Twas only yesterday I was letting everyone down by wishing for more Space Quest instead of more Quest For Glory. But as if the mighty Horace felt the need to restore balance to the universe, GOG.com have just announced they’ve released all five of the classic Sierra adventure/RPGs for ten bucks. Sure, it’s not a new one, but you try getting the original versions working.

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It’s been eight years since Thief: Deadly Shadows was released. And if that doesn’t make you want to start slaughtering the young and drinking their blood in a desperate attempt to find some sort of means to stop the passing of time and your constant, constant ageing, then you must already have discovered the secrets of immortality. EIGHT YEARS. Eight years since Kieron and I were let into a nightclub for free because we’d both given the game scores over 90% (Kieron in Gamer, me in PC Format) and the doorman was a big fan. Eight years since I sat in PC Format’s weirdly anonymous office space, trying to do something to the screenshots so they weren’t just big black squares all over the magazine. Eight years since I task-switched out of The Cradle to calm the hell down, while Kieron mocked me via IM. And now you can play it all over again for ten bucks, via the regurgitating pipe of GOG.com.

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The decision by Amanita to put out the stunning Botanicula as part of a Humble Bundle on the day of release sounds, at first, like a lovely idea. A brand new game in a pay what you want bundle? Amazing! Except of course for those who pre-ordered it at full price. Personally, I think the $10 it would have cost anyone is a bargain for a game as utterly lovely as this, and people who pre-ordered clearly believed it to be worth that much to them at the time. But I do understand the frustration of learning that others could be getting the game, along with two other Amanita classics, for as little as one cent. That’s galling. I caught up with Amanita’s main man, Jakub Dvorský, to ask him about the reaction, and he informs me that it was their mistake, and to make up for it everybody who pre-ordered the game will be receiving the fantastic soundtrack, an art book, and a copy of Machinarium, for free, tomorrow.

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In what may be a first for humanity since the (admittedly fictional) film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Good Old Games de-aged. Out with the “Old,” in with the GOG, as no one’s said until now. Or, if they have, people just looked at them funny and told them to go lie down. Anyway, seeing as change is afoot and GOG’s trying very hard to make us pay attention, I briefly spoke with managing director Guillaume Rambourg about why the site’s taken an abrupt turn toward a new direction, why Steam sales are hurting the industry, and — with even Ubisoft removing its ponderous yolk — whether or not DRM is finally dying.

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Good Old Games is gone. But GOG.com continues on. In light of their starting to take orders for more recent games, the words are gone from their name and only the acronym remains. This comes alongside their new frontpage, the news that they’ll be aiming to add three games a week instead of two, an improved downloader, and the addition of The Whispered World, Trine, and the soon-to-be-added Machinarium, Darwinia and Spacechem. Oh, and they’re taking pre-orders for the Dungeon Master inspired Legend Of Grimrock. So where does this leave their identity?

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Remember when advertising used to just be up front about stuff? Languid shots of fields with Orson Welles waxing lyrical about the taste of peas, and then “BUY PEAS!!!” in big letters flashing for 12 minutes as the William Tell Overture played. You knew where you stood with adverts like that: to buy or not to buy (peas). But now adverts are teases, advertising that something might be happening in the future. It’s a cruel psychological trick, to make you think you could miss out. GoG.com are advertising in such a fashion right now. They released three in a series of four over the weekend, bigging up various parts of their service, attacking DRM, regional pricing, and sparse freebies on offer at other online stores. All they’ll say is a ‘”Newer, Fresher, Bigger” GOG.com lands Tuesday at 09:00 AM GMT!’
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I never really got to explore The Witcher 2, mostly because my wheezing computer took one look at the first level and had a little single-framerate cry in the corner. I’ve since upgraded it with a graphics card larger than my first flat and finally feel in a position to take on Geralt and co. in all their luminescent glory. In good timing, because the forthcoming Enhanced Edition will soon be on us, adding all kinds of fancy new content to the adventures. Here, have a trailer for it showcasing the new features, and bear in mind it’s all going to be free for anyone who bought the game before the update hits on April 17th.

Viewer beware, it’s Not Safe For Work due to scenes of brief nudity. It’s also a bit spoilerish due to the nature of its content, though I was happy in my ignorance in this and all things.

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GSC have announced their arrival at Good Old Games with a bundled package of some of their most fondly remembered titles. Yes, it’s the Cossacks Anthology, containing Cossacks: European Wars and its two expansion packs. Now, I do have very fond memories of Cossacks’ take on the historical RTS, throwing around thousands of units at once, but of course it’s the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games that most people know GSC for. Further titles will be appearing but I’m not even sure S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is old enough to be considered anything other than a GG. The Cossacks Anthology is available here, priced at $5.99. Maybe if everyone in the world buys it twice, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 appears immediately?