John Romero's Daikatana (Sold Out Software Re-issue) CD-ROM Summary

This page will summarise and detail the full contents and experience offered by this video game CD-ROM.

Overview

This is a pretty run-of-the-mill Sold Out Software re-issue of the infamous Daikatana game. It is packaged in the standard Sold Out Software way, a clear single disc DVD sized keepcase. The original artwork is featured in the middle of the front of the artwork and still carries the original developer (ION Storm) and publisher (Eidos Interactive) logos. The front details that the game within is for Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows XP systems. It also proudly boasts it featuring the ".NOW Technology" launcher along the top banner.

The spine refers to the game by its short name of Daikatana. The bottom of the spine makes mention of "sov. 2.4" which usually refers to the "version" of packaging that is presented here. Below this however is a rare sight on many Sold Out reissues, what appears to be a genuine catalog number of TPR 0196.

The rear of the packaging follows the typical Sold Out Software design and layout. Six in-game screenshots are provided, along with a short blurb about the game itself. A recommendation/review by PCGAMER is also given, without a date. A unique EAN barcode is applied to this product, of 5037999004059.

The packaging provides a systems requirement list as follows:

• Pentium 233MHz or above
• 4x CD-ROM Drive (Min.)
• 32Mb RAM (Min.); 64Mb RAM (Rec.)
• 4Mb Open GL compliant Video Card (Min.); 16Mb Open GL compliant Graphic Accelerated card (Rec.)
• 100% DirectX 6 compatible sound card
• Mouse & Keyboard
• 200Mb free hard drive space (Min.)
• Optional Multiplayer Support: Modem, TCP/IP or IPX
• Install .NOW (optional) requires Pentium compatible PC and 16Mb RAM
• IE5 installation requires 18.5Mb free hard disk space

The CD-ROM itself is a pure data-only disc, with no mixed-mode content. The structure of the CD-ROM (found below) is again typical for a Sold Out Software reissue. The latest file date I can find is 25th April 2002 which is likely close to when this re-issue was produced.

Metadata

Contents

The CD-ROM includes the following content:

• Daikatana - Full Game, version TBC
• Daikatana User Manual - 31 pages, full colour (pdf mirror)
• Daikatana Game Patch - version 1.2a (Patch readme)
• OpenGL Setup - version TBC
• Microsoft DirectX 7 Setup - version TBC
• M Player Setup - version TBC
• Adobe Reader Setup - version TBC
• AXDIST.EXE ?
• Microsoft Internet Explorer Setup - version 5
• Macromedia Shockwave Setup - version TBC
• Weblinks (see below for detail)

Points of Interest

Here are a few things I find interesting or of note about this CD-ROM...

• Music on CD-ROM without needing to install the game, you can access the entire games soundtrack directly from CD-ROM. It's under the data directory, in a sub-directory called music. Within are 30 tracks in a standard .mp3 format, encoded at 128kbps. None of these tracks have any useful metadata, and the filenames are seemingly obscure but I have added these into MusicBrainz with AcoustID fingerprints to get the "real" song titles.


• Manual the user manual provided appears twice, both files are identical however. There is one copy in the root of the CD-ROM and then one in the directory "MANUAL".


• Install without Bloat Mastertronic (the guys behind Sold Out Software) often want you to install all of the bloat that comes with these reissues, including Macromedia Shockwave, Internet Explorer and Adobe Acrobat. Although the final one in that list is only required if you need to look at the included manual, the rest are often not worth it. Instead of using the Autorun, open the CD-ROM in Windows Explorer and run Setup.exe, this will install just the game.


• Adverts for Other Games the sleeve is double sided, and on the inside it advertises the following titles; Broken Sword II, Championship Manager 3, Colin McRae Rally, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, Grand Theft Auto / Grand Theft Auto: London double-pack, Jimmy White's Cueball 2, Spec Ops, Thief: The Dark Project, ToCA Touring Car Championship, Tomb Raider II, Vegas Games 2000, Worms 2, Brian Lara Cricket, Flight Unlimited II, Might and Magic ???, Jonah Lomu Rugby, Paharaoh, Tomb Raider, Police Quest: SWAT 2, Warcraft ?? .

Gallery

Further Reading/Resource Links

Want to know more about this game, purchase a copy for yourself or maybe even look at some of the referenced internet resources included on the CD-ROM - check out below:

• Wikipedia Page for Daikatana
• MobyGames entry for Daikatana
• Soundtrack entry on MusicBrainz
• Purchase This CD-ROM via Amazon.com
• View the included digital manual (.pdf file)
• Read the readme.txt for the included patch

Under the directory install\weblinks are two directories "Daikatana Mplayer Community" and "Internet Links", each containing .url files to various webpages. Almost all of the links are dated 2001-02-18, wherever possible I'll provide capture links to these webpages on Internet Archive's WayBackMachine from around this date.

• Announcements & News - http://www.daikatananews.com/ (WayBackMachine Capture from 2001-03-02)
• Challenge Ladders & Leagues - http://www.daikatananews.com/ladders/
• Current Player Statistics and Rankings - http://www.daikatananews.com/scores/
• Discussion Forums - http://www.daikatananews.com/community/
• Events and Tournaments - http://www.daikatananews.com/events/
• Patches, Files, Mods & Maps - http://www.daikatananews.com/files/ (WayBackMachine Capture from 2001-01-27)
• Teams (Clan) Listings - http://www.daikatananews.com/clans/
• Hints & Tips - http://www.sold-out.co.uk/soldout/hints/home.html (WayBackMachine Capture from 2001-04-11 - requires flash)
• ION Storm - http://www.ionstorm.com/ (WayBackMachine Capture from 2001-02-24 - requires flash)
• Official Daikatana Site - http://www.daikatana.com/ (WayBackMachine Capture from 2001-03-01)
• Sold Out Software - http://www.sold-out.co.uk/soldout/index.html (WayBackMachine Capture from 2001-04-07 - requires flash)
• Tech Support - http://www.sold-out.co.uk/soldout/support/home.html(WayBackMachine Capture from 2001-05-09 - requires flash)