Video games based in the golden era

[Feebeeps]

I agree with every game mentioned in this thread! There is one thing I know well and it is video games

Mafia is a classic with great attention to detail and overall vintage style. Great Django soundtrack which I actually ripped from the game and play while driving around town. Grim Fandango was great and hilarious though it mixed style time frames (40s, 50s and early 60s). Great music too.

Personally Bioshock may be one of the best video games I have ever played. If you are an art deco fan, be sure to play it and note the care that went into the artwork. It is not only a game with art deco elements, it is a full on study of the art style.

For WWII, I would suggest the Call of Duty line for the epic feel of it. For ultra realism, try WWII online. The graphics are lacking but it is an MMO with one server, huge map and many players.

 

[Chad Sanborn]

I am not a big gamer. I have a Wii an only a few games for it. I recently purchased Medal of Honor:Vanguard.
Its a WWII based game. Its a great game with actual video clips from the war. In the game you are a paratrooper with the 82 Airborne.

Chad

 

[Creeping Past]

Yup, Bioshock is the zenith of retro-futurist Golden Era gaming.

If they wanted to make a sequel to Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, or even a remake, using Bioshock as a template I'd be very happy.

Sad to say Call of Duty: World at War is not a satisfying game.

 

[B. F. Socaspi]

Bioshock...it's fun even to watch someone play. Beautiful graphics.

 

[bobalooba]

I am not a big gamer. I have a Wii an only a few games for it. I recently purchased Medal of Honor:Vanguard.
Its a WWII based game. Its a great game with actual video clips from the war. In the game you are a paratrooper with the 82 Airborne.

Chad

A lot of people don't like medal of honor b/c the new ones aren't as good (according to reviewers anyway) but I liked both Medal of honor frontline and MOH:rising sun. IMO frontline is better and one of the neatest aspects of it was the opening clip where they played Eisenhower's great crusade speech with actual movie clips, great atmosphere i thought.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

XBOX 360 Call of Duty all of them including World at War. Also Godfather for dressing the central character in various period clothing and driving the period vehicles.

 

[The Wolf]

We just got a wii machine and the first game we got (a present from my wife for father's day) is the new Indiana Jones game.
That actually ties into the the first post from Matt Deckard. Neat.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[JennyLou]

I'm not a big gamer- I don't even own a gaming system, but I have played some Bioshock and I love the style of the game.

 

[Diamondback]

I'm on a permanent WWII kick, between Battlefield '42 (if Krueger* will run BF43, I'll get that too), the Silent Hunter/Destroyer Command series, and any decent flight-sims I find, (next on the install list: IL2 Complete Collection) and alternate-WWII Red Alert (basically, "without Hitler/Nazis, Germany and Russia trade places" is a decent summary).

And that's not even counting all of the Excel spreadsheets I'm working on for tabletop Axis & Allies Miniatures/Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures...

*My laptop, name as in "General Walter ___" not "Freddy ___"--all of my IT systems are named after MacArthur subordinates

 

[Drew B]

*My laptop, name as in "General Walter ___" not "Freddy ___"--all of my IT systems are named after MacArthur subordinates

Heheh I do that too except all my systems are ''captain something''. I had "Captain Hemingway" but I got a new system recently which is called "Captain Bantam" (After the motorcycle) and my brother's is called "Captain Bogart. When I re formatted my pa's pc I asked what it should be, he picked Captain Dubloons... I'm not sure why [huh]

Anyway I ramble, Bioshock is killer!!! I loved it and there is a second one coming out very soon, which is good. I just loved the look of the world, the music the way people talked, it was just great!

I've been recomended Mafia. There's a guy at my tafe who everynow and then (knowing of my love of old) recommends something to me, he actually has a fine eye for it!

Battlefeild 42 is possibly one of my favorite games ever.

Oh and though I havn't played it yet, Fallout 3 is supposed to be very good with a 50's twist on a future society (or so I heard).

 

[strider_ani]

All great games. I've played quite a few. Bioshock and Fallout are both great. Mafia 2 is coming out soon also.
http://au.gamespot.com/pc/action/mafia2/index.html
Whole bunch of stuff on it there.

On a slightly unrelated note, I would absolutely love to play an MMO completely based in the Golden Era. That would be awesome. Currently I playing an MMO called Pirates of the Burning Sea which is based in the 18th Century Caribbean.
http://www.burningsea.com/page/home

Also Bioshock the movie is being made. No you won't have to play a game to enjoy the style.

 

[astrang1]

Hi,
I have tried a few of the pre mentioned games. Personally my fave was Crimson Skies and its sequel Crimson Skies : High Road to Revenge set in an alternative 1930s. It was a great adventure game with airships and great aircraft and a nice Deco feel to it.
Best wishes,
Al

 

[ScionPI2005]

Mafia 2 is coming out soon also.
http://au.gamespot.com/pc/action/mafia2/index.html
Whole bunch of stuff on it there.

I'm really looking foward to this one; the graphics look stunning! I definitely thought they did a good job capturing the Depression Era in the first game. I'm really eager to find out what songs they are using as the soundtrack for this new one.

 

[bwelkk]

On a slightly unrelated note, I would absolutely love to play an MMO completely based in the Golden Era. That would be awesome. Currently I playing an MMO called Pirates of the Burning Sea which is based in the 18th Century Caribbean.
http://www.burningsea.com/page/home

In early 2007 I was consulting for a small start-up called Nemesis Studios on an MMO set in the 30s called "Goon World". In early 2008 I was told that they had lost their funding and I ceased communications with the team. They must have gotten some more money some time because they put up a website, some art and FAQ.

http://www.goonworld.com/big/index.htm

 

[Staggerly]

I haven't played any of these, and they're out of print, but:

Private Eye

The Dame Was Loaded

Heart of China

Ripley's Believe it or Not: The Riddle of Master Lu (set in 1936)

A resourceful person (or a person with Google) might be able to find them

 

[ScionPI2005]

I've played The Dame Was Loaded. It's a neat live-acting DOS title. It's somewhat of a timed game, so it can take several tries to get through it, but there appear to be multiple plot lines throughout it.

 

[Staggerly]

It seems like most of the games set in the era are of the live-action type, doesn't it? I wonder how much of the blame for the failure of the titles was put on the setting instead of the format, and if that's why they don't make so many golden era games anymore.

And speaking of golden era games they don't make anymore, I forgot L.A. Noire, which apparently didn't even make an appearance at E3 this year. Too bad; I was really looking forward to it!

 

[Rhian]

There are a number of interactive fiction/text adventure games set in the era. Infocom brought out a few in the 1980s, and there's a vibrant community of authors who are still producing games (most of which are free).

The Infocom games I'm thinking of are Deadline and Witness, both in the hard-boiled detective genre. Two of my favourites in this area from the modern authors are Make It Good (date unspecified, but definitely Golden Era) and Dangerous Curves, which has a distinctly Chandler-esque turn of phrase.

Shelter from the Storm is set in 1940s England.

Fine Tuned is pre-WWI, and Snowblind Aces is about WWI pilots.

 

[ScionPI2005]

The Infocom games I'm thinking of are Deadline and Witness, both in the hard-boiled detective genre. Two of my favourites in this area from the modern authors are Make It Good (date unspecified, but definitely Golden Era) and Dangerous Curves, which has a distinctly Chandler-esque turn of phrase.

Shelter from the Storm is set in 1940s England.

Fine Tuned is pre-WWI, and Snowblind Aces is about WWI pilots.

Thanks for sharing these with us. I have only played Witness, but enjoyed it, and would be interested in trying these others.

 

[BruceTracy]

I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned the Godfather games for XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.