Jones in the Fast Lane

[toblix]

I played a game of Jones in the Fast Lane at work today, and it struck me that this must be close to the ultimate test of how big a role nostalgia can play when evaluating a game. I played the crap out of Jones as a young boy, and today it's still fun and addictive. However, if a crack team were to enter a special craft, be miniaturized and injected into my blood, travel to my brain and remove all my childhood memories of Jones in the Fast lane using a high-powered laser, how would I perceive the game today? Nobody knows.

However, if any of you people here by some crazy chance have never heard of this game, could you take a look and tell me what you think?

[twmac]

Okay what the hell is that game about?

I had never heard of it before and I was instantly baffled.

Will try and play it again when I recover.

[Moosferatu]

Oh man! My brother and I played a ton of that game growing up too! I'd completely forgotten about it. Perhaps I'll have to pull it out again as well.

[Noyb]

I got stuck in a dead end job cooking at a burger joint, was turned down from every other job I applied for because of lack of experience and poor work history, and had trouble affording $40 fries and my monthly rent. Fun!

No sarcasm intended. Never played it before and the design is really interesting.

[syntheticgerbil]

I thought this game always looked bad.

But did it always look this bad? Is this some strange updated version?

[dpp]

Holy shit this game is a classic. Good times were had playing it.

[Noyb]

Update! Everything was going relatively fine for a few weeks until I let my only suit be worn to nothing. No one wanted to let me work in my underwear, I couldn't afford new clothes, and I didn't have a good enough job to get a loan. Ran around town in my underthings and lounged around the apartment until a relative took pity on me and bailed me out. Used the opportunity to enroll in the local university and get a decent education. Now I'm an assistant secretary at the local bank.

Am I correct in seeing that this port has online multiplayer?

[MrHoatzin]

What a bizarre, incomprehensible monstrosity!

[Xeneth]

Never heard of it!

Sat and watched it play itself in demo mode for a bit, as I'm not really that interested in controlling simulations that much. (The Sims was a great concept for me that actually ended up being ruined by the design changes that were made to increase player engagement. My ideal Sims would have retained the supposedly more autonomous AI and left me to play architect and watch them enjoy it with as little maintenance by me as possible.)

Looks incomprehensible and charming. Very amusing use of photography and cheesy voice acting to set the (silly) mood.

[fusion]

This game reminds me my childhood. Are you still playing this game?

[toblix]

I played it single player, which meant I used the old tactic I developed back in the day. Get a job as a clerk at the fast food place, enroll to some course, then work the rest of the day, eating fries as the last action. Then, every day, head to school and study for half the day, then work the rest and eat fries. After a while, you should be able to get a low-level job at the factory, which means you can afford a fridge and start buying food for weeks at a time. Then just do the work/study loop until you get the manager position at the factory, buy lots of shit, study everything and live like a king until you win.

[Nappi]

I played a shitload of this with my friend back in the day. We had some awesome tactic to beat the game, but I don't remember it anymore. It might have involved things like first almost starving to death and then going to the burger house to eat a ton of fries so that you wouldn't waste time by walking back and forth all the time.

It's interesting how many of us played a stressful rat-race job simulator as a kid. I think I would only feel depressed if I played it now.

[Jayel]

I used to call The Sims a Jones-in-the-Fast-Lane-clone.

It's one of my all-time favourites.

Hey this reminds me, did anyone play Lost Dutchman Mine? Another one of my childhood favourites that's sort of like Jones. Picked it up again recently and it's still a fucktonne of fun. Sorry about threadjacking.

Edited August 4, 2010 by Jayel

[BigJKO]

Oh, man. Thank you so much for that link! I remember playing this all the time when I was younger.

Yeah, the best bet was to always start with a job at the fast food place, since you could just eat and work at the same place.

Didn't the music use to sound better, though? Or is that just me?

[toblix]

I used to call The Sims a Jones-in-the-Fast-Lane-clone.

It's one of my all-time favourites.

Hey this reminds me, did anyone play Lost Dutchman Mine? Another one of my childhood favourites that's sort of like Jones. Picked it up again recently and it's still a fucktonne of fun. Sorry about threadjacking.

Not to derail the thread, but I played Lost Dutchman Mine a lot. It was before I was old enough to get it, so I always ended up dying in some ditch, but I remember running around on the map, fishing, exploring mines, shooting snakes, etc. Also, this game taught me the words consume and old timer.

[mkenyon]

Interesting game. Gonna play a bit more when I get home. I can't seem to get out of a $4/5 job even with trade school/pre-engineer/engineer degrees. Then I get stuck with no clothes and no money. Game over.

[toblix]

I'm not kidding, if you get a job at the fast food joint, you can work until the end of the day and then finish off with fries. It's super work when you're studying.

[Snooglebum]

I have no idea what I just played, but it was glorious.

[toblix]

Here's an alternate link in case you want something that looks like absolute fucking shit.

[MrHoatzin]

You know how Monopoly was supposedly made by some socialists who wanted to illustrate the stupidity and inherent unfairness of the free market system? Well, this game looks like it's been made by bums or guerrillas and the takeaway is supposed to be that life as a productive member of society is unfulfilling bullshit.

[Kolzig]

Oh yes! Jones in The Fast Lane.

One of the two most classic PC games of my youth. I played this every week after school with one friend for years and years. Still today when we meet we usually try to find time for one more go at Jones.

It's as special to me as Gold of the Americas: The Conquest of the New World is. That's another game we played million hours.

[dpp]

Kolzig, that reminds me of another game of my youth: The Seven Cities of Gold

Ahh good times...