leileilol wrote:

<insert entire Apogee, Microprose, Westwood, Interplay, Blizzard, Sierra, Id, LucasArts, Origin and Epic catalog>

typical 'best must have dos' thread done.

Might be more interesting to have a 'worst AAA game' list. I remember reading somewhere that Microprose put out a lot of duds in the 90s.

<insert entire Moraff, Tommy's Toys, Merit, 3000AD, Rozner, Bethesda, Capstone, Accend catalog>

sf78 wrote:

"Must have" indicates one should actually OWN these games. Many late 80's EGA games are nearly impossible to find these days, or the prices for them are absurdly high. Then again, if you bought/downloaded everything from GOG etc. you don't really own anything if you lack the physical media, manual and box for the game. 😵 So should we talk about games that people need in their collection to make it substantial, or just games that warrant a place in a top-10 list no matter how you obtain it? It would be an interesting challenge to actually own most of the games in these lists. 😀

I paid money for the games I bought on GOG. That to me indicates ownership. 😀 How is it any different than buying a modern game by digital download, especially considering games today do not typically come in a physical box with physical media and docs?

http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_148.pdf

Top 150 games of all time
...also 50 worst of all time 😎

clueless1 wrote:

I paid money for the games I bought on GOG. That to me indicates ownership. 😀 How is it any different than buying a modern game by digital download, especially considering games today do not typically come in a physical box with physical media and docs?

Like I said, it depends what we are talking about here. Owning the actual copy of the game which would make it valuable collectors item, or owning it as ones and zeros on some cloud server. It doesn't mean the game is any worse than the physical copy in itself, but I wouldn't go as far to say that it's a retro game collection if it's more virtual than real. I just wanted to know if people were talking about games you should add to your shelf, or if you could just download the games in your "collection". Obviously it's impossible to get a new game collection as you just download everything, but that is one reason why I don't buy games that require some sort of server verification or online account. So pretty much anything made since 2009. 😊

sf78 wrote:

clueless1 wrote:

I paid money for the games I bought on GOG. That to me indicates ownership. 😀 How is it any different than buying a modern game by digital download, especially considering games today do not typically come in a physical box with physical media and docs?

Like I said, it depends what we are talking about here. Owning the actual copy of the game which would make it valuable collectors item, or owning it as ones and zeros on some cloud server. It doesn't mean the game is any worse than the physical copy in itself, but I wouldn't go as far to say that it's a retro game collection if it's more virtual than real. I just wanted to know if people were talking about games you should add to your shelf, or if you could just download the games in your "collection". Obviously it's impossible to get a new game collection as you just download everything, but that is one reason why I don't buy games that require some sort of server verification or online account. So pretty much anything made since 2009. 😊

I took the OP's question as games to play, not games to collect. As in: "If you were stuck on a deserted island with a DOS PC and a means to power and play on it, which games would you 'must have'?"

If anything, GOG games are better than boxed copies if your primary intention is to play the games. You typically get a fully patched version, it's playable on most versions of Windows, and most of the time you can extract the original files to play on a real DOS PC. As one who enjoys playing old DOS games, this is what matters to me. I do also have a (very) small collection of boxed PC games, and I think they are pretty awesome to have--Ultima V, Ultima VI, and Knights of the Sky. One day, I might grow that little collection. 😀

bjt wrote:

http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_148.pdf

Top 150 games of all time
...also 50 worst of all time 😎

Nice read. I remember having this issue back in the day.

I was a little surprised to see Pacific Strike in with the 50 worst games, considering it was very similar in build and play to Strike Commander and Wings of Glory, which were considered good games. Their comment sounds like the game played very slow on even a P90. I suppose patches have fixed that, as well as DOSBox cycles. But I remember playing through and finishing it back in the day, so it must not have been that unplayable.

Outpost at #1 worst brought back a bunch of memories. I remember buying that game and how cool the box looked. I also remember it being very bad and never playing it after the first few days.

The article on the 1st generation of 3D video cards (pg 147) was pretty cool. 😀 Which benchmark is Cbench? Is that something we still use today in our retro benchmarks? it doesn't ring a bell.

gerwin wrote:

Nice list indeed, the screenshots help a lot. […]
Show full quote

Nice list indeed, the screenshots help a lot.

You can also download a Computer Gaming World issue as PDF, like the June 1996 issue for example:
http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php? … 96&pub=2&id=143
On the page 202 there is the Hall of Fame (prior to 1989 and 1989-1996) and on page 206 there is the Poll with the Top 10 in each category. On page 208 there is the general Top 100 of that month.

Thanks for posting the CGW link! Somehow I missed it.

bjt wrote:

http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_148.pdf

Top 150 games of all time
...also 50 worst of all time 😎

Still got it in my clipping file... fun to re-read from time to time.

Here's a shot -using my category system. Not much into platformers or text adventures so mostly later gen DOS:

AIR COMBAT:
1942 Pacific Air War
A-10 Tank Killer
Aces Of The Pacific
Aces Over Europe
AV-8B Harrier Assault
B-17 Flying Fortress
F-14 Fleet Defender
F-15 Strike Eagle III
Falcon 3
Gunship 2000
HIND
Red Baron
Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe
Their Finest Hour

CONFLICT:
Aces Of The Deep
Balance Of Power 1990
Hidden Agenda
M1 Tank Platoon
Panzer General
Silent Hunter

RACING SIMULATION:
Grand Prix II
Indianoplis 500
IndyCar Racing 1
IndyCar Racing 2 (Rendition version only runs in DOS)
NASCAR Racing
World Circuit (GP1)

FPS:
Blood
Doom
Duke Nukem
Hexen
Nam
Quake
Redneck Rampage
Star Wars - Dark Forces
Star Wars - Tie Fighter
Star Wars - X-Wing vs Tie Fighter
System Shock
WWII G.I.

ADVENTURE:
Alone In The Dark
Day Of The Tentacle
Full Throttle
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream
Indian Jones - Fate Of Atlantis
Sam & Max Hit The Road
The Dig

RPG:
Ultima Underworld - Stygian Abyss
Ultima Underworld - Labyrinth Of Worlds

STRATEGY:
Dune
Elite
Masters Of Orion
Star Control
X-COM

Dune 2 is strategy: not adventure. IMO.

It's a point and click adventure with multiple characters on a single screen 😀

PeterLI wrote:

Dune 2 is strategy: not adventure. IMO.

you're correct - and it's the one I meant not to include haha... Just Dune. Sort of an adventure/strategy hybrid. I'll move it to Strategy to keep the peace among the families.