Abandonware DOS retro gaming spotlight
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Old school forgotten RPGs from the past
1st February 2020RPGRPGs are a strange animal when it comes to old-school PC gaming. If you exclude huge hits and successful franchises, the games that remains are often obscure RPGs, sometimes so awful that playing them is a pain in the keyboard. There are of course exceptions: underdogs that somehow were a ... -
Old school: first-person party-based CRPGs
28th December 2019RPGParty-based role-playing games with a first person perspective became popular after the release of Dungeon Master in 1989. Before Dungeon Master only a handful RPGs used first person, the Bard's Tale and Wizardry series among others. Dungeon Master managed to create a very neat user interface without sacrificing the gameplay.Some ... -
Lesser known old school RPGs for DOS
19th October 2019RPGUltima, Wizardry, Fallout, Might & Magic are among the most popular old school RPGs that every RPG fan played or know something about. However, lots of RPGs published in the distant past never reached a wide popularity. Some the RPGs uploaded today on Abandonware DOS are not exactly well known, ... -
The Ultima series: old school RPGs at its finest
6th July 2019RPGUltima is perhaps the most popular old-school RPG series of all time. The whole series was designed by Richard Garriott, head of Origin, who redefined the genre more than one time with moral choices, cutting edge graphics, state of the art interface. It's a shame that Ultima lasted only 9 chapters (... -
Horror-themed games from the past
30th March 2019adventure, RPGSometimes I like to spend quite some time looking at Google Analytics statistics of Abandonware DOS. I'm amused that "horror" (and variants) is a much searched keyword.What is that you like in horror games of the past? Did they scare you? I remember that the game that scared me ... -
More RPGs: Might and Magic, Wizardry, Elder Scrolls
16th March 2019RPGWhile browsing the Abandonware DOS database, I noticed that a few very popular RPGs were missing. How could I forget to include them? I had to add them to the already long list of old school RPGs, even if they are not technically abandoned (and you can't download them for ... -
Obscure abandoned DOS RPGs
8th February 2019RPGThere are a lot of role-playing games already on Abandonware DOS: from the Ultima series to Might and Magic, from the Wizardry series to Rogue.I periodically convince myself that I covered every possible RPG published for DOS and periodically I find out that I missed a few ones. The ... -
Retro spotlight: Lands of Lore, The Throne of Chaos
14th April 2018RPGLands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos is a fantasy RPG published in 1993, very similar to other dungeon crawlers like EotB or Dungeon Master. Lands of Lore was developed by Westwood Studios who wanted to start a new franchise after the success of the Eye of the Beholder series. -
RPGs from the 80s and the 90s
20th January 2018RPGDear DOS gamers, you seem to particularly like RPGs, so I started looking for old RPGs I missed in the past updates. It turns out that there's A LOT (and I mean A LOT) of lesser known (and often ugly, unplayable, forgettable) role playing games developed for DOS. Without further ... -
Obscure RPGs (almost) no one ever heard of
15th December 2017RPGThe most loved RPGs from the PC era are known to everyone: the Ultima series, the Might & Magic series, Wizardry, etc. There were also a lot of minor and sometimes unsuccessful RPGs that made it on the shelves but almost never appeared on video games magazines. Have you every ... -
RPG underdog: Legend of the Silver Talisman
6th October 2017RPGInter-Active Arts developed the DOS fantasy RPG called Legend of the Silver Talisman in 1996. Legend of the Silver Talisman is a freeware top-down perspective dungeon crawler. -
Have you ever played Eternam?
2nd August 2017RPGEternam is a strange blend of adventure, RPG and action game. To be honest, is more of a first-person 3D adventure (RPG elements are few) without mouse support. Something in this game reminds me of Sean Connery in Zardoz. Ugh. -
Have you ever played Heroes of Might and Magic?
29th July 2017RPG, strategyHave you ever played Heroes of Might and Magic? I bet you did play one of the more recent sequels, right? Heroes of Might and Magic began as a strategy-tactical son of the marvellous Might and Magic RPG series and (almost) never changed. The fact that the last one is ... -
They made worlds: Space Rogue, by Origin
17th June 2017RPG, simulationSpace Rogue is a science fiction RPG developed by Richard Garriott's Origin and desined by Paul Neurath (Ultima Underworld 1 and 2). Space Rogue combines a rough 3D space simulation experience with a top down view RPG gameplay when in stations or on planets. As a space pilot you can ... -
Death and rebirth of 3D Dungeon Crawlers
28th May 2017RPGDungeon crawling was the main purpose in the first CRPG (Computer Role-Playing Game) ever to came out on a computer. The first CRPGs were a sort of early roguelikes back then, and by "back then" I'm talking decades ago. Anyway... after a few years, thanks to the capabilities of the ... -
RPG oldie: Ultima 7 Part 2 - The Serpent Isle
10th December 2016RPGI remember the moment I started playing Ultima 7 Part 2. I had The Black Gate still in my mind: I loved it, and I wanted something similar. After a few weeks (or months?) I finished Serpent Isle and I was a bit disappointed. Sure, it's a wonderful Ultima game, but it ... -
Retro underdog: Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol
5th September 2016RPGMordor: The Depths of Dejenol is fantasy RPG game released in 1995 for Windows 3.x, but it runs flawlessy even Windows XP (see this faq if you want to play Mordor in a virtual machine). Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is a mix of first-person and top-down perspective dungeon crawler; ... -
Developer spotlight: Origin
24th August 2016RPG, simulationOrigin Systems was founded in 1983 by one of the most popular game designers of all time: Richard Garriott. The most notable games of Origin Systems are the RPGs belonging to the Ultima series: Ultima from I to IX, Ultima Online, Martian Dreams and Savage Empire. Let's not forget the entire ... -
Abandonware spotlight: Ravenloft: Stone Prophet
20th April 2016RPGRavenloft: Stone Prophet is a fantasy RPG set in the egyptian Ravenloft campaign that uses the Advanced Dungeons & Dragon ruleset. It's the sequel to Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession and uses the same first person real-time 3d engine. Stone Prophet was developed by DreamForge Entertainment and published by SSI in 1995. -
The Britannia's Elite Gargoyle Crime Force
12th March 2016RPGWe all love Ultima VII: The Black Gate (well, I love it and you should too!) and it's not uncommon to find other people who committed themselves to some kind of worship on the web.One in particular named Nakar, wrote a whole report/guide of his adventures in the ...