This week we head back in time to 15th century Germany, or the Holy Roman Empire to be precise. Arnold Hendrick's Darklands (1992, DOS) was a revolutionary game that offered an unprecedented level of historical realism. Experience what the 15th century felt like to the people who lived in it--and see their wildest fears and dreams made flesh! The combat is "real-time with pause," a style that would become quite popular with Baldur's Gate. Alchemy replaces magical spells, and a pantheon of Christian saints bestow their blessings on the pious. Enjoy the video and let me know what you think!

Well, here it is, episode 76 featuring Roberta Williams' monumental adventure game, King's Quest. This is the game that inspired the genre of point-and-click adventures that is still producing games today. Enjoy!

This week, I chat with Megan Gaiser (President) and Robert Riedl (Executive Producer) of Her Interactive. Hear the history of this risky but ultimately highly successful venture into the world of Nancy Drew and games for girls.

This episode features Westwood Studios' real-time strategy game Dune II, the game that launched the genre. It also marks my first attempt at using a green screen! Enjoy, and, as always, please let me know what you think of the game and the video.

This week's episode looks at one of my favorite science fiction adventure games, LucasArts' 1995 masterpiece The Dig. Widely poo-poohed by critics and dismissed even by some fans of Lucasfilm/Lucasarts adventures, The Dig is nevertheless a must-play game with a brilliant story and very memorable characters. I love it! I tried not to include any spoilers, but as always with an adventure game review, you should consider playing it before watching the video.

P.S. Special thanks to Bill Loguidice for the t-shirt! What a great way to celebrate turning 33!

This week, I look at the cult classic Deus Ex, one of the best first-person shooter hybrids. Designed by Warren Spector and funded by John Romero's Ion Storm, Deus Ex remains the top choice of countless enthusiasts of the franchise.

Hi, guys. Do you remember The Bard's Tale, the epic 1985 role-playing game by Michael Cranford? You should! In any case, perhaps this video will show you why you should care about this classic.

Here's part 2 of my interview with RPG maestro Tim Cain. This is a bittersweet episode in which Tim talks about how the unexpected (by Interplay, anyway) of Fallout led to his loss of creative control over the franchise--and the many concessions he had to make to Interplay's marketing team. Tim is clearly one of us, fully aware of the importance of good packaging, manuals, and the little touches that separate a great game from a good one.

Here's the first part of my interview with Tim Cain, producer of Fallout and many other classic CRPGs. What's fun is that Tim talks about the importance of the Atari 800 (Atariwriter, anyone?), Dungeons & Dragons, GURPS, and of course the origins of Fallout. There's still plenty left to come (the actual interview was over an hour).