I’ve just found some excellent physX games, some of which I’ll be posting today. The rest I'll be posting a week Monday when it's next my turn to post. These will include games such as House globe, Equili Tower, Gerball, Rolling fury, Aftershock plus more.
There's an excellent project that has enabled some of the early Ultima series to be played on modern systems without having to resort to DOSBox. (which does pose problems with many DOS based games such as tinny audio/ no audio and sudden speed ups in the games you play. Exult creates an environment that stops these minor annoyances, makes it super easy to play your games once installed. Plus the Exult team have improved the graphics and audio of the two Ultima games (Ultima VII– The Black Gate and Ultima VII - Part 2 - Serpent Isle) that are at this time included in the project. The information for both these games were taken from the Abandonia games site.
If you want to see larger resolution images you can do so by clicking HERE to show all the pictures on one page, then you can click on the picture to see it enlarged; or as a slideshow HERE
I hope you like the following games. I think they all have their merits. The Ultima series was brilliant when it was first released and is still a great game to play, and now with the improvement, playing it in full screen, even on quite large monitors, it looks good. I only have a 23" monitor, and the game looks fairly sharp, wheras playing other old DOS games, the pixillation is usually very evident.
The two PhysX competition winners are fairly short games, but what you get for free is really good. Watch out for more in just over 10 days time (unless we don't have any game giveaways this weekend or next weekend. :)
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Flyhard (15.5Mb)
This was a entry into a PhysX competition a few years ago (2007). It won first prize. I’ll be posting more of the games from that competition when it’s my turn to post again (Monday 23rd November).
Use the cursor keys to fly the helicube around, and use the space bar to pick-up various items scattered around the level. The objective is simply to get to the exit. This task is made harder by the fact that you'll need to activate trap doors, switches and escape routes through the careful dropping and pulling of blocks and planks of wood. Certain doors only open when their pressure pads have enough weight on them, green gravity pads alter the direction of objects and all the time you must keep flying the helicube, with or without its extra weight cargo dangling from below!
The Judges Verdict on this game was: This is a quality game, no doubt about it, which is why we awarded it 1st Place. Flying the helicube takes a little getting used to, at first it appears to be quite unresponsive but you soon learn the tricks required to keep it in the air while ferrying your precious cargo around. The level design is great and the puzzles ingenious. A good variety of challenges present themselves on each level, and while some areas require careful planning, you never feel that the game is being unjust towards you. Graphically it's great, with a real sense of depth to the environment, and you are never left wondering where to go next. The only complaint we have in this area is that it's hard to tell which objects are part of the scenery (i.e. static) and which are dynamic physics objects.
You can download Flyhard HERE
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Here’s another taster from the PhysX competition:
Crash Tester (17.2Mb)
This one reminds me a lot of the mini games you can find in the Flatout series, a racing game that involves you throwing your passenger out the front screen of the vehicle and throwing him towards different puzzles, for example you can see the dart board example HERE. The judges that said this was an unusual and original game obviously had never played any of the Flatout games, which are amongst my favorite racing games (You can get the first Flatout from good Old Games for $5.99) and the second one from Direct 2 Drive for $19.99 (well worth the price). The final one in the series Flatout Ultimate Carnage is basically Flat out 2 with improved graphics (not that Flatout 2 is rubbish, far from it, Carnage is just better), plus they have added an extra 4 cars to the races, so instead of racing against 8 cars you race against 12. I don't think the extra cost of the final game is worth it; whereas Flatout 2 basically costs the same as what an arcade game was costing just over a year ago. :) .
Here's a video of Flatout 2 HERE
I’d guess the developer got his inspiration from that game.
You play a crash test dummy who must jetboard down a ramp, avoiding the cones and other obstacles to get to the end, where-upon you set your power and trajectory and launch yourself at a giant dartboard. The more pieces of the dartboard you knock out, the better your score! You've got to love this game for its originality at least :)
Judges Verdict: This game has the usual degree of flair and polish that we've come to expect from Kenneth Bugeja, a long-time supporter of our competitions. The game concept is original and most of all, fun. You soon get to learn which angles provide the best aim on the dartboard, and as your crash test dummy soars through the air you can still influence its direction to a degree, by moving and nudging. It's not just about knocking out as many pieces as you can either. Each level has a different objective such as knock-out the bulls eye, or hit any red piece. Up to 4 players can take part and there are multiple camera angles, display and control options available. This is polished title and a worthy 2nd place winner.
You can download Crash Tester HERE
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I’ve already posted a newer version of Ultima (VIII) see the games synopsis; but these earlier games are just as playable. You’ll find download links and information about both games that work with Exult.
Exult: (1.98Mb)
Exult is a project to recreate Ultima 7 for modern operating systems, using the game's original plot, data, and graphics files. It replaces DOSBox, and allows games to be played much easier, with enhanced audio and visuals.
During installation it asks for the paths where two of the Ultima VII games are installed. Once you’ve done that you are able to play the games with improved graphics and none of the vagaries that DOSox adds to the game play experience. None of the games nor Exult automatically place a shortcut on the desktop, so you’ll have to do it manually, but there’s only need for a shortcut to exult because it will be linked to both of the games mentioned below. Make sure you know the paths to both of the Ultima games otherwise they wont be incorporated within the configuration file within Exult properly and thus wont show up in the menu when you first start up exult
Commands (including cheats):
• Alt +/- ...............Change resolution
• Ctrl c .................Create Object
• Ctrl d..................Delete Object
• Alt g ..................God mode
• g ........................Change Avatar
• Alt i ...................Change infravision
• Ctrl m ................Get 00 Gold coins
• Ctrl t .................Next time period
• Alt t ..................Teleport
• a .......................toggle egg display
You can download Exult HERE
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Ultima VII – The Black Gate (8.73Mb)
The black stone starts to shine. You know what it means: Britannia needs you! As you run to the back of your house, you see that there is already a red moon gate open. "What could it mean?" you think to yourself as you heroically step through the red mist into another world...
