I'm giving the world exactly what it needs: another ranked video game list. There are plenty of games you haven't played, whether because they weren't your cup of tea or you hadn't been born yet. But having grown up right along with PC gaming, I think I can safely say I've played at least five of the most compelling and entertaining games in history. These are the games that I look back on like classic novels, or as fondly as my first kiss (perhaps even fonder).
#5 Master of Magic (1994)
Master of Magic took most of its game-play queues from Sid Meier's Civilization which had come out only 3 years earlier. Instead of focusing on the realistic theme of human civilization, which to me at the time seemed dangerously close to being educational, Master of Magic was based on a fantasy theme.
This damn game consumed more of my time in a month than an entire year's worth of schoolwork. Why the perfect marriage between Civilization and Fantasy hasn't been revisited I don't know, but in a way I am relieved because it's like candy meth and unlike in 1994 I have rent to take care of.
Unluckily for you, however, you can play Master of Magic and see exactly what I mean. It's available over at abandonia.com, where its rating from 7000+ votes is a 4.1/5. Readers on IGN gave it a 9.1, and when you play it you'll understand why.
#4 Ultima Underworld (1992)
I am sure everyone is familiar with the Ultima series. The expansive series based in Britannia and brought to us by Lord British himself has a very special place in PC gaming history. An oft-overlooked title in the series is what paved the way for the type of game play we now see in Bethesda titles like Oblivion: Ultima Underworld (AKA the never-ending game). Ultima Underworld is a landmark in the world of non-linear gaming.
UU was fairly advanced graphically for its time, providing one of the first 3D first-person perspective experiences in gaming history. In fact, it's where the folks over at ID Software attribute the inspiration for Wolfenstein 3D and doom. Grand Theft Auto probably owes a lot to this game as well.
Objects would persist throughout the entire game, meaning if you dropped the key you needed to get through the final door to the final boss somewhere 5 levels back, you'd have to go all the way back to get it (this happened to my brother and he still resents it to this day). You could run into hostile creatures and intelligent inhabitants alike.
I fully believe that non-linear game play provides the most immersive gaming experience, and when you entered the world of Ultima Underworld, you truly felt as though you were leaving our plane of existence. As if one wasn't enough, two Ultima Underworld titles were released, guaranteeing geeks at the time would be friendless and isolated indefinitely. If your system isn't quite up to the task of running Oblivion, I suggest you take a look at Ultima Underworld and see what it really means to be lost in another world.
Check them out here.
#3 Multiplayer Doom (1993)
I realize that most PC gamers have played the Doom series at least once in their life, but I also know how much of a bitch it was to get Doom multiplayer up and running, so a lot of people probably missed out. As such, I'm including it in this list because it was an experience completely apart from the single player content. For those of us who did, though, we were introduced to a concept which until then hadn't been in existence: death-match. It was clear that the most dangerous animal of all... was other humans!
While the other kids in town were busy saving Zelda and Princess Peach for the 50th time, my friends and I were busy fragging the bajesus out of each other. With two IBM computers rigged up via serial cable, we went to town on all variety of ID and user created levels, strafing like crazy because in Doom there was no jumping. Space marines didn't have time for jumping; when they see a rocket sailing toward their face they step to the side and return the favor.
Multiplayer doom was the first moment I realized that multiplayer gaming was going to be a worldwide phenomenon. Up until then my friends and I had settled on running around the house playing guns, which let me tell you, with no way to track who gets shot and who doesn't ended up being a logistical nightmare. In Doom, when you got shot you F-ing knew it.
For anyone who has ever sat at the controls of a first-person shooter for some multiplayer action, it is their civic duty to find a copy of doom and fire up some multiplayer action against their buddies, if not to pay homage to the game that started it all, then to learn about the history of gaming. We all owe a life-debt to John Carmack and company, who by the way was nice enough to give the code for doom away to the public. As such, it's very easy to find and enjoy for yourself.
I also recommend picking up a copy of the book "Masters of Doom", which details the story behind Doom and its creators and talks about the first moment when they realized the fun that was about to be unleashed on the world.
#2 Star Control II (1992)
Here's the idea: take a bunch of different alien races, each with their own ship with unique capabilities, and pit them against one another in a battle-royal space melee extravaganza! Star Control is considered one of the greatest games in history by a wide array of gaming publications, and for good reason - it was pure cathode ray tube fun.
The view is top down and 2 dimensional, the way I'm sure God intended space to be in the first place. I'm certain there was a single player side of the game, but to me that never mattered. All that mattered was destroying my brother's ships and scattering his alien remains across the galaxy.
To play this back in the day two people had to share one keyboard. The brilliance of the game was in the fact that the camera would zoom in on the action the closer your ship got to your opponent's. The unique and varying special abilities among the different species of aliens is what made this game timeless.
