The most popular 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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Rockford: The Arcade Game
DOS1987protected Arcadia Systems
Gengis Khan 2: Clan of the Gray Wolf
DOS1992 KOEI
Battle Isle 93: The Moon of Chromos
DOS1993 Blue Byte Software
A game with a name like Battle Isle 93: The Moon of Chromos clearly means business. Released in 1993, it’s an expansion-slash-standalone with new missions, harder AI, and an even more hostile moon. You’ll manage resour...
Total Carnage
DOS1994 Midway Manufacturing Company
Burntime
DOS1993 Max Design
Post-apocalyptic survival meets real estate management in Burntime, where the world is ruined, but you still need to hire employees and secure water rights. It’s like Mad Max if Max decided to open a franchise of fortified r...
Master of Orion 3
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS2003protected Quicksilver Software
Beneath Apple Manor
DOS1983freeware
Beneath Apple Manor is a pioneering game in the roguelike genre, originally developed and released in 1978 by Don Worth for the Apple II and later re-released for DOS as a "Special Edition". It's one of the earliest known role-pla...
No Greater Glory
DOSMac OS1991protected
Gone Fishing
DOS1989 Interstel Corporation
Air Traffic Controller
DOS1985 Cascoly Software
Welcome to the most stressful job in the world - rendered in glorious 1985 DOS graphics! Air Traffic Controller lets you experience the thrill of herding aircraft without the luxury of coffee breaks or radar resolution. It’s...
Blades of Exile
Windows 3.xMac OSWindows XP/98/951997freeware Spiderweb Software
Blades of Exile is a classic role-playing video game developed by Spiderweb Software. It's the third installment in the "Exile" series. The game was released in 1997 for Mac OS, and later for Windows in 1998. In Blades of Exile, p...
Arnhem: The Market Garden Operation
DOS1988 Cases Computer Simulations
Arnhem is the kind of wargame where you spend more time reading hex maps than shooting anything. It’s all about recreating Operation Market Garden — you know, that WWII battle where everything went spectacularly sidewa...
Aspetra
DOS1996
Welcome to Aspetra, a 1996 DOS game that tried to cram an epic sci-fi RPG into your beige box PC — and mostly succeeded! Think “Star Trek meets budget constraints.” You explore strange new worlds, meet weirdly sp...
Bubble Trouble
Windows XP/98/951998
Here comes another bubble game—but this one packs a punch. Bubble Trouble is a frantic shoot-’em-up where you pop evil bouncing bubbles before they bounce you out of existence. It’s part arcade mayhem, part refle...
Clash of Steel
DOS1993protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Total Annihilation Kingdoms
Windows XP/98/951999protected Cavedog Entertainment
Ms Pac PC
DOS1995remake Magicom Multimedia
Scavengers of the Mutant World
DOS1988 Interstel Corporation
Chess88
DOS1984
Lords of Conquest
DOS1987 Eon Software
Raptor: Call of the Shadows
DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1994protecteddemo Cygnus Studios
Raptor: Call of the Shadows is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed by Cygnus Studios and published by Apogee Software. The game was first released in 1994 for MS-DOS and later ported to other platforms. In Rap...
Solidarnosc
DOS1991 P. Z. Karen Co. Development Group
Face Off!
DOS1989 MindSpan
Face Off! is an abandoned hockey sports game developed by MindSpan (known for their Hardball series) and released by Gamestar in 1989 for DOS and also for Commodore 64. Face Off supports multiplayer in competitive or cooperative m...
Autobots
DOS1989
Before Michael Bay got his hands on the franchise, Autobots (1989, DOS) offered a more... subtle approach to transforming robot mayhem. Well, not subtle exactly — more like confusing. You drive around a blocky city, fight va...
Star Control
DOS1990protected Toys for Bob
Bass Duel
DOS1993
Fish or be fished could be the motto of Bass Duel (1993), a competitive angling game that pits you against a friend or an AI in a fight to the last splash. Strategy is key: where to cast, how to reel, and when to brag about your c...
M.U.D.S. - Mean Ugly Dirty Sport
DOS1990 Golden Goblins
Galaxy
DOS1981 Microcomputer Games Inc.
Bobby Fisher teaches chess
DOS1994 Mission Studios
Ever wanted to get chess lessons from a genius who could crush your soul with a bishop and a glare? Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess (1994, DOS) is your chance. Based on the classic book, the game patiently walks you through strategies...
Temple of Kroz
DOS1990freeware Apogee Software