Good Old Games, is it any good?

[Olaus Petrus]

I noticed that site called Good Old Games sells digital download of Gabriel Knight 2, so I was wondering does anyone has experiences about them. I'm always bit sceptical towards digital download distributors which I don't know, because I fear that they might discontinue the service for which I have paid at some point or another or are otherwise untrustworthy (sometimes I'm almost as paranoid as Bosco).

So I was hoping to hear if anyone has bought old adventure games from them and do you have positive or negative experiences.

[Rather Dashing]

I haven't bought Adventures from them, but considering I've bought a good number of RPGs from the site, I think I can still vouch for the store.

I've been using Good Old Games for, according to the site, 435 days. I love it. It's everything I want in a PC gaming distributor.

There is no DRM. The install files do not phone home, ever. The very barest of all possible protections is used, that is, you have to be signed into your account when you click the download link. And that's it. The installer does no activation check or anything. You can save the installer, and run it offline. There's no limit on downloads, no activations. Just log in, download the installer, and that's the last you'll ever hear of GOG.

Also, all the games work beautifully on modern PCs. If something doesn't work, you have tech support and a message board community. I can't speak to the quality of the tech support, considering I've never had an issue that required them.

Also, I like being able to get PDFs of the manual, MP3s of the soundtrack, and the other supplemental extras they include. They're generally not anything particularly special, but they're nice to have, especially considering that a lot of old PC RPGs really required a good read through the manual before you created your character.

I've had a really, really good experience with GOG so far. I'd recommend them to anybody in a heartbeat, easily.

Is it possible they'll go down? I suppose. That's a possibility with any of the download services, it's a fact of life and whatnot. But with GOG, you can burn the installer to a disc, or keep it on a hard drive somewhere, and it will work fine when you get back to it. Also, considering that their library has been expanding at a pretty good rate, I'd guess their business isn't outright failing at the moment.

[Shazyzang]

They're good. If a game has glitches they'll release a patch soon after its release, like Sanitarium. And some of their games you can't get anywhere else.

[City Of Delusion]

Originally Posted by Shazyzang

They're good. If a game has glitches they'll release a patch soon after its release, like Sanitarium. And some of their games you can't get anywhere else.

Most of their games, more like.

While I generally approve of GOG, there has been two cases where games have been removed from sale and (AFAIK) their downloads removed (specifically, Colin McCrae Rally 2005 and ToCA Race Driver 3. Considering the latter is still available to buy off Steam, it's a case of publisher being dumb). That sad, they seem to be exceptions rather than the rule, and any backed up exes will still work.

They also do very easy installs for Beneath A Steel Sky,in case you can't get your head around ScummVM.

[Olaus Petrus]

I gave it a try and bought it. So far everything seems to be running like it should and it was also easy to make backup copy, because there was no extra launchers and stuff which complicate it.

[SpiralJacobs]

I've purchased a number of games on GOG, including Fallout 1 and 2, Riven, the Tex Murphy games, and I'll continue to do business with them. GOG is my ideal online distributor. No DRM, no fuss, helpful staff, and a clear reverential love of oldschool gaming.
Buy games from them.

[PimPamPet]

I love GOG. I've been a customer for about a year now and haven't had a single problem with them yet.

[Icedhope]

I like it.

[StarEye]

Favourite digital distribution site on the net. They're pretty much flawless, only need more games, but it's still relatively new and there's a sea of goodness just waiting to be released on GOG.

[BlankCanvasDJ]

I wholeheartedly agree that GoG is great. And they're getting the Gabriel Knight games now, which is wonderful.

[figmentPez]

I'm a fan of GOG as well. I've got Psychonauts, Beyond Good and Evil, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Uru: Ages Beyond Myst so far, and I'll probably continue purchasing from them in the future.

[Icedhope]

It has redneck rampage, and who doesn't like redneck rampage...Kur..err Icedhope does.

[BlankCanvasDJ]

Originally Posted by figmentPez

I'm a fan of GOG as well. I've got Psychonauts, Beyond Good and Evil, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Uru: Ages Beyond Myst so far, and I'll probably continue purchasing from them in the future.

Do you need a gamepad to play BG&E? I love that game and it'd be great to be able to play it again without having to dig out my xbox from storage.

[StarEye]

I don't even think there's gamepad support at all in BG&E on PC. I played it a bit with mouse and keyboard. I managed it quite well, so it's not too bad.

[figmentPez]

Originally Posted by StarEye

I don't even think there's gamepad support at all in BG&E on PC. I played it a bit with mouse and keyboard. I managed it quite well, so it's not too bad.

There is gamepad support, but I don't know how good it is. My pad was acting up when I played it, so I went through the whole game with mouse and keyboard. Worked well enough.

[harlequ1n]

I constantly recommend GOG to all gamers in need of (go figure) good old games. It's digital distribution done right.