Posted on Dec 13th 2019 at 01:00:00 PM by (Pam) Posted under video, review, fmv, PC
The 7th Guest was developed by Trilobyte and released for PC on April 1st 1993. It's an adventure game that focuses almost entirely on puzzles and uses live action video clips to tell the story as you progress. The game has an interesting development history and is notable for its place in pushing PC video game technology forward. This video takes a look at that history, the legacy of the game and how it holds up today.
The Journeyman Project was developed by Presto Studios and released for Mac in 1993. The following year an enhanced version was released called The Journeyman Project: Turbo which was compatible with Mac and Windows. This Turbo release is the one being highlighted today. The original release was developed and published by Presto Studios, with the Turbo release being published by Sanctuary Woods. This version would also see a Japanese release published by Bandai. A few years later in 1997 a full blown remake of the game was released called The Journeyman Project: Pegasus Prime.
FMV Games...Video Games that use Full Motion Video for they're graphics. They died out in the late 90's, and haven't been seen since, as far as I know. For many, they're stupid and have no real value. For others, such as myself, they're fun and unique. Today, I'm here to present to you a look back at the most famous (and infamous) ones. Let's start.
That game there is Night Trap, a game with some controversial history behind it. There's a LOT behind it's story, but the short version is that a politician called it bad in the sense that it was too violent, and everyone believed him. Over time, the hype died down, and to some, it's now a cult classic. Originally released for the Sega CD, the goal is to trap Vampires called "Augers" using various trap doors in a house to protect several young women in the house having a sleepover. Simple, but it can raise your tension sometimes, because most of the time, one wrong move means Game Over. It was also released for the 3DO and the 32X-CD.
What's Special About It: The Main Character is portrayed by Dano Plato of Diff'rent Strokes fame. Also, as mentioned before, it caused a lot of controversy, but most of it only happened because someone was full of hot air.
What we have here is Wing Commander III, a game I like to call a Sleeper Hit. It's a Small-Spaceship Simulator, and your goal is to fend off the Kilrathi (Humanoid Lions). Besides the Spaceship Combat, it also plays like a typical FMV Adventure Game. You can talk to the Characters to initiate live action conversations with them, which look awesome. Wing Commander III is, without a doubt, my favorite FMV Game. Originally released for DOS, it has been ported to the 3DO and PS1.
What's Special About It: Mark Hamill, most famous for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars IV, V, and VI, plays the Main Character in this one, and in the fourth one, and he does an excellent job at it.
Mad Dog McCree is an Old West shooting game. The goal is to track down the outlaw Mad Dog McCree and save the Mayor's daughter. To do this, you have to shoot a bunch of other criminals while searching for Mad Dog. It's not too hard, but not too easy either, and the whole concept is really simple. It was originally released as an Arcade Machine, and has been ported to many other Consoles.
What's Special About It: It was actually pretty successful for an FMV Game, considering most people hate them.
Well, that's it for this short entry. It would've been longer, but I'm pretty bored right now, and I'm not really working at my fullest right now. Heh. Anyway, my next entry will be better.
Welcome to my newest series, The Hunt For Retro. This series will chronicle my hunts for various Retro Gaming Merchandise. First up, the hunt for 3DO. Here we go!
Sometime in 2008 or so, I saw the GT Countdown Video "Top Ten Worst Consoles" on Youtube.
Needless to say, I thought it was crap. I think those systems are just fine. (Save for the Phantom and Gizmondo, as I've never played those, and since the Phantom was never released...well, yeah).
Anyway, while watching the Video, I found Number 7 on the list, the 3DO, particularly intriguing. After researching it, I desired one, and began my hunt.
Enter Collector's Cards and Games, a Website that sells Retro Game Stuff (Among other things). I noticed that the guy running it had a 3DO, so I inquired about it via E-Mail.
Some time later, I received a reply:
"I have a working Goldstar 3DO ready to ship for $60."
Unfortunately, I was completely oblivious to the various 3DO Models in existence, so I agreed, sent him the money via Paypal, and the deal was sealed.
Fast forward a week or so, and the UPS Man showed up at my house with a rather heavy box addressed to me. I opened it, and was greeted with quite the device: The Goldstar 3DO.
Having no games and remembering what the GT Countdown Video said about copy protection, I burned a game and tried to play it.
...It didn't work.
So, I went to Racketboy and asked for help. I then learned that the Goldstar couldn't play Backups.
Pissed off, I ordered a game called Slayer, which I enjoyed for about 15 Minutes before the damn controller broke.
Even angrier now, I decided to settle with a Panasonic Model. I went to Amazon, and found an FZ-10 3DO for $55. I bought it, and waited.
Another week later, I received it in the Mail. This one played backups, and worked very well. It was even in good cosmetic shape.
