From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Tue, 2 Jun 2026 00:17:40 -0000 (UTC), ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) said
this thing:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

On Mon, 1 Jun 2026 09:49:23 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
said this thing:

On 6/1/2026 7:56 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

** Outlaws
(Free from Prime on GOG?) A 1997 western fps. I only gave this an hour
or two, I know it's well loved by it's fans, but just didn't do it for me.

I'm one of those fans and I adore the game, but I'll also be the first
to admit that it's not a game I'd recommend to anybody anymore. Even
when it released back in 1997, it was already a bit behind the curve
both in its visuals and in its gameplay, and it was only in regards to
its production values --its artistic visuals, its excellent
voice-acting and its music-- that it became so memorable. It is not a
game that has aged all that well, with linear level design that relies
a bit too much on mazes and 'keycards' (albeit in the form of
door-opening switches) to be very enjoyable anymore. Even in 1997
people were complaining about its 'old school' feel! Twenty-nine years
later and it can feel quite tedious.

It's one of the best of the old-school "Doom-clones". I don't think
I'd quite qualify it as a 'boomer-shooter' as it lacks the same pacing
and bombacity; it's more akin to the games that followed Doom but
tried to set themselves apart with slightly deeper settings and
gameplay tweaks, such as games like Dark Forces, Witchhaven, Future
Shock and Strife. It's a genre that set the path for the modern FPS
birthed by games like "Half Life", but doesn't quite have the same
instant gratification of "Doom". As such, it satisfies fans of neither
genre, being a hybrid of the two.

Still, for its time Outlaws was quite impressive, and until the Red
Dead Redemption games was probably the best Western FPS available on
PC, even decades after its release. But even great games have their
time, and it's passed with Outlaws, remaining something only
old-school schmucks (like myself) really care about anymore.

Outlaws was awesome back then. Loved the animated cutscenes (sad intro)
and soundtracks. Multiplayer was fun too!

The cutscenes were quite good. They were created, I think, by the same
art team behind "Curse of Monkey Island". They weren't the greatest
animation ever, but certainly they were a highpoint for PC games at
the time.

Strangely, it was a very long time before I actually saw the complete introductory cinematic. My version of the game shipped with a damaged
file that caused the intro to cut-off about halfway through its
playback (around the 4:35 mark in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCMh-88a2DI). Still, it was enough to
give the general idea and tone of the story, and fortunately none of
the other cinematics were affected. But it wasn't until I found it on
YouTube a decade later (and later, when the game released on GOG) when
I first saw the video to its end. In some respects, I preferred the foreshortened version, since it left things more mysterious while
still making it clear what happened.

(I remember being quite disappointed when I found the version on
YouTube; this was at the start of the service and the compression
levels back then were quite awful. I was so happy when GOG released
the game and I could see it without the massive compression blocks
ruining the video. Fortunately, the versions found nowadays on YouTube
are rendered at a much better quality).


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 6/2/2026 11:56 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Tue, 2 Jun 2026 00:17:40 -0000 (UTC), ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) said
this thing:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

On Mon, 1 Jun 2026 09:49:23 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
said this thing:

On 6/1/2026 7:56 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

** Outlaws
(Free from Prime on GOG?) A 1997 western fps. I only gave this an hour >>>> or two, I know it's well loved by it's fans, but just didn't do it for me. >>

I'm one of those fans and I adore the game, but I'll also be the first
to admit that it's not a game I'd recommend to anybody anymore. Even
when it released back in 1997, it was already a bit behind the curve
both in its visuals and in its gameplay, and it was only in regards to
its production values --its artistic visuals, its excellent
voice-acting and its music-- that it became so memorable. It is not a
game that has aged all that well, with linear level design that relies
a bit too much on mazes and 'keycards' (albeit in the form of
door-opening switches) to be very enjoyable anymore. Even in 1997
people were complaining about its 'old school' feel! Twenty-nine years
later and it can feel quite tedious.

It's one of the best of the old-school "Doom-clones". I don't think
I'd quite qualify it as a 'boomer-shooter' as it lacks the same pacing
and bombacity; it's more akin to the games that followed Doom but
tried to set themselves apart with slightly deeper settings and
gameplay tweaks, such as games like Dark Forces, Witchhaven, Future
Shock and Strife. It's a genre that set the path for the modern FPS
birthed by games like "Half Life", but doesn't quite have the same
instant gratification of "Doom". As such, it satisfies fans of neither
genre, being a hybrid of the two.

