judd@cs.colorado.edu (Xenu Galactic-Conqueror) (05/30/91)
Since I think I am on the verge of getting flamed for only making negative comments, I will take this time to give a little plug to KOEI, a company which I am gaining a lot of respect for, and to give my list of software masterpieces. I recently purchased Genghis Khan, from KOEI software. It is my second KOEI game, the first being Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and once again I am quite impressed. Both of these games are done in HiRes, 16 color, have excellent, atmospheric music, and are the best strategy games I have ever played. Neither one is copy protected, both install on my hard drive, both multitask, and Genghis exits cleanly (R3K does not, but on my 1meg machine this is an extremely minor quibble). I do not know if they run on a 3000 or not, but it seems to me that KOEI actually took the time to read the rules, and decided that the purpose of their games was entertainment, not making a fast buck for the company. I will buy their other products at some time in the future. Is Romance a masterpiece? I have not decided yet. Only time will tell. Now, on to software masterpieces. I agree with the earlier posting comparing a masterpiece to Mozart. There are a number of factors which make a masterpiece. A strong, consistent plot is a must. Graphics and sound effects must be adequate - they don't have to be awesome, but they cannot be cheesy. Originality is very important. And everything has to come together, to create a consistent, logical environment, so that the game ceases to be a program simply responding to your inputs, but you responding to your environment, to create a total gaming experience. Unlike many of the lists I've been seeing, I'm not going to list a bunch of arcade games, or a bunch of games that I spent a lot of time playing. Rather, I am selecting the pieces which made me stand back, stare in awe, and say "Whoah." BeachHead - One of the first games I owned, it was the standard of the time for graphics, playability, and sound. Archon I - Very clever, very consistent game with plenty of variety. MULE - Again, very clever, consistent game. Ultima III - Music, sounds, graphics, fonts, plot, characters, all balanced perfectly to create a perfect game on my C-64 Ultima V - With this one, Lord British managed to create an entire world and make the whole thing function consistently, making this the first truly role-playing game. Note that I'd rather suck on a piece of styrofoam than play this on the Amiga, however. Hacker - Again, very consistently structured, and a very clever game concept. Dungeon Master - A very consistent system, puzzle- and plot-wise, combined with very clever graphics, sounds, and puzzles. Empire - On the weak side of masterpiece, if at all, but a very good game nontheless. And this is my list off the top of my head - I may be missing a few. Note that these games are a synergystic combination of all the factors - not just fun, or just graphically impressive. For instance, Mr. Robot and his Robot Factory was a heck of a lot of fun, but it is not a masterpiece. It is also interesting to note that only three of these (and Archon I is perhaps a little iffy) are on the Amiga, and the rest are on the C-64. -Steve -- judd@sgt-york.lanl.gov // You have 12 tennis balls, a balance-arm scale, ...!ncar!boulder!tramp!judd \X/ and one of the balls is either lighter or heavier than the others. Find the different ball. PS - You only get to use the scale three times.