Your ship's life was measured in crew members provided for some extremely amusing and memorable abilities. For instance, one of the ships had a large number of crew members which at any time you could send off into space to engage in close range battle with the enemy. This of course came at the expense of your ship, which relied on these brave crew members returning in order to stay alive.
Both players would choose a given number of ships, and it was up to you to determine the best strategy. There were ships that were light on crew members but big on speed which could self-destruct kamakaze style in the name of intergalactic supremacy. If your opponent picked a speedy ship, perhaps you were better off with the ship that sends sticky green ship-slowing boogers. One alien ship was nothing more than a massive floating gun that sacrificed its crew member to replenish its firing power.
This game predates first-person death match and defined what it meant to absolutely nail the multiplayer gaming experience. The best part about it is that there is such a rabid fan base for the series that a remake has been lovingly developed by cult followers, and is available on any platform and ready for you to download now! Only this time around, you don't need to share a keyboard any more, because full networking capabilities are built in.
So regardless of what system you own, you owe it to yourself to download a copy of Star Control II, now called The Ur-Quan Masters. You can thank me later. Get it here
#1 Wasteland (1986)
Before there was Fallout, there was Wasteland. Like Fallout, Wasteland was based in a post-apacolyptic world and took place in the Nevada desert. The view was top down and positively rudimentary by today's standards, but nonetheless was one of the first true examples of open ended non-linear game play and expansive environments.
In Wasteland, it was your job to investigate a series of disturbances in the desert. Like any other role playing game you could enlist the help of other members, but unlike any other game at the time these members of your party may not always cooperate. This little touch made for a very unique feeling, as though you truly weren't in control of what might happen next.
Curiously, the game shipped with a supplementary booklet which contained paragraphs to be read at certain times in the game (a way for the developers to cut down on memory usage). Wasteland brings us such memorable phrases as "Rabbit is reduced to a thin red paste" and "Thug explodes like a blood sausage".
Wasteland was a game that at the time I had only watched my brother play. It was the kind of game that scared the hell out of me, not only because I didn't know what to do next at any given moment, but because there were so many potential pitfalls I wasn't sure if should do anything.
Interplay says that Fallout was the spiritual successor to Wasteland, and because Fallout is one of the greatest PC games of all times, it goes without saying it holds a very special place in gaming history. As such, it too has made numerous top video game lists around the net.
You can find a copy here
Master of Magic took most of its game-play queues from Sid Meier's Civilization which had come out only 3 years earlier. Instead of focusing on the realistic theme of human civilization, which to me at the time seemed dangerously close to being educational, Master of Magic was based on a fantasy theme.
This damn game consumed more of my time in a month than an entire year's worth of schoolwork. Why the perfect marriage between Civilization and Fantasy hasn't been revisited I don't know, but in a way I am relieved because it's like candy meth and unlike in 1994 I have rent to take care of.
Unluckily for you, however, you can play Master of Magic and see exactly what I mean. It's available over at abandonia.com, where its rating from 7000+ votes is a 4.1/5. Readers on IGN gave it a 9.1, and when you play it you'll understand why.
#4 Ultima Underworld (1992)
I am sure everyone is familiar with the Ultima series. The expansive series based in Britannia and brought to us by Lord British himself has a very special place in PC gaming history. An oft-overlooked title in the series is what paved the way for the type of game play we now see in Bethesda titles like Oblivion: Ultima Underworld (AKA the never-ending game). Ultima Underworld is a landmark in the world of non-linear gaming.
UU was fairly advanced graphically for its time, providing one of the first 3D first-person perspective experiences in gaming history. In fact, it's where the folks over at ID Software attribute the inspiration for Wolfenstein 3D and doom. Grand Theft Auto probably owes a lot to this game as well.
Objects would persist throughout the entire game, meaning if you dropped the key you needed to get through the final door to the final boss somewhere 5 levels back, you'd have to go all the way back to get it (this happened to my brother and he still resents it to this day). You could run into hostile creatures and intelligent inhabitants alike.
I fully believe that non-linear game play provides the most immersive gaming experience, and when you entered the world of Ultima Underworld, you truly felt as though you were leaving our plane of existence. As if one wasn't enough, two Ultima Underworld titles were released, guaranteeing geeks at the time would be friendless and isolated indefinitely. If your system isn't quite up to the task of running Oblivion, I suggest you take a look at Ultima Underworld and see what it really means to be lost in another world.
Check them out here.
