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In the Forums... |
Posted: December 6, 2000 Written by: Dan "Tweak Monkey" Kennedy #5: Warcraft (series)  What is it? - If you're a real time strategy addict, there's a good chance you were once addicted to Warcraft or Warcraft 2 -- perhaps you still are. What made Warcraft so great? Perhaps it was that instead of just having to build and train an army, you had to set up a little society. You had to supply or search for resources: mine gold, search for food, and chop down trees. Yeah, it's quite similar to Starcraft (for obvious reasons ;)), but Warcraft has been around longer and has made an even larger impact. It's not surprising that even today, Warcraft and Warcraft 2 are played by huge audiences over Internet game services like Kali and Battle.net. Humans vs. Orcs in a battle to extinction... sounds good, right?  Warcraft 2, the greatly anticipated sequel, combined new game play and strategy elements. The Verdict - Warcraft and Warcraft 2 are both solid games that should be a part of your gaming heritage. Multiplayer is top notch, and nothing quite beats those single player late-night Warcraft sessions. If you find a Warcraft game in stores, buy it! Download the Warcraft demo. Download the Warcraft 2 demo. #4: Subspace  What is it? - Subspace was (for me, at least) one of the most addicting games ever. It's such a simple little game, but the game play is incredible. The graphics suck, the controls are a bit tricky, and there are more crap-talking 12 year olds than any game in existence, but it's Subspace, and that's that. The game is an overhead shooter with eight different types of ships. You fly around and blow each other up, using almost purely bullets and bombs. The game's slogan "Meet people from all over the world -- and kill them" really fits in nicely with its game play. Anyway, each of the eight ships has its own special attitributes or abilities that make it different than the rest. Some features include bouncing bombs, emp (stun) bombs, cloaking abilities, double-barrel guns, and more. So what happened to Subspace? I guess I'll explain the story as far as I remember it. Subspace thrived in beta stages. I remember joining zones with well over 200 people in them back when there were only two ships to choose from. The problem with the game was that the beta was open to anyone and everyone, and it was very popular. Players got used to the beta status (which lasted over a year if my memory serves me correctly), and the players were heavily addicted to the game. I remember going a couple days without leaving the house... and putting in a good 40 hours to Subspace a week (okay, so that didn't last too long). Subspace almost died after going retail, though, because everyone was used to playing for free. "Pay for Subspace? Ha!" Despite the fact that the game only cost $20 at its initial launch, the piracy rate was something like 90%. Within months of going retail, VIE pulled the project and the game basically withered away. However, because this game was SO addicting and so popular in its prime, it still remains a classic. There are still quite a few SS players out there, and many newer zones are still active. Although I'm not sure about its status, the full game can be downloaded from a number of sites, and nobody has ever stepped in to say it's illegal. After all, the company abandoned the project.  I would've used a larger image, but the game exits when you try to take a screenshot, even with an external program. Thanks, SubspaceHQ for the pic. The Verdict - Subspace was among the most addicting games to ever grace the PC platform. If the game was better known or still played by a large audience, I would've definitely considered bumping it to #3 or even #2. Anyway, if you want to see why this game was so addictive, download it, play for two hours, then try to quit. Download Subspace v1.35 here. |
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