We have already talked about retro games, and this time it is time to give some examples of games which today may be labeled as “old” but still incredibly great to play (as long as you’re not bothered by graphics).
It is true that games do evolve, however the old games presented here had either so much depth with awesome story or an incredibly high replayability rate, with some examples of the most competitive games of that times.
If you are a gamer and haven’t played any of the games described here yet, you should do so asap (although certain games may be hard to get nowadays)
At first we wanted to divide those games between single player and PVP oriented but it was rather impossible in the end as most of the games offered some form of multiplayer, either in a form of LAN connection or through Internet.
Once you start reading, you will probably say:
“Meh… It’s not that old… I’ve only just played the game… – and let me finish that sentence – “… yeah, at least 15 years ago”
Let’s begin the list with…
Half-life (1998)
One of the best science fiction FPS games that was developed by Valve (yes, that’s the same company that created steam couple years later).
Nowadays, for people this game is just a single huge nostalgia trip, but in the past this game was considered an epic gameplay opportunity.
The whole game revolves around Dr. Gordon Freeman imprisoned in a research facility after failed experiment that brings strange creatures to our world (demogorgons?!), against whom Freeman must fight in order to escape the lab.
At the time, this game had incredible graphics with its incredibly realistic gameplay (without any cutscenes). Half-life set up a bar for other FPS creators, as it received multiple “Game of the Year” titles. By some, Half-life redesigned FPS games, or more accurately helped evolved them.
Half-life sold more than 9.3 million copies by the beginning of 2009.
Quake III Arena (1999)
Quake III Arena was well known FPS game, especially for its PVP aspect, and was one of the first games to begin serious esports tournaments (for that times). Developed by id Software it is a third part in the Quake title history.
The biggest difference in this game is that the single player scenario is removed, but instead if someone wants to play alone, he may only play on various arena maps against AI on 5 different difficulty levels.
However, the biggest element of Quake III Arena was its multiplayer aspect. At those times, the first all-star players started appearing, showing just how incredible someone might be at using the railgun (game’s sniper rifle) or rocket launcher. The tricks those guys managed to pull off were definitely on a world-class level.
Quake was often played a lot during tournaments such as Dreamhack, Electronic Sports World Cup, Cyberathlete Professional League and of course QuakeCon.
I think it’s worth mentioning that id Software is currently working on Quake Champions – a new part of the game that will be PVP focused just like Quake III arena is. If you are looking for serious FPS with serious PVP, make sure to check it out.
Gothic (2001) and Gothic II (2003)
The game is all about the nameless hero who saves the day and keeps being punished for that on every step. Gothic series are one of the best we’ve ever played, that’s for sure.
Both games (second one being a direct continuation) have a solid story with huge replayability aspect. This being said, with a single playthrough of both games you can spend between 50 to 200 hours easily, depending on, not only how good you are at exploring, but also how good are you at the game.
There are 2 important things to mention about the game. One which is the exploration value – it is probably the only game series (with release of new game Elex also by Piranha Bytes) that gives you total freedom in terms of where and when you want to go and what you want to do.
By making a wrong turn you might end up fighting against much stronger enemies than you are capable of defeating. That brings us to second very important thing, which is difficulty. If you are looking for crazy hard game, Gothic and Gothic II are definitely going to work for you.
Baldur’s Gate II (2000)
Yet another RPG from early years of many adult games. Developed by BioWare, this sequel for some reason is more broadly remembered by most, than the previous part (at least untill Baldur’s Gate enhanced edition was released).
What was so great about this RPG was the real-time gameplay that allowed the use of pause mid-fight.
Another thing is that instead of taking a role of only one person, you take a role of a party of six. The game isn’t a cakewalk, nor will it take you couple of hours to finish the game. It truly sticks to its RPG aspect, with plot depth, skill diversity among controlled characters, as well as alignment of each person of your party (Chaotic, Lawful, Neutral – Good alignment / Chaotic, True, Lawful – Neutral alignment / Chaotic, Lawful, Neutral – Evil). The diversity and replayability value of this game is incredible.
Similar to Gothic, combat is a risky business in Baldur’s Gate but unlike the previous game requires more strategic thinking rather than proper hand coordination.
This game is definitely a classic old game which is played by many people each year, despite its age.
Heroes of Might and Magic series (1995-2000)
…nwctrinity… 32167… oh old times old times…
Each of the three games from the original 3 parts of the game (A Strategic Quest, HoMMII, HOMMIII along with all expansions) provide relatively similar gameplay.
All three games are turn-based strategies, allowing you to think over the moves you do throughout the gameplay. The game wasn’t particularly hard, however certain missions during your campaign required very specific moves to manage to finish the mission – this sometimes required few replays of which each took at least 2 hours.
The biggest difference between each subsequent part was graphics upgrade as well as increased the amount of features in the game, such as additional castles, units, heroes, spells and abilities.
With success of Heroes of Might and Magic series released initially on DOS, it was reintroduced for Windows 95 systems with few additions to the game such as map editor and map generator. Quickly afterwards, Heroes of Might and Magic II was released with its expansion released a year later. But the most remembered title in history of Heroes is its 3rd part alongside its expansions. HoMMIII provided the best campaign overall with hundreds of hours of gameplay with addition of multiplayer (Internet connecion, LAN, or on one machine).
We do remember playing HoMMIII on that one old PC with 3 or more additional friends. Finishing one map could take multiple hours. However the fun it provided is remembered by this day.
Starcraft (1998)
By this day, Blizzard Entertainment knows how to make a game. However, Starcraft was an absolute blast in early days. This real-time strategy turned out to be a game that further opened esports industry, despite Blizzard not even knowing about it.
First (Korean) Tournament that took place was an absolute shocker to the creators of this game, as they had no idea that Starcraft had such potential for esports. This pretty much opened a way for future Starcraft II that was released years later as an esport-oriented game.
Starcraft is a game that is fast paced and requires quick decision making and pre-planning before the game even starts to choose the best strategy. You need to build a base and create an army while checking on its upkeep. Proper management of the army will assure victory for you. Other similar game (also developed by Blizzard) but in much different fantasy was Warcraft III, also very good game.
Starcraft definitely deserves to be one of best RTS of all time.
Black & White (2002)
This game is unique. Despite being one of the best game subgenres in history, it isn’t quite as popular as some would like to. This being said, Black & White belongs to “God-game” category – in this case – literally.
In Black & White you play as god and lead and maintain your villagers – and the other way around… They help you maintain your godly powers to cast miracles that you learn throughout the gameplay.
Additionally, to help you take care of your villagers, or conquer enemy villages you have a creature with you – an intelligent beast that resembles specific animals such as Cow, Orangutan or Tiger. They can become neutral, evil or good and change their appearance depending on their behavior which they can be taught or they can simply learn by themselves (although leaving them by themselves will usually result in them being pretty evil).
I won’t tell you the plot of the game, but you can be sure that the storyline although simplistic, is beautiful. Alongside Populous (created by the same person by the way), Black & White is one of the best game we’ve played.
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There are of course much more old and great games that can be played endlessly even today. Titles such as deus ex, Max payne, Diablo, older Tomb Raider series, Warcraft series, Fallout 2, Commandos, Doom, Dungeon Keeper and many many others are still in our hearts (and on our computers!).
If you have any other old games in mind, make sure to tell us about them.
Author: Mirillis Team