Welcome back to The Restraining Order. The site’s editors are newly invigorated after spending some time on other projects, but now we’re rebuilding what was a bustling site a few months ago.

Over the last eight months that TRO has been online I’ve written many posts about videogames. Some of these, like my posts about online worlds, were promised to be regular features. That might happen someday, but for now I have a new series that I can assure you will appear regularly. It’s called GRANDPA BUCK PLAYS COMPUTER GAMES. In this series I play classic PC games and offer commentary on them. My first effort is rather humble, as I’m strapped for time and pretty stupid, but I already have lots of ideas for improvements like embedded the video in the blog and not breaking my videos up into 6 parts. And that’s all for post #2!

This first installment looks at Darklands, and excellent CRPG form 1992. Set in Medieval Germany as Germans of the time imagined it to be, you lead for characters of your design through forests and confrontations with Satanic villagers on an unending quest to do good and earn fame and honor. There’s no point in saying more about it here since my videos provide a pretty thorough introduction. If the game sounds appealing at all, check them out:

Part 1: Braving DOS
Part 2: Character Creation
Part 3: Better Know Your Satanic Hamlets
Part 4: Florin Conversion & You
Part 5: Of Saints, Wolves, and Baseless Accusations
Part 6: Prepare For Battle, Forest Rascals