Still, for its time Outlaws was quite impressive, and until the Red
Dead Redemption games was probably the best Western FPS available on
PC, even decades after its release. But even great games have their
time, and it's passed with Outlaws, remaining something only
old-school schmucks (like myself) really care about anymore.

Outlaws was awesome back then. Loved the animated cutscenes (sad intro)
and soundtracks. Multiplayer was fun too!

The cutscenes were quite good. They were created, I think, by the same
art team behind "Curse of Monkey Island". They weren't the greatest
animation ever, but certainly they were a highpoint for PC games at
the time.

Perhaps I've seen too many westerns, I found it cliche'.
--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> writes:

** Outlaws
(Free from Prime on GOG?) A 1997 western fps. I only gave this an hour
or two, I know it's well loved by it's fans, but just didn't do it for
me.

I also played this recently. Decent retro fun but a little unforgiving
in some aspects. And a little unfinished. I also remember I got killed a
lot at first. Maybe I turned down the difficulty but then it was
munchkin.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Tue, 2 Jun 2026 14:13:58 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
said this thing:

Perhaps I've seen too many westerns, I found it cliche'.

It definitely was cliche. "Outlaws" wore its love for the spaghetti
western on its sleeve and made no bones about the fact that it was
emulating the old classic movies. It was a game filled with tropes and
nods to the old films, right down to the protagonist being the
white-hat sheriff gunning for a gang of outlaws.

But even more than just being an homage to the genre-classics, you
have to remember that in the era that "Outlaws" released, the western
was only starting to come back into prominence, having been absent
from film and screen for decades. So a lot of the deconstructions that
have been made of the genre hadn't yet been created. Had "Outlaws"
gone with a more radical take -with fewer of the common tropes- on the
western wouldn't, I don't think, have been as well received. There
just wasn't the common narrative language that make modern
deconstructions so well understood by the ordinary player.

But, as you pointed out, the changes in how we view media and its
tropes make it that much harder for modern gamers to appreciate older
games like "Outlaws"; they seem simplistic and cliche in comparison to
the stuff we get today.

As I said, as much as I adore the game it's not really something I'd
recommend to new players anymore.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

* Star Wars: Outlaws

The thing is, I detest the little space-rat. It's... well, it's
everything wrong with the Disneyfication of the Star Wars franchise;
the attempt to make it extra marketable and family-friendly. It's
Grogu and BB-8 and the kids from Skeleton Crew all rolled-up into one.

Gah, Skeleton Crew. I tried but I was reminded strongly of a children's
sciffy book I read log ago, Space Hostages by Nicholas Fisk. Skeleton
Crew seems very similar except with even more stereotypical characters
and of course an idiot ADHD kid is a must have now. Couldn't stand it.

But I don't know about Nix. Maybe you're right, too cute but the magic
sensing and door opening abilities are useful. Maybe if you could just
replace it with a magic gadget instead... Or the force.

Like I said, the game itself is fine. I get why some people really
love it, and I don't hate it myself. But there are a lot better Star
Wars experiences out there than this one.

Really? Enough for a dozen?

What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2026?

Just Starfield, here and there. I guess the plot thingy is moving
forward, I was recently attacked by some super thugs. Or enlightened
beings? But they went with just "goods here or else." Sigh. Here I was
hoping for something interesting, story wise.

I hope this doesn't mean I now need to update my space ship since I
really don't care about which bucket I fly. In fact I already have a
second ship but I don't even know where the heck it is or how to switch
to it.

Also disappointed in that I finished this somewhat dubious stint of
missions with a megacorp and was rewarded with some mind control
tech. Which in practice gives one point in a tier 4 skill and possibly
you can make people move, pick up things or unlock doors. For which I've
had zero use so far but could be useful if sneaking. It does give a "manipulation" option in some dialogs which I have found a little use
for.

While doing this, I left my companion behind since I felt they might
object to what I was doing. And two of them in fact wanted to talk about
what I did and didn't do, as if they both had been there with me. At
least that part was somewhat interesting since I didn't want to
needlessly antagonize them although that probably doesn't matter much
for game play. But it's good to have someone around who'll draw a little
fire if nothing else, even if they don't really work for sneaking.

