Did anyone other than me play CDI, and like it ?
10-10-02, 12:19 AM
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Did anyone other than me play CDI, and like it ?
Okay i admit the CDI lacked in all major categories of a console system. This was the first system I got after Nintendo, until I saved up and bought a Genesis. I played a few games that weren't too bad (or had at least a few good things)
1) Laser lords- adventure game, horrible graphics, but cool claymation characters that talked with real voices and had innovative conversation options. You could remember words to pose to characters later in the game to spark new events.
This game had a creative storyline, and possesed some very interesting socio-political-religious elements. It had lots of interesting dialogue and funny characters, including eunechs, drug addicts, and pimps.
That being said, fighting was atrocious and tedious, as was most movement in the game. I had to play with a remote control looking thing with a stick at the end. NEedless to say it was somewhat frustrating, but probably one of the most satisfying game experiences I have ever had. The game drew on mythology from every culture, and had a very literate and cultured feel to it.
2) the Golf game for this system was pretty fun. The commentary was pretty cool for the time, and the graphics were decent. I don't remember what it was called .
There were some real stinkers for this system - zelda, everything else released. I felt really bad for Phillips for investing money in this venture with hardly any third party support, and without any decent console gaming controllers released. Oh well, i think we still have it, and I would still play those games if i got a decent controller.
1) Laser lords- adventure game, horrible graphics, but cool claymation characters that talked with real voices and had innovative conversation options. You could remember words to pose to characters later in the game to spark new events.
This game had a creative storyline, and possesed some very interesting socio-political-religious elements. It had lots of interesting dialogue and funny characters, including eunechs, drug addicts, and pimps.
That being said, fighting was atrocious and tedious, as was most movement in the game. I had to play with a remote control looking thing with a stick at the end. NEedless to say it was somewhat frustrating, but probably one of the most satisfying game experiences I have ever had. The game drew on mythology from every culture, and had a very literate and cultured feel to it.
2) the Golf game for this system was pretty fun. The commentary was pretty cool for the time, and the graphics were decent. I don't remember what it was called .
There were some real stinkers for this system - zelda, everything else released. I felt really bad for Phillips for investing money in this venture with hardly any third party support, and without any decent console gaming controllers released. Oh well, i think we still have it, and I would still play those games if i got a decent controller.
10-10-02, 04:23 AM
#3
DVD Talk Legend
The problem with CD-I was that it was a technology rather than a console and they relied on 3rd party companies to manufacture their own consoles based on the technology - like Philips or Panasonic or something. The result was that the consoles cost around 400 bucks or so and sold poorly. Consequently, very few games were ever made for it. It was a decent technology though... good idea, poor execution. I think I played Dragon's Lair on it.
10-10-02, 06:54 AM
#4
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I still have mine with all the art and educational software plus about 20 CD-i movies. Some of the disc featuring famous painters and artists were very good. None of the games ever interested me, but I did pick one up off the clearance bin in 1995 and have kept it ever since.
When my son was younger he played both the CD-i and 3DO quite a bit because of all the educational software available on both.
When my son was younger he played both the CD-i and 3DO quite a bit because of all the educational software available on both.
10-10-02, 09:11 AM
#5
DVD Talk Gold Edition
My friend's dad had a pre-production CD-i before it came out in retail. I believe his company was doing the marketing for the system because he was always asking us how we liked the system and the games.
We played the Golf game a lot (it was quite advanced for its time) and we played some other games on it. I remember playing 7th Guest on it, that was not a bad port from the PC game.
We played the Golf game a lot (it was quite advanced for its time) and we played some other games on it. I remember playing 7th Guest on it, that was not a bad port from the PC game.
10-10-02, 11:15 AM
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We used to sell them at a video store I worked at. We were actually encouraged to play the thing during our "down" time so that people would be tempted to buy it. Since we also rented CDI games, we had a pretty good selection to pick from.
That said, most of the games weren't that good. It was pretty impressive at first glance, considering what was available at the time (SNES and Genesis), but it didn't hold up well once you played it to the extent that we did.
First, the controller sucked. It was kind of like a remote, kind of like a controller, and not a good example of either one. About the only other option to the one that came in the box was the fisher price controller for preschoolers, and it wasn't fun to use either.
Second, the educational games (which were a big selling point for this system) really weren't all that educational or useful. We had an Encyclopedia Britannica CDI that was supposed to take the place of the real thing. It was hard to navigate and find what you wanted, and when you did, my copy of Encarta '95 had more information. It goes without saying that even a crappy encyclopedia like World Book was infinately more useful.
The Smithsonian CD suffered from the same problems. When you got to thinking about it, how much text can you read on your television, and how much can you display at any given time?
The other games weren't much fun either, because of the limiatations of the controller, you didn't get fast-twitch games like Street Fighter, and I don't even rememebr seeing a Mario style game. Most had plenty of full motion video, though. There were maybe two or three we played on any kind of regular basis -- the golf game, and a casino game.
Oh, and did I mention the cost? I don't remember us ever selling the CDI for anything under $700. It was ridiculously expensive, especially once the Playstation and Saturn came out.
Then, towards the end, they tried to sell it as an alternative to DVD. I guess the discs looked about the same -- until you actually played them. The compression artifacts were bad enough that I actually prefered VHS. It didn't hold a candle to the LaserDiscs we were renting, or the DVDs that were just coming out. I knew at this point the system was truly dead.
That said, most of the games weren't that good. It was pretty impressive at first glance, considering what was available at the time (SNES and Genesis), but it didn't hold up well once you played it to the extent that we did.
First, the controller sucked. It was kind of like a remote, kind of like a controller, and not a good example of either one. About the only other option to the one that came in the box was the fisher price controller for preschoolers, and it wasn't fun to use either.
Second, the educational games (which were a big selling point for this system) really weren't all that educational or useful. We had an Encyclopedia Britannica CDI that was supposed to take the place of the real thing. It was hard to navigate and find what you wanted, and when you did, my copy of Encarta '95 had more information. It goes without saying that even a crappy encyclopedia like World Book was infinately more useful.
The Smithsonian CD suffered from the same problems. When you got to thinking about it, how much text can you read on your television, and how much can you display at any given time?
The other games weren't much fun either, because of the limiatations of the controller, you didn't get fast-twitch games like Street Fighter, and I don't even rememebr seeing a Mario style game. Most had plenty of full motion video, though. There were maybe two or three we played on any kind of regular basis -- the golf game, and a casino game.
Oh, and did I mention the cost? I don't remember us ever selling the CDI for anything under $700. It was ridiculously expensive, especially once the Playstation and Saturn came out.
Then, towards the end, they tried to sell it as an alternative to DVD. I guess the discs looked about the same -- until you actually played them. The compression artifacts were bad enough that I actually prefered VHS. It didn't hold a candle to the LaserDiscs we were renting, or the DVDs that were just coming out. I knew at this point the system was truly dead.
10-10-02, 11:25 AM
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