plutonick's Blog (0 followers)

So my Overwatch teammates (well, Dbo mainly, Zeph is still available) are currently AWOL so I am left with some free computer time to spent elsewhere.

ScummVM v2 had just been released and this prompted my to start my nostalgia trip. I had to dig through my backlog. Since my first gaming system was an Amstrad CPC6128 you can imagine how back my backlog goes.

I always loved Text Adventures games. They are called Interactive Fiction (IF) nowadays, but I stubbornly refuse to call them that. I liked them back then, in the early 90s, mainly because of their less is more approach. By just describing what you see, and using only limited graphics, my mind filled the blanks a lot better than any graphic at that age could.

So, I went to a few abandoware sites and started downloading games that I used to fantasize about when I was younger but never managed to own them.

Santa Cruz and Vera Cruz Affair were two of those obscure little adventure games, a hybrid of hidden-object game decades before hidden-object games were invented and sleuth adventures where you have to find who is the murder. Very atmospheric games.

Then I got some Infocom, Magnetic Scrolls and Adam Scott Adventure games. Ok, who am I kidding. I found a torrent archive and downloaded ALL OF THEM. Together with scanned feelies, ie promo items included in the box of the game that were either usually essential in order to finish or at least useful clues. The Pawn stands our for me, because this was the first true text adventure that I finished in the 90s (using a printed solution/walkthrough of course). Scapeeghost (I got the play of words decades after the release of the game, but whatever) was another one that I really liked, mainly because of it theme, a Gothic ghost/detective story.

Epilogue? There is no epilogue. I barely played any of them this time. I guess I am more of a collector. However, my nostalgia trip led me to my old Nintendo DS and Playstastion Portable handheld consoles. Unfortunately BOTH their batteries had bloated and needed replacement. I am still waiting for them. In the mean time I am downloading ROMs and getting ready for an epic turn based session. Fire Emblem, Ogre Tactics and Front Mission series are in the menu.