3D Realms Anthology Released: A Digital Delight for Nostalgic Gamers

The moment of truth has finally arrived, and it's a huge one for fans of classic games. 3D Realms, the legendary game developer behind some of the most iconic titles in gaming history, has been revived after a brief hiatus. This time around, they're back under the wing of Interceptor Entertainment in Denmark, who have seen fit to celebrate their return with the release of the 3D Realms Anthology on their official website.

The 3D Realms Anthology is an incredible collection of 32 games that will transport you back to the golden era of gaming. And at a price point of $20 (with plans to increase it to $40 in the near future), it's an absolute steal. The bundle comes with not only all the big-name titles, but also some hidden gems like Boppin', Xenophage, and Dark Ages that are sure to delight completionist enthusiasts.

As you'd expect from a game developer of this caliber, the 3D Realms Anthology boasts an impressive lineup of classics that will take you on a wild ride through the highs and lows of gaming's past. Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, Wacky Wheels, Raptor, and many more are all represented here, each one a testament to the developer's skill and creativity. And while it's impossible for us to include every single game in their library, the Anthology comes remarkably close.

Of course, no collection would be complete without some notable omissions. Max Payne, Prey, and other games that have since fallen under different owners are unfortunately absent from this bundle. However, 3D Realms assures us that more of their games are on the way, with Balls of Steel awaiting some Windows 8 fixes before it sees the light of day. For completionists, rest assured that many of these titles can be found on Steam and GOG under other publishers, ensuring that you'll never have to go without them.

But even with some gaps in their library, the 3D Realms Anthology is still an incredible value for fans of classic games. The bundle includes a remixed soundtrack album that's sure to delight gamers who grew up during this era, and it all comes at a price point that's hard to argue with. And as if that weren't enough, the pack also includes some nice extras – although we're told it's digital only (a box set is sadly out of the question).