Unfortunately, I became low on money for other stuff some months later, so, of all the things to sell, I sold the 3DO. I was pretty upset.
Fast forward to present day, I went out to the local Retro Store, and to my shock, the man there had a 3DO for sale, an FZ-1 to be exact.
Unfortunately, It was a little too pricey for me, so we worked out a deal: I gave him my Neo-Geo CDZ (I have a Consolized MVS, so I really had little to lose here), and he gave me the 3DO with Wing Commander 3 and a cool Controller.
So, what did I learn here? Learn to manage your Money better, or you'll regret it later. All things considered though, this all worked out very well in the end. I now have a really cool 3DO, he has a shiny CDZ, and everyone is happy.
Anyway, that's all for this entry. Thanks for reading, and look out for my next Hunt For Retro entry.
To many gamers, 3DO is game-speak for "What the hell is this thing?!". Well, here's the story...
The 3DO, conceived by EA Founder Trip Hawkins, was a CD Based Game Console with impressive processing power and a host of cutting edge technologies. Mr. Hawkins had high hopes for this thing...
...So what went wrong, I hear you ask...Well, for starters, the thing was released with a price point of 700 US Dollars, which even the PS3 couldn't match. (599 US Dollars). It also, as quoted from a GT Countdown Video, squandered it's impressive processing power on playing horrible Full Motion Video. In my opinion, it wasn't really horrible. Just really cheesy. Me, I like FMV Games. Trip also refused to reduce it's price until near the end of it's life.
So, is there anything cool about this thing? Hell yes! It has no copy protection or regional lockout! It also features some great games that weren't available for any other console. One such game is Slayer, a First Person RPG, which takes place in the Dungeons and Dragons Universe.
There are also three different models of it. (At least in America. There are more in Asia.) First up is the FZ-1, which was the first model released. Second is the Goldstar, pictured above, which I own. I would NOT recommend it to anyone, as it's picky with some games, and is the least reliable of all the models. The last one released in America was the FZ-10, which, unlike the FZ-1 and the Goldstar, was a Top Loading Model.
Anyway, that's it for this short entry. If you'd like more 3DO Information, PM me. I'm always happy to talk about this stuff.
I mentioned in the premiere post for this blog that I will be focusing on the games released at the beginning and end of a system's life. And while I have a lot of interest in the games on either end of that spectrum, part of my motivation for the "Transitions" title of the blog stems from an interest I have in major shifts in gaming history.
Even though home consoles have only been around for 30+ years, there have already been several important and defining moments in gaming history where significant sea changes occurred, altering how consumers view games. For example, the video game crash in the early 1980s taught developers the importance of releasing a quality product and signaled that consumers were becoming more discerning when making their purchase decisions. A recent major transition for the industry would be the development of downloadable games on home consoles. That change has so far resulted in a renaissance in indie development, bigger rewards and less risk for the introduction of innovative gameplay, and a number of other ongoing shifts in how we choose games.
There is one transitory period in gaming history which, for me, has always been the most interesting: the period between (approximately) 1993-1996.
Several interesting things happened at this time:
1) Developers began to market games for adults instead of for children. Research concludes that todays average gamer is in their early-mid 30s, which is where I personally fit on the demographic scale. 15 years ago, many of us were making the transition from childhood to adulthood, and as we were going through those awkward late teenage years, gaming was going through its own growing pains. Recognizing that 14-18 year olds might be outgrowing cute mascots and cartoony sprites, developers started shooting for more realism in games, introduced mature themes, emphasized cinematic presentation, and included more sex, violence, and other "adult" elements.
2) A revolution in graphics and gameplay took place. In this period, many companies moved from making 2D games to making early 3D games and/or Full Motion Video titles. Cheaper and more powerful hardware meant that game designers could introduce players to gameworlds that were simply not possible in 2D. Many of these early 3D titles were clunky, had infuriating cameras, imprecise controls, and were easily surpassed by superior games in the late 90s. That didn't stop consumers from buying them anyway, and well done 3D titles such as Virtua Fighter and Wipeout spawned franchises that continue to this day. For all its faults, Full Motion Video served a purpose in making designers consider cinematography, storytelling, and basic things like lighting and sound in ways that they hadn't previously. The legacy of these innovations is clearly seen in contemporary gaming.
