Favorite and First Cd-I game

[Captain J]

I was having a conversation with Devin the other day and I asked him what his favorite CD-I game was and what was the first one he bought (not counting a pack-in). I thought it would be fun to see everyone elses answers as well so I'll go first!

First CD-I game bought - Tetris

I bought the CD-I when it launched almost 15 years ago (man am I getting old, I just turned 28 3 days ago!) and had enough money left to purchase one game, which they were all going for $50USD each then. I saw tetris, and I was such a big fan of it on Gameboy, that i gave it a try. While the controls were a little rough with it on a 220 model thunbstick, I thought it had beautiful backgrounds and wonderful music!

Favorite CD-I game - Zeldas Adventure

Despite the negativity this game gets from Zelda purists, I just dont agree. I am a huge Legend of Zelda fan (In fact, it was the first game I bought for my NES in 1986!) and I think the game is awesome. While it does have some slow loading times, it makes up for it with great graphics and sound. Its like playing the NES Zelda, but with real actors and sound effects!

Runners up for favorite game would inlcude myst, the 7th guest, and treasures of the smithsonian (for reference). Oh who am i kidding, I love them all!

[Bas]

First CD-I game bought - Inca

Well actually this game was bundled with my cd-i player when I got it around 1994, so it was not actually the first one for me to buy. My memory doesn't help me on this one actually, it was either Litil Divil or the 7th Guest. In the end I got both ofcourse
I spent ages playing Litil Divil however wandering through those mazes. Very lovely memories I have of the great graphics and animation sequences they put into the game. It's still on of my favourites.

Favorite CD-I game - Creature Shock

Even in 1997 I was collecting everything about cd-i, and this game was on my wish list since 1994. Being so long on the way I really thought they would cancel it eventually. In 1996 they had a small press release in the Philips Shop but in the end i had to wait until April 1997 when Free Record Shop (of all places!) had one copy in stock. I really didn't see that coming, it was a HUGE surprise when I saw it on the shelf, I really thougth I was dreaming, no kidding! Ofcourse I bought it and loved playing it since. It's graphically and technically the best title the cd-i has to offer.

[tgn_rogue]

First CD-i Title: Well thats pretty hard as most of the titles we have came from the Phillips shop in town so we got all the, 20+ "For Display Purpose Only" discs for about £20 and the fact I didnt actually buy them doesnt help lol.

Favourite CD-i Title: Has to be either Escape From Cyber City, or Lords of the Rising Sun. Escape Form Cyber City plugs right into my love for anime and is probably the best anime to game conversion I have ever played on ANY console. And Lords of the Rising Sun had the best of both worlds in my eye as a strategy and action game. The live actors in the scenes really helped in my view, and the action sequences or (mini-games if you wish) were just addictive and fun... for me anyway, also with the added bonus of our enlarged and mounted strategic map form the manual.

Then again games like Burn Cycle, Dragons Lair 1&2 and .......actually you know what i love them all ... I just preffer and play theese two more than any others.

[Captain J]

First CD-I game bought - Inca

Well actually this game was bundled with my cd-i player when I got it around 1994, so it was not actually the first one for me to buy. My memory doesn't help me on this one actually, it was either Litil Divil or the 7th Guest. In the end I got both ofcourse
I spent ages playing Litil Divil however wandering through those mazes. Very lovely memories I have of the great graphics and animation sequences they put into the game. It's still on of my favourites.

Favorite CD-I game - Creature Shock

Even in 1997 I was collecting everything about cd-i, and this game was on my wish list since 1994. Being so long on the way I really thought they would cancel it eventually. In 1996 they had a small press release in the Philips Shop but in the end i had to wait until April 1997 when Free Record Shop (of all places!) had one copy in stock. I really didn't see that coming, it was a HUGE surprise when I saw it on the shelf, I really thougth I was dreaming, no kidding! Ofcourse I bought it and loved playing it since. It's graphically and technically the best title the cd-i has to offer.

you are right about litil devil, its very fun! in fact you just gave me the itch to go play it right now!

[Captain J]

First CD-i Title: Well thats pretty hard as most of the titles we have came from the Phillips shop in town so we got all the, 20+ "For Display Purpose Only" discs for about £20 and the fact I didnt actually buy them doesnt help lol.

Favourite CD-i Title: Has to be either Escape From Cyber City, or Lords of the Rising Sun. Escape Form Cyber City plugs right into my love for anime and is probably the best anime to game conversion I have ever played on ANY console. And Lords of the Rising Sun had the best of both worlds in my eye as a strategy and action game. The live actors in the scenes really helped in my view, and the action sequences or (mini-games if you wish) were just addictive and fun... for me anyway, also with the added bonus of our enlarged and mounted strategic map form the manual.

