The Upper Memory Block Podcast

May the Force be with you, Blockers!

It’s time for episode 40, where I am covering the 1995 LucasArts FPS series, Dark Forces/Jedi Knight.

Before that though, the news:

Damon Slye has launched and retracted a Red Baron Kickstarter.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has done an interesting compare/contrast review of Dungeon Keeper vs. War for the Overworld.

Trilobyte Games has launched a kickstarter to develop the third game in the 7th Guest series.

From Blizcon 2013, Blizzard has a team working on bringing the original two Warcraft RTS games to modern PCs.

We then discuss the four games in Dark Forces / Jedi Knight series. All the usual suspects and a ton of your emails!

Buy the Jedi Knight collection on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/2103/?snr=1_7_15__13

Next time, we’ll be covering the 1993 horror adventure, the 7th Guest.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/040-UMBCast-Dark-Forces.mp3

Namaste Blockers!

It’s episode 39 where I will be discussing the iconic 1989 Bullfrog god game, Populous.

But first a little bit of news:

Last time we talked about Rand Miller and Cyan getting back together fr a project. Well, it’s out and it’s called Obduction. It is a spiritual sucessor to Myst and Riven.

Next, in Thief news, The Dark Mod, a Thief mod for Doom 3 has released it’s second version. Dark Mod 2.0 is now standalone and does not require any resources from Doom 3.

We then get to the main topic, the Populous series. We cover all the usual suspects and also read an email from Paul where he talks about building his own version of Populous during Lionhead’s Creative Day in 2011.

Buy Populous on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/populous?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Buy Populous 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/populous_2?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Buy Populous: The Beginning on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/populous_the_beginning?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Next time I’ll be covering the 1995 LucasArts FPS, Dark Forces.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/039-UMBCast-Populous.mp3

Hey Blockers,

Here’s episode 38 where I delve deep into the 1989 Access Software adventure series, Tex Murphy.

Before that though, the news:

Transport Tycoon for iOS is out!

The new Thief game is available for pre-order unlocking Feb 25, 2014.

The state of SimCity.

Rand Miller and Cyan Worlds are getting together for a “large project”.

A new version of Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers is being developed by Jane Jensen for its 20th anniversary.

We then read some emails and get into the main topic, Tex Murphy.

Buy Tex Murphy 1 & 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/tex_murphy_1_2?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Buy Under a Killing Moon on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/tex_murphy_under_a_killing_moon?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Buy The Pandora Directive on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/tex_murphy_the_pandora_directive?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Buy Overseer on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/tex_murphy_overseer?pp=1106a1dda2d680438ecfb0bb70fd479c55a1791f

Next time, I’ll be covering the 1989 Bullfrog god game, Populous.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/038-UMBCast-Tex-Murphy.mp3

Greetings Blockers!

It’s episode 37 where we’re talking the 1998 Looking Glass Studios stealth action game, Thief.

Before that though, the news:

Steam Family Sharing has been announced!

Hardware: Shipbreakers, a game in the spirit of Homeworld, has acquired the Homeworld IP from Gearbox Software.

Lemmings Touch has been announced on the Vita.

The Duke Nukem lawsuit between 3D Realms and Gearbox has been dropped.

Peter Molyneux’s Godus is now available on Steam.

Sci-fi author Timothy Zhan has launched a kickstarter for a 4X strategy game called Parallax, based on his writing.

We then go through some listener emails and then get to the main topic, Thief.

Buy the Thief Collection on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/14734/

Buy Thief on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/thief_gold

Buy Thief 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/thief_2_the_metal_age

Buy Thief: Deadly Shadows on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/thief_3

Thief series enhancement resources:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2715838

Next time, I’ll be covering the Access Software Adventure series, Tex Murphy.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/037-UMBCast-Thief.mp3

Come follow me, Blockers!

It’s episode 36 where we discuss the 1991 Psygnosis action puzzler, Lemmings.

The news:

GoG.com has released their indie portal where devs can go to submit their games for sale.

EA and Mythic are developing a new version of Dungeon Keeper for Android and iOS. it will be free to play with in-app purchases.

The Bureau: X-COM Declassified has released to middling reviews.

SimCity for Mac launched, it didn’t go well.

The first preview of Star Citizen, the Hangar module, has released.

We then get to the main topic, the Lemmings series. We discuss the gameplay and dev story in detail and then talk about all the official sequels as well as read some great listener emails.

Play Lemmings online:
http://www.elizium.nu/scripts/lemmings/

Download the Lemmings shareware demo:
http://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Lemmings.html

Next week, we’ll be moving to the tail end of the time frame of the show with the 1998 stealth action game, Thief: The Dark Project.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/036-UMBCast-Lemmings.mp3

Attention Blockers!

It’s time for episode 35, where we talk about the 1993 Simtex 4X strategy game, Master of Orion.

Before that, news time:

Bethesda announces the Elder Scrolls Anthology containing all Elder Scrolls games from Arena to Skyrim: Dragonborn.