3) Between October 1992 and September 1996 at least twenty consoles or add-ons were released. The Sega CD, The Atari Jaguar, The Sega 32X, the 3DO, the Playstation, the Saturn, the Virtual Boy, the PC-FX, The Amiga CD32, the FM Towns Marty, the Apple Bandai Pippin, the Atari Jaguar CD, the Casio Loopy, the R-Zone, the Pioneer Laser Active, the Playdia, the Neo Geo CD and CDZ, the Supervision, the Mega Duck, the Nintendo Stellaview and still others were all published in roughly four years. This is a staggering amount of new technology flooding the game market, and it is remarkable that only Sony really managed to steal a major piece of Nintendo and Sega's dominance from earlier in the decade. (Also of note: during this period the NES saw its final release in Wario's Woods.) While many of these systems have deservedly stayed obscure, the sheer number of consoles and handhelds put to market suggests there was a belief that the games industry was a place where companies could make a lot of money. While there had been previous periods in gaming history with a variety of competing consoles, this period's only close competitor for the sheer number of choices available would be the very early proliferation of standalone Pong machines.
4.) 16-bit platforms saw some of their strongest releases. The transition period wasn't just about the introduction of new consoles and technologies, but was also about many of the best games from the dedicated 2D consoles from the early 90s. About 2/3 of gamerankings.com's best Genesis/SNES titles were published in this period when 2D level design, gameplay, chip music, and sprite work really reached a state of the art. While many gamers were looking towards the possibilities offered by upcoming hardware, developers were perfecting their craft on older machines.
There were, of course, other important developments during this period: the growth of used game sales/retail stores, the revival of and then retreat from the arcades, the development of a comprehensive rating system (the ESRB was established in 1994), the shift from cartridge to disc format, and other changes that help make this perhaps the most interesting period in gaming history.
Because of the rich history offered in this transitory period , I have made it a point to collect many of the games from this era. Towards that end, a few years ago I completed a Sega 32X library and recently finished off a PS1 longbox set. I have more Jaguar games than I need, and have played my share titles for systems like the 3DO and the Neo Geo CD.
I occasionally get asked about why I would collect games that are often rudimentary, painful to play, lacking in production value, and generally inferior to the great 2D games that came before or the better 3D games that came later. My answer is always that understanding something about those transitory periods, the awkward moments in gaming history, undeniably gives you a better appreciation for the best games and the history of the industry as a whole. Coupled with my own recollections about how I grew up as gaming was growing up, these titles are an interesting reminder of my own transitions in life.
What do you consider to be the most interesting period in gaming history?
So join me on my journey to discover if there is treasure to be found on the CD-I. The system has a rotten reputation, but I am going to dig through some of the titles I have to look for a diamond in the rough. First up, a game that I feel a little dirty playing, Voyeur. [img width=257 height=225]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-049/bf/U-049-S-01080-A.jpg[/img] Voyeur is a FMV game that reminds me of Night Trap. In the game you play the role of an investigator spying on Reed Hawke, a Presidential candidate with nefarious intentions, over a weekend stay with his family at Hawke Manor. You begin the game in your apartment across the street from the Manor. From here you have access to your camera for your Peeping Tom-ery, a phone to call the police, a TV with VCR, and a package to send video tapes. [img width=320 height=185]http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/jackcrow2000/IMG_3930.jpg[/img] The game plays out over the hours of the weekend. During each time period you can view the different rooms of the mansion with your camera. Different video and audio scenes play out in different places, and time ticks away via a battery meter. This limits you to choosing wisely what you choose to watch. [img width=320 height=185]http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/jackcrow2000/IMG_3931.jpg[/img] As you watch, the crazy family play out their own stories, with the candidate Hawke eventually plotting to kill one of the family members. Your job is to capture incriminating video on Hawke to do one of two things: send a tape to the threatened family member to get them to flee and turn over incriminating evidence, or call the police to show them solid proof that Hawke has killed someone. [img width=320 height=185]http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/jackcrow2000/IMG_3932.jpg[/img] As I said before, the family is nuts. This game is not for kids, as odd sex traingles run deep. There is no actual sex or nudity shown, but there is some skimpy clothing, S & M, and even a brewing lesbian relationship. With Night Trap and Mortal Kombat getting so much attention by Congress in the US during this time, I can't for the life of me understand how this one slipped under the radar. [img width=320 height=185]http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/jackcrow2000/IMG_3929.jpg[/img] The acting is surprisingly good. It's not Academy Award winning, but as FMV games go they did a good job. There isn't really any gameplay to speak of, as the only real interaction you have is choosing which rooms to spy on. Luckily the game does randomize the clips so you don't get the exact same sequence each time, so there is some small replay value. Overall for this type of game I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed my playthrough, and will probably play through it again. You can't save, but the entire weekend of the game takes place over an hour or so which is just about the right length. In the end, if you are looking for something interesting to play on the CD-I I would recommend Voyeur. Even though I do feel a bit like a perv when I play.
We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy our entries, rantings, and completely unrelated series of thoughts. We write for you to read, so we certainly hope that you enjoy our material.
