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).

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2400 A.D.

DOS19884/5 Origin Systems

Hill Street Blues

DOS19914/5 Krisalis

Hill Street Blues is an old DOS "driving" game developed by Krisalis in 1991. The gameplay it's similar to a Grand Theft Auto clone (we're talking about GTA 1 or 2) in which you are the police and you have to apprehend criminals. Hill Street Blues is a rare example of game based on a TV series.

Command HQ

DOS19904/5 Ozark Softscape

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.

Star Control 3

DOS1996protected4/5 Legend Entertainment

240 Racing

DOS19984/5

3D Ultra Lionel Traintown

Windows XP/98/9520004/5 Dynamix

Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire

DOS1990freeware4/5 Origin Systems

After the success of Ultima 6: The False Prophet, Origin decided to "create worlds" not part of the popular Ultima series (strictly speaking) using the same engine of Ultima 6. They came up with two games: The Savage Empire and Martian Dreams. The Savage Empire is set in a stone age-like world and features prehistoric tribes, dinosaurs, insectoid a...

Advanced Civilization

DOS19954/5 Avalon Hill

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception

DOS19884/5 Westwood Studios

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I

DOS19904/5 Interplay Productions

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I is an abandoned fantasy top-down DOS RPG game set in the The Lord of the Rings universe. The Lord of the Rings I was developed and released by Interplay Productions in 1990. The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I is based on the popular The Lord Of The Rings book by J.R.R. Tolkien and it's focused on the f...

007: License to Kill

DOS19894/5 Quixel

APB

DOS19894/5 Atari

Ascii Sector

WindowsLinuxDOS2007freeware4/5

Bass Tour

DOS19924/5

Beyond Castle Wolfenstein

DOS19854/5 Muse Software

Burntime

DOS19934/5 Max Design

Commander Keen 2: The Earth Explodes

DOS1990protected4/5 id software

Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle

DOS1991protected4/5 id software

Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine

DOS1991protected4/5 id software

Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine is a science fiction action oriented platform game designed by Tom Hall, developed by id Software and released by Apogee Software in 1991 for DOS only. Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine is part of the Commander Keen game series, specifically it's the second episode of Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy.