The Best Games Of Yester-Year
By Jeffrey | May 25, 2007
With all the new technologies, systems, and uber-powerful gaming rigs that are filling our attention these days, I felt it appropriate to pay tribute to some of the best games that started it all.
Not only do many of the games today owe their very existence to these games, but they set the standard for pushing video games into the mainstream.
For the record, I’ve deliberately avoided placing the most well-known games - such as Doom, Mario Bros., etc. - on the list.
So without further ado, here are the best games of yester-year.
#10 - Sopwith Camel (PC)
If you had a computer before 1990 then the chances are you’ve played Sopwith or Sopwith 2.
The game was developed by David Clark a network system at BMB Compuscience. Yes, that’s right, it was a network-playable game. Unfortunately, it requires Imaginet hardware and drivers to function, but still, the thought was nice.
After navigating a menu system built around different letters for options - remember those? - the player is left at their home base, where they can commence to takeoff and fly around shooting and bombing enemy buildings and planes.
Unfortunately, the controls weren’t included with the game, so unless you knew what they were you were forced to employ the age-old keyboard mashing routine to find out how to get the bloody aircraft into the air. Good times.
#9 - Aldo’s Adventure (PC)
As Mario…er, I mean…Aldo, your goal is to traverse the level vertically, avoiding falling barrels, to reach the treasure chest at the top.
This Donkey Kong clone achieved a life all its own in the PC market of the late 1980s.
It was simple, small, and fun. The only three things that really mattered as a video game at the time - and seems to be forgotten by the video game market today.
#8 - Dangerous Dave (PC)
This early id Software character started as a side project for John Romero to achieve various unrelated programming tasks.
It was first developed to demonstrate a game in GraBASIC, followed by a sequel that was coded to take advantage of the Apple II’s 16-color mode - not 16-bit color for you young’uns out there. It also was featured in a short game entitled “Dangerous Dave in Copyright Infringement!”, which basically ripped off the first level of Mario Bros. 3.
It finally came into its own as a game known as Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion.
The player attempted to rescue Dave’s brother Delbert by traversing various levels and monsters through the mansion, armed only with a shotgun that would reload when Dave stood still.
It was mindless, simple, and bloody - all the elements of a good id Software game.
#7 - Road Rash (Sega Genesis)
Developed by Electronic Arts - surprisingly not named Road Rash 1990-2007 - Road Rash was a motorcycle in which the player participates in illegal street races, in a violent manner.
Using advanced graphical techniques for the time, the game featured various tracks and locales for the races, and included a feature not common to racing games: weapons.
Players could wield clubs, chains, nunchuks, cattle prods, or even bare fists to strike other players off their bikes.
Being caught by a police officer while dismounted would result in being busted, long before Need For Speed would borrow the idea.
In true EA style, six different versions were developed, for various consoles, but the original Genesis versions remain the most fun.
#6 - Yo! Noid (NES)
Released in 1990, Yo! Noid set the standard for cheap commercial ripoff games to come.
The game features the Noid, at the time the claymation mascot of Domino’s Pizza.
As to be expected, the game’s plot involved the navigation of various levels around New York City battling Noid’s nemesis, Mr. Green, for a massive pizza reward.
As was common in games of the time, your character had no hit points, and would die after being struck once by an enemy. You are equipped with a yo-yo - hence the name - for your weapon.
The game was incredibly difficult, and is typically only beaten through use of emulators and save-states.
#5 - Prince of Persia (PC)
Another game originally developed for the Apple II, Prince of Persia was a landmark moment for computer gaming - and also illustrated how much more powerful computers used to be over the consoles.
Designed in part through the use of rotoscoping, a technique similar to motion capture, Prince of Persia featured fluid motion of characters and hand-to-hand combat, a rare element of gaming at the time.
You guide your character, an unnamed pre-Disney Aladdin, through traps and dungeons of a palace to rescue the Princess from the power-hungry Jaffar. Sound familiar? No Robin Williams in this one, though.
There’s also one caveat: you only have 60 minutes to do it. In real-time, with no breaks.
#4 - Duke Nukem (PC)
Long before Duke Nukem Forever - I suppose most games will be known as having been long before Duke Nukem Forever - Duke Nukem was a trash-talking bastard who saved the world.
In 1991, Apogee Software released the first of the series, Duke Nukem 1 - although it was just known as Duke Nukem at the time.
Resident madman, Dr. Proton, is bent on world domination through the use of his techbots. The CIA doesn’t like the sound of that, and hires Duke to take him out.
Rumored to be a cheap copy of Mega Man, it would achieve incredible popularity through its use of side-scrolling and individual powerups.
Little of the foul language and blood-filled violence of Duke Nukem 3D and later sequels appeared in this original version, but it is still a worth play through, even 16 years after its release.
#3 - Commander Keen (PC)
Another id Software game, although it was published by Apogee, Commander Keen was the first in a series of games where eight-year-old-genius Billy Blaze - picture at the beginning of the article - defends earth from alien attacks, making use of his home-made rocket built from cans and a vacuum cleaner.
Most players became familiar with the game as shareware, as the first episode spread rapidly as a free demo.
The smooth-scrolling graphics, sound effect variety, and cartoonish gameplay made the game an instant success, and almost every PC gamer at the time played through at least the demo.
#2 - Lemmings (Amiga)
Psygnosis developed Lemmings in 1991 for the Commodore Amiga, but it would later receive its huge popularity on the PC.
The game was based around a group of characters, the Lemmings, who would…well…just walk. That’s it. The player was responsible for giving them various tasks - blockers, builders, diggers, etc. - that would lead all or most of the Lemmings to their home at the end of the level.
Brilliant level and puzzle design made the game both fun and challenging, and players would often repeatedly play through the game seeking to beat every board.
While most games at the time were known as beat-’em-ups, or shoot-’em-ups, magazines coined a new phrase for this unique style of gameplay: save-’em-ups.
#1 - Wolfenstein 3D (PC)
The godfather of 3D gaming.
Although not the first game to feature 3D graphics, or the first to be a shooter, Wolfenstein 3D would still set the standard, and effectively create the genre, for first person shooters.
In the game, the player controlled American soldier BJ Blazkowicz as he attempted to escape from Nazi imprisonment.
Wolfenstein featured what would later become standard in FPS games, including secret rooms and a variety of weapons.
Like many games released at the time, the first episode of Wolfenstein could be played for free as shareware, with the remaining 5 episodes available for purchase. Each episode contained a different boss, usually double the size of the other enemies.
The game received notoriety at the time for its use of Nazi’s as enemies and its inclusion of Nazi symbols. In fact, the game was confiscated in Germany, where such symbols and the Nazi party are forbidden. The Super NES version of the game was even stripped of all Nazi-related graphics.
Wolfenstein 3D would later lead to ip Software releases Doom and Quake. You may have heard of them.
Final Thoughts
Many games probably deserve to be on this list and aren’t, and maybe many on this list don’t deserve to be there either.
Feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me telling me your opinion.
Topics: Guides |
I love Lemmings! I still play nowadays, but in the snes emulator. I think it’s the same as the game for pc. *-*
Posted by: unknown pri on September 25th, 2007 at 7:12 pmwell i have played
Posted by: hamza on August 6th, 2008 at 1:01 pmcommander keen , dangerous dave , Wolfenstein 3D(boss idea was first in this game) and Prince of Persia … they were very first to be played on low memory card , less ram and works very well without a glintch.