Thirith on 5/4/2011 at 11:44
That one sounds interesting, but I never played it when it first came out. Is it worth it minus the nostalgia effect?
N'Al on 5/4/2011 at 11:54
Never played it myself either, I'm afraid, so I couldn't tell you. I'm sure other people can, though.
Shadowcat on 5/4/2011 at 12:14
Oh my god. GOG has Realms of the Haunting?
This is one of my all-time favourite games. The controls can be a pain, and the FMV is cheesy as hell most of the time, but there's precious little like it out there (I really thought Undying was going to be its successor for a while, but while I'm convinced that Undying was heavily influenced by ROTH, and it does have numerous superficial similarities, it turned out to be disappointingly different in the end).
ROTH sits somewhere in the vicinity of Looking Glass' games, with first-person action, adventure, exploration, and story all woven together in a way that most developers were not willing to attempt.
It bankrupted Gremlin, sadly, but in some respects it may actually have been worth it.
The unofficial site has lots of info (and possibly lots of spoilers).
(
http://www.realmsofthehaunting.com/)
I assume GOG has the later US release of the game, in which case key-binding is possible for some (but not all) of the controls. If not, then cue the wailing and gnashing of teeth...
Eric18 on 5/4/2011 at 15:47
Been wanting to play this for years. Will definitely be picking it up!
Volitions Advocate on 5/4/2011 at 17:41
HOLY CRAP!
I think I might have been the one that started the "i want this game on gog" entry. I own the game on CD. but with dosbox and everything it is a real pain in the ass. This game is a classic. I'll be buying it as soon as I can.
It's about friggen time... they've got every other interplay game from the period.
june gloom on 5/4/2011 at 18:09
Holy shit, I've wanted to play this game for ages.
I'd like to see Azrael's Tear next.
Zerker on 5/4/2011 at 23:02
That game has been on my wishlist forever. Definately will be picking it up.
Angel Dust on 6/4/2011 at 00:08
Quote Posted by Thirith
That one sounds interesting, but I never played it when it first came out. Is it worth it minus the nostalgia effect?
It's been a while since I played it (I was one of 27 people who bought it when it was released :p) but I would think so. It has a fantastic atmosphere, a nice mix of combat/puzzles/wandering around and a strong story, that while occasionally cheesy, is not your usual kind of horror game fare. It's also quite a large game, taking place in many different areas/dimensions. Negatives would mainly be some combat difficulty spikes, the occasional dull area, hammy acting (although it is MUCH better than the usual FMV standards) and the graphics engine, which wasn't exactly cutting edge at the time although the strong art direction and attention to detail meant that wasn't a big issue.
Anyone else remember
Normality, Gremlin's other first-person adventure game? Hope that one pops up on GOG too but that one might be more of a nostalgia thing.
Volitions Advocate on 6/4/2011 at 03:02
Angel Dust hit it on the head.
the animations were very smooth as well, rivalling any of the current engines that used sprites for enemies and objects in game. The score was quite well done as well. Subdued by very effective.
I remember playing the demo from a CD in a magazine. I think it was PC Accelerator, and the only other demo on the disc of note was MDK. I played both of these demos over and over again. I ended up finding the CD version of the game in a bargain bin at an EB in Ontario while I was visiting and picked it up for 5 bucks. 4 discs.
It tends to flop you back and forth between realism and surrealism which might put some people off, but the variety of environments you go through is impressive. And you can go from feeling relatively safe, to terrified because you've just been plunked into an alien looking environment complete with terrors that kill you and cause you to worry about walking around the corner, Then you might end up in some surreal realm that has gardens and a bright blue sky and you'll STILL feel uneasy.
It's a good game. I never actually finished it, I got stuck somewhere on disc 4 and never got back to it.
something TTLGers should experience. It's up there with SS1. Maybe a little less FPS/RPG and a little more FPS/Adventure. more Gabriel Knight than System Shock.
(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzXIglPf5XY&feature=related)
Chimpy Chompy on 7/4/2011 at 10:48
Quote Posted by dethtoll
I'd like to see Azrael's Tear next.
Oh man. I loved that. Poking around crumbling old medieval chambers, talking to the ghost in the well and falling through to even deeper, darker places. Definitely hope GOG enables more people to give it a chance.
