It wasn't really all that bad a game, but considering that it was released as a companion to the Gold Box games,
people's expectations were for something entirely different than what
they got. Its roleplaying elements were extremely shallow, and the
arcade wasn't that great either. It was okay, but the disappointment
of those who played "Pool" or "Curse" first was completely
understandable.

I think the people who liked "Hillsfar" the most were those who came
upon it fresh, not having played other Gold Box games. I had a friend
who swore by it... at least until he played "Pool". He still loved
"Hillsfar" after that, but he acknowledged that "Pool of Radiance" was
the better game.

I came at the game from the other direction, and I have to admit my
original impression was... not favorable. I've mellowed on it since
then, but I'd much rather play any of the core Gold Box games than
"Hillsfar".

The only other D&D SSI game I remember I liked was Dark Suns: Shattered >Lands.

The SSI era of D&D games was... mixed. They had some hits, they had
some flops, and they had a lot of games in the middle. They never
really topped their earliest attempts, though; "Pool", "Curse" and
"Eye of the Beholder" were the games they were best remembered for.

I've a personal softspot for "Stronghold" ("The D&D Kingdom Simulator"
from 1991) and the two "Ravenloft" games weren't bad either. The
aforementioned "Dark Sun" games --especially the first one-- were
quite enjoyable, and "Al Qadim" was neat too, if a bit arcadey.
"Dragonstrike" was a... /unique/ take on a flight simulator, and a few
of the middle-era Gold Box games ("Secrets of the Silver Blades",
"Gateway to the Savage Frontier") weren't too bad. None of them were
great but neither did I regret buying any of them.

On the other hand, SSI also released games like "Eye of the Beholder
III", "Menzoberranzan", "Spelljammer", and "Dragons of Flame", which
were either poorly conceived from the start, or good efforts that were
badly implemented.

If we expand to other tun based D&D CRPGS then I liked ToEE and
BG3 better too, though again I never finished either.

It still beats the realtime D&D games; BG1, Planescape, the couple D&D
MMOs. NWN1 & 2, I finished, so I guess that means they beat it too.

The original "Baldurs Gate" and "Planescape" remains some of the top
D&D CRPGs in my opinion. BG1 because I felt it captured the /feel/ of
playing the tabletop game better than anything else, and "Planescape"
for its engaging setting and story. I was never that fond of the
/mechanics/ of the Infinity Engine games --in this, I'll happily grant superiority to the turn-based combat of the gold-box games-- but
overall I found them quite enjoyable.



</reminiscence disengaged... for now>


--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

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

On Thu, 04 Sep 2025 10:59:19 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

I always leaned a bit more towards "Curse of the Azure Bonds"

Ah, the good ol' days. I can remember backstabbing a dracolich with my
thief for crazy damage.

Yeah, it let you do that.
--
Zag

Give me the liberty to know, to think, to believe,
and to utter freely according to conscience, above
all other liberties. ~John Milton
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2