# Arrg stupid video games! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 14, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663 "2003-04-14T16:21:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/41 "2003-04-17T05:16:07Z")
_DAMN YOU, WUMPUS! DAMN YOU AND YOUR BATS TO HELLLLLL!_ ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/42 "2003-04-17T07:53:17Z")
I’m pretty sure there was never a version of _Yars Revenge_ released with an audio tape. There was a read-along book based on Yars, but that wasn’t included with the game itself. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/43 "2003-04-17T07:57:45Z")
You guys think American McGee doing Alice is bad? Try this: American McGee’s “Oz”… [http://www.xboxmagonline.com/xbox/reviews/a/reviews-americanmcgeesoz.html](http://www.xboxmagonline.com/xbox/reviews/a/reviews-americanmcgeesoz.html) TINS And the silver Mercedes in Apex must die! Curse you, silver Mercedes! One day, when you least expect it, your uppence will COME! ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/44 "2003-04-17T08:14:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\*_DAMN YOU, WUMPUS! DAMN YOU AND YOUR BATS TO HELLLLLL!_ \*\* Slime pit??? BTW, no audio tape for yar’s here either. Didn’t stop me from getting over 530,000 points at age 9! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/45 "2003-04-17T13:15:29Z")
**CRorex** , I was just given Wizardry8 as a birthday present. I didn’t ask for it and was given Death Stare From Hell when I asked to exchange it for a gime I’ve heard of & like. Like maybe the new Never Winter Nights Module. Given what you’ve said, it’ll just collect dust & then be shoved into the Bookcase of Games of the Damned… ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/46 "2003-04-17T14:33:03Z")
Hey quietman, check your email 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/47 "2003-04-17T15:48:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by quietman1920 \* > \*\ ***CRorex** , I was just given Wizardry8 as a birthday present. I didn’t ask for it and was given Death Stare From Hell when I asked to exchange it for a gime I’ve heard of & like. Like maybe the new Never Winter Nights Module. > > Given what you’ve said, it’ll just collect dust & then be shoved into the Bookcase of Games of the Damned… \*\* Actually the Wizardry games are some of the best PC RPGs ever made. Wiz 8 is all about 3 legendary artifacts. Two have been found and were taken to the planet with the 3rd by 2 of 7 different factions all trying to get in on the uberpower game. In enters your party. Wizardry games have always combined really odd humor with a fairly interesting story line. The only problem is, NONE of the wizardry games were made for the casual gamer. Each of the games is INSANELY hard. I barely beat Wizardry 6 with the guide book. I suggest you try playing it. Start out on Easy, and read the online walkthroughs for party creation suggestion. Save BEFORE and after each fight you get into… save before you rest your party. ---
**Author:** ![MrBoy1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@MrBoy1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBoy1967)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/48 "2003-04-18T01:24:40Z")
I never understood the rationale behind that kind of difficulty in a video/PC game. Don’t computer gamers have lives outside of…oh waitaminit, nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/49 "2003-04-18T01:49:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MrBoy1967 \* > \*\*I never understood the rationale behind that kind of difficulty in a video/PC game. Don’t computer gamers have lives outside of…oh waitaminit, nevermind. \*\* Hey, I’ve got a life outside of video games! That’s what the role-playing books are for. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/50 "2003-04-18T02:55:20Z")
We’ve sure come a long way, baby! I can remember my BIL getting so angry and frustrated while playing **Metroid** on the _original NES_ that he threw the controller (one of those great big babies with the turbo buttons) against the wall, putting a hole in the panelling. He decided that if it made him that upset it was time to give it a rest, so he loaned the damn thing to ME so that I could suffer just as much. My brother, while trying to defeat the final boss (The Mother Brain), finally, with clenched jaw, said, "Are you sure this thing is called a Mother _ **BRAIN** _? How easy those games were compared to the torture devices that they turn out now! ---
**Author:** ![MrBoy1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@MrBoy1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBoy1967)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/51 "2003-04-18T05:02:39Z")
According to some of my…special sources, some of the games you guys have mentioned are being used during interrogations at Guantanamo. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2003, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/52 "2003-04-18T07:05:04Z")
Alright, I do like Apex, it’s compelling in some odd way… But what the fuck is up with the slotcar tracks that these other cars run on? And they go batshit psycho if you run into em and knock em outta their lane. And what the fuck is up with this leader turboboost? Every time a CPU car gets ahead of you, it suddenly gets a huge, rocket-powered lead. This was especially noticeable in one of the Challenge races, where I was racing an IDENTICAL CAR that somehow beat my ass by 10 seconds… ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/53 "2003-04-22T04:26:07Z")
