What Are The Best Classic PC Games Today?
As many of you have probably noticed, we typically focus on console gaming here at racketboy.com. This isn’t necessarily on purpose, it just happens to go along with the gaming habits of myself and a good chunk of the site’s community.
However, I know that there are many of you out there that love classic PC (or Mac) gaming just as much (if not more). So here’s your chance to speak your mind…
First of all, I want to take a little vote to gauge how much interest there is in classic PC gaming among the audience here, so please cast your vote in regards to if you play classic PC games.
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Next, I’d like to know your opinions on which classic PC titles still hold up the best today regardless of the rapid technology growth we have seen on PCs in the last couple of decades. So please list your favorites in the comments section below and I’d love to hear the justifications for your choices as well.
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Roller coaster Tycoon was one of the best simulation games.
That is considered “classic” to a lot of my friends because it came out in like 99 but it is one of the first amusement park simulation games.
Holds up today is always tricky. But the games myself and my friends still have alot of fun with are:
Half Life 1 and its mods – mostly TFC and Natural Selection
Unreal Tournament (UT99)
Magic Carpet
Aliens Vs Predator Gold
Delta Force 2
Tribes 2
Quake 2&3/Open Arena
All SCUMM titles – Monkey Island, The Dig, Indy Fate of Atlantis, etc.
Outlaws – Lucasarts Western FPS
Serious Sam First and Second Encounter
Xwing vs Tiefighter
Total Annihilation – still the best RTS
Red Alert 1&2
Emperor Battle for Dune
Ofcourse we all play older single player games, but we really stick with multiplayer nowadays.
Some older games that I still occasionaly play:
-Fallout 1&2
-The Monkey Island series
-Sam & Max
-Day of the Tentacle
-Transport Tycoon
-Theme Park & Theme Hospital
-Jagged Alliance
-System Shock 2
I’m not sure how many of these would be considered classics.
In my mind, developers will be hard pressed to ever create as engrossing of a game as Deus Ex (the original). I still play this from time to time – chances are, anyone reading this will end up reinstalling it 🙂
One of the best Star Wars games is Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, and it’s expansions. Didn’t too much care for the second or third, but the original was amazing. I purchased a really expensive joystick setup for Star Wars X-Wing Alliance when it first came out, and still play that as well.
When I need my point and click adventure fix, I turn to Kings Quest, my favorite being King’s Quest 6. Fantastic game, great narrative.
Growing up, I was drawn more to my PC than consoles, although I had a sega and nintendo, I played Commander Keen, Jazz Jackrabbit, and all manner of ID shareware for my platformer fix.
Doom I and II, as well as Wolfenstein are fantastic games as well, if only for the nostalgia value – and fighting a cyborg Hitler.
I still play Quake II on occasion, although not so much since Team Fortress 2 came out.
The ones that come to mind are Starcraft, Half Life, Fallout, The SIMS.
All the classic LucasArts adventure games — especially Sam and Max and Day of the Tentacle. The Space Quest series. Sim City 2000. X-Com: UFO Defense. And a little bit of an oddball pick: the Commander Keen series, specifically the Goodbye Galaxy episodes.
Descent!!!!
How old does it have to be? Most of the above titles aren’t that old (from the 90s).
I’d say anything 20th century, but pre-1998 would probably be ideal.
Theme Hospital, Constructor, Dungeon Keeper, Fallout, Appogee Games ect.
HOw old are we talking? 20 years? Tons of good stuff and of course emulation is very easy 🙂
I need to get system shock. Any trouble with playing it on vista? fair prices? I saw a copy for 50 bucks the other day (seems pricy)
Civilization 2!!!!!!
X-Com UFO Defense is the greatest game ever!
Doom 2 and Dangerous Dave 2
Most of the gaming I did on PC back in the day was some form simulation. Mmicromanagement somehow feels appropriate on a PC.
It depends on the era. On my UMPC I play Civilization, Duke Nuke’em, Doom 2, Hexen, Heretic, C&C, Dune2, X-Com, Zork I,II and III, Dungeon Master, The Ultima Series. On my old P4 laptop: Unreal Tournament, System Shock 2, Total Annihilation, Warlords, Quake. On my main system I play lots of emulated games (Mame, ZSnes etc.) but those aren’t real PC games.
fallout 1+2, diablo 2, system shock 2, deus ex, crysis, age of empires 2, command and conquer series, might and magick 7+8
Myst, Sam and Max, and Sim City 2000.
DUKE FUCKING NUKEM 3D
I heard Grim Fandango is really good!
Little Big adventure. Best game ever.
The Longest Journey
Railroad Tycoon 2
Red Alert 2
Lands of Lore
Gabriel Knight 3
Deus EX (actually played this game for the first time 6 months ago so I think it stands the test of time pretty well if I loved it now)
Quake 1
Doom 2
Grim Fandango
Warcraft 2
Starcraft
Commander Keen games
a lot of the 90’s games aged really well.
just arcade roms online with 2dfighters.net.
recommended.
Starcraft!!!! Perfectly balanced RTS!