And so starts another adventure in the land of Ultima. A long time has passed since your quest with the gargoyles concluded and things have changed quite a bit; the user interface being one of them. This time you have a glorious full-screen view of Britannia and its inhabitants as they carry out their daily duties.
The graphics in this game are superb, although sometimes it might be a bit hard to see certain objects as they can be very small (keys for example). The world is now even more alive as people carry on with their lives cooking, working and sleeping. Each person has their own personality and you will see that most of them are important in your quests in one way or another. The world is also a little more intelligent in this game. You will not be able to just steal anything as your party members could get annoyed with you. Also attacking people in town could attract the town guard and then you’re in trouble.
It wouldn’t be an RPG without spells of some kind, and there are plenty. As in Ultima VI, you need reagents and a spell book to perform spells.
The sound in this game is also very good. I’m always amazed when such simple music can sound so wonderful and deep and keep me mesmerized for hours on end.
The game itself is very large and will take a long time to finish. You will have a choice of many side-quests along the way to solving the main quest and each of them can keep you occupied for ages.
The one thing missing from the game, in my opinion, is the character creation; which was brilliant in Ultima VI. You get to choose a name, a gender and a portrait. This to me is not enough as I think character creation is probably the best part about RPG’s.
Included in the download is the manual, copy protection answers and a map. Please read the manual to learn how to play the game and which keys are for what action.
The addon "Forge of Virtue" is included in the archive.
If you don’t use Exult the Optimal Settings for DOSBox are:
- cycles: 15000 so the game is not too slow or too fast.
- no EMS: type 'ems=false' inside Dosbox to disable EMS
Alternatively, run DOSBOX.BAT inside the game's folder which will set Dosbox to the settings above.
There's an alternative to DOSBox and that's Exult which will let you run Ultima VII (part 1 & 2) in Windows, Mac OS, Linux, etc. You will no longer have the odd slow downs and speed-ups mentioned above with the added bonus that combat is slightly improved and you can run the game at higher resolutions!
You can download Ultima VII – The black Gate HERE
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Ultima VII - Part 2 - Serpent Isle
The serpent pillars rise, and as your ship sails between them, you are no longer in the ocean but on dry land - the land of Serpent Isle.
Another adventure in the world of Ultima awaits, except this time, instead of Britannia, you are in a less familiar land called the Serpent Isle. Following the events of Black Gate, the Avatar must travel through the serpent pillars to follow Batlin to an elusive land that holds strange customs, powerful allies and deadly enemies.
A continuation of arguably the best Ultima in the series Ultima 7 – Serpent Isle only improves on what was already fantastic in Black Gate. The graphics are very similar to Black Gate with various improvements. The most noticeable being that the paper doll (inventory) now actually ‘dresses’ the Avatar and his party in what you give them. Also, the character portraits are improved, they are bigger and more detailed than in Black Gate.
There are also numerous other game play changes made in Serpent Isle. There are many more ‘types’ of Avatar to play. Whereas in Black Gate you could only choose between one male or female Avatar, in Serpent Isle you can choose various Avatars. This is purely a cosmetic change but adds just that little bit more to the overall Ultima experience of the Avatar actually being you. The character interaction is greatly improved as well, there are more diverse conversations between the Avatar and the inhabitants of Serpent Isle. In addition to this, there is a much wider range of character models and scenery so you can really tell which town you are in just by looking at the people and buildings.
One other big change is that the world isn’t as free and open at first as it was in Black Gate. You may now be thinking ‘But I liked being able to go wherever I wanted to in Black Gate!’, but don’t worry as the world becomes completely open after you have done the first part of the game. If anything, one slight problem with Serpent Isle is that when you get full access to the world, it becomes too open ended and you can get lost quite easily at times. Things that I should point out while talking about travelling the world of Serpent Isle is that quite a few travelling methods have been removed. There are no horse and carts, no boats (I know I liked them too =) ), no magic carpet, no moongates and no recall stones. However, before you start ranting about not having a way to travel quickly, they have been replaced by the unique Serpent Gates which are a bit like the moongates in Black Gate, only this time you can choose your destination. However, this can be done only after you have opened that particular gate (don’t worry it will make more sense when you play =P ). You may think that taking away the various means of travel will spoil the game, however it doesn’t. The lack of travel is explained when you play and having boats and magic carpets just wouldn’t fit in with the story properly.
The actual game play of Serpent Isle is rich and fulfilling, faced with the deep character interaction, a great storyline full of twists with a fantastic climax and tons of side quests to keep you busy for as long as you could possibly want. All this accompanied by the beautiful but deadly world makes Serpent Isle pull you into the game and really does put you in the role of the Avatar.
Overall Serpent Isle is well worth playing even if you aren’t great fan of Ultima games but is a MUST for any Ultima fan. It stays true to the classic Ultima feel but gives you the chance to explore a world different from Britannia. I thoroughly enjoyed my journey through the serpent pillars and Serpent Isle (along with Black Gate) and it stands as my most favourite roleplaying game ever.
The addon "Silver Seed" is included in the archive.
If you don’t use Exult the Optimal Settings for DOSBox are:
- cycles: 15000 so the game is not too slow or too fast.
- no EMS: type 'ems=false' inside Dosbox to disable EMS
Alternatively, run DOSBOX.BAT inside the game's folder which will set Dosbox to the settings above.
You can download Ultima VII - Part 2 - Serpent Isle
HERE
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