Dude, you want frustrating? Try Advance Wars for Game Boy Advance. That is a damned hard game. And the hell of it is, it’s so addicting, it makes you want to keep trying. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/54 "2003-04-22T05:25:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElwoodCuse \* > \*\*Dude, you want frustrating? Try Advance Wars for Game Boy Advance. That is a damned hard game. And the hell of it is, it’s so addicting, it makes you want to keep trying. \*\* Nah, AW isn’t too bad. What’s bad is playing Final Fantasy Tactics, hitting a major fight (I’m thinking of one or two towards the middle of the game) and realizing, “Oh, shit, I really should have leveled up more.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Sterra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/55 "2003-04-22T05:44:48Z")
Once you know how to play the Final Fantasy tatics it is actually pretty easy to beat it with extremely low level characters. You have to know what all the numbers mean though. Even the one on one battle with Wiegraf. ---
**Author:** ![MrBoy1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@MrBoy1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBoy1967)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/56 "2003-04-22T06:15:07Z")
You young whining wussies make me sick! Ever tried Adventure on the Atari 2600! HAH!-Thats a real game. Or the original Pong console game…or the arcade version? Come back to me when you can play Stargate or StarCastle, or Xevious or SubRoc, or Assault or Xenophobe or Vanguard for an hour on 1 quarter… Uh, then show me how you did it… ---
**Author:** ![Ottoerotic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ottoerotic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ottoerotic)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/57 "2004-04-07T01:42:59Z")
> [@MrBoy1967](#): > > You young whining wussies make me sick! Ever tried Adventure on the Atari 2600! You said it, nothing like going halfway through and having that psychotic “bat” swoop down and replace your key with a dragon who then proceeds to eat you alive. ---
**Author:** ![MrBoy1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@MrBoy1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrBoy1967)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/58 "2004-04-07T01:49:10Z")
Once I got good at Adventure, I used to fiddle with the TV controls so that I could barely see my pixellated self, the walls, creatures, or treasures. Essentially, I played the game with the feat Blindsight, Video Game. Good fun, especially when a dragon showed up and you couldn’t see where you were going… ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/59 "2004-04-07T02:39:22Z")
Bah. You people don’t know from frustrating games. Give [NetHack](http://www.nethack.org) or [Ancient Domains of Mystery](http://www.adom.de) a shot sometime. The abovementioned games might have been tough, but please consider the following: 1. These games are done entirely in ASCII. 2. They’re 95% randomly generated levels. 3. There are lots of, shall we say, interesting ways to die. 4. When you find one of these ways, your savefile is deleted. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663/60 "2004-04-07T05:41:50Z")
> [@d\_redguy](#): > > I just bought this game for the PC a few weeks ago (newly built and very **133t** machine :D, needed a high-end game to check her out). There is a good deal of trial and error, but the graphics, gameplay, control, plot, sound, bloody-well everything else more than make up for it. I even enjoy some of the trial-and-error, and do some segments over just to see if I can be a better “super-secret-stealth-agent-all-around-badass” than the first time around. But then, tactical espionage action type games are my bread and butter. Metal Gear Solid (and MGS 2) are all time favorites. > > The game that burned my ass and turned into “work” was Warcraft III. If I wanted to micromanage, I would buck for a promotion for Og’s sake. I was really disappointed, because I loved Starcraft. ☹ I just finished _Splinter Cell II:Pandora Tomorrow_ for the XBox. What a kickass game. Not terribly difficult, but the last level had me stuck for about four hours (spread over three days), screaming at the screen. Compared to the games of yesteryear, I find the ones out today are quite easy, and all beatable within 20 hours (with the exception of RPGs). Anybody remember games like _Hacker_ or _Murder on the Mississippi_ or _Maniac Mansion_? Christ, those games took me months to finish. Kids these days got it easy. 😉 BTW, I agree with whoever said Ultima IV being the best RPG. Now _that_ was a cool game. I wish they’d make some more overhead-view 2D RPGs. Or remember Ultima 3? Between finding and figuring out the moongates and stumbling my way blindly through eight-level dungeons designed purely to piss you off, I’m surprised my computer made it without being smashed into tiny little pieces. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrg-stupid-video-games/168663.md?page=4)