Games on CD-ROMs of questionable origin
Unexpected
Let’s move on to the strange, games that I had never seen in those days. For example, the rather crooked arcade game Floppy Killer. It works under Windows and uses standard icons from there:
U95 game from the same manufacturer:
Domestic version of “Snake” (I wanted to say, like on a Nokia phone, but then there were no games on the phones):
Tank Destroyer game. Alas, the speed of this game depends on the frequency of the processor, and by default it cannot be played on my ThinkPad 600 universal laptop with a Pentium II processor:
Victims of Russification
The marketing message of the creators of this collection has the right to life: only Russian games, or rather games only in Russian. In the mid-nineties, it was not easy to buy a legal copy of the game, and as a rule, it was impossible to buy a Russified copy. I don’t remember that it bothered me then: if something is not clear from the plot, well, so be it. In shooters, or even in Sim City 2000, you could do without knowing the language and without a crack. In a number of games, it was vital, otherwise it was simply not clear how to play. The collection contains two of the most relevant examples. First Civilization:
Russified!
Alas, the font quality is poor:
But everything is clear:
The second example of translation where it is important is the quest Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards or just Larry 1. At the entrance – a check for age (and not for 18+, but rather 40+):
I played this game in such a Russification (possibly from this disc) in 1999. I remember well that the translators managed to convey the atmosphere of the strong salty joke of the original quite well, diversifying it with post-Soviet memes.
Strange
And finally, a couple of examples of translation in games, where it can be useful, but not required. I remember exactly that I played Command & Conquer without a crack. Despite the fact that this is a strategy, and there it seems like you need to understand, a simple set of buildings and units was mastered intuitively. And the plot in C&C moved through gorgeous videos, which, of course, are not in this version!
The game occupies only 16 megabytes on disk, although it was originally supplied on two CDs. The data there did not occupy the entire volume, part of it was reserved for the soundtrack in CD Audio mode. As a result, the pirated copy has no plot inserts or music. It’s sad, but that’s how I played it in the nineties, for many hours.
The last example. I launch Duke Nukem 3D and I don’t see Russification there:
However, the pirates did not disappoint. I turn on the first level and in the speakers instead of Duke’s characteristic hoarse voice, the tired programmer says: “They’ll start for (inaudible).” There is something in this, but I still prefer the original.
Here’s a selection that slightly diversified the set of games for my retro PCs. It’s good that now there is an opportunity to find at least some of the games in their original form “from the creators”, or to purchase them on GOG.com. Despite the difficulty of extracting data from a scratched disc, it was an interesting experience. I hope you enjoyed it too. I’m going to play Balda without cheats.
