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I remember buying NOLF--it was at retail, in a big box off the shelf at Media Play. I knew nothing about it, it just caught my eye, and the description on the b

I remember buying NOLF--it was at retail, in a big box off the shelf at Media Play. I knew nothing about it, it just caught my eye, and the description on the back sounded interesting. I miss that kind of media discovery, our modern always-online world tends to smother serendipity. It was an excellent game. The idea of a continuation of the series is appealing, but a lot of modern adaptations really stink, so maybe it's better off in the amber of nostalgia.

PeaceTed 11mo ago
I did discover a lot of great stuff like that. The funny thing is that there were a few titles that I discovered, absolutely loved and yet apparently were considered bad games. Oh well, I saw the good side of it. One that I grabbed for $10 was Adrenix, a 'Descent' clone that has very few mentions around and reviewed fairly averagely. I loved it! As for modern adaptions of games, if they can do it either like 3D Realms retro style like with Ion Fury, or go into the full re-imagined space like they did with Doom 2016. But any middle ground seems to lead to disappointment.
EvanAnderson 11mo ago
I got it as a pack-in with a video card. I didn't expect it to be anything good, being a pack-in. Talk about being wrong...
jeffwask 11mo ago
There is a team working on a "Spiritual Successor".
Goronmon 11mo ago
I miss that kind of media discovery, our modern always-online world tends to smother serendipity. I don't really miss the time of having to choose games this way. If you lucked out it was great, but you were also potentially putting down upwards of $50+ bucks in 1995 dollars on a game that you might end up really disliking.
- SkyeCA 11mo ago
  Everyone I knew just rented games (and sometimes console too). You'd usually rent them for a weekend.
- rkomorn 11mo ago
  Exaggeration warning, but as someone who has indeed spent a bunch of money on games I ended up disliking, I find our current-day inability to cope with disappointment kind of sad. Sometimes we buy something we don't like, but it's on us, and that's just life. At some point I think we just took the "satisfied or your money back" mentality too far. Edit: note this doesn't absolve actual scammers or other bad actors from being crappy people though.
- arp242 11mo ago
  Demos existed, for home computer and PC games anyway. This is why you bought the game review magazines to get the disk (and later, CD-ROM) with demos. For consoles you could often try the game in the shop, or rent them at the Video rental shop. You could even rent entire consoles! I've also returned a few games back in the day.
Kiboneu 11mo ago
> I miss that kind of media discovery, our modern always-online world tends to smother serendipity. I miss it too. I used to read computer game magazines as a kid. I recently re-evoked that feeling by subscribing to a linux magazine. Maybe there are still game magazines out there but i’m too lazy to look.
famahar 11mo ago
You can still do this. I regularily go to used game shops looking for old console games just based off the box art. They range from $1 - $5 so it's not much lost if the game ends up bad. I make sure to not search for reviews or more info. It's always a fun surprise.

PeaceTed 11mo ago

I did discover a lot of great stuff like that. The funny thing is that there were a few titles that I discovered, absolutely loved and yet apparently were considered bad games. Oh well, I saw the good side of it. One that I grabbed for $10 was Adrenix, a 'Descent' clone that has very few mentions around and reviewed fairly averagely. I loved it! As for modern adaptions of games, if they can do it either like 3D Realms retro style like with Ion Fury, or go into the full re-imagined space like they did with Doom 2016. But any middle ground seems to lead to disappointment.

EvanAnderson 11mo ago

I got it as a pack-in with a video card. I didn't expect it to be anything good, being a pack-in. Talk about being wrong...

jeffwask 11mo ago

There is a team working on a "Spiritual Successor".

Goronmon 11mo ago

I miss that kind of media discovery, our modern always-online world tends to smother serendipity. I don't really miss the time of having to choose games this way. If you lucked out it was great, but you were also potentially putting down upwards of $50+ bucks in 1995 dollars on a game that you might end up really disliking.

SkyeCA 11mo ago
Everyone I knew just rented games (and sometimes console too). You'd usually rent them for a weekend.
rkomorn 11mo ago
Exaggeration warning, but as someone who has indeed spent a bunch of money on games I ended up disliking, I find our current-day inability to cope with disappointment kind of sad. Sometimes we buy something we don't like, but it's on us, and that's just life. At some point I think we just took the "satisfied or your money back" mentality too far. Edit: note this doesn't absolve actual scammers or other bad actors from being crappy people though.
arp242 11mo ago
Demos existed, for home computer and PC games anyway. This is why you bought the game review magazines to get the disk (and later, CD-ROM) with demos. For consoles you could often try the game in the shop, or rent them at the Video rental shop. You could even rent entire consoles! I've also returned a few games back in the day.

Kiboneu 11mo ago

> I miss that kind of media discovery, our modern always-online world tends to smother serendipity. I miss it too. I used to read computer game magazines as a kid. I recently re-evoked that feeling by subscribing to a linux magazine. Maybe there are still game magazines out there but i’m too lazy to look.

famahar 11mo ago

You can still do this. I regularily go to used game shops looking for old console games just based off the box art. They range from $1 - $5 so it's not much lost if the game ends up bad. I make sure to not search for reviews or more info. It's always a fun surprise.