John Carmack joins Oculus VR as CTO. He is not leaving id however his work at Oculus will take priority.

The history of Sierra Online film project I mentioned in a previous show did not fund. However the film will still be made.

Finally, Precinct, Jim Walls’ new game has cancelled its Kickstarter before it ended and is now adopting a tiered funding structure. Instead of trying to raise 500,000 dollars they are trying to raise 25,000 dollars to build a prototype.

We then get into Master of Orion where we run through all the usual suspects plus some great emails from listeners.

Buy Master of Orion 1 & 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/master_of_orion_1_2

Buy Master of Orion 3 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/game/master_of_orion_3

Next time, I’ll be covering the 1991 Psygnosis puzzle platformer, Lemmings.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/035-UMBCast-Master-of-Orion.mp3

Stand to Blockers!

It’s episode 34 where we’re talking about the great 1998 Volition space sim, Freespace.

First though, the news:

A new game from the developer of Syndicate had been kickstarted. Satellite Reign promises to be a spiritual successor to Syndicate. Check it out!

The Duke Nukem Platformer pack has been released on Steam. This contains the first two Duke Nukem side scrollers plus the newer Manhattan Project game.

A kickstarter movie project about the history of Sierra On-Line needs our help!

A trailer for the new Tex Murphy game, the Tesla Effect has released. It gives you a good idea of the look of the game.

Finally, the creative director for the new SimCity has left EA to form his own company. He also took two other senior people along with him.

We then read a quick email from Andreas where he talks about a cool blog about a foreigner living in Japan.

We then get to the main event, Freespace. We talk about the game in depth as we always do.

Buy Freespace on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/freespace_expansion

Buy Freespace 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/freespace_2

Next time, we’ll be covering the 1993 4X strategy title, Master of Orion.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/034-UMBCast-Freespace.mp3

Ahoy Blockers!

This week, we’re covering the 1990 LucasArts adventure, The Secret of Monkey Island and its sequels.

I got my hands on Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards: Reloaded. I played an hour or two and so for, I’m luke warm on the game. A more complete review will come later on.

Two items of Steam news:

Firstly, the Steam Summer Sale is on! Lots of old games here to be had.

Secondly, I have created a steam group for the show, join up!

The winner of the retro game music bundle contest announced! I hope Jeffery enjoys his bundle.

Then we get to the main topic, the Monkey Island series. We go through the story, gameplay, tech specs and history for the entire series up to today.

Buy The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/32360

Buy Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge Special Edition on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/32460

Buy Tales of Monkey Island on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/tales_of_monkey_island

Buy Tales on Monkey Island on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/31170

Next week, we’ll be covering the great space sim series, Descent Freespace.

See you then!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/033-UMBCast-Monkey-Island.mp3

Hello Blockers,

It’s episode 32 we’re talking the groovy 1997 Activision game, Interstate 76.

Before that though, we’ve got some news:

DoubleFine Productions has announced two new game projects backed by IndieFund.

Fans of Total Annihilation should check out Planetary Annihilation, now in early access alpha on Steam.

Some more news about Jane Jensen’s Mobeius project has come to light.

The last Larry backer up went out stating the game will be shipping very shortly, on schedule for their revised date at the end of the month.

Finally, the Retro Game Music Bundle contest is ongoing. Just drop an email to podcast@umbcast.com with the subject “game music bundle”. I’ll randomly pick an entry on the next show.

Now on to the main topic of the show, the vehicular combat sim, Interstate 76. We talk all about this under appreciated game.

Buy Interstate 76 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/interstate76

Buy Interstate 82 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/interstate_82

Next time, we’ll be talking pirates with Monkey Island.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/032-UMBCast-Interstate-76.mp3

Hail to the Blockers, baby.

Welcome to episode 31 where we talk about the long running Apogee/3D Realms series, Duke Nukem.

In the news:

E3 week! We heard all about the new XBox One and PS4, in addition to iOS 7 at Apple’s WWDC. Busy week in the tech world!

A few weeks ago, Tim Schafer’s DoubleFine Productions has launched its second Kickstarter campaign for a tactical strategy game called Massive Chalice.

A remake of Shadow Warrior appears to be in the works from 3D Realms for release this fall.

In mobile news, I am totally obsessed with Ron Gilbert’s Scurvy Scallywags. Check it out.

Interplay repurchased the Descent Freespace IP from now defunct THQ. maybe a new Freespace? Hmmm…

Then we talk Duke Nukem. I cover Duke 1, 2, 3D and a little about Duke Nukem Forever. Story (such as it is), gameplay, tech focus, dev story, all of it!

Buy Duke Nukem 1 & 2 on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/duke_nukem_12

Buy Duke Nukem 3D on GoG:
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/duke_nukem_3d_atomic_edition

Buy Duke Nukem Forever on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/57900/

Next time, I’ll be covering the 1998 Activision game, Interstate ’76.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/031-UMBCast-Duke-Nukem.mp3