Nox Archaist (PC [Apple II])
I finally had a couple of hours free to play this a bit more last night. I followed up on a sub-quest and explored some mountain caves, and leveled up a few characters.
Leveling up in this game is a real treat; you immediately get to spend 12 points on your main attributes (STR, DEX, INT), and earn six more training points for each skill (melee, ranged, lockpicking, critical hit, dodge). In order to train, you need to find trainers in the towns, and a major goal in the early part of the game is to explore and find these people. On top of that, you also improve your skills through use. It's a pretty cool system.
After leveling up, I put my quest on hold and headed back to town to sell extra equipment and train. I had already located the melee and ranged trainers, and had only heard some rumors about the rest in taverns. I decided to spend some time tracking down the lockpicking and dodge trainers for my rogue, and was able to find them after just a bit of information gathering. I hadn't been able to find these trainers until now, so I had a lot of training points to spend for that character!
These trainers only show up at night, and I stumbled upon the thread to another sub-quest while searching for them. I decided to give it a shot, and was able to complete it. Completing a sub-quest typically rewards you with a nice purse of gold, and I immediately spent it all on training everyone else in their important skills.
My next goal is to complete the sub-quest in the caves. From there, it's probably time to buy a boat and start exploring the rest of the world as I plan on replacing my "paladin" (fighter/mage) with a another pure mage.
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Duke Nukem (PC)
I've been slowly playing through this as I have time here and there. I remember playing this back when it was released, downloaded from a local BBS, and not being very impressed... however, I really like this game now! The level design is suprisingly good, and there are hardly any cheap hits if you play carefully. There's something really charming about this game, and I even like the PC speaker sound effects.
Anyway, I got through three levels in one sitting, so I must be pretty close to the end of Episode One.