What are some decent games for the CD-i?

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Austin
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What are some decent games for the CD-i?

Post by Austin » Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:43 am

Hey everyone.. So, I won a CD-i 550 on eBay today and will hopefully receive it next week. I already have several games in mind that I want to get again that I've owned before, including the 7th Guest, Chaos Control, Lemmings, Burn:Cycle, Mystic Midway: Rest in Pieces, Voyeur and Flashback. Asides from those I already plan on buying, what else is there that I should look for that is generally considered to be decent for the CD-i?

Also, how is the Namco compilation, as well as the two Golden Oldies classic-remake releases?

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Post by Trev » Sat Jan 08, 2011 10:09 pm

I've yet to play the Namco compilation (although I do want it, mainly for 2 player Ms. Pacman) but I can tell you that, at least for the 1st one, Golden Oldies is poor. The gameplay pales in comparison to the games they are trying to copy. I do not like the effort at all, and I say avoid it.

Some good games (imho) that you didn't mention are (in no special order) ...

Clue (both discs)
Mutant Rampage Bodyslam
Secret mission
Tetris
Thunder in Paradise

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Post by Austin » Sun Jan 09, 2011 5:51 am

Hm, ok, I will avoid the Golden Oldies series then. I managed to find a video on YouTube of one of them and I wasn't impresed--They really do seem like the typical lazy CD-i effort.

Ah, forgot about Tetris though. Slap that one onto the list, haha. That was one of the ones I owned before and enjoyed it when I had it. The only thing is I'm debating whether I want to pay $10 - $12 for a used copy now (seems to be the minimum rate on eBay).

I will check out the other ones you mentioned, Secret Mission in particular. I actually read your thread you posted about that a little while ago and was intrigued.

Since I've got a bit of money sitting in my PayPal account, I snagged a couple on eBay last night: Kether and Steel Machine. The earlier was about $10 after shipping and looked interesting according to YouTube videos I saw. I was actually surprised because while I'm sure I owned it in the past, I don't think I ever got around to playing it (I had only heard bad things). Steel Machine I will keep my hopes low on as I can't find any videos of it. However, it was only $3 or $4 after shipping so I jumped on it anyway. No big loss even if it's not good. :)

*Edit: By the way, are there any other sources for CD-i games outside of eBay? There seems to be little selection there, and the only titles I am interested in either aren't there (the 7th Guest), or are too expensive (Someone's trying to sell Zenith and the Golden Oldies games for $40 BIN.. meh).

**Double Edit, haha: Stupid question--Do NTSC CD-i systems play PAL games OK? I ask because there is a wider selection of titles for about $10 a pop on eBay.co.uk (Lemmings, Flashback, 7th Guest, etc.).

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Post by Bas » Sun Jan 09, 2011 8:00 am

Here in the Netherlands we use www.marktplaats.nl which has most of the time lower prices. But you can only use it in the Netherlands I guess.

Unfortunately games like Zenith always sell for a high price; people know it's a wanted title... It's a pity but I guess there are just not many copies of it...

I actually prefer the gameplay of the Golden Oldies games more than the Namco compilation, what makes you think they're lazy? The second one includes a clone of Arkanoid, I like that one the most!

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Post by Austin » Sun Jan 09, 2011 8:27 am

Hm, interesting. Maybe I will pick up Zenith then if it tends to go for that price. It actually looks quite good and I sort of wish I knew about it in the '90s.

As far as Golden Oldies, the movement on everything seemed choppy like some other CD-i titles are. Granted, I admit I was viewing it on my iPhone, and I only saw the Space Invaders clone, so that may have not been the best indicator as to what the compilations are like. I will have to give it another look on my computer.

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Post by Bas » Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:25 pm

The videos about Golden Oldies CD-i on Youtube that I can find are made from an emulator, that's also more choppier than it is on a real CD-i player.

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Post by Trev » Sun Jan 09, 2011 5:15 pm

Okay, I'm gonna pop Golden Oldies in again and give it a whirl. Perhaps I can articulate my dissapointment with it better after playing it.

Austin, I have some duplicate Cd-i games. If you maybe wanted to trade or something, pm me.

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Post by Austin » Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:41 am

Trev wrote:Okay, I'm gonna pop Golden Oldies in again and give it a whirl. Perhaps I can articulate my dissapointment with it better after playing it.

