In a ground-breaking, earthshaking, and jaw-dropping deal for all fans of classic PC games, GOG will be bringing back DRM-free versions of some legendary EA titles to its digital catalog. Since GOG’s launch, its users have hungered for classic games from its catalog, and GOG.com will finally feed that hunger with plenty of yesteryear’s blockbusters from the globally renowned publisher.
GOG will be adding more than 25 titles from EA over the next few months, so the games will be unveiled gradually by GOG. With today’s announcement three widely known and much awaited brands get the revival treatment from GOG.com.
Ultima Underworld I+II, including both The Stygian Abyss and Labyrinth of Worlds, is available now for $5.99 USD. Created by the talented team at Looking Glass Studios Inc., the Ultima Underworld games are a spin-off of the famous Ultima series. Both titles are classic dungeon crawlers, while the first part was the first true 3D RPG. As a recommendation ACE magazine, in its review from 1992, stated “If you’ve got a PC, then you’ve got to have Ultima Underworld,” and now thanks to Electronic Arts and GOG it’s possible again!
Dungeon Keeper (available now for $5.99 USD) is a classic strategy game developed by industry legend Peter Molyneux and his Bullfrog Productions. The game innovated by putting the player in the role of the bad guy who builds and manages his dungeon while protecting it from the “good heroes.” The game was praised by media as revolutionary and won a number of awards including “Best PC Game” award at E3 ‘97.
Wing Commander: Privateer (available now for $5.99 USD), one of the famous Origin Systems productions, is a spin-off of the acclaimed Wing Commander space flight simulator series. Privateer was exceptional in its approach to the plot as players could strictly follow it or explore the universe on their own and deciding if they want to end up being a pirate, a mercenary or a merchant. Combining some of the gameplay elements that made early classics like “Elite” a popular game with the rich and engaging Wing Commander universe made Privateer very successful title in the space combat simulation saga.
With the release of these three classics from Electronic Arts, the coming soon section highlights three other acclaimed titles: Crusader: No Remorse, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri and Magic Carpet. The first game is a 2D isometric shooter named “a great alternative to first-person shoot’em-us, and a definite must-play for action fans” according to the original review from PC Gamer. Alpha Centauri is another masterpiece strategy game by the gaming industry legend Sid Meier, which sets gamers to colonize a planet in the far star system. Last but not least, Magic Carpet is the fast-paced action game from the famous Bullfrog Productions where players control a mage flying on a carpet through 50 fully 3D worlds.
While the agreement between Electronic Arts and GOG.com brings back many acclaimed and well known franchises, it doesn’t include the much anticipated System Shock or Syndicate series at this time. After releasing the first six Electronic Arts classics, GOG.com will take a break from the concentrated awesome until later in the summer.