Dungeon Keeper and the PC Golden Age

Have I ever mentioned how much I plain ol' adore GoG.com. It reminds me of the PC golden age of the 90's where developers could make weird games about mustering armies of humans vs. orcs, or a young visionary named Peter Molyneux could make a real commercial success about being a dick in high fantasy.

There is so much to love about the game Dungeon Keeper. Despite the dated graphics the game is very playable and the mechanics are so good that the game feels it has aged incredibly well. Nostalgia aside there is something inherently fantastic about strategy games with perfect mechanics (well great mechanics at least. Perfect may be a stretch) where it achieves a zen no other genre can hope to attain.

The intro cinematic also will forever be hugely nostalgic for me (despite having aged considerably worse than the game).

What I really loved and continue to love about this game and the 90's on the PC in general is that true innovation was possible. Development costs were in line enough where developers and artists could really experiment and make whatever they want and chances are they would even break even.

It's also nice to play something that isn't The Witcher 2 or Minecraft. Why did Notch have to put Nether in SMP. Dammit.

Can I actually ditch my Consoles?

I would definitely consider myself a member of the PC master race. I started playing games on a computer when I was 6 and it has always been my prefered method of experiencing our exhalted hobby. Despite my preferance I have always had at least one current gen console set up and I think I may be ready to buck that trend.

My house right now is an XBOX 360 household. My old, white, non-HDMI console sits there, usually gathering dust, occasionally seeing a AAA title enter it's oft-neglected DVD drive and I think to myself; why not just move my PC downstairs? I have an HDMI out on my videocard. Most AAA titles come out on Steam. I can get a blu-ray drive for my compy as well as use an XBOX 360 controller. Can I make the jump?

The decision isn't just one of practicality either. It would be a major life decision to rid myself of the white behemoth. I have had that ugly machine for quite a few years and have racked myself up a decent gamerscore. It's also fun to pop on to XBLA and download some indie or small titles and kill some time. I have definitely, and I think most of us have, built up an emotional connection with our consoles.

There is also the question of fighting the wife for our nice, sexy 42" LED LCD with the well positioned surround sound system. God forbid she doesn't watch all the fat fly in Biggest loser in full HD.

Also PAX East 2011 is less than 24 hours away! w00t!