Fabulous thread.
Speaking of Wizardry IV, I worked for Sir-Tech on that game as the principal tester and Wizardry V. I took a hiatus as an attorney to enter rpg gaming. If you remember, and pardon the self-promotion, there was a Memorial Fountain named after me on an upper level.
My favorite classic games. Number 1 is Ultima IV for its time (1984, I believe), the most addictive game ever. I took a 2-week vacation to play the game, and just barely finished. Number 2 is Wasteland, a game I replayed recently now that it's abandonware or freeware. The third is another Ultima, II, the first game to cost $50, as I recall. Remember New San Antonio? Flying in space? Certainly the first couple of Wizardry's. Another nostalgic tidbit: The original Wizardry was called Dungeon of Doom and there was no ability to save. Finally, as to frantic rpg moments, was there anything better than having to traipse through the upper dungeon levels in Wizardry, low on hit points, no potions or spells, and just 3 steps from the castle where you could save, there was always an encounter. Talk about sweaty palms. And, that was a game with wireframe graphics, no less.
Colossal Cave. Ah, The Original Adventure. I remember playing the longer 550-point version. You may or may not know that Crowther or Woods, I forgot which of the creators, was a real spelunker and the game environment is patterned after a cave in Kentucky.
As for Sacred, I was one of the fortunate ones who was able to play it through.
I recently closed a high-mark review of the game with the following sentence:
"Nevertheless, given some of the technical problems afflicting some users, I would not purchase Sacred unless I had at least the recommended system levels. I also would avoid that initial patch (1.5), especially if multiplayer is your thing. This is not a guarantee, just a suggestion duplicating my experience."
Thanks all for the nostalgia.
