Retro Bliss!

Recently, I found my old copies of one of my alltime favourite game franchise: Crusader: No Remorse and Crusader: No Regret by Origin.

Released back in 95/96 both are DOS games which are a bit of a hassle to run properly on Windows XP or Vista (and I guess on Win7 too), but thanks to DosBox, at least No Remorse runs flawlessly. I haven't tried No Regret yet, as I want to finish the first part first.

As for the game: It's as awesome as it was back in it's days: It's a top down "run&gun" type game where you are a Ex Silencer turncoat aiding the resistance aigainst the World Economic Consortium, a quasi fascist one world governement. The gameplay is deeper though than just running and gunning, you have to advance tactically to succeed, let alone survive on the higher difficulties, and you have numerous gadgets and weapons to help you with your goals. My all time favourite would be the spider-bomb which you guide to your target via remote from a safe position.

But there are other things that made it stand out back then: the crisp graphics, smooth animations and the superb industrial/techno soundtrack. And it being 2D, it's graphics aged very well. It might not impress you like it did back in 95, but at least you don't want to rip your eyes out while looking at it.

Also, the storytelling is superb, despite it's 90ies Sci-Fi cheesyness.

So conclusively, it's a game that I can recommend to anyone, either to dive in the warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia, or to witness the zenith of 2D gaming.

In other nostalgic news: Remedy of Max Payne fame released a Windows compatible version of their debut title from 1996: Death Rally. Check it out, it's a great game.