Good Old Games

Remember playing some old games as back in the day as computer gaming was just getting off the ground and thinking of a way to relive that awesome vintage experience. There are multiple ways these days for you to bring back the classic games you loved to play.

Good Old Games

GoodOldGames (gog.com) is a great site. The guys behind this site aim to bring back the old games you loved with an easy to use site, which allows to you download and run pre-packaged games which ensure that they run on your current operating system.

While some games will run natively despite their ages, Good Old Games have tested and created packages that ensure the game will run with minimal fuss while maintain the original experince of the game. Some games have been pre-packaged in a DOSBox (emulation software) meaning they have done the hard work for you so you can get straight to the game.

The account system means that you buy once, download anytime. This also means that you can download the PC and MAC versions as need (as they're available).

If you're looking for the easier way to play the classics, this is my first stop.

Steam

As you probably already have seen, Steam has a large array of game downloads including the classics. As any other Steam game, this is added against your account and can be downloaded at any point.

Most classic games here are as they are. Another great resource for classic games,

DOSBox

DOSBox is a x86 emulator that allows you to install and run any DOS-based application in an emulated, sandboxed environment. This means that if you already have your classic games, you can install them to your DOSBox and get playing with minimal fuss.

DOSBox is available on almost all platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD etc) with custom frontends, and language translations available.

Virtual Machines

The last option which I can offer is to setup a virtual machine. This will require a bit more leg work on your side, but this will also give you the most genuine experience (without setting up old computer hardware).

Virtual Machine is a virtual computer running on a existing system. This means you and install and run any operating system, on top of an existing system without interaction.

Using the open source software VirtualBox (no relation to DOSBox) allows to create virtual machines with a wide range of supported operating systems from Windows and Linux. Simply setup a DOS or Windows 9x virtual machine and install your game.

Note: You will need the operating system media and product key to setup a virtual machine.

Conclusion

With all these options and tools available, you are able to play pretty much all your favorite classic games without problems.

[2012] Top 10 Zombie Games

As gamers, we have an unhealthy obsession of the undead, specifically Zombies.

Zombies, Walkers, Roamers, whatever you want to call them, the idea of a person dying and reanimating, then blowing their brains out with the double-barreled shotgun is nothing but mouth-watering gaming goodness. And as gamers, we do have a wide selection of where we can get our fix. I have comprised a list of where we can get this fix.

I will also say that these are in no particular order.

1. Call of Duty Zombies

Since the release of Call of Duty: World at War [WaW], we have been shown how awesome the combination of a Nazi and Zombie really is. In the original release, WaW provided the side game of Zombies which involved various survival maps which pinned you and your teammates against increasingly hard waves of Zombies. From there, Call of Duty from Treyarch continued to include the Call of Duty Zombies side game. In the most recent release, Call of Duty Black Ops 2, showed us a episodic style to the Zombies game where you visited various stops via bus while uncovering the events behind the Zombie apocalypse.

Call of Duty Zombies is certainly a popular game and very fun to play with friends only.

Platforms: PC, PS3, XBOX 360
Must have: Call of Duty World at War, Call of Duty Black Ops, Call of Duty Black Ops 2

http://callofduty.wikia.com/wiki/Zombies_(mode)

2. DayZ

DayZ has quickly become a popular mod game with a dedicated fanbase. Adding on to the ARMA II engine/game, DayZ brings a open-map survival game. Not only are you fighting for survival from Zombies, but also from other players. As supplies are scarce in the world, you find competition with other players for medical and ammunition supplies to defend yourself in the world.

The game mod is still in Alpha development and still has some bugs, so some forgiveness is expected when playing the game. The physics and the zombies are not exactly perfect themselves, but the game play is still challenging.

Platforms: PC Only.
Must have: ArmA II: Combined Operations game installed

http://dayzmod.com/

3. The War Z

Update:
In the comments we were pointed to all the problems and controversies surrounding this game. From this, this game is pulled from this list. Please check out the Reddit.com post for more information here.

War Z can be compared with Day Z however, this game is developed as stand-alone. No other game is required to play.

War Z is the first MMO Zombie survival game and not subscription based. Pay once, play always. The game is open-world and puts you against other players. While you can organise and run as clans, however it only takes a bullet to shot you down and lose your supplies and have to start again.

The Zombies and environment are relatively detailed and contains various features that make the game more immersive. This game is still in development but so far proves to be a very captive game.

Platform: PC Only

http://thewarz.com/

4. ZombiU

ZombiU is the first game to use two screens to put you against Zombie and survival combat. While shooting zombies on your TV, your health and radar is displayed on the controller display. In other occasions, you will be picking the lock of a door, on the controller display while a horde of Zombies continue to approach you on your TV. This degree of pressure makes the game more challenging and tests how well you can work under pressure.

Platform: Nintendo Wii U Only

http://zombiu.ubi.com/zombi/en-US/home/index.aspx

5. Resident Evil franchise

Since its first release on PlayStation in 1996, Resident Evil franchise has been serving some serious level of Zombie/mutation killing. From Zombie infested mansions to the devastation of Racoon City, there have been 23 releases of the Resident Evil game. This the first step in your Zombie video game education.

