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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Sword of Aragon
DOS1989protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Tempest 2000
DOS1996remake Atari
Tempest 2000 is a video game developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation. It was released in 1994 for DOS, Mac, the Atari Jaguar console, etc. Tempest 2000 is an enhanced remake of the original Tempest, which was released in arcades in 1981.In Tempest 2000, players control a claw-shaped ship that moves around the edges of geometric sh...
Zoom!
DOS1988
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans
DOS1994protecteddemo Blizzard Entertainment
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is the first real-time fantasy strategy game from Blizzard Entertainment. Two separate story lines (Orcs and Humans) evolve with 12 scenarios per side telling the tale of the battle for the Kingdom of Azeroth. Players must mine gold and chop wood in order to construct buildings and create units. Each side tries to destro...
Axis and Allies
Windows XP/98/951998 Wargaming West
Board game night went digital in 1998 with Axis and Allies, a strategy title that lets you rewrite WWII—assuming you don’t forget where you left your infantry. Fans of the tabletop classic will feel right at home maneuvering little units across the world map, making huge plans and then watching them fail because you rolled a one. It&rsq...
Populous: The Beginning
Windows XP/98/951998protected Bullfrog
Seek and Destroy
DOS1996 Safari Software
Seek and Destroy was a shoot'em up published by the well known Epic Megagames in 1996 that tried to change the usual shoot'em up gameplay for the better. Instead of wave after wave of enemies to shoot down, you are given short missions to accomplish with your helicopter or your tank (yes, you can choose). At first, missions could seem a bit repetit...
V for victory: Market-Garden
DOS1993protected Atomic Games
101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy
Windows XP/98/951998 Empire Interactive
So you think you're ready to storm Normandy? Think again. 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy drops you into the chaos of World War II with all the grace of a paratrooper landing in a barn. This is a tactical strategy game that rewards patience, planning, and a high tolerance for being outflanked. It’s gritty, detailed, and makes you feel ...
Rogue
Windows XP/98/95DOSLinuxMac OS1984 Artificial Intelligence Design
Rogue is one of the first RPGs in the history of video gaming. It's a text-based dungeon crawler in which you have to fight your way in the dungeon to recover the Amulet of Yendor. Rogue became popular around 1980 on mainframes and later ported to various platforms, including DOS in 1984. Rogue is simply the father of all the roguelike games that c...
Commander Keen 3: Keen Must Die!
DOS1990protected id software
Railroad Tycoon Deluxe
DOS1993 MicroProse Software
Uncharted Waters
DOS1990 KOEI
Master of Orion 3