So what does the future hold for 3D Realms? With their Anthology bundle off to a flying start, fans can expect more games to be added in the coming weeks and months. And as they continue to grow under new management, we can't help but wonder if this might be the perfect opportunity for them to return to form. One thing's for sure: with the 3D Realms Anthology on the scene, it's never been a better time to revisit the classics that made gaming history in the first place.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enWell, this has me absolutely psyched!3D Realms is back in actionafter a brief time in limbo,though nowadays they're owned and operatedby Interceptor Entertainment in Denmark.And to celebrate theirfresh new Danish overlords,and formal return to releasing games,the 3D Realms Anthology hasbeen released on 3DRealms.comfor 20 US Dollars.Or rather, it's at that price asI'm recording this right now,set to go up to $40 soon.At this point in time, it gets you 32 games,a remixed soundtrack album,and some nice extras in a bundlethat's absolutely packedto the brim with nostalgia.Sadly, it's digital only and not in a box,like the website kind of teases,but it's still a no-brainer.Seriously, if you grew up playingShareware games in the '90s,you cannot go wrong buying this pack.Unless you were like a totalEpic MegaGames fanboy, I guess,and in that case, good luckbuying their old games anymore.Oh, and unless you're on Linux or Mac OS.But those versions are saidto be coming in the near future.But as I was saying, the 3DRAnthology comes with 32 games,and it's got all the big Apogeeclassics most people rememberand then some.The website claims this isthe entire 3D Realms library,though that's not strictly true.You've got all the well-remembered names.You know, your CommanderKeens and Duke Nukemsand Wacky Wheels andRaptor and all that good stuff.But there are some notable omissionsbeyond the games youwould expect to be left out,like Max Payne and Prey,which are now owned by other companies entirely.Games like the variousApogee puzzle and trivia packsthe Kroz series,Boppin', Xenophage,Dark Ages and Balls of Steel.I asked 3D Realms on Twitter about this,and they said that more oftheir games are on the way,with Balls of Steel in particularawaiting some Windows 8 fixesbefore it goes live.And if this triggers your obsessivecompletionist tendencies,these games are all either freeware nowor are available on Steam andGOG from other publishers.So you don't have to do without them,but it would just be nice to haveeverything in one launcher for one price.The pack also includes\"3D Realms Re-Rockestrated,\"a musical compilation featuringnine recomposed Apogeeand 3D Realm game tracksby Andrew Hul...shult?Not sure if I'm pronouncing that right.It's the guy behind thesoundtracks to Brutal Doomand the Rise of the Triad reboot.You get it in FLAC MP3 and 24-bit WAV files,and it rocks hard enough to about beworth the price of admission on its own.♪♪Once you download and install the pack itself,you get a little front-end forloading each of the included gameswith no setup required.While I do like diving into DOSand typing in commands to load each of these,it's nice to not have towhen you just want a quick fix.You don't even have to load anything separateto play the additional registered episodes,since it starts up a batch filewith a simple numeric selection.You can also use the launcherto browse the manualsand registration goodies for each game,and these are actually scansof the original documents,and not just text files,which is a very nice touch.Many of these I've never seen before,even though I own the registered floppies,so I was all over this.The games themselves runin DOSBox for the most part,which is to be expected,being mainly DOS games.And as far as I could tell,they're set up quite nicely,with only a few gameshaving some cycles issues,and things like the musicnot being enabled by default.But if you know DOSBox anddon't mind poking around some files,it's not hard to fix this stuff on your own,at least until they updatethe pack themselves.The games are, by and large,what you'd expect.All are delicious full versionsand all are stuffed withchocolatey Apogee filling.There are a few exceptions,though, like Duke Nukem II,which features some controversialdifferent sprites and graphicsin the same way that the Steam version did.I'd rather just have the original game.And Duke 3D, that onlyincludes the Atomic Edition,none of the extra episodesthat were included in other recent releases.So if you're really after those two gamesand are kind of my mindset,I'd recommend Duke II on GOGand Megaton Editionon Steam for Duke 3D.But it doesn't bother me enoughnot to recommend the whole pack,which I still do, because this isdreamlike to my inner 10-year-old.Seriously, that kid in me is freakin' outand fanboying all over the place.I mean, I'm making this friggin' video!I wasn't asked to do it.I just got excited as soon as I saw this!I love these games!And sure, a lot of my excitementis driven by pure unbridled nostalgiaand I will admit that freely.Some of these games really justaren't all that great anymore, sad to say.But Apogee titles, even the crappier ones,were staples of my growth as a gamer,with Crystal Caves being my first game,and Duke Nukem 3D heartilymarinating my adolescent years.And I've played almostsingle one of the other gamesin this pack at some point or another.And despite some ofthem being kind of lame,most of them, I think,still hold up very welland are worth playing today,not to mention just beinghistoric titles on the PC.So for me personally, it's just greatto see almost everythingcollected in one spot,instead of having to huntdown individual downloadson a late '90s-lookingwebsite like you had to before.And the stellar extras like the manual scansand reimagined soundtrack albumjust make it all the merrier.So if Shareware is your thing,and you remember some of this stuff,I'd say go ahead and give this thing a look.Personally, I still think 40is not that bad of a deal,and, you know, that's for youto decide yourself, of course.And if you enjoyed this quickramble on some Apogee goodness,then you're definitely on the right channel.I've got, uh, some more Apogeegames that I will be covering in thepretty nearish future,and I've covered a whole lot before.Paganitzu, Pharaoh's Tomb, Arctic Adventure,Halloween Harry,Monster Bash, and...I'm sure some others, too.So, yeah, check out my backcatalog of videos for that,and you can also subscribe if you want tosee the others that are coming in the future.And you can always follow andinteract on Twitter and Facebook,to get even more LGR updatesand talk with other people thatare interested in similar stuff.And you can alsosupport the show on Patreon,allowing you to do allthat Patreon support stuff.If you don't know what all that's about,well, go there and check it out.You can see videos earlyand get signed floppy disksand a bunch of other cool stuff.So, yeah, go check that outif you're not familiar with it.And as always, thank you very much for watching.\n"