Platform: PlayStation 1/2/3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo 64, XBOX 360, PC and other platforms

http://www.residentevil.com/

6. Left 4 Dead series

Left 4 Dead series, developed by Valve, is a FPS game encouraging multiplayer co-op. From the beginning you take the place of one of four team members who then embark on a journey through towns infested with Zombies and mutants. The game is not much Solo and you can only get the most when Online with others.

Platforms: XBOX 360, PC, Mac, Linux (Left 4 Dead 2 Only)

http://www.l4d.com/blog/

7. The Walking Dead series

Coming of the comic book, The Walking Dead is a point-to-point story game that follows the main character, Lee Everett, a convicted killer, to finding is family but along the way finds a little girl and together try and find their family.

The game is intelligent in its story telling and often crosses the path of characters from the comic book series, which is exciting for those who have read the comics.

Platforms: PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, XBOX 360, Apple iOS

http://www.telltalegames.com/walkingdead

8. Dead Island

Trapped on a island resort you wake to find the island is now infested with Zombies and it is now a fight for survival. The game puts emphasis on melee weapons above guns, while allowing you to modify weapons to increase their impact on enemies.

Zombies in Dead Island range from your standard dude wanting to bite you, to acid-spewing dude or big dude with bone knives. Being partly online, it will allow other gamers to jump in on your game unexpected and "help" you out. However, you can disable your game from going online.

Platforms: PC, XBOX 360, PlayStation 3, OnLive

http://deadisland.deepsilver.com/

9. Dead Rising series

Dead Rising first debuted on the XBOX 360 in 2006 and was notable for the ability to use most object in the game as weapons along with guns, bats, 2x4 planks of wood and more. The first game you played as Frank who is a free-lance photographer sent into a town isolated by the US Military which turns out to be infested with Zombies. Along with killing Zombies and general survival, you score more point and achievements by capturing photos of Zombies in unusual unique positions.

After the initial release, there were DLCs and later a sequel which follows the story of a motocross champion who fights an infestation in Nevada.

Platforms: XBOX 360, PlayStation 3 and PC

http://www.dead-rising.com/

10. Plants vs. Zombies

Not ashamed to put this in the list. For casual gamers, Plants Vs. Zombies has been a long running classic which has you strategically placing plants, fruits, nuts and other obsticals to prevent zombies reaching your house. Simply, challenging and addictive.

Platforms: PC, Mac, PlayStation 3, XBOX, Mobile and other.

http://www.popcap.com/games/plants-vs-zombies/online

What's your favourite Zombie game? Leave a comment below.

BSE has started a clan

These days it seems the only fun way to play games is with friends one way or another. Back in the day, it was gathering at a friend's house and sharing a split screen. Today with the internet and gaming laptops, we can still play the same game, but from a screen to ourselves.



What better way to show that you are part of a greater group but to become part of a clan?

Bloodshot Eyes has started its own clan with a clan tag and everything. While not all games use clan tags, it shouldn't stop you from joining and adding it to your signature, gamertag or some showing you are part of a group that is all about friendly and fun gaming.

Where you can, use the tag BSE and show that you are all about Bloodshot Eyes.

For more information, see the [BSE] Clan page.

Gaming on the Mac

With the Mac platform becoming ever more popular, there will be plenty of gamers looking to play their favourite games ontheir Mac. What most people don't realise is that the gaming market on the Mac platform is terrible. Just plain terrible.



This not from the lack of capabilities of the hardware itself, because the MacBook Pro etc. have more than enough hardware built in to accommodate some of the best games on the market.

So what I have done is compiled a list of the game services available to get you gaming on your Mac sooner.

Steam



The popular PC gaming is also available for the Mac and has been for a while. The client runs on your desktop allowing you to download and run games. The steam service will filter out games that you have already bought on the service to display the games that can be downloaded for Mac. All chat and voice services work just the same. Game selection is not on the level as the PC (as you would come to expect), but popular Valve favourites like Counter Strike, Team Fortress and more are ready to play on the Mac.

App Store

The Apple App Store has a extensive collection of Mac games and more than just your casual Angry Birds variants. Call of Duty Modern Warefare is old now but still a popular favourite and available from the App Store.

EA Games

EA has got a (small) selection of it's games available for Mac. Most popular is The Sims line of games, however Command & Conquer, Dragonage 2, FIFA and more are also available. Link here.

Blizzard

Blizzard has made its most popular games available for Mac which shows that Mac is more than capable of being a gaming powerhouse. Diablo 3, World of Warcraft and StarCraft II are just some of the games that are available for Mac.

MacGameStore.com

This site has a extensive collection of Games for Mac that can be purchased on disc. More than I thought was available. Be warned though, if you have the Retina MacBook Pro, make sure you have a DVD drive available. Link here.

So just because you bought a Mac doesn't mean that you have left PC gaming behind. More games are being ported to the Mac platform everyday and with the continued popularity of Mac we should see more games become natively available for Mac.