#3 Multiplayer Doom (1993)
I realize that most PC gamers have played the Doom series at least once in their life, but I also know how much of a bitch it was to get Doom multiplayer up and running, so a lot of people probably missed out. As such, I'm including it in this list because it was an experience completely apart from the single player content. For those of us who did, though, we were introduced to a concept which until then hadn't been in existence: death-match. It was clear that the most dangerous animal of all... was other humans!
While the other kids in town were busy saving Zelda and Princess Peach for the 50th time, my friends and I were busy fragging the bajesus out of each other. With two IBM computers rigged up via serial cable, we went to town on all variety of ID and user created levels, strafing like crazy because in Doom there was no jumping. Space marines didn't have time for jumping; when they see a rocket sailing toward their face they step to the side and return the favor.
Multiplayer doom was the first moment I realized that multiplayer gaming was going to be a worldwide phenomenon. Up until then my friends and I had settled on running around the house playing guns, which let me tell you, with no way to track who gets shot and who doesn't ended up being a logistical nightmare. In Doom, when you got shot you F-ing knew it.
For anyone who has ever sat at the controls of a first-person shooter for some multiplayer action, it is their civic duty to find a copy of doom and fire up some multiplayer action against their buddies, if not to pay homage to the game that started it all, then to learn about the history of gaming. We all owe a life-debt to John Carmack and company, who by the way was nice enough to give the code for doom away to the public. As such, it's very easy to find and enjoy for yourself.
I also recommend picking up a copy of the book "Masters of Doom", which details the story behind Doom and its creators and talks about the first moment when they realized the fun that was about to be unleashed on the world.
#2 Star Control II (1992)
Here's the idea: take a bunch of different alien races, each with their own ship with unique capabilities, and pit them against one another in a battle-royal space melee extravaganza! Star Control is considered one of the greatest games in history by a wide array of gaming publications, and for good reason - it was pure cathode ray tube fun.
The view is top down and 2 dimensional, the way I'm sure God intended space to be in the first place. I'm certain there was a single player side of the game, but to me that never mattered. All that mattered was destroying my brother's ships and scattering his alien remains across the galaxy.
To play this back in the day two people had to share one keyboard. The brilliance of the game was in the fact that the camera would zoom in on the action the closer your ship got to your opponent's. The unique and varying special abilities among the different species of aliens is what made this game timeless.
Your ship's life was measured in crew members provided for some extremely amusing and memorable abilities. For instance, one of the ships had a large number of crew members which at any time you could send off into space to engage in close range battle with the enemy. This of course came at the expense of your ship, which relied on these brave crew members returning in order to stay alive.
Both players would choose a given number of ships, and it was up to you to determine the best strategy. There were ships that were light on crew members but big on speed which could self-destruct kamakaze style in the name of intergalactic supremacy. If your opponent picked a speedy ship, perhaps you were better off with the ship that sends sticky green ship-slowing boogers. One alien ship was nothing more than a massive floating gun that sacrificed its crew member to replenish its firing power.
This game predates first-person death match and defined what it meant to absolutely nail the multiplayer gaming experience. The best part about it is that there is such a rabid fan base for the series that a remake has been lovingly developed by cult followers, and is available on any platform and ready for you to download now! Only this time around, you don't need to share a keyboard any more, because full networking capabilities are built in.
So regardless of what system you own, you owe it to yourself to download a copy of Star Control II, now called The Ur-Quan Masters. You can thank me later. Get it here
#1 Wasteland (1986)
Before there was Fallout, there was Wasteland. Like Fallout, Wasteland was based in a post-apacolyptic world and took place in the Nevada desert. The view was top down and positively rudimentary by today's standards, but nonetheless was one of the first true examples of open ended non-linear game play and expansive environments.
In Wasteland, it was your job to investigate a series of disturbances in the desert. Like any other role playing game you could enlist the help of other members, but unlike any other game at the time these members of your party may not always cooperate. This little touch made for a very unique feeling, as though you truly weren't in control of what might happen next.
Curiously, the game shipped with a supplementary booklet which contained paragraphs to be read at certain times in the game (a way for the developers to cut down on memory usage). Wasteland brings us such memorable phrases as "Rabbit is reduced to a thin red paste" and "Thug explodes like a blood sausage".
Wasteland was a game that at the time I had only watched my brother play. It was the kind of game that scared the hell out of me, not only because I didn't know what to do next at any given moment, but because there were so many potential pitfalls I wasn't sure if should do anything.
Interplay says that Fallout was the spiritual successor to Wasteland, and because Fallout is one of the greatest PC games of all times, it goes without saying it holds a very special place in gaming history. As such, it too has made numerous top video game lists around the net.
You can find a copy here
Dug on Monday, July 28, 2008 at 04:02PM
Thank you! This is an amazing list of games to play! I am going to work through them one by one starting with Master of Magic, right...now!