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Freeware and Abandonware


MDK

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Okay, so we all like a freebie and there is plenty out there. I was going through wiki and looking at TakeTwo and what they released and noticed Hidden and Dangerous. I had that when I was a nipper and it turns out it is Freeware now!

So I dunno, just add some free stuff here. From the classics to the ones that might have slipped under the radar.

I'll kick off with:

Dizzy! You might remember this one. You play an egg and you have to adventure and it is bastard hard.
Hidden and Dangerous. WWII tactical thing. Graphics are still fairly okay if you stab your eyeballs. Good game though.
How to be a Complete Bastard. Not actually played it yet but its based on a book by Ade Edmonson.

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Dracula in London

 

Taking place shortly after Lucy's death and after Dracula has begun to make his move on Mina Harker, the goal is find what estates Dracula has bought in London, then to break in, sterilize his special Transylvanian dirt, and kill the fucker. Each game is different, and there's plenty of random events to keep things fresh. You may be exploring a house, only for it to be empty, or for Renfield to break in and start causing some shit. The game has a time limit, at the end of which if you haven't stopped him, the gang goes to Castle Dracula (...or, as I prefer, Castlevania :shifty: )  to stop Dracula for good. He might be there, might not be. It was fun for what it was. 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Mick said:

Dracula in London

 

Taking place shortly after Lucy's death and after Dracula has begun to make his move on Mina Harker, the goal is find what estates Dracula has bought in London, then to break in, sterilize his special Transylvanian dirt, and kill the fucker. Each game is different, and there's plenty of random events to keep things fresh. You may be exploring a house, only for it to be empty, or for Renfield to break in and start causing some shit. The game has a time limit, at the end of which if you haven't stopped him, the gang goes to Castle Dracula (...or, as I prefer, Castlevania :shifty: )  to stop Dracula for good. He might be there, might not be. It was fun for what it was. 

 

I've never heard of this before, and it may be just because I'm reading the latest Anno Dracula book at the moment, but it sounds tremendous!

2 hours ago, Katsuya said:

Heretic was class - part of what I think of as a golden age of PC gaming in the '90s, by which I mean, "the time when I was a PC gamer".

It also had the most confusing system of naming sequels this side of the Extreme Warfare series;

Heretic
Hexen: The Sequel To Heretic
Hexen 2
Heretic 2

 

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10 minutes ago, Hellraiser said:

Isn't Abandoneware illegal? Or at least in a legal grey zone? Just because many of these those old games aren't available for purchase doesn't mean it is legal to provide download links for them.

Ooops, I wasn't sure. The reason I mentioned Hidden and Dangerous is because the developers/owners released it for free to promote the sequel.

Honestly, when I saw @R.W. post in here I thought it would be him saying this :shifty: 

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6 minutes ago, MDK said:

Ooops, I wasn't sure. The reason I mentioned Hidden and Dangerous is because the developers/owners released it for free to promote the sequel.

I haven't read about anyone ever being prosecuted for it. Most of these Abandonware websites seem to operate without problems. But I think it is like Roms. It's okay in most countries if you own the original game and copy it for private use. But I don't think it's okay to upload them without permission. Especially since some of these old games do end up on services like Steam or Gog.com for purchase.

But I think it is okay if the developers themselves provide the download links. I think you can still download the old 2D GTA games from the Rockstar website for example.

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Just now, Hellraiser said:

But I think it is okay if the developers themselves provide the download links. I think you can still download the old 2D GTA games from the Rockstar website for example.

Yeah, you can. But have you played them recently? Crikey, hasn't aged well.

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3 hours ago, Bobfoc said:

I think the old GTA games aren't available for free now. I got them when they were, though, but I haven't actually played them since then. I did enjoy them back in the day, but they really don't have much appeal now.

Yeah, weirdly, they never sold them on their own, but they used to sell them in a bundle with all the other GTA games.

 

3 hours ago, Hellraiser said:

I haven't read about anyone ever being prosecuted for it. Most of these Abandonware websites seem to operate without problems. But I think it is like Roms. It's okay in most countries if you own the original game and copy it for private use. But I don't think it's okay to upload them without permission. Especially since some of these old games do end up on services like Steam or Gog.com for purchase.

But I think it is okay if the developers themselves provide the download links. I think you can still download the old 2D GTA games from the Rockstar website for example.

I mean, you can't really get prosecuted for it. The whole point of Abandonware is that the copyright has expired and that support is no longer active for the game, isn't it? Something along those lines, so where it's not technically legal, I don't think they can prosecute. In most cases, the games no longer have an owner (company defunct and licenses/properties not bought?), and so there's no one that could sue, or don't care to enforce the copyright.

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Just now, MDK said:

I was thinking more about the board. Don't you remember the music thing from days of yore? 

I think the board is safe too. Abandonia and Myabandonware have been running hard for years and I don't think the provide links to any games that have been litigious in the past or if they've gone up for sale on GOG or Steam.

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