Ultima 4 (NES):

A couple solos:

Tinker:
* Level 4 (where I'm staying, so that sleep-casting enemies don't appear on the overworld)
* Have the +1 Axe (Magic Axe on PC), which is the second strongest ranged weapon in the game. (One drawback: In the NES version, you can normally equip a melee weapon and a sling/bow at the same time; this weapon replaces the melee weapon and isn't as strong as the better melee-only weapons.)
* Have 15 MP. (Not enough for more powerful spells; can't even use Blink to courageously escape from battles!)

Druid:
* Just got the magic wand, which makes things much easier. (Especially at melee; you can't use bows in melee (instead, the equipped melee weapon gets used), and the strongest melee weapon a non-Avatar druid can use is the club.)
* Going by intended stat names, 50 DEX and 38 INT; still need to boost STR. (The translators messed up; when translating the game back from Japanese to English, they switched the DEX and INT labels. Note that this does not affect other versions of the game because they didn't have to go through double translation.)

Haven't yet gone for Avatarhood in either save. It's worth noting, however, that the NES version works a bit differently with regard to the rewards:
* Only the Avatar gets the Mystic Sword/Armor. Furthermore, you can't sell them for massive money. (Money is harder to come by in the NES version than in other versions, making the Magic Axe/Wand a particularly good measure of (early) progress.)
* On reaching Avatarhood, your max MP increases to 99, regardless of class. (Especially nice for the Tinker, or if you're brave enough to make your Avatar a Fighter or Shepherd.)
* Unlike in other versions, you have to brave the Abyss alone. (With that said, this dungeon, just like the other dungeons in the game, has been simplified.)

Jagged Alliance 2

In Experienced difficulty, my mercs are still in Alma.

Heh, if HoMM1 stumps you, don't try 2 and 3. I could make no headway whatsoever in those, but completed 1 as a kid. Then again, YMMV, the issue for me is that I can't take the gameplay style required by 2 and 3, refused to play that way, so obviously couldn't push ahead. What I wanted was the style of 4, sure enjoyed that one (except the Barbarian campaign, but managed to push through that too eventually), but 1 was still manageable, somehow.
Considering the healing, Empire seemed quite easy to play. But yes, the units themselves are weak, so there will be a lot of reliance on that healing. On the other hand, I found the Undead great to play, much preferred them, though when I searched I saw them being considered hard to use. Dwarves were my least favorite.
But if you want hard battles, try defeating a Guardian :)

Nine months have passed since I last wrote here, a few posts above; in the meantime, I completed Descent 2 and, well, I still stand behind what I wrote back then. The last boss was ridiculously hard, probably the toughest I've ever met (and on medium difficulty, too!). Truly a premium example of "bullet sponge". It felt like repeatedly banging your head on a wall until it finally cracks, perseverance counting more than skill or strategy, and with the same kind of fun and a similar sense of accomplishment. Despite some great level design, nice new weapons and interesting new enemies (but I was less happy about other innovations, like that ultra-annoying robo-thief for example), I still enjoyed the first one more overall. Man, those bosses were really aggravating.

I also managed to complete the GDI missions in Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations. Again, the last three maps showed an uneven difficulty: all challenging, but #5 was noticeably easier, while #6 revealed itself a particularly tough nut to crack. All well-designed in that "puzzle-like" fashion which I was writing about in my last post, anyway.
Now it's time for the eight Nod maps... "It will take some time to complete this expansion", I wrote last time. An easy prediction if there ever was one. I hope to finish it within the summer. Then it will be Red Alert.

Speaking of stressing games, well I still have to play the two last worlds in Z (for a total of eight maps). I played the first three last summer (the original version, not the one on GOG), but then I had to take a break. If you are hesitant about RTS games because they can be overwhelming, stay well away from this one! A relentless tug-of-war in essence, without a moment of respite. The mere thought of it is enough to make me anxious...

On a more relaxing note, I completed the first three levels of The Simpsons: Hit & Run. Now that's an easy, fun game for a change - even though some of those bonus races can be tricky. And I still have to find a couple of those collector cards.

I've also recently started Magic Carpet. I'm at level 6 now. What an original game, with a peculiar, quirky atmosphere... the graphics must have been jaw-dropping back then.

I haven't touched Commandos or Spinch since my last post.