This article first appeared at Den of Geek UK.
With that extra power unleashed, DOS gaming had me hooked once more.
Those games that no one ever seems to mention anymore and that have fallen from memory.
You wont findDoomand the like on here, but maybe youll recall one or two others.
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It was pretty basic looking, even for an early DOS game.
You were a pink square that needed to be controlled around the floorplans of various government buildings.
Behind you was a fuse that had a flame following it after a few seconds of starting the level.
Still, an ace game.
Further Reading: PC Building Guide be quiet!
Pure Base 600 Case
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That didnt stop a lot of us from buying the disk from computer fairs though.
Yeah, not very moral.
Wasnt there some kind of FBI raid at the time that seized all the master disks?
Commander Keen: Goodbye Galaxywas the third game in theCommander Keenseries, and one of the more popular.
Its even available on Steam.
The floppy disk version though was just as captivating, but those Spice demands were tough.
An excellent game, even by todays standards.
Can you remember the opening?
So its quite chipper.
Anyway, AM takes the character you choose into their past and throws them into their darkest fears.
Little Big Adventurewas a fantastic game.
The CD version had animated cut-scenes, speech and more music.
Theres even an Android version available these days!
Further Reading: 25 Best PC Games to Play in 2019
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Epic Pinball
Epic MegaGamesEpic Pinballwas one of the first DOS games I played.
The shareware version, the first couple of tables, came free on the front of a magazine.
The Android table was incredible.
If you might get it running, its still lost none of its hours-sapping power.
Gorillas.BASwas a part of DOS 5 and written entirely in QBasic.
Gorillas.BASwas a great game, and exposure to the code helped form the future of many a developer.
Toying around with the code and making the explosions nuclear kept us busy for hours.
you might find a modern version of the source codehere.
But one of its oddest releases is the one Ill mention here:Rise of the Triad.
Rise of the Triadwas ludicrous, gory, and exceptionally fast paced.
However, the CD version did have the female enemies voices on it, as well as the artwork.
Also, dual pistols!
Happy memories…
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And there were also bouncing balls that turned invisible when they found you.
A great game that kept you hooked for many hours.
Battle Chess
Long before Harry Potters deadly game of chess in the bowels of Hogwarts, we hadBattle Chess.
This is by far one of my most played games in this list.
Battle Chesswas, as you might assume, a 3D version of chess.
The fight animations differed depending on the piece.
Further Reading: EVE Onlines 15 Best Battles That Shaped the Games Epic History
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Albion
Albionis easily one of best DOS games of the mid-90s.
Pushing throughAlbionis worth it though, even just for the closing sequence.
This was whereRed Baronstepped up to the mark.
This was a startlingly impressive game for the time.
A bit like fighting alongside Vader inTIE Fighter.
Modern follow-ups have brought attention back to it, but dont let this original pass you by.
It was an extraordinarily well crafted game with an intense, nail-biting board on which to play.
The turn-based element worked exceedingly well.
Then when you suddenly catch movement at the edge of the screen, you scream.
Others would argue that survival horror goes back as far as3D Monster Maze.
However,Alone in the Darkwas the first of the magnificently graphical modern representations.
Death lurked around every corner, and one false step would mean you having to repeat your steps.
A fabulous, atmospheric, and often scary game, with hints of old E.A.P.
and plenty of content from the Necronomicon.
Splendid stuff, this.
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It was a breakthrough game, utilizing the current PC hardware to the max.
Playing now, its amazing how difficult the game actually is.
Still, it was quite an achievement in 3D graphics and technology for the time.
A few questions: did anyone ever obey the speed limits?
Did anyone ever make that first right-hand bend to the stunt track without going off-road?
And can you remember what happened when you hit a cow?
However, there was something about it that kept me playing.
An odd, but also rather good Sierra-like adventure at the same time.
31.Magic Carpet
Bullfrog Productions brought usPopulousandSyndicate, both of which were immensely popular.
You collected Manna, which allowed you to cast spells in defense or attack against enemy wizards.
All you needed to do was store enough Manna in your castle to restore equilibrium to the world.
Easier said than done, though.
Redneck Rampage
One of the oddest games I collected over the years has to beRedneck Rampage.
You play as Leonard and Cletus, two deep south brothers whose prize pig has been stolen (pignapped?
Feel free to use your own prime minister joke here) by invading aliens.
Using a modifiedDuke Nukem3D engine, you have to shoot everything that moves to get the swine back.
Any game that finishes with Youve withstood the awesome force of Assface, impressive, needs a mention.
Further Reading: Google Stadia vs. Apple Arcade Whats the Difference?
The best part was the ability to save at any point in the game for a restart after dinner.
Finally though, if you were lucky, youd get to face off against the Battleship Yamato.
Not many lived to survive that bit, though.
Master of Orion
Master of Orion, the game that invented the 4X strategy term.
An immense turn-based game that basically took over your life once you started to play it.
Id probably be lynched if I didnt mention it in a list of DOS games.
Despite its popularity though, its barely mentioned today.
In my opinion, its the sort of game everyone should have played at least once in their lives.
Anyone have this issue?
