Here is one old gem that has probably been forgotten due to never even being too popular. Some of you may hate a game like this because of some features, but I tend to look at it as the first game that tried to make something more out of FPS genre.
CyberMage is Doom-style FPS in which I can see a lot of ideas that were later implemented into games like Deus Ex. Unlike Doom, Quake or Duke Nukem, in Cybermage you will not just run around and kill everything that moves. You will also have to talk with people, follow their orders, help them out so they could help you etc. Some characters for example, will have to be bribed with money so they give you important information, some will have to be saved from prison, some will join you and shortly fight by your side etc.
You can also upgrade your inventory with useful stuff like voice recorder which records important conversations when you are given passwords and instructions how to solve missions, enemy detector will for example allow you to see enemies on the map if the place is too dark, and other useful stuff which I forgot about because I played the game 10 years ago. Cybermage is also the first FPS I have seen that allowed you to use vehicles like tanks and flying cars which you can not only use as a weapon, but also as a vehicle that can take you through the city and allow you to reach places you otherwise couldn't. The game also wasn't just about going through mazes and opening doors with blue, red and yellow keys, but very often you had to find a certain item so you could use it on a specific place to be able to advance. It works quite similar to adventure games. Unfortunately these adventure elements happen only few times in the game, but it is a nice touch for a FPS.
Cybermage also has a lot of different weapons, which range from standard shooting weapons like laser pistol, plasma shotgun, some uzi kind of weapon, etc.. to melee weapons like swords, axes and maces. Also you will be able to learn magic and shoot it out of your hand like a real marvel kind of superhero. I don't remember too well but I think overall you have somewhere near 20-30 different weapons including magic. You also have armor which gets better and better through the game and can get destroyed if it gets too damaged. Interesting part is that unlike your regular shooters where you get the whole armor at once, in CM you have to find a helmet for the head, leggings for legs, torso armor for the body, etc. and depending where you get shot that piece of armor gets damaged. You can also fix the armor so you need not always search for new armor.
Furthermore the game allows you to gamble on some slot machines and also bet in the arena on who of the combatants will win. You will also have to fight in the arena against the champion, so you can see why the game surprised me when I first saw it. But it gets better. You can also buy items, weapons, armor, health, ammunition, etc at some electronic stores which I really didn't expect.
But wait... there is more. The game also tried to implement some RPG elements so you could become stronger as you progressed through the game. I must admit it was not done too well, but it nevertheless gave you the feeling you are growing stronger. You won't see any stats and character creation options, so don't get your hopes up if you missed this game, because it too has a few weak spots, but I will get on that later. Anyway, the RPG elements work like this. You kill an enemy and for a short period of time his soul will come out of his body. You have to run to the soul and quickly absorb it with the darklight gem forged into your forehead. Whenever you consume someones soul you will get a permanent boost in your health or mana and that's it. Some souls will be very hard to aquire, because sometimes there is just too many enemies around, or they are just too far to get to the soul in time, but it is nevertheless a nice attempt to overcome the limitations of the engine, especially considering how old the game is.
Now to the story, which I will try to explain only in short words so I don't spoil the game for those who decide to give this gem a shot. In the year 2044 world has fallen apart and there is a war between corporations and rebels who are trying to overthrow the corrupted government. You awake with no memory to who you are in a mysterious laboratory only to find out you have been turned into a cyborg-human with some strange stone in your forehead. There is also someone looking for you and he wants you dead. His name is Necrom and he seems to posses the same powers like you do. He also seems to be someone important, but you will find out about that later in the game. Anyway, after you escape the laboratory you will have to join forces with the rebels and defeat Necrom. I know it sounds cheesy, but that is because I suck at explaining a story in short words. It actually is quite similar to Deus Ex, only not so detailed.
The game also offers a lot of memorable moments, like the arena, or the massive battle between rebels and Necrom soldiers on the outskirts of the city, where you run through trenches and try to help the rebels to win the battle. It's nothing spectacular by today's standards, but it was pretty awsome back in the 1995.
The game however has a few flaws. The first thing that gave me problems was adjusting myself to using only keyboard. Don't get me wrong, you can use the mouse too, it's just that using mouse with keyboard proved a bit difficult. The game works best just by using keyboard but maybe thats just me. Weapons have a nice kick to it and you will enjoy every kill you make, just don't expect that you will end up using mouse and keyboard like with what we are used to today. There also seems to be a problem with the way you earn money. For example if you gamble away the money in the beginning of the game you are screwed because you won't be able to finish the game. However if you use the save/load tactic when you gamble, you can earn millions and that will make the game too easy for you. But if you don't gamble, you maybe won't have enough money to buy all those nice Star Trek items which can help you a lot. Also don't expect any dialog options, or choices or consequences, because this is a shooter from 1995 after all. It's pretty linear and still there is a lot of mazes. Nothing like Doom, but some of you young gamers might get confused from time to time. Some of you might also be bothered with the fact that some characters look the same as enemies, although I have to say you will have a huge variety of enemies. Much bigger variety than in any other FPS I have played, but they are scaled through the levels which are also very different by design, which is a good thing. Another thing some people may hate are unkillable NPCs that are important for finishing the game. Not really important in my opinion, but I have to mention it. Just remember that before Cybermage you had Doom, Quake and Duke Nukem type of FPS, so CM is for them like a God or something.
