Classic games? Do I know 'em all?

[Jack Burton]

I was just wondering if there were any classic games that you guys used to play that were classics that I may not have heard of.  For example:  I just learned about Hardwar for the PC.  And I had never heard of Rage of Mages either.  I didn't know about Jagged Alliance until my PC wouldn't run it anymore.  Other examples would include Herzog Zwei or Master of Monsters for the Genesis. Or even Conflict for the NES.

I know that (site link removed) is a great resource... But that DB is so big, its easy to miss stuff.  Its also only for Personal Computers, i believe. (no consoles)

Give up a list of some of your favorite classic, not so known games!  Well maybe not classic...  But games you really liked!

For me:
-Warp Factor (Apple II)
-Wizard's Crown (Apple II)
-Phantasie series (Apple II)
-Buck Rogers series (PC - Gold Box)
-Planet's Edge (PC)
-Mordor and Demise (PC)
-X Gold (PC)
-Conflict (NES)
-Monster Rancher series (PS/PS2)
-Crusader Series (No Regret, No Remorse) (PC)
-Syndicate series (PC)
-Castles series (PC)
-Cyberstorm series (PC)

Thats what I can think of now anyway.  Looking forward to your lists!
Toss in your genre preference too while you're at it.
Generally my genre preference is: RPG and STRATEGY.
Obviously not exclusive.

[warning]

I had oodles of fun with Betrayal at Krondor and the two Ultima Underworld games.

And also the site does have some console games.  If I remember correctly they have Genesis, SNES, Sega CD and a couple Playstation games.

[ChrisGwinn]

1UP has done a couple of nice series on this topic.  Nobody will ever agree on what should be on these lists, but they're a decent place to start if you're looking for the classics:

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3116290&did=1
http://crucialclassics.1up.com/

[Jack Burton]

Those lists contain mostly well known games...  I was more curious about games that most people may have never heard of.  I was thinking that if everyone added a small list of underrated games that they loved I might catch some more games I had never heard of.

[Destructor]

Sorry, Jack, but I've had to remove the link to that site out of your post. While I've visited there myself in the past, that place is basically one step away from piracy.

Yes, it's nothing but old games that aren't available in stores anymore, but none of those games have truly been released into the public domain.

And yes, I know there are exceptions (X-Com, the older Grand Theft Auto titles, among a few others).

You're more than welcome to continue the discussion though. I for one loved some of my classic PC titles. Heck - I still own some of the ancient things (the first two Wing Commanders for example) for reasons I still can't explain.

[Jack Burton]

Sorry, Jack, but I've had to remove the link to that site out of your post. While I've visited there myself in the past, that place is basically one step away from piracy.

Yes, it's nothing but old games that aren't available in stores anymore, but none of those games have truly been released into the public domain.

And yes, I know there are exceptions (X-Com, the older Grand Theft Auto titles, among a few others).

You're more than welcome to continue the discussion though. I for one loved some of my classic PC titles. Heck - I still own some of the ancient things (the first two Wing Commanders for example) for reasons I still can't explain.

Understood...  I grabbed this quote from thier site just as an FYI to anyone that goes there:

Despite the illegal status of abandonware, we believe that we are offering a valuable service to the gaming community: classic game collectors have a chance to retrieve games that have otherwise been lost or rendered defective with the passage of time. As our Disclaimer printed on every page makes clear, we will gladly remove download links to any game that is either 1) still being sold by the publisher, or 2) at the request of the publishers themselves. Encouraging publishers to continue publishing great classics of yore has always been this site's foremost goals, and we will gladly link to the publisher's order or download site without hesitation should they make their products available again, whether commercially or as freeware.

That said, we are continually seeking permission from copyright holders to distribute their games on this site. If you are a copyright holder and would like to grant us permission (or request that your games be taken off-line, as the case may be), please contact us.

LETS SEE THOSE LISTS!

[Jimmy the Fish]

Used to love playing some real gems in my youth, which was a loooong time ago  :lol:

My list:

I used to have an Atari 800 computer, which was an awesome game machine:
Ultima III/IV/V
Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
Jumpman/Jumpman Jr
Blue Max
Shamus
Choplifter
Silent Service
F-15 Strike Eagle
Karateka

Later when I had a Mac Plus (don't laugh) and a PC:
Bard's Tale series
Starflight series
Might and Magic series
Harpoon
SSI D&D gold box series
X-Wing/Tie Fighter
Their Finest Hour/Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe
Steel Panthers
Carriers at War
King's Bounty
King's Quest series
Full Throttle
Sam and Max
Rogue
Moria

I still play a lot of these game even today. I downloaded an Atari computer emulator and have ALL the old game ROMs I used to own back in the day. Jumpman still holds up well even today as an excellent platform arcade game.

[Hereafter]

Spellcross

I win.

/does dance  :wink:


/edit oops wrong spell___ game

[Laner]

I was just wondering if there were any classic games that you guys used to play that were classics that I may not have heard of.  For example:  I just learned about Hardwar for the PC.  And I had never heard of Rage of Mages either.

