Disclaimer: A humble thank you to SNEG for providing The Daily Gamepad with review copies for this post on behalf of this set of impressions.
Usually with a set of games like this, I will break down each in their own article. However with a game set like this, it is much easier to just give you a break down of each. Allowing you see for yourself if they are right for you. Each game had a element to share that to myself personally growing up around them felt memorable. Something special if you will. With that said, each is not perfect of course. Let us start off with CyClones first, to set the mood.
CyClones
Original release: 1994
CyClones takes place in the end of the twentieth century, when conflicts and pollution damaged many countries throughout the world, leading to a policy of isolation for many governments. During this time, mass panic grew common, and tales of increasing UFO sightings and abductions proliferated. A group of “E.T. Phobics” banded together to form the Advanced Ideas Corporation (A.I.). The firm, which was partially backed by the US military, began functioning in secret laboratories as the millennium came to an end. The organization was ultimately able to locate and analyze a fallen extraterrestrial ship, validating previous concerns of alien presence on the planet.
A FPS with a different style then what most were used to at the time. IT was done where you could aim your gun in all angles and turn in a sort of rail shooter style. With the ability to turn your camera a little bit, aside from Q+E being your directional turning keys. OR The Number pad being a full sh-bang for that full movement thing, just no strafing. It offers elements like RNG for drops for ammo or health pickups, down to rationing your ammo for long runs of levels. Always making you fee like a rat in a maze. With sometimes confusing objectives. Luckily I knew what to do before jumping into the game from a former play-through in the past from a family owned copy. It was ahead of its time, and shown some light jank for it. However it is still pretty damn fun! Its a rough start, and a faster run through once you understand how the game works. Which is 3/4s a FPS, and 1/4s a Adventure game with item usage. Which at the time was used seldomly. Unlike this charming game. At times you are supposed to aim your cross hair at walls and use a item by right clicking, which honestly does not present itself as the common answer. Or when you see there is a holo wall, you do not know to really go through a false wall, leaving you wondering around for a good thirty minutes. Offering a booming dance trance sort of music fest that is only like angels kissing your ear drums.
Aside from all of that it still offers itself as a uniquely charming game. If you remembered and loved games like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, or a handful of others, it is deserving to belong in those games ranks. Aside from the jank of course.
Nercodome
Original Release: 1996
Nercodome is a interesting game. with, very stiff controls that absolutely require two prompts of play. One with a steering wheel, another with a joystick or something. Otherwise, with that said the game itself has some clever depth. With repairing your car, on foot combat, as well as some open-ish feeling locations to shoot down some baddies.
The game is set in a futuristic world where vehicle fighting rules stadium sports. It’s kind of like the Running Man on wheels. You play as one of the participants, and the game consists of 30+ bouts of a strange sport in which you must drive a fully armored car around arenas shooting opponents, grabbing a flag from (usually) closed sections, and returning the flag to your starting location.
You can control your car in either first or third person, and you can also get out of your car and walk to access otherwise inaccessible areas, though this makes you obviously vulnerable to other competitors. Speaking of opponents, you’ll face off against foot soldiers, flying soldiers, and eight different types of vehicular enemies.
Multiplayer features include both competitive and cooperative gaming, with one player driving and the other acting as the gunner, as well as directplay support in addition to the conventional modem/ipx compatibility.
Take No Prisoners
Original release: 1997
One of my personal absolute favorites from this list here today. It was if the taken the concept from Duke Nukem, or the usual Build engine Map system, but refined it, mixed in the chaotic nature of Gauntlet. Then dosed in Mage Slayer.
Take No Prisoners is a top-down 3D shooter that takes place in a post-apocalyptic environment. The player controls Slade, a mercenary recruited by The Man to retrieve a special crystal from a mysterious dome, deep in the irradiated hell-hole of San Antonio, Texas. As the story progresses, the player collects data files from computers and dead enemies, System Shock-style, and places them in a Personal Data Device.
There are over twenty areas in the game, which can be explored on foot or using ATVs, hovercrafts, or sewer boats, in a largely non-linear fashion. The enemies vary from obsessed cultists wielding laser swords to mechanical warriors who use shoulder-mounted lasers.
In Closing:
With this haul of classic gems, you will not find boredom within the trenches of these PC titles. While with some flaws, each still have what you need in terms of a hearty shooty-shot fest. The bundle of games are all fantastic charming games. With some jank, not enough to hurt the experience.
