SimFarm, what a waste of time.

Looking thru my collection, trying to remember those games that I truly enjoy from 2 decades ago. .. Well, decided to try out Sim Farm.. Installation was a breeze, and there were no problems playing these games on XP. Was really happy to know that backward compatibility in windows is really working. One of the few things to thank Bill.

The farming scene.

So, what is it like after all these years…? 1st hr, I was trying to remember how to run the fields and profitable. What crops to plant in what season, crop rotation, maximising crop yield. Finally, after 5hrs got a profitable plan going, and thats when you get bored.

Sheep herding, pig and cow farming, horse breeding are also part of the game. Animal husbandry is too easy (and unrealistic), all you have to do is to buy bales of hay and leave pots of water out for them. In winter, bring them into the barn.

I guess it will be more challenging to try farming in the cold northern states and be profitable, but its so boring and I am giving up. Just installed SimCity2000, that will be my next old game review..

A old computer game

One of my all time favorite Dos-PC game, Unchartered Water II. I played it in 1987.. (I think it was around that time.. ) hey thats 20 years ago! :O   There were other games, also by KOEI that I spent so much time on, but UW II is the one that I am still playing today.

Choose a character and a story to begin.

Sometime last year, I was quite sick with playing the new tycoon games, didnt enjoy the gruesome RPG games that were so popular, and found that CIV 4 was too complicated to enjoy playing. Then I remember fondly those simple days and simple games that I used to play. That made me do a google search on whats happening to these old games, maybe a new version for the new XP era. Guess what, I found that by installing a DOS-Box (emulator), I could play these games, as they were, from those days! Even my 1st game, Pac-Man from the early 80s. Wow!

In port, getting advise from a friendly townsfolk.

It does surprise me, that these games have a following. A group of old-timers maintaining the downloadables files and providing game tips and technical advise. Its like a old hippies group online. Pardon the description, but I am sure thankful to those die hard gamers. Your efforts to keep it going is inspirational!

Ur, alright, so whats so great about UW II? You play a character on a quest or mission and the story develops. You begin with a small boat, making money by trading goods between several ports, then upgrading your boats to have more capacity and some defense/offense power against pirates and enemies. Sometimes, the King will have you run some errands, in return he gives you a title and so you progress.

Sailing along. Outside port of Lisbon.

Playing along, I learn abit about the history and trading routes, the reasons why the Europeans ventured east and west in search for goods, exotic and luxury items. The sailing scene was pretty realistic without being too complicated for kids. Wind speed and direction, current speed and direction of each regions does varies with the seasons. Only the seasoned “sailor” makes the best routes and progress more swiftly thru the game.

Discover the wonders of the world!

Truly, this game is great for learning geography. You get to know where most important ports are, the kind of environment they have in that area, experience some strange weather phenomenas, and discover great wonders of the world. Most people will find it impossible to sail around the world! But with a game like that, I could circumnavigate across the North seas, under the continents, explore the Amazon, Nile, Yellow river and many more places than I could never do in my lifetime on a yacht!

The world as I discovered so far.

Perhaps there is a modern version of this game.. but I worry that it will be too complicated for me.. Guess I am too old to learn new tricks.

Alright off to discover the world, again.