The USS Quad Damage

Games you should be playing Volume 1 - Nethack

Thus starts the first in a series that will probably only gain a few entries before being abandoned and forgotten about. Before I go into detail about this game, I'll list my criteria on what sort of games will be covered. Note that this is only a guide, and not every game will meet the criteria fully.

- Not too recent or well known. This is the weakest of the "rules". If the game meets all the other points, then it is ok to break this one. Basically, by new, I mean well known and shiny. This isn't about Games everybody else is playing.
- Small. If it comes on more than one cd, it's probably too big. Essentially, it should be a reasonable download for a dial up user (yarrr).
- Multiple platforms is a plus, as is the ability to run on old hardware.
- Shareware and freeware games are a good sign that the maker knows that it will only gather a small audience, and isn't expecting to make millions of dollars. These games are usually made by people who not only love making games, but playing them as well.
- Game has to be at least one of the following
A: Good
B: Original
C: Way out there


Again, I'm not too picky about the rules, since I think a game like Ikaruga is exactly what I'm aiming for, even though it doesn't stick to all those points. I just don't want games like Halo 2, The Sims or GTA here.So let's get into entry number one.

Nethack

A game that is probably well known to the type of person that would read this sorry excuse for a website, Nethack is one of the hardest, deepest, complex yet funniest games of all time. And all of this for a game that is just under a 2MB download. Over the years, I've made many attempts to get into the game, but was put off by the slight (!) learning curve. On my most recent attempt at trying it (just a few days ago), I've broken through, and am now enjoying it immensely.

Why should you be playing this game? Creativity. As you delve deeper, become more experienced and acquire more items, you will find there is a myriad of ways of dealing with any encountered obstacle or problem. I'd provide some examples, but that would be spoiling it for you. It's best if you figure these things out for yourself. This, of course, is only half of the creativity to be found. The other half lies in the enormous amount of different and interesting ways to die.