Austin, I have some duplicate Cd-i games. If you maybe wanted to trade or something, pm me.
I'd like to hear your (up-to-date) thoughts on it.

Also, I'll shoot you a PM (either here or at 3DO zero) about your extra CD-i titles. :)

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Post by Jimmy » Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:33 pm

Although I think that Golden Oldies games are a bit lazily coded, I have spent a little time playing Guardian on Golden Oldies I (all the other entries I think are really bad and way too basic).

Unfort. the presentation of the Namco collection needs a little improvement too and seems to be content with just being playable. I still prefer it over Golden Oldies series though.

4 Other games I'd recommend are Hotel Mario, Atlantis: The Last Resort, The Lost Ride and possibly Lucky Luke.

If you like Kether, I would also suggest Inca which I think is better. Same goes for Solar Crusade over Chaos Control :P

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Post by some stupid japanese name » Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:44 am

Some one recommended Atlantis as a good game?

Really?

It's quite interesting from a tech standpoint, but I always that the game a lil natty.

I'm afraid my go to CDi games have all been mentioned already. 7th Guest, Voyuer, The Apprentice, Merlin's Apprentice, Mutant Rampage, Burn: Cycle, and Chaos Control/ Solar Crusade.

If you've ever played the Axis vs Allies board game, the CDi rev is fairly decent. I've also been known to lose hours to Defender of the Crown.

One game I'd never played but would like to check out is Alice in Wonderland.

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Post by Austin » Wed Jan 19, 2011 7:28 am

I am interested in the Alice & Wonderland one myself.. But is it a game, or more of an edutainment title?

I've heard great things about Defender of the Crown as well, but.. I'm not sure if it's the kind of game I would spend a lot of time with.

Still awaiting my CD-i to arrive.. I'm getting rather annoyed now--it's been a little over a week and a half.. I have a few games sitting on my shelf ready to go, but I can't use them. Ebay hasn't been great in terms of finding other titles I want, either.. Either some of the commons I am looking for aren't available (7th Guest), or they are at seemingly higher prices than they should be. :shock:

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Post by Bas » Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:27 pm

Alice in Wonderland is an adventure game, much in the vein of Laser Lords or even Zelda CD-i, you walk around, solve some puzzles, say the right things in chats.

Nothing educational at all.

I enjoyed Atlantis quite a lot, but it's true it's more a technical marvel rather than a great game, the most annoying is that is actually moves too fast I often lost track in the muddy textures. But still a unique shooting experience on CD-i, but nothing compared to Doom or Quake.

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Post by some stupid japanese name » Wed Jan 19, 2011 7:04 pm

re: Ebay

What the heck is up with the sellers putting things up with INSANE buy it nows? Looking at the completed auction listing, almost none of the stuff really sells. Then there's the system prices. Holy cow cakes!
I appreciate the fact that you can't walk into your local electronics store and pick one of these up anymore, but lets be honest, aside from a few enthusiasts, there's not much call for CDi stuff.

I got the 220, 7 games, and 31 Art/Music/Story Book apps for $147 shipped. About 20 of the non games were still sealed, and these jokers think they're going to get $50 for Thunder In Paradise (add me to the list of not liking this one) and $20 for The Flowers of Roger Maplethorpe? I don't get it.

So I went home and leafed through my games again. I'm missing quite a few that I want -including Alice, 7th Guest, and Secret Mission but I do have one that I had no interest in til I watched one of Seb's videos yesterday. Zenith!

From what the Digital Press guide stated, I always assumed it was another pinball game, so I never paid any attention to it before.
I'm excited to try it!

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Post by Trev » Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:11 am

Alice in Wonderland has the same exact engine as Laser Lords, complete w/creepy claymation closeup shots. :wink:

Defender of the Crown is great on CD-i, imho, although it could have been enhanced further. Still very nice.

How rare is Atlantis? How much money does it tend to fetch?

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Post by some stupid japanese name » Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:30 am

I bought three copies of Atlantis a few years ago when last I was bit by the CDi bug. I had read about the game in the Digital Press guide and was intrigued. So I jumped on the first one I saw on eBay. $70 shipped.
A month later a guy on a forum was selling it for $30. I nabbed it for trade bait. Soon after that, I got one off ebay for $15.
I've no idea what it goes for now.
I have learned to be much more patient though!

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