Scorched Earth
WhereGorillas.BASwas quite a simple approach to the old artillery genre,Scorched Earthtook everything one step further.
The mother of all games, as it called itself.
Did you know that you could edit the messages that appeared on the screen?
Ive only just found that out.
The floppy disk version, which came on about eight thousand disks, took an age to install.
The CD version had voices from the original actors, better sound effects, and music too.
Taking control of the Enterprise was immense fun during combat.
Doch gheor YItungHa, qaH QaQ Iv?
Simon the Sorcerer
Classic point and click adventure gaming in a very LucasArts vein.
Everything was inSimon the Sorcerorthat should be in a graphical adventure.
Simons dog Chippy finds a chest in the loft in which theres the Ye Olde Spell Booke.
I remember the box had a comic inside detailing the time betweenSpace Quest 1and this episode.
Sadly, I never got around to playingSpace Quest 1, though.
The humor inSpace Quest IIwas one of the main draws of the game.
Theres even a reference to Leisure Suit Larry when Roger Wilko is rendered unconscious.
Navy Fighters
Combat simulators were extremely popular for the PC in the DOS era, butU.S.
Navy Fighterswas one of my personal favorites.
U.S. Navy Fighterslooked amazing.
In fact, the DX2-66 I had couldnt cope with the highest level of graphics.
Even my mates DX4-100 struggled sometime later.
The missions were well conceived, and you could even create your own missions.
A pretty amazing combat sim this.
Ill even go out on a limb and say it was better thanFalcon 3.0.
It was oddly absorbing being an ant.
According to legend, Will Wright developed the concept forThe Simswhile codingSimAnt.
And doesnt the House View remind you ofPlants vs. Zombies?
Further Reading: Hands-on with Google Stadia
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Alien Breed
This top-down,Gauntlet-like game was immensely enjoyable back in the day.
The levels were huge and maze-like, making them a dream come true for the gaming cartographer.
And the two player option was great.
Archipelagos
Archipelagosis by far one of most intriguing and absorbing puzzles games ever created.
Superfrog
Superfrogis one of the most enjoyable sidescrolling 2D platformers for DOS, an absolute treat.
Think ofSuperfrogas an earlySonic the Hedgehogclone and you wont go wrong.
Sadly, theres no detailed intro with the PC version, as there is with the Amiga version.
But still, a cracking little game.
However, way back in 1996 Bethesda released the second ofTheElder Scrollsseries,Daggerfall.
Daggerfalldoesnt get quite as much appreciation these days as it deserves.
Lighthouse: The Dark Being
This is my wifes favorite Sierra On-Line game ever.
Further Reading: 50 Underrated Commodore Amiga Games
14.
You gather minerals to sell to get to gain enough credits for upgrading your ship.
Thankfully, I bought mine from a jumble sale.
A game of intense details and micro-management, an absolute credit to the early PC.
Interestingly, the German release had to have the blood effects removed before it was allowed to be sold.
Syndicate
Were quite used to violent games today.
The sequel was even more intense, too…
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It was seriously addictive.
Raptorwas fairly basic in its gameplay.
You headed ever onward, collecting power-ups and cash and obliterating everything that streamed down from above.
Either way, it was a fab little game even the shareware version of one level.
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Pipe Mania
Pipe Maniawas a cunning puzzle game my brother used to play endlessly.
But youve only got a limited amount of time before a green liquid (sewerage?)
starts to flow down the pipe.
If not, then its game over and start again.
A clever little game, and one that was fiendishly addictive.
Published by LucasArts in the US, the UK version was by Empire Interactive.
It also appeared in the second Microsoft Windows Entertainment Pack.
The shareware version was simply calledHalloween Harrywhen it was released and later namedAlien Carnagefor all four episodes.
Since 2007, its been freeware, so find a copy and get playing.
But the canny DOS gamer would, among those titles, nameDescent.
This seasickness-inducing true 3D game was an absolute marvel to behold.
Even when you entered a cheat code and had the computer voice call you a cheater.
Epic
Ocean Software and Digital Image Design have a number of great games under their collective belts.
One memorable DOS game isEpic,an immense space shooter with a fantastic story and beautifully rendered graphics.
It had plenty: fast space combat, aBattlestar Galacticalike storyline, and quite splendid visuals.
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4.
Obviously, you’re gonna wanna stop these Mincecrawlers and save the planet.
Odd it may be, but it looked and played brilliantly on my newly purchased Pentium 133 MMX PC.
Apparently, there was supposed to be a film made of the game some time ago.
Naturally, this didnt take place.
Stormlord
Hewson Consultants Ltd. came up with some of the finest computer games ever conceived.
In fact, its aged very well indeed.
Its all rather clever and a great game to play.
Or something like that, I cant really remember to be honest.
An amazing game thats barely mentioned these days, but certainly needs to be revisited.
Aces Over Europe An immense combat simulator with a huge 200-page instruction manual to weigh the box down.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Text adventures dont get much better than this.
Hexen ID Softwares sequel toHeretic, built on an enhanced version of theDoomengine, was pretty impressive.
Rogue Everyone mentions Rogue-like games these days, but this is where it all started.
From simple ASCII dungeon crawlers come great things.
