A Gametap Companion
As both a gamer and a frequent viewer of Cartoon Network, I had seen the Gametap commercials, and had heard of it's rich libraries of classic games. I was tempted, but thought it to be simply a novelty. I'm very selective about things for which I choose to pay monthly fees.
How very wrong I was. How very, very wrong.
Gametap (which can be found at www.gametap.com), for those not in the know, is an online service that allows you to download a massive collection (over 860 games to date) of games, both classic, obscure, and those little gems that weren't exactly embraced by the retail market.
An example of a game that falls into that last category - the absolutely brilliant yet unappreciated action/adventure title Beyond Good and Evil, which had mediocre sales despite being heralded as one of the greatest games of the year. I'm pretty sure that it was solely responsible for me looking into Gametap in the first place, as it's one of my favorite games of all time.
And the gravy train doesn't stop there - there's tons of amazing games that helped to shape my childhood: every Myst game ever created (including the puzzling yet addictive online entry Uru Live), Crazy Taxi, Earthworm Jim, Burgertime, a few of the earlier Castlevania titles, Chu Chu Rocket, Ecco the Dolphin, Final Fight, Ghosts n' Goblins, Golden Axe, the incredible Gunstar Heroes (another personal favorite), Prince of Persia (both the classic DOS title and the revamped generation), Quest for Glory I - III, Shining Force, Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Quest, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Toy Commander, Ultima, Vectorman, Worms Armageddon, Zork, and last but certainly not least - The Oregon Trail. This was one of the most exciting classic discoveries I made on Gametap, as I spent innumerable hours in my youth blindly leading countless frontier families to their demise at the hands of typhoid and measles.
I guess there are worse ways to go. What? There aren't? Oh.That's only a handful of the classic titles offered by Gametap. There are many others, drawn from many ancient and sacred wells: 8-bit, Arcade, Atari 2600, Commodore 64, DOS, Intellivision, Neo-Geo, Sega 32X, Dreamcast, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega Saturn, Sega SG-1000, and Windows. I can promise you will find more than a few classic games that you love in their list, unless you don't play videogames, in which case, why are you reading this? Go play outside or something.
In addition to classics, Gametap is the sole distributor of a few games, namely the aforementioned Uru Live and the Sam and Max series - the holy grail of point-and-click adventure games. After playing through the first two episodes of Sam and Max, I felt like I was getting what I was paying for.
All of these games would be worthless, though, without an accessible and well constructed interface to help organize these hallowed gaming archives. Luckily, Gametap has such an interface. The Gametap program, through which you access every game, is simple and helpful, with recommendations, clear-cut categories, and a system of keeping track of keeping track of any games you've downloaded and played in the past. No games you download are saved to your computer forever, though - they disappear as soon as you deactivate your Gametap account.
Gametap can only function with a Broadband internet connection, which lets them offer some online competitive play in certain games, and allows them to stream clips from games, reviews, and some other clever video content to your PC through "Gametap TV". Also, keep in mind that Gametap is owned by none other than Turner Broadcasting System, so you can stream certain Cartoon Network classics such as Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Sealab 2021 while you wait for Crystal Castles to download.
For those of you who would be scared off by a monthly fee of $9.95 for the premium package, take heed of this startling announcement - starting this May 31, Gametap will offer two different free memberships.
The "visitor" package does not require the user to register with Gametap, and gives the user access to 30-60 games that change frequently, to give the user a sampling of what Gametap offers. Visitors use the "Gametap Lite" interface, a simplified version of the normal Gametap program. Users will also have to endure banner ads before and during gameplay.
The "gold" package does require a monthly fee of $9.95 (or $6.95 if you pay up front for a year), but allows access to every game and Gametap function. The first month of the Gold service is only 99 cents, however - so curious readers can give it a try for less than the cost of a refreshing soda.
If you're like me, and you spent countless nights flying over curbs to get CRAZY MONEY, swinging over crocodile infested waters, building massive cities with the help of Mr. Wright, or collecting blue and red pages to uncover the truth about the linking books - Gametap is tailor-made for you. It's hard for me not to romanticize about their archives - because to me - these are much more than just videogames. They are memories.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I broke a wagon wheel 22 miles outside of Fort Hall, and one of my oxen is sick. I'm 22 miles outside of Chimney Rock - hopefully a kind trader will be able to help a brother out with a spare.
