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GOG, standing for Good Old Games, was founded in 2008 by CD Projekt to make classic PC games available in legal and DRM-free ways. Over the years, it has expanded to include modern games and, controversially, released Hitman with a need for online connection. (They later apologized and removed Hitman from their catalogue.) Today, GOG announced the first steps in their plan to refocus on classic games, by introducing a "Good Old Game" tag to their catalog. Searching this tag will bring users to a collection of over 500 games hand-picked by the GOG team that "are older than 10 years and are critically acclaimed, stand the test of time, defined certain mechanics, or simply created new genres." Included in this collection are games such as BioShock, Fallout, and Baldur's Gate.

To celebrate the occasion, GOG also released Night Dive Studios' The Wheel of Time, a first-person spellcasting game from 1999 based on the hit series of books. Like all classic games on GOG, it has been updated to run on modern OSes and to have hi-res support, but is otherwise presented as it was in 1999.

Source

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I loved this game when I was younger, but boy has it aged terribly

Still, nice to see it back for modern machines, might have to get it a try instead of playing it on my Windows 98 machine lol

 

[FAST6191]

Never even knew there was a game for this. Always find old games based on fantasy books (granted 1999 is not normally old for these purposes -- 16 bit might even be too new for some of that) an interesting experience, even if they are not good.

So 1999... for mid tier devs doing fantasy RPG I would have been playing Drakan Order of the Flame, and learning to make cheats on PC games with a thing that needed a dongle in the parallel port. Screenshot comparing it would not have stacked up for PC but consoles might be a different matter. That said I would have probably more been looking at might and magic 8, legacy of kain, Resident Evil 3, final fantasy 8, a baldur's gate expansion (Planescape Torment later in the year), Syphon Filter, Tomb Raider 3 (the last good one for many), I missed out on System Shock 2, muddling through Tomorrow Never Dies on the PS1 (one of the many efforts to recapture the James Bond feel, some think this is an unsung classic though which surprises me -- for the record in Australia at least Goldeneye still made the top sales charts all consoles), plus a whole bunch of strategy games (Age of empires 2, sim city 3000, freespace 2, homeworld, dungeon keeper 2, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Heroes of Might and Magic III). That is not even the complete list of games that people will know today from that year...
I had not read the books at the time (granted I would have been more about sci fi instead) and they were not amazingly popular in the UK -- everybody would have been doing Terry Pratchett (recents then would have been The Last Continent, Carpe Jugulum and The Fifth Elephant), David Eddings and the like, as well as continuing on with stuff from the 80s and 70s. It was not until the internet that I really met anybody that did them in the UK, and never find copies from then in charity shops and second hand book shops despite finding everything else.

 

[MartyDreamy]

I would love if GOG could release the Discworld series, man Discword 2 was amazing and my parents still tell me today how much they loved/hated that game for the puzzles. Unfortunately, the license for the Discworld games has been lost thanks to the bankruptcy of the company that made them so...yeah :/

 

[relauby]

I would love if GOG could release the Discworld series, man Discword 2 was amazing and my parents still tell me today how much they loved/hated that game for the puzzles. Unfortunately, the license for the Discworld games has been lost thanks to the bankruptcy of the company that made them so...yeah :/

GOG has a history of sorting out complex copyright issues. I think that was the case with Wheel of Time, and I know it was for the Blade Runner game they released back in 2020. So, you never know!

 

[Kioku]

That's neat. Another game I never knew existed. May have to check it out.

 

[such]

GOG had gone the KFC route some years now and does not, in fact, stand for "Good Old Games" - or anything else other than "GOG".

And the fact that no one even realizes it is why they haven't been doing all that well recently, most likely.

 

[Vague Rant]

For anyone wondering, the Wheel of Time game was an FPS running on the original Unreal Engine. Different magical artifacts represented your different "guns". It had a single-player campaign that nobody remembers and online multiplayer like you'd expect from any FPS. At least one online level was ported straight from Unreal Tournament to Wheel of Time. The game didn't feel particularly authentic to the novels, more like a fantasy reskin of Unreal Tournament, but that was fine as long as you went in knowing that.

It's a perfectly fine game, but probably not worth playing in 2022 unless you really miss the idea of a fantasy FPS or just late-'90s FPS gameplay in general.

 

[raxadian]

Already added to my wishlist, unfortunately I have a lot of bills and taxes to pay.

 

[Taleweaver]

Hmm... I remember this game, albeit in pity. See, 1999 was the year both quake 3 end unreal tournament released. All other 3d shooters could've been released for free and still wouldn't be noticed.

 

[Kwyjor]

I would love if GOG could release the Discworld series, man Discword 2 was amazing and my parents still tell me today how much they loved/hated that game for the puzzles. Unfortunately, the license for the Discworld games has been lost thanks to the bankruptcy of the company that made them so...yeah :/

I remember there were whispers once on the ScummVM forums that they were trying to get the games officially released as freeware, but nothing ever came of it.

GOG has a history of sorting out complex copyright issues. I think that was the case with Wheel of Time, and I know it was for the Blade Runner game they released back in 2020. So, you never know!

That's more the work of Night Dive Studios than GOG.com .

 

[seany1990]

Zoo Tycoon 2 please for us non-Americans

 

[gudenau]

Would be interesting if they managed to get some of the clasic Lego games like Rock Raiders Alpha Team and Racers.

 

[DoctorBagPhD]

I still can't support them in good faith after that Devotion bullshit. Looks like a good release, I hope the folks that grab it enjoy!

 

[Noctosphere]

Is this game related to amazon prime's series?

 

[Vague Rant]

Is this game related to amazon prime's series?

It was a series of novels first (1990-2013), then a video game (1999), and now an Amazon Prime series (2021-).

The Amazon Prime series is an adaptation of the stories in the novels. The video game is not considered to be canon to the novel universe, but in theory occurs about 150 years before the events of the novels, so it doesn't feature the same characters or plot from the novels and TV series.

 

[Bobsy]

GOG had gone the KFC route some years now and does not, in fact, stand for "Good Old Games" - or anything else other than "GOG".

And the fact that no one even realizes it is why they haven't been doing all that well recently, most likely.

They got me into digital purchase of games and also catching up on some nice forgotten oldies. Pretty neat. If they are ignored as a game shop, it is undeserved.

 

[HarveyHouston]

GOG should always exist. We need a refreshing break from all these DRM-laced services that are in abundance in this day of age. Pricey subscriptions, having to use specific clients or consoles, mediocre quality services, and such are common complaints with PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Steam, and other gaming services where you MUST obey their rules, and while they offer some nice features, having to play within their clients can be limiting.

A DRM-free game is like what you would have expected in the 2000s decade with CD-ROMs. You buy them, and they're not tied to any one client. Simply install and play. The difference between having a disc and GOG's games is that there's no hassle of needing to read from a physical medium - so no "Please insert next disc" because it's all installed.

True, GOG executables have a tendency to be pirated. I still have the GOG Myst installer that I got from torrent years ago (I bought it legit since then), but that's the risk you take. I still say that DRM-free content should exist!

 

[Alexander1970]

Finally...I can play it with out Configurations and Configurations...
Also a German Language Patch is available for the GOG Version...somewhere.

Thank you,GOG.
Thanks for reminding yourself what the name GOG actually stands for.....

 

[slider86]

Hmm... I remember this game, albeit in pity. See, 1999 was the year both quake 3 end unreal tournament released. All other 3d shooters could've been released for free and still wouldn't be noticed.

Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament never interested much because of a lack of traditional single player.