NetHack Retrospective
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In order to back up their semi-claim that it's "the best game of all time", the editors at Linux Voice have whipped up a retrospective/historical piece on NetHack, the addictive roguelike that many of us have played and returned to at least a few times since its inception nearly three decades ago. It's time for some quoting:
Despite its name, NetHack isn't an online game. It's based on an earlier dungeon-exploring romp called Hack, which in turn was a descendant of an 1980 game called Rogue. NetHack's first release arrived in 1987, and although no new features have been added since version 3.4.3 in 2003, various patches, add-ons and spin-offs are still doing the rounds on the web. This makes it arguably the oldest game that's still being hacked on and played by a sizeable group of people. Go to www.reddit.com/r/nethack to see what we mean long-time NetHack players are still discussing new strategies, discoveries and tricks. Occasionally you'll see gleeful messages from old timers who have finally, after many years, completed the game.
But how do you complete it? Well, NetHack is set in a large and deep dungeon. You start at the top level 1 and your goal is to keep going down until you find a hugely valuable item called the Amulet of Yendor. This is typically in level 20 or lower, but it can vary. As you traverse through and down the dungeon, you'll meet all manner of monsters, traps and human characters; some will try to kill you, some will stay out of your way, and some.. well, you don't know until you get close to them.
What makes NetHack so compelling is the vast range of items crammed into the game. Weapons, armour, spell books, rings, gems there's so much to learn, and many items only work best when combined with others. Monsters often drop useful items when you kill them, although some items can have very negative effects if you don't use them correctly. You'll find shops in the dungeon that are packed with potentially useful bits of kit, but don't expect the shopkeeper to give you great descriptions. You've got to learn from experience. Some items aren't much use at all, and the game is packed with humour you can even throw a cream pie in your own face.
But before you even set foot in the dungeon, NetHack asks you what kind of player you want to be. You can take your journey as a knight, a monk, a wizard or even a humble tourist, amongst many other player types. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses, and NetHack addicts love to try completing the game with the weaker types. You know, to show off to other players.