Another side mission was where a shady business transaction went bad,
someone wanted their stolen thingy back. At the time I was a little
tired of sneaking around so I went all "death to all" with them and surprisingly nobody seemed to complain or get upset about the body
count. Weird. Companions usually do get upset if I murder civvies
otherwise.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Sun, 07 Jun 2026 13:27:01 +0300, Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> said this thing:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

* Star Wars: Outlaws

The thing is, I detest the little space-rat. It's... well, it's
everything wrong with the Disneyfication of the Star Wars franchise;
the attempt to make it extra marketable and family-friendly. It's
Grogu and BB-8 and the kids from Skeleton Crew all rolled-up into one.

Gah, Skeleton Crew. I tried but I was reminded strongly of a children's >sciffy book I read log ago, Space Hostages by Nicholas Fisk. Skeleton
Crew seems very similar except with even more stereotypical characters
and of course an idiot ADHD kid is a must have now. Couldn't stand it.

But I don't know about Nix. Maybe you're right, too cute but the magic >sensing and door opening abilities are useful. Maybe if you could just >replace it with a magic gadget instead... Or the force.

Maybe its just my expectations. The game promised to let you play as
an outlaw, but then put you in the shoes of a pre-made character with
awful dialog and little real control over the course of your
adventure. And not a really compelling character either; instead, one
who just gets tossed about the galaxy. The space-rat was just
indicative of her non-personality and lack of personal impetus. She
was a typical Hollywood "helpless waif" character; fine if you like
that, but not what I wanted out of my adventure.

There's nothing itself wrong with the space-rat; as you mentioned,
it's got some useful abilities. But that it was so front-and-center to
the marketing of the game shows that I was not the intended audience
for this game. I think Ubisoft were going after the fans who fell in
love with Grogu-the-baby-space-frog in the 'Mandalorian" TV series;
the more casual fans of the Star Wars franchise. I wanted something a
bit deeper.





(And yes, I fully see the irony of demanding depth from a video game
based in franchise as sophomoric as "Star Wars" ;-)




--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

The space-rat was just indicative of her non-personality and lack of
personal impetus. She was a typical Hollywood "helpless waif"
character; fine if you like that, but not what I wanted out of my
adventure.

Come to think of it, I put a lot of hours into this but what was it
about again? You got into some trouble and then out of it, I think. It
was pretty good for a "helpless waif" to mow down those stormtroopers
though. Even the badass ones. But too much of a bubble world, not even a blaster burn was there from your previous attack on an outpost...

I think Ubisoft were going after the fans who fell in love with Grogu-the-baby-space-frog in the 'Mandalorian" TV series; the more
casual fans of the Star Wars franchise. I wanted something a bit
deeper.

Yah. I just saw the movie. Entertaining but, well, totally forgettable.

(And yes, I fully see the irony of demanding depth from a video game
based in franchise as sophomoric as "Star Wars" ;-)

:)
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote at 16:49 this Monday (GMT):

On 6/1/2026 7:56 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2026?

Besides lots of yard work, I've barely played anything.

[snip]


Not sure why, but E-S seems to have deleted Spalls original message
for me again...

I have two new games, Golden Sun (GBA) which I just started playing on emulator, and i bought Zero Escape on steam because it was 80% off which
is pretty cool
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Mon, 8 Jun 2026 15:10:04 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> said this thing:

On 6/1/2026 7:56 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2026?

Not sure why, but E-S seems to have deleted Spalls original message
for me again...

Eternal September is just trying to protect you from the madness. Send
a thank-you note to the ES sysops for saving your sanity. ;-)


--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 6/8/2026 8:10 AM, candycanearter07 wrote:

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote at 16:49 this Monday (GMT):

On 6/1/2026 7:56 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2026?

Besides lots of yard work, I've barely played anything.

[snip]

Not sure why, but E-S seems to have deleted Spalls original message
for me again...

Odd, I'm on E-S and I've got it, might be your news reader?
--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Tue, 9 Jun 2026 09:45:57 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
said this thing:

On 6/8/2026 8:10 AM, candycanearter07 wrote:

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote at 16:49 this Monday (GMT):

What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2026?

Not sure why, but E-S seems to have deleted Spalls original message
for me again...

Odd, I'm on E-S and I've got it, might be your news reader?

Maybe I triggered candycanearter07's kill-file for using words like
"bust", "hole", "wiggle" and "swallow" (and that's just in the first
few paratgraphs). Read in a particular way, my posts are positively pornographic ;-)
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs
say:

On Tue, 9 Jun 2026 09:45:57 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
said this thing:

On 6/8/2026 8:10 AM, candycanearter07 wrote:

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote at 16:49 this Monday (GMT):

What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2026?