I'm not sure Rage of Mages counts as a "classic" - it was panned pretty thoroughly when it was released

Some of my classics would include:

Commodore 64:
Jumpman
Impossible Mission
Summer Games/Summer Games 2/Winter Games
Wasteland
Neuromancer
Questron II
Ultima V
Temple of Apshai Trilogy
M.U.L.E.
Airborne Ranger
Defender of the Crown
Blue Max
Elite
Rambo
The Last Ninja
Bard's Tale series
The Pawn
Nearly everything Infocom released

PC:
B.A.T.
Eye of the Beholder
Wing Commander series (including Privateer)
Ultima 6/7/Serpent Isle
Crusader series
King's Quest VI
Gabriel Knight series
Dune
Inca
Might and Magic 4-6

[how786]

Empire

Command HQ: First real-time strategy/war game. (Done right after MULE by same author)

Islands of Kesmai: First MMORPG that used graphics. Was availabel only thru Compuserve at $6/hour in 1985.

Panzer General/Fantasy General: Very nice war strategy games.

How786

[Blackjack]

Used to love playing some real gems in my youth, which was a loooong time ago  :lol:

My list:
Later when I had a Mac Plus (don't laugh) and a PC:
Bard's Tale series
Starflight series
Might and Magic series
Harpoon
SSI D&D gold box series
X-Wing/Tie Fighter
Their Finest Hour/Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe
Steel Panthers
Carriers at War
King's Bounty
King's Quest series
Full Throttle
Sam and Max
Rogue
Moria

I saw the "new" King's Bounty: The Legend (from last year I believe) at a Micro Center on Sunday. I might pick it up there or on Steam (it's about $10 less on Steam).
http://www.kings-bounty.com/eng/legend/
It got some fair-to-good reviews, though I don't remember reading boo about it.

The stand-alone followup, "King's Bounty: Armored Princess" releases shortly and has a new web site:
http://www.kings-bounty.com/eng/

I'm tired of MMOs, shooters, RTSs, and I'm kind of at a low gaming ebb, so I'm trying to keep an eye out for something different, or even just something "old school/classic." I haven't played any turn-based PC stuff in quite some time. If I end up getting one or another (I think the Armored Princess game purports to improve a few things that were sore sports in the earlier game), I'll start a thread.

I do wish there was at least a short playable demo but so far I haven't seen any evidence of one.

[Blackadar]

Those lists contain mostly well known games...  I was more curious about games that most people may have never heard of.  I was thinking that if everyone added a small list of underrated games that they loved I might catch some more games I had never heard of.

Well, the question is how old do you go?  Most stuff more than 5 years old will be extremely difficult to find.  For me, the all time classic no-name game is Incubation.  Totally overlooked and underrated, that game was a blast!

I think perhaps a better thread topic would be for games that had fundamental flaws on release that caused them to get overlooked, but have now been patched or modded into something great.  For example, SimCity 4.  Performance on release was abysmal and the options limited, but when you combine the huge number of additions available at Simtropolis as well as the faster computers of today, you have an awesome game.  Or take Colonization of last year, which was dreadful.  Using the Age of Sail mod, the game really shines. 

[Old Negus]

My usual reply for any classic games list is the Starflight series. Still the best games I've ever played. And they're usually overshadowed by Star Control for some reason.

One obscure game that I think about from time to time that I got some good hours from is Sorcerian from Sierra. It was a fun RPG adventure. I played all the Sierra games. Shame to see that company disappear. Oh, that just sparked a memory of Rama, which took a little bit to get into, but once I was in I was hooked. Great adventure.

[Giles Habibula]

"Outwars" for PC. 1998.
Flying around with the jetpack was amazing back in the day. Loved it.
You could play in 3rd person (default) or first-person.
Ran best with Glide, but Direct 3D worked too, only you couldn't use your light then. Didn't find that out until I was far, far into the game, and got stuck in a pitch-black area.
I recently fired it up again on a Win98 rig, and still had a blast with it.

[DOSHIGH]

Most of the ones I consider Classic were pretty well known at the time but going back to the 80's a lot of people may never of heard of or remember these.

Wasteland - no brainer, the original Fallout

Castle Wolfenstein & Beyond Castle Wolfenstein - The birth of the Wolfenstein franchise but pre-FPS.  First games I remember were you heard someone speak, generally one or two words from a guard yelling at you but pretty awesome back in the day.

Alternate Reality: The City & The Dungeon - was supposed to be several more but never happened.  Very good graphics and sound/music when they were released.  I kept hearing about people trying to bring the Series back but don't think they ever got far.

I remember many fondly that have already been mentioned like Shamus, Finest Hour/SWOTL, & Ali Baba.  Pharaoh's Curse was another favorite from the early Atari days I bought the same day I upgraded my Atari 400 from 8k to I think 16k for some god forsaken amount of money. 

[Razgon]

Wizard's Crown was a blast - and I'm pretty sure it laid the groundwork for SSI's AD&D games

Invasion Normandy is another awesome, awesome game....