First person 3D viewpoint games sorted by release date

MechWarrior (1989) was one of the first games to put players inside a 3D cockpit of a giant mech, but it wasn’t just a combat game, it was also an open-ended mercenary RPG, with strategy, politics, and personal revenge at its core. You play as Gideon Braver Vandenburg, heir to the House of Andurien. Your family is betrayed and murdered i...

Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0 (MSFS 4.0) is a flight simulation game released by Microsoft in 1989 for MS-DOS. It was the fourth major version of the Microsoft Flight Simulator series and introduced several improvements over its predecessor, Flight Simulator 3.0. Flight physics were more realistic, incorporating wind effects, turbulence, and ...

Mines of Titan (also known as Mars Saga for other platforms) is an abandoned single-player RPG with a sci-fi setting (you're going to Mars!). Mines of Titan was developed by Westwood Studios and released by Infocom in 1989 for DOS, Apple II and Commodore 64.

Stunt Car Racer is an abandoned first-person 3D perspective racing game designed by Geoffrey J. Crammond, developed and released by Microstyle in 1989 for DOS and many other platforms. The peculiar tracks are what makes Stunt Car Racer stand out: you race on a suspended track with the risk of driving off the edges.

The Cycles: International Grand Prix Racing is a motorcycle racing simulation game developed and published by Accolade in 1989. The game is part of the wave of realistic racing simulators that emerged during the late 1980s. Players compete in Grand Prix-style motorcycle races on circuits modeled after real-world tracks.

Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain is an abandoned historical combat flight simulation game set in Great Britain (obviously) during World War 2. Their Finest Hour was designed by Lawrence Holland, developed and released by LucasArts in 1989 for DOS, Amiga, Atari ST.

Before Virtua Tennis, there was this: 4D Sports Tennis, where physics and pixels politely shake hands and then forget why they were introduced. Released in 1990 for DOS, this game lets you relive the glory of tennis with characters that move like ambitious refrigerators. It’s fast-paced, surprisingly tricky, and features enough camera angles ...

Welcome aboard, Captain! Advanced Destroyer Simulator throws you into the high seas with all the firepower and radar beeps a '90s DOS machine can handle. Manage torpedoes, dodge depth charges, and try not to crash into an island while toggling between your periscope and a pixelated ocean map. It's part simulator, part action game, and all stress. Y...

Strap in and squint at the horizon—Advanced Tactical Fighter 2 wants you to dogfight like it’s the Cold War and your joystick is a weapon of mass confusion. Released in the golden era of chunky graphics and keyboard gymnastics, this is a flight sim that doesn’t hold your hand. It throws you in the cockpit, slaps you on the back, a...

Take Eddie Murphy’s swagger, remove the charm, add some DOS chiptunes, and you get Beverly Hills Cop—a game adaptation that asks: “What if being a wisecracking detective meant stiff animations and random driving segments?” It’s a mash-up of shooting, driving, and wondering what just happened, loosely held together by t...

Forget missiles—Blue Max: Aces of the Great War takes you back to when air combat meant leather helmets, canvas wings, and a healthy fear of gravity. Released in 1990 for DOS, it’s a flight sim that drops you into WWI’s dogfights with all the grace of a brick wearing goggles. You’ll shoot down Fokkers, dodge anti-air fire, a...

Champions of Krynn is a RPG released in 1990 by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) and is the first game in the Dragonlance Gold Box series. It is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ruleset and set in the world of Krynn, known from the Dragonlance novels. Players create a party of up to six characters, choosing from the standard AD&am...