Then again games like Burn Cycle, Dragons Lair 1&2 and .......actually you know what i love them all ... I just preffer and play theese two more than any others.

Escape from Cyber City does have great animation in it! That kind of game (the dragons lairesque type of game) is one that people either love or hate, but myself, i like them because i always thought it was cool to control your own cartoon or movie in a video game!

[Bas]

First CD-I game bought - Tetris

I bought the CD-I when it launched almost 15 years ago (man am I getting old, I just turned 28 3 days ago!) and had enough money left to purchase one game, which they were all going for $50USD each then. I saw tetris, and I was such a big fan of it on Gameboy, that i gave it a try. While the controls were a little rough with it on a 220 model thunbstick, I thought it had beautiful backgrounds and wonderful music!

Oh yes, Tetris is beautifully crafted. The polishment is utterly visible in details, and it's very playable. If only they had included a two-player option, that would have been awesome!

Favorite CD-I game - Zeldas Adventure

Despite the negativity this game gets from Zelda purists, I just dont agree. I am a huge Legend of Zelda fan (In fact, it was the first game I bought for my NES in 1986!) and I think the game is awesome. While it does have some slow loading times, it makes up for it with great graphics and sound. Its like playing the NES Zelda, but with real actors and sound effects!

Another one which is voted for second-best favourite as well, Zelda`s Adventure is nothing else than great. For the time is was one of the low-budget titles, who would have thought this became the most sought-after cd-i game ever? I disagree 100% with all the main press reviews claiming it to be rubbish, Zelda`s Adventure is huge, lovely, with great graphics and atmosphere, but god-damn difficult

[xanfan]

I bought my first system at Macy's back in 1995. It was a model 450 with no bells or whistles, but I was thrilled that I was able to get a new system for $99, when the infomercials I had seen had prices that were much higher. (Little did I realize then that it was almost the end of the road for the system, but this 14 year old didn't care. lol)

The system came with International Tennis Open and the original version of Compton's Encyclopedia. I didn't have the money to really get any extra software at the time. (Now I can kick myself, because Macy's had literally dozens of those white label demo games. If I knew the system was on its last legs, I would have asked to buy those.)

The first game that I actually bought, was almost a year later (since finding the games in stores were difficult.) I just got online with a local BBS that offered Usenet, and there was a guy that was selling new games. (I didn't get internet access until almost 1997.)

Enough digressing.

The first game I bought: Burn:Cycle. That was actually the game that got me hooked on the system. I still think it's a pretty cool game, even if sometimes complicated to control. (I think I am one of the only people that liked the fact that, if you got shot once, game over. As much as it was fantasy, I liked that piece of reality.)

My favorite game: The Joker's Wild. As weird as it may sound, I am a big fan of game shows, and I never thought I'd ever see a video game version of that show. (Especially since the show was already off the air when it was introduced for CDi). It's also one of the only games that my whole family will play together. Gotta love family togetherness. lol

I'm gonna expand on this topic:

Title with most potential: The Lost Ride. If this title wasn't so full of bugs and didn't freeze up, it would have certainly been my favorite game. Being one of the last titles produced (1998), there is no way it should have been loaded with these errors. Which is a shame because the game itself, was beautifully designed, and seemed like it would be quite a challenge. I remember getting it in the mail, and hoping it was as good as it looked. And it was, for a game that just stops at certain points. (Can ANYONE get past the first level?)

-Kris

[Bas]

First I thought it was a shame they never released those gameshow-cd-i's in Europe (Jeopardy, Third Degree, Joker`s Wild) because they were all very polished, extensive and certainly looked like fun. Well, now I have played them, I understand it because the native american influence of the discs is enormous, I guess the gameshows were popular in USA (?) otherwise they would have done a translation I guess. It's the same with Lingo being a dutch gameshow, another excellent example.

After Philips dropped their research in the seamless branching technique they handed over the bunch to Lost Boys, who got a lot of their dev kits too. Lost Boys started a project 'The Lost Ride' in which Lost Boys took care of the technique and NeoGeo created the graphics. I'm not sure if Lost Boys was able to improve the system anyway, or they just used what they got.... That would be a reason for those bugs left inside the game. I'm actually right in contact with a few guys behind this project, so who knows what will turn up in the future. However, the in-game bugs vary a lot between the different cd-i player models. The title didn't get passed the Hasselt test centre because they dropped the cd-i format right before. Actually, despite being printed on it, Philips had nothing to do with it, they didn't even publish the game.

