Oh my goodness. Talk about major time nostalgia moment.

Out of all the games I played in childhood, Commander Keen was probably what I spent the most hours enjoying. It didn't matter as the games became increasingly "older" - they NEVER became outdated to me - and thus I played and beat all the episodes again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and... well... AGAIN.

While I am disappointed that this "complete" pack lacks my all-time favorite Keen game (Episode 6: Aliens Ate My Babysitter) as well as Keen Dreams, I cannot complain to the fact that buying this provides me access to most of Keen's adventures. From the gameplay I have done so far, it works well enough on my system, beyond a few minor visual jitters that shake the screen from time-to-time.

The later episodes (everything in Goodbye Galaxy!) are far more fun, in my opinion, than the first three, but all of the games have appreciable and enjoyable elements. The first few games sometimes suffer from clunky controls and frustratingly challenging segments in gameplay, while the latter feel a lot more organic on the hand of the player, and can be set at easy/normal/hard levels that are appropriate to players' experience. I also feel like the aliens' designs, appearances, personalities, etc. become more lovable and memorable as the adventures continue, but maybe that is coming from the bias of loving Episode 6 the most, then 5, then 4.

While there is a story behind Commander Keen's adventures, I wouldn't say that story is ever the central part of playing the games. You might know you're saving the Oracles, you might know you're saving your babysitter, you might know you have to destroy That Huge Dramatic Machine at the end of Episode 5, and you might know that the Vorticons should be defeated before they mess up everything... but even with a perfunctory understanding of the plot, that's enough to have fun. There's not much more to the plot than basic concepts, anyway. I believe when I was young and first playing the games, I didn't even KNOW what I was doing... I was just pogo-sticking my way through levels and having a good time. It's true I am someone who prefers games for the storytelling, but I'd still argue for Commander Keen's incredibleness for eternity... maybe because of my personal sense of nostalgia for this staple game... maybe because it still provides the player imagination into a world of fighting aliens... maybe because the games are just FUN TO PLAY and a deep storyline isn't needed (for me personally) to enjoy myself.

I would recommend these games, especially episodes 4-6 and Keen Dreams, to any of my friends, regardless of whether or not Commander Keen was a part of their childhood.

Oh my goodness. Talk about major time nostalgia moment. Out of all the games I played in childhood, Commander Keen was probably what I spent the most hours enjoying. It didn't matter as the games became increasingly "older" - they NEVER became outdated to me - and thus I played and beat all the episodes again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and... well... AGAIN. While I am disappointed that this "complete" pack lacks my all-time favorite Keen game (Episode 6: Aliens Ate My Babysitter) as well as Keen Dreams, I cannot complain to the fact that buying this provides me access to most of Keen's adventures. From the gameplay I have done so far, it works well enough on my system, beyond a few minor visual jitters that shake the screen from time-to-time. The later episodes (everything in Goodbye Galaxy!) are far more fun, in my opinion, than the first three, but all of the games have appreciable and enjoyable elements. The first few games sometimes suffer from clunky controls and frustratingly challenging segments in gameplay, while the latter feel a lot more organic on the hand of the player, and can be set at easy/normal/hard levels that are appropriate to players' experience. I also feel like the aliens' designs, appearances, personalities, etc. become more lovable and memorable as the adventures continue, but maybe that is coming from the bias of loving Episode 6 the most, then 5, then 4. While there is a story behind Commander Keen's adventures, I wouldn't say that story is ever the central part of playing the games. You might know you're saving the Oracles, you might know you're saving your babysitter, you might know you have to destroy That Huge Dramatic Machine at the end of Episode 5, and you might know that the Vorticons should be defeated before they mess up everything... but even with a perfunctory understanding of the plot, that's enough to have fun. There's not much more to the plot than basic concepts, anyway. I believe when I was young and first playing the games, I didn't even KNOW what I was doing... I was just pogo-sticking my way through levels and having a good time. It's true I am someone who prefers games for the storytelling, but I'd still argue for Commander Keen's incredibleness for eternity... maybe because of my personal sense of nostalgia for this staple game... maybe because it still provides the player imagination into a world of fighting aliens... maybe because the games are just FUN TO PLAY and a deep storyline isn't needed (for me personally) to enjoy myself. I would recommend these games, especially episodes 4-6 and Keen Dreams, to any of my friends, regardless of whether or not Commander Keen was a part of their childhood.