My first PC game was Blood (1997). Though, not the first PC game I played.

Dune 2 while not the first RTS, it is one of the first and it has put down foundation of RTS games which has been followed for many years. As for the novels, I have read 5 original novels by Frank Herbert, missed Dune Messiah. Also I read 6 novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, 3 from Prelude to Dune and Legends of Dune. I still want to read the 3 books which are supposed to be Dune 7.

Personally I enjoyed the 6 novels written by Herbert/Anderson combo. Found them interesting and entertaining. But I did find that they tend to come up with random characters to quickly kill them off like 50-100 pages later which served no real purpose. Some points to the story line I didnt like. Many of their characters are forgettable. I was highly disappointed with their idea on why Harkonnens and Atreides hate each other so much. As writers, they dont come close to Frank Herbert. Their books are also easier to read as they use simpler English compared to Frank Herbert. As English not my first language I found that reading his novels was harder but more interesting.

Overall, I think Frank Herbert who wrote the original novels is a much better writer. He did more research for his novels and it shows. His stories are better and have deeper meaning. He develops his characters much better as well.

I would really recommend to start reading from the original and read in order as1oh1nine1 said. I enjoyed original novel the most and and the 4th (God Emperor of Dune) is really good as well. Because I missed Dune Messiah I felt bit lost when I started to read Children of Dune.

I think its a great game. After playing First and Second Encounters HD I was bit worried what Serious Sam 3 will turnout like. But they have done a great job of making a great Serious Sam game. The gameplay is balanced, fun and challenging. In many ways I still prefer original encounters, the crazy secrets, picking up items spawned enemies. Would always consider picking up that 1 hp pill before, as it could spawn death on you. Previous encounters had that more epic feel I think. But Serious Sam 3 is still very fun and addictive game for me.

They decided to go more realistic style but I think they have pulled it off. The last level is crazy and epic, the music and feel reminds me of Second Encounter the Grand Cathedral level.

I finished the Single Player on serious and found the game to be easier than original encounters, but SS 3 also gives bit of a challenge. Time to climb the leaderboards by finishing the game on Mental and beyond!

I live in New Zealand and there are barely any server in the region here so I got limited online experience. There was an Australian server going with 10-16 players coop, was fun and chaotic. Yesterday played Team deathmatch on a server with 250 ping, but I still had a blast and the net code seems to be very good as I was still able to get quite a bit of kills with that ping. Sadly not many server all around.

It was interesting to see them implement more of a story. Creating more background for Sam 'Stone' Serious.

I am ok with computers but bit nooby in monitors. So I researched Dell U2412M bit more and the monitor is considered to be very good for its price. I just like to do my own research as well to know why it is better than others and to learn more about monitors in general.

After research and your advice I have decided to buy Dell U2412M. I have already ordered it online and it should be here soon. So, thanks again for the great suggestion.

Thanks for the reply. I dont mind paying bit more for a good product and the Dell Monitor is looking quite good actually. I will definitely consider it. Thanks again for your recommendation.

I am currently looking for a new monitor and Samsung LS27A350 27" seems like a good choice at $439 NZD. So I am wondering if anyone has an opinion on this model or maybe some other recommendations. I am looking for a monitor in that price range or cheaper, at least 24", preferably with HDMI input.

Samsung LS27A350

Thanks.

Battlezone 2 definitely, amazing game. I will also add Populous 3: The beginning and Dark Reign.

Thanks for the update.

Good video, few things seemed off to be but otherwise the game shows some promise.

But its Gearbox software. They usually do good games, not counting Duke Nukem Forever they had to finish...

BTW, you seem to get scared easily. I found that Dead Space 1 was only scary for the first 3 levels. The rest of the game was just fun.

Otherwise, I am big fan of Aliens movie. Seen it many times.

Been waiting for Serious Sam 3 for a while now! Recently replayed First and Second Encounters (HD), beat both again on Serious than Mental :P. Awesome games!

Good Trailer, was wondering if they are going back to Egypt or not. Glad that they actually went back to original graphics/art/gameplay style. Serious Sam 2 was good but I prefer the original style.

Ya I am actually suprised at lower pricing (40 USD). In my country the retail price would be 100 NZD while 40/0.8 = 50 NZD. One of the main resons I love Steam :). Pre-order is 10% off (36 USD), however, since owners of previous Serious Sam games get additional 10% the price is 32 USD.