Not sure why, but E-S seems to have deleted Spalls original message
for me again...

Odd, I'm on E-S and I've got it, might be your news reader?

Maybe I triggered candycanearter07's kill-file for using words like
"bust", "hole", "wiggle" and "swallow" (and that's just in the first
few paratgraphs). Read in a particular way, my posts are positively >pornographic ;-)

Why am I reminded of that Frantics skit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qmUJpcPAaM

Predicted the whole "take offense at everything by skewing it's meaning
and listening with an agenda" people, and they did it back in 1987.

Xocyll
--
I don't particularly want you to FOAD, myself. You'll be more of
a cautionary example if you'll FO And Get Chronically, Incurably,
Painfully, Progressively, Expensively, Debilitatingly Ill. So
FOAGCIPPEDI. -- Mike Andrews responding to an idiot in asr
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 6/10/2026 2:35 AM, Xocyll wrote:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs
say:

On Tue, 9 Jun 2026 09:45:57 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
said this thing:

On 6/8/2026 8:10 AM, candycanearter07 wrote:

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote at 16:49 this Monday (GMT):

What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2026?

Not sure why, but E-S seems to have deleted Spalls original message
for me again...

Odd, I'm on E-S and I've got it, might be your news reader?

Maybe I triggered candycanearter07's kill-file for using words like
"bust", "hole", "wiggle" and "swallow" (and that's just in the first
few paratgraphs). Read in a particular way, my posts are positively
pornographic ;-)

Why am I reminded of that Frantics skit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qmUJpcPAaM

Haha! Thanks for that. I was only familar with their "Boot to the Head"
--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Wed, 10 Jun 2026 05:35:50 -0400, Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> said this
thing:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the >entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs
say:

On Tue, 9 Jun 2026 09:45:57 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
said this thing:

On 6/8/2026 8:10 AM, candycanearter07 wrote:

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote at 16:49 this Monday (GMT):

What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2026?

Not sure why, but E-S seems to have deleted Spalls original message
for me again...

Odd, I'm on E-S and I've got it, might be your news reader?

Maybe I triggered candycanearter07's kill-file for using words like
"bust", "hole", "wiggle" and "swallow" (and that's just in the first
few paratgraphs). Read in a particular way, my posts are positively >>pornographic ;-)

Why am I reminded of that Frantics skit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qmUJpcPAaM

Predicted the whole "take offense at everything by skewing it's meaning
and listening with an agenda" people, and they did it back in 1987.

Or to quote the inimitable Tom Lehrer:


"Old books can be indecent books
Though recent books are bolder
For filth, I'm glad to say
Is in the mind of the beholder

"When correctly viewed
Everything is lewd.
I could tell you things about Peter Pan
And the Wizard of Oz - there's a dirty old man!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaHDBL7dVgs



--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

"When correctly viewed
Everything is lewd.
I could tell you things about Peter Pan
And the Wizard of Oz - there's a dirty old man!"

C'mon, that's just retarded and crazy. You have zero legitimacy.
--
The future has begun
The waiting is over
We have gained time
For one blink of an eye
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> looked up from reading the entrails of
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:

On 6/10/2026 2:35 AM, Xocyll wrote:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the
entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs
say:

On Tue, 9 Jun 2026 09:45:57 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
said this thing:

On 6/8/2026 8:10 AM, candycanearter07 wrote:

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote at 16:49 this Monday (GMT):

What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2026?

Not sure why, but E-S seems to have deleted Spalls original message
for me again...

Odd, I'm on E-S and I've got it, might be your news reader?

Maybe I triggered candycanearter07's kill-file for using words like
"bust", "hole", "wiggle" and "swallow" (and that's just in the first
few paratgraphs). Read in a particular way, my posts are positively
pornographic ;-)

Why am I reminded of that Frantics skit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qmUJpcPAaM

Haha! Thanks for that. I was only familar with their "Boot to the Head"

They're from the same album.
Pretty much all of it is on Youtube.

Xocyll
--
I don't particularly want you to FOAD, myself. You'll be more of
a cautionary example if you'll FO And Get Chronically, Incurably,
Painfully, Progressively, Expensively, Debilitatingly Ill. So
FOAGCIPPEDI. -- Mike Andrews responding to an idiot in asr
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2