This being said, it's not impossible to play the game to the end. Perhaps the 220 model suffer from these bugs relatively, but I've played through all three levels with great fun. I have to mention, when the game crashes due to a bug, it recovers itself for 100%. I've never seen the game got stuck. Have you?

After you've reached the key-portal (after getting the key), the end route of each level is beautifully designed, these parts are the best of the game. Just use the map well, and find the green marks on it. If you've only played the first Mine-level, the real beauty is only in level 2 and 3....

[thomas]

First title (film) was 'Flashdance', as it played on my PC, because I didn't own a CDi.
First 'game' title I bought was 'Kiss', long before I owned a CDi. Cute girls on covers always make me an impulse buyer. Second was all 3 Link/Zelda games for 5.00 GBP each, still no CDi machine in sight, but I am glad now that I did get those 3 'highly-overprized-games-on-Ebay-ever' Link/Zelda games.
Then I got Thunder in Paradise, still no machine, Burn Cycle...no CDi yet.

Finally I got my CDi in 2001, with a bunch of second-hand titles.

Fave game is: The Apprentice, as I love platformers

Last title as of yet: head crash box set, which cost me 25.00 GBP, ouch but highly collectable.

[xanfan]

First I thought it was a shame they never released those gameshow-cd-i's in Europe (Jeopardy, Third Degree, Joker`s Wild) because they were all very polished, extensive and certainly looked like fun. Well, now I have played them, I understand it because the native american influence of the discs is enormous, I guess the gameshows were popular in USA (?) otherwise they would have done a translation I guess. It's the same with Lingo being a dutch gameshow, another excellent example.

Jeopardy has been on the air for a LONG time here in the USA. (1966 to 1975, 1978-1979, and 1984 to currently!) Third Degree was only on for one year (1989-1990), and Joker's Wild was on from 1972-1975, 1978-1986, and 1990-1991. (Yeah, I love game show history.) Lingo on the other hand, was on the air from 1987-1988 here, and the current cable version has been on from 2002 to the current. (I for one would like to get my hands on a copy of Lingo, even though its completely in Dutch, correct?)

This being said, it's not impossible to play the game to the end. Perhaps the 220 model suffer from these bugs relatively, but I've played through all three levels with great fun. I have to mention, when the game crashes due to a bug, it recovers itself for 100%. I've never seen the game got stuck. Have you?

Yes! Unfortunately, it crashes to the point of no recovery, every time I play the game. Funny thing is that it always crashes at the same location every time as well on the 220. (Or at least my 220 model.) Now I haven't checked the 605 model that I have, mainly because I need a CD caddy. When I get one, I do plan to check the reliability of it. I can never get past the first level, as that is when it crashes. (Always when I feel like I am almost complete the level too... Go figure!)

After you've reached the key-portal (after getting the key), the end route of each level is beautifully designed, these parts are the best of the game. Just use the map well, and find the green marks on it. If you've only played the first Mine-level, the real beauty is only in level 2 and 3....

So I have been told, and seen from various screen shots online and on the cover. The other levels look fantastic. (One of the ones from the back cover is what really triggered me to get a copy of the game in the first place.) I hope when I can test the game out on the 605 that it works better. Shame too, because other than the crashing, the game is not only beautiful, but a challenge, which I like in games.

[Bas]

Have you also tried other cd-i shooters, like Solar Crusade and Creature Shock? What do you think of those?

[Captain J]

First I thought it was a shame they never released those gameshow-cd-i's in Europe (Jeopardy, Third Degree, Joker`s Wild) because they were all very polished, extensive and certainly looked like fun.

The thing I love best about the gameshow games, and something they have never done in any other versions on other platforms is the feature that lets you choose your own name, and that name is spoken throughout the game, I always thought that was a cool extra touch!

[Bas]

yeah, the only thing is abroad you have to choose often a different name because the system does not know my name! I had the same thing with Max Magic, I love that interface! It is connected witht he internal clock, and like when you start playing in the middle of the night, Max will start saying "You know it's past my bedtime, sebastian (that's how he calls me). And if you haven't played the game for over a few weeks or something, he'll start with "It's been way to long since I saw you around, Sebastian, let's do some magic!"

And when you don't touch any button for a while, he starts complaining "Sebastian, did you fall asleep or something?"

[Captain J]

yeah, the only thing is abroad you have to choose often a different name because the system does not know my name!

well my name is Joe so I was always covered!