GOG Summer Sale 2015 Complaints

[ptarth]

I saw the Steam Thread and wondered why there wasn't a GOG thread filled with negativity too. Given that I really like their titles I'm going to talk about their stuff.

GOG is a Steam competitor, built on the idea of getting older titles back into circulation and having no DRM. Their original name was Good Old Games, and they rebranded themselves as GOG. Interestingly, the company behind them makes the Witcher series and distributing the Witcher was the reason the service was created. They are somewhat like Stardock in that regard. Their two main marketing characteristics are rebuilding older games to work in newer PCS and no DRM. I really like them.

Anyway, they are having their summer sale. It's similar to the Steam one, lasts until June 21, bundles and products rotate, etc. Because of SBR, last week, I picked up the Classic City Builder Bundle for $7. It contains
City Builder Bundle
Pharaoh + Cleopatra
Zeus + Poseidon
Caesar 3

I had missed out on these games when they first came, but everyone says they are umatched to this day. I've only gotten to play Pharaoh, I want to beat it before I move on. However, it is really good. Amazingly good. Sure the interface is so primitive it makes EA products look competent, but still it was amazing. The Bundle isn't currently on rotation, but it will probably come back. Full discounted "retail" is $20.

Some other highlights
Grim Fandago & Other Lucas Arts Adventure Games - Timeless Adventure games.
Sierra Adventure Games - Police Quest, Kings Quest, Quest for Glory - The gangs all here.
AI War - No name title produced by some company ran by a guy named Chris.
Arcanum - Complex Steampunk fantasy RPG
SimCity 4 - $4. So many mods. So much better than the new version. Which reminds me I need to reinstall it.

[Mick]

I was actually a beta tester for Caesar 3 back in the day. Was an interesting experience. Zeus is my favorite game of that series, and I'm disappointed that 'style' of city builder hasn't really been replicated since. I lovd all those games.

I do like GOG because they brought a lot of old titles back from the dead, so I have quite a few purchases from them. If a title is on Steam though, I prefer to buy it there. I don't have the same hate toward Steam-DRM that a lot of people seem to. I prefer the convenience of auto-updating and having all my stuff in one place.

[Kahuna]

I'm gonna buy Master of Orion 2 and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri whether they're on sale or not.

[WingedKagouti]

Their two main marketing characteristics are rebuilding older games to work in newer PCS and no DRM. I really like them.

They very rarely do any actual rebuilding of games, for DOS games they usually use a script to set up a DOSBox session with parameters apropriate to the title in question. For older Windows games that don't work properly on newer versions of Windows they do a bit more work (usually hacking the existing executables and/or dlls), but they generally don't go around rebuilding the games. And that's mostly because often neither they nor the current rights holders have easy access to the source code.

Still, the work they are doing is great for the general gaming community. Providing legal and easily accessible versions of classics that may be hard to find. Also, no-DRM versions of titles and the ability to back up everything you've bought and not have to use an internet connection to install/run any of it.

[Mánagarmr]

I own a TON of games on GOG. Though there's still a fair few I need to pick up either because they were GREAT (Darkstone), nostalgic (Descent series) or because I still haven't played them to completion and I should (Deus Ex).

AI War - No name title produced by some company ran by a guy named Chris.

I lol'd.

[Captain Jack]

Big GOG fan, to the point where I'll probably end up picking up a second copy of SBR when it officially releases. That said, I'm so busy this year that I'm unlikely to buy any games for a long while, but I'll wholeheartedly recommend anything by Falcom. Ys is one of the longest running game franchises on the planet, and Trails in the Sky is a slow burning JRPG epic.

[Tomasdk]

I also have quite a GoG library, especially old games I used to play as a child, I still haven't finished a lot of them though. I also bought the City Builder pack the OP mentions as I never played the games and I always wanted to but never got around to buying them.

[ptarth]

Just a heads up for those who might not be checking daily: The GOG 2 day finale has started. All the bundles are back on at their discounted prices. The city builder bundle for $7 is amazingly good and cheap as chips. I now have to agonize over The Wolf Among Us (again).

[WingedKagouti]

I now have to agonize over The Wolf Among Us (again).

I grabbed TWAU at 25% off or so and had a blast with it. It's a solid Telltale narrative experience and there are no wrong choices.

Personally I grabbed the King's Bounty games that I lacked along with the expansion for The Last Federation.

[doctorfrog]

I don't know how, but GOG managed to squeeze more money out of my wallet: bought both Imperialism games and a copy of Majesty Gold HD. Total now is at 193 games.