GOGcom made a slew of amazing announcements today, but among them is the shocker that they were removing 35 of their classic titles off the library. If you’ve had your eye on a few of these titles, you need to get them before they are gone forever!
If you don’t know what you could be missing out on, however, we’ll list down the top 10 franchises for your perusal. Yes, that means some items in this list refer to multiple games. You can decide for yourself which ones you want to get.
Painkiller Black Edition
Released in the same year as Postal 2 and Doom 3, Painkiller might have been lost in the shuffle, but it deserves your attention now.
The story of a man stuck in hell, forced to take down Satan and his generals to make his way to heaven, is a little on the light side, but that’s deliberate. Painkiller is all about taking down hordes of hell’s soldiers, no fetch quests or key hunting. Just kill everything in your sight and move forward.
Painkiller Black Edition brings together the original game, as well as its first expansion, Battle Out of Hell. Buy Here Now
Freedom Force vs the Third Reich
While Gogcom only offers the sequel, you do not need to have played the original to understand or enjoy this. Freedom Force and their villains go back in time, all the way to World War 2, in a bid to stop Blitzkrieg from using time travel to take over the world. Along the way, they discover the grey area they must traverse to keep America, and the world, safe.
Freedom Force vs the Third Reich’s gameplay is the same familiar RTS / RPG mix, requiring planning, coordination, and methodical playing. It’s an addictive mix of mechanics, welded with a compelling story to make an irresistible combination. Buy Here Now
Desperados
GOGcom is offering Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive and Desperados: Cooper’s Revenge. If you are curious about this game at all, you may as well get them together.
Both games see you commanding a gang of gunslingers in a Wild West setting, led by John Cooper. Whether taking down the notorious bandit El Diablo, or seeking out revenge for the murder of John’s brother, both Desperado games feature stories with surprise twists and turns, and Commandos-style stealth real time tactics gameplay. If you’ve read bad reviews of Cooper’s Revenge, don’t fret; the GOGcom version fixes the bugs.
Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive Buy Here Now
Desperados: Cooper’s Revenge Buy Here Now
SpellForce
Admittedly, the SpellForce games are a bit of a mixed bag, so why would you want to get these games?
In spite of its issues, SpellForce represents a conscious effort to effectively and seamlessly bring together the world of RTS and RPG games. Playing as the Runewarrior in the original or the Shaikan in the sequel, you will be immersed in the deep lore of a fantasy world tainted by war and the struggles for power.
If you had to choose between the games, SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars improves on everything the original SpellForce built on, and Dragon Storm is the more worthy sequel to SF2, over Demons of the Past. Ultimately, however, if you want to follow the story all the way through, you should play them all in order. You also should note that SpellForce: The Order of Dawn, the original game, is bundled with its expansions, Breath of Winter and Shadow of the Phoenix for a high value package in SpellForce Platinum.
With all four games deeply discounted, this should not be a hard choice to make.
SpellForce Platinum Buy Here Now
SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars Buy Here Now
SpellForce 2: Dragon Storm Buy Here Now
SpellForce 2: Demons of the Past Buy Here Now
Silver
Silver has a cult following, but is definitely not for everyone. If you know nothing about this game, however, you owe it to yourself to at least read on and find out if it’s worth your consideration.
Silver is the villain and despot of the game world of Verrah, and you play David, a young warrior out to save your damseled wife from Silver. What distinguishes this game from the pack is its JRPG inspired aesthetic, and real time combat. The game also uses distinct control schemes, using both pie menus and mouse gestures.
If theres any reason to pick Silver now, it would be that the original 1999 disc is incompatible with modern computers. This GOGcom version is playable on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 without additional patches.
The Black Mirror
Again another divisive franchise, The Black Mirror games are a suspenseful trek into madness and survival horror. While the games have been criticized for the rigid, sometimes inconsistent, story elements, other fans embrace these same elements as part of their appeal.
Few will argue that both games are effective at building atmosphere, thanks to high quality background graphics, audio, and animation. There is merit in criticisms of the English dub, but these are in no way deal breakers. If you’re curious how European devs handle the touch and click interactive horror genre, these are the games you are looking for.
The Black Mirror Buy Here Now
Black Mirror 2 Buy Here Now
AquaNox
Now here is a truly unique treat. The AquaNox games are 6DOF action games placing you in a mercenary sub, facing off against sea monsters, marine armies, and other mercenaries. In essence, these are flight simulators trading the skies for the seas, demanding mastery of real 6DOF controls. The Aquanox games also hold up well visually and story wise. These games may not be perfect, but they are unique, and you do not want to miss out on the chance to get them cheap and DRM-free.
AquaNox Buy Here Now
AquaNox 2: Revelation Buy Here Now
Alien Nations
The Alien Nation games cannot match up to the likes of Civilization or Empire Earth in terms of complexity or depth, but that’s precisely the point. These games swing to the opposite end of difficulty in the usually harsh RTS genre. Easy to pick up and play, you do not hold direct control over your creatures, but give orders like a god. Each of your creatures have unique personalities, and you will have to respect that, and work to cultivate their best traits to get them to do what you want. These games are engineered not to challenge, but to delight, and are a great gift for your kids or younger relatives and friends.
Alien Nation Buy Here Now
The Nations / Alien Nation 2 Buy Here Now
Panzer Elite Special Edition
Have you never played a tank sim before? You can’t go wrong starting with Panzer Elite. This game is widely regarded as the gold standard in its genre. Its system takes into account every imaginable variable possible, including gravity, wind, muzzle velocity, shell rotation, etc. The original game by Wings Simulation suffered from numerous bugs, but thanks to the core Panzer Elite community, the Special Edition is a much improved experience.
The extreme realism comes with the drawback of a steep learning curve, and even in its time, the game’s graphics engine was already dated, but even with these issues Panzer Elite Special Edition is a must buy for the tank sim fan, especially now that the game is in its going away sale.
Neighbours From Hell Compilation
We end this feature with a slapstick cartoon come to life. The original Neighbours From Hell features you setting traps and playing tricks on the hated Neighbour in his home, and its sequel, Neighbours from Hell 2: On Vacation, has you following the Neighbour throughout the world, and using his mom and dream girl against him. These games are simply straightforward devilish fun, and they’re worth getting now before they’re gone forever.