To make the long story short, I would recommend this game to everyone who likes old school games or is willing to try them. Here are some more screenshots from MobyGames and Gamespot:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/c...m_act=convert&om_clk=gsimage&tag=images;img;3
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/cybermage-darklight-awakening/screenshots
-----EDIT------
Here is the download link for a full game:
http://rapidshare.com/files/130740106/CM.rar.html
CyberMage is Doom-style FPS in which I can see a lot of ideas that were later implemented into games like Deus Ex. Unlike Doom, Quake or Duke Nukem, in Cybermage you will not just run around and kill everything that moves. You will also have to talk with people, follow their orders, help them out so they could help you etc. Some characters for example, will have to be bribed with money so they give you important information, some will have to be saved from prison, some will join you and shortly fight by your side etc.
You can also upgrade your inventory with useful stuff like voice recorder which records important conversations when you are given passwords and instructions how to solve missions, enemy detector will for example allow you to see enemies on the map if the place is too dark, and other useful stuff which I forgot about because I played the game 10 years ago. Cybermage is also the first FPS I have seen that allowed you to use vehicles like tanks and flying cars which you can not only use as a weapon, but also as a vehicle that can take you through the city and allow you to reach places you otherwise couldn't. The game also wasn't just about going through mazes and opening doors with blue, red and yellow keys, but very often you had to find a certain item so you could use it on a specific place to be able to advance. It works quite similar to adventure games. Unfortunately these adventure elements happen only few times in the game, but it is a nice touch for a FPS.
Cybermage also has a lot of different weapons, which range from standard shooting weapons like laser pistol, plasma shotgun, some uzi kind of weapon, etc.. to melee weapons like swords, axes and maces. Also you will be able to learn magic and shoot it out of your hand like a real marvel kind of superhero. I don't remember too well but I think overall you have somewhere near 20-30 different weapons including magic. You also have armor which gets better and better through the game and can get destroyed if it gets too damaged. Interesting part is that unlike your regular shooters where you get the whole armor at once, in CM you have to find a helmet for the head, leggings for legs, torso armor for the body, etc. and depending where you get shot that piece of armor gets damaged. You can also fix the armor so you need not always search for new armor.
Furthermore the game allows you to gamble on some slot machines and also bet in the arena on who of the combatants will win. You will also have to fight in the arena against the champion, so you can see why the game surprised me when I first saw it. But it gets better. You can also buy items, weapons, armor, health, ammunition, etc at some electronic stores which I really didn't expect.
But wait... there is more. The game also tried to implement some RPG elements so you could become stronger as you progressed through the game. I must admit it was not done too well, but it nevertheless gave you the feeling you are growing stronger. You won't see any stats and character creation options, so don't get your hopes up if you missed this game, because it too has a few weak spots, but I will get on that later. Anyway, the RPG elements work like this. You kill an enemy and for a short period of time his soul will come out of his body. You have to run to the soul and quickly absorb it with the darklight gem forged into your forehead. Whenever you consume someones soul you will get a permanent boost in your health or mana and that's it. Some souls will be very hard to aquire, because sometimes there is just too many enemies around, or they are just too far to get to the soul in time, but it is nevertheless a nice attempt to overcome the limitations of the engine, especially considering how old the game is.
Now to the story, which I will try to explain only in short words so I don't spoil the game for those who decide to give this gem a shot. In the year 2044 world has fallen apart and there is a war between corporations and rebels who are trying to overthrow the corrupted government. You awake with no memory to who you are in a mysterious laboratory only to find out you have been turned into a cyborg-human with some strange stone in your forehead. There is also someone looking for you and he wants you dead. His name is Necrom and he seems to posses the same powers like you do. He also seems to be someone important, but you will find out about that later in the game. Anyway, after you escape the laboratory you will have to join forces with the rebels and defeat Necrom. I know it sounds cheesy, but that is because I suck at explaining a story in short words. It actually is quite similar to Deus Ex, only not so detailed.
The game also offers a lot of memorable moments, like the arena, or the massive battle between rebels and Necrom soldiers on the outskirts of the city, where you run through trenches and try to help the rebels to win the battle. It's nothing spectacular by today's standards, but it was pretty awsome back in the 1995.
The game however has a few flaws. The first thing that gave me problems was adjusting myself to using only keyboard. Don't get me wrong, you can use the mouse too, it's just that using mouse with keyboard proved a bit difficult. The game works best just by using keyboard but maybe thats just me. Weapons have a nice kick to it and you will enjoy every kill you make, just don't expect that you will end up using mouse and keyboard like with what we are used to today. There also seems to be a problem with the way you earn money. For example if you gamble away the money in the beginning of the game you are screwed because you won't be able to finish the game. However if you use the save/load tactic when you gamble, you can earn millions and that will make the game too easy for you. But if you don't gamble, you maybe won't have enough money to buy all those nice Star Trek items which can help you a lot. Also don't expect any dialog options, or choices or consequences, because this is a shooter from 1995 after all. It's pretty linear and still there is a lot of mazes. Nothing like Doom, but some of you young gamers might get confused from time to time. Some of you might also be bothered with the fact that some characters look the same as enemies, although I have to say you will have a huge variety of enemies. Much bigger variety than in any other FPS I have played, but they are scaled through the levels which are also very different by design, which is a good thing. Another thing some people may hate are unkillable NPCs that are important for finishing the game. Not really important in my opinion, but I have to mention it. Just remember that before Cybermage you had Doom, Quake and Duke Nukem type of FPS, so CM is for them like a God or something.
To make the long story short, I would recommend this game to everyone who likes old school games or is willing to try them. Here are some more screenshots from MobyGames and Gamespot:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/c...m_act=convert&om_clk=gsimage&tag=images;img;3
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/cybermage-darklight-awakening/screenshots
-----EDIT------
Here is the download link for a full game:
http://rapidshare.com/files/130740106/CM.rar.html
