Random Musings

Ok, I am in a state of ecstasy and unbound joy. Why you ask? I just managed to play the 10 year old computer game Crusaders : No Regret in my laptop! Now this is no ordinary feat. This baby runs only on the original Dos that comes with Win 95 and 98. With the invasion of XP only machines, I had to bid a teary farewell to Dos. I tried so much to get the game to play on Win XP but my efforts were always futile. Finally using a program called DosBox, it works J Why this game is so close to my heart…?

A brief history of time….

Crusaders No Regret is just not a game. It is something that just blew my mind when I first saw the game in my friend’s house. It is about a rebel warrior and his allies who have to fight the Govt controlled evil energy empire that is bent on ruling the world in the year 2099. The graphics for a game that’s over 10 years old is simply ahead of its time. The story line is the ultimate with characters like the Silencer(a.k.a the ‘Tin Man’ who you control, Denning(my fav guy, hard ass), Col. Shepard and finally Draygen the baddie). Can you believe this game has 15 weapons, ranging from projectile to energy, Over 10 inventory items like spider mines/bombs/disrupter/shields and the host of awesome enemies like enforcers/elite enforcers/stormtroopers and a gamut of servomechs! This may sound like a Greek and Latin to you but its music to my ears. In fact one of the highlights of the game is the whoop ass action music that sets the pace and should be a part of your playlist. The entire game takes an iso metric view and virtually anything can be destroyed in game. The ingame video transmissions are so well done and add so much depth to the storyline. The missions are so varied and well designed that unlocks more of the storyline and new weapons/units/ as time flows. Another reason I love this game so much is that It gave me a very close friend and we share such fond memories of the same.

-> Level 1 on the vigilance platform

-> Silencer recharging in an energy station

No Regret was the sequel to No remorse, a blockbuster when it came out. Crusaders: No Regret incidentally won the game of the year 1998 with an impressive 8.9 from gamespot.com at that. This game really did not make headlines though(one of the greatest mysteries like how Bush was relected) but rightly got a well deserved place in underdogs.com as ‘one the best’ action games of all time. There were plans for sequels like No Mercy but it was shelved L I sincerely thank echo station and wikipedia for giving me the joy of playing No regret on my XP Pc.

-> The main screen which has the best musical score

For those who have read my post on Starcraft, yes I still don’t know myself on which is the best game , Crusaders: No Regret or Starcraft. Both are not just great games with such emotional pull with reference to their storyline and music but the friendship I developed with so many people whilst discussing the game so thoroughly that I should be a part of the credits under ‘testing’. To make a choice on which is the best, let me ask you a question. If you can give me a clear mandate on that, I will chose my best game. Deal?

Ok, here it is: would you rather be blind in the left or right eye?