First post, by digitaldoofus
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I'm sure there's been various "Greatest Game" threads in the past, but I'd like to post this one as a HUGE recommendation to fans of Action games and fans of multiplayer games. Most people have never tried the game I'm about to tell you about, largely because when it first came out, it was almost unplayable by your average PC due to its high (for the time) system requirements to play *well* (the minimum system requirements would get you only a choppy slideshow).
Yessir, to play this game well, you'd need a minimum of Pentium 200 MMX, although to make it really shine, you want a 300mhz machine or faster. And forget about that fancy 3DFX card...this game -- despite rumors of hardware acceleration with the original 3D Blaster -- did NOT support such graphics acceleration.
The game? ROCKET JOCKEY, by SegaSoft !
What makes the game so wonderful? Well, several things.
to begin with, it's hilarious. The sound effects of gasps and primal screams, all set in an alternate universe with retro-looking "jockeys" riding on rocket cycles shooting harpoon-tipped cables out from their vehicles' sides, was nothing short of mind-numbing fun! Not to mention the stylish surf-guitar soundtrack with anarchic rhythms that really set the mood.
What else makes it great? Well, you didn't need a mouse or joystick for the actual in-game action -- a keyboard not only does just fine, but it is the most natural and preferred control device for maneuvering your jockey. This made it a great for laptops (that were fast enough) running Win95 or 98. Also, the most AWESOME aspect of this jewel of a game was the Multiplayer mode, which was only available when you downloaded the later-issued LAN patch (another reason why the game was largely unheralded when it first came out sans multiplayer). You can play against friends over the internet, or on your own LAN -- and let me tell you...NOTHING beats the sensation of harpooning two of your best gaming buddies off of their rocket cycles, and then tieing their cables TOGETHER which causes them to run around stumbling and pulling each other to and fro as they try to break the cable!
There are lots of other game modes (Rocket Ball, Rocket Race) but the Rocket War (Multiplayer) is the one you'll keep coming back to.
But anyway, if you never listen to ANY other thing I say on this board, listen to this bit of advice: Get a copy of Rocket Jockey (or download the free demo) and spend the time to LEARN to play it (it takes a few hours to get the hang of how to play it *well*). It is one of the 3 or 4 most satisfying games I have ever played in my life...and I've played a bunch! (note: it can be played on systems later than Win98, but you might have to do some file copying and manipulation, which is documented at a site or two on the web -- I just play it on Win95 or 98 myself).
Download the demo (thanks to akula65 for the link!) and give it a try! http://www.fileplanet.com/11014/10000/fileinfo/
PS: If anyone wants to do an internet multiplayer game with me, give me a PM!
Once you try retrogaming, you'll never go back...
