Abandonware DOS title

The best top down games

Top down games were very popular in the 80s and the 90s, when graphic cards were not capable of supporting 3D, and even when 3D started to become popular, 2D games continued to be easier to develop, at least in the infancy of 3D gaming. 2D game offered the player a viewpoint that helped keeping things easily under control (think about top down party-based RPGs or hex-based strategy games).
burntime-01

Burntime

DOS19934.1/5 Max Design
castle-wolfenstein-04

Castle Wolfenstein

DOS19844.1/5 Muse Software
hunt-for-red-october-01

The Hunt for Red October

DOSMac19874.1/5 Oxford Digital Enterprises
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Jones in the Fast Lane

DOS19914/5 Sierra On-Line
Jones in the Fast Lane is the kind of game that you don't see often these days. It's a mix between a digital board game and a modern day life simulation. The goal of the game is to live the life of Jones, making choices about school, work, your home, etc. Graphics is a mix of cartonish and digitized characters, very reminishent of some of the best ...
btechcrescent-1

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception

DOS19884/5 Westwood Studios
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Warriors of Legend

DOS19934/5 Synergistic Software
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Ultima 7 Part 2: Serpent Isle

DOS19934/5 Origin Systems
After the well received Ultima 7 The Black Gate, Origin decided that their Ultima engine could be used for one more game. Ultima 7 Part 2: Serpent Isle begins right after The Black Gate ends. This time the Avatar travels to a whole new land, far away from the usual Britannia. Serpent Isle brings its own charm to the series; exploring new lands...
planetsedge-8

Planet's Edge

DOS1991protected4/5 New World Computing
pyramidsegypt-4

Pyramids of Egypt

DOS19894/5 Ideas From the Deep
hexxagon2-1

Hexxagon 2

DOS19934/5 Argo Games
skiordie-3

Ski or Die

DOS19904/5 Electronic Arts
Ski or Die is a winter sports-themed video game that was originally released in 1990 for various platforms, including the Commodore 64, Amiga, and MS-DOS. The game was developed by Electronic Arts and was a follow-up to their earlier title, "California Games". Ski or Die features a collection of winter sports events: downhill blitz, acro aerials, s...
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Sword of the Samurai

DOS1989protected4/5 MicroProse Software
gta1-6

Grand Theft Auto

DOSWindows XP/98/9519974/5 DMA Design
In Grand Theft Auto the player takes the role of a criminal who can freely roam around the city (Liberty City) completing tasks for the local mobs: stealing cars, killing pedestrians, all of it while avoiding the police and the army. The freedom of gameplay and the "I'm the bad guy" appeal of the game made the Grand Theft Auto series very popular.
muds-6

M.U.D.S. - Mean Ugly Dirty Sport

DOS19904/5 Golden Goblins
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Patton vs. Rommel

DOS19874/5 Electronic Arts
stargoose-1

Star Goose!

DOS19884/5 Logotron
Star Goose is a classic video game developed by Logotron and released in 1988 for various home computer systems of that era, including the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. It is a top-down, vertically scrolling shooter that combines elements of shoot 'em up gameplay with exploration and power-up mechanics.
darksun2-3

Dark Sun 2: Wake of the Ravager

DOS1994protected4/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
dark-reign-2-06

Dark Reign 2

Windows XP/98/952000protected4/5 Pandemic Studios
spacerogue-2

Space Rogue

DOS19894/5 Origin Systems
Space Rogue is a science fiction RPG developed by Richard Garriott's Origin and desined by Paul Neurath. Space Rogue combines a 3D space simulation with a top down view RPG gameplay. As a space pilot you can hunt bounties, buy and sell goods, land on starbases or outposts and talk to NPCs, do quests, etc.
johnmaddenfoot-3

John Madden Football

DOS19894/5 Electronic Arts
John Madden Football was the first of a series of american football sports games sponsored by the coach of the same name. The first John Madden Football is an abandoned game developed and released by Electronic Arts in 1988 for Apple II and Commodore 64 and later released for DOS (in 1989). The Madden series became extremely popular and the sequels...
godofthunder-2

God of Thunder

DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware4/5 Adept Software
God of Thunder is a free computer role-playing game designed by Ron Davis, developed by Adept Software and released by Software Creations in 1993 for DOS and Windows platforms. God of Thunder is an action oriented RPG (sort of...) with strong puzzle elements with a norse mythology theme.
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Steel Panthers 3: Brigade Command - 1939-1999

DOS1997protected4/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
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2400 A.D.

DOS19884/5 Origin Systems
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Tristan Pinball

DOS19914/5 Littlewing
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Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness

DOS19874/5 Origin Systems
This is the first of the very popular RPG saga Ultima. The setting is the land of Sosaria, the enemy to defeat is Mondain. It's a classic cRPG. The wilderness and cities are represented from a top down perspective, while dungeons can be explored in a first person 3d view.
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Star Control 3

DOS1996protected4/5 Legend Entertainment
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Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams

DOS19914/5 Origin Systems
Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams is an abandoned science fiction RPG designed by Jeff George, developed by Origin Systems and released in 1991 for DOS. Martian Dreams uses the Ultima VI engine to depict Mars in a top down perspective.
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Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed

DOS1992protected4/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed is a CRPG developed by SSI Strategic Simulations Inc. and released in 1992 for DOS only. Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed is the sequel to Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday and it's based on a campaign setting created by TSR in the late 80s. The game uses the Gold Box engine, common to much of the RPGs developed by SSI.
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240 Racing

DOS19984/5
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3D Ultra Lionel Traintown

Windows XP/98/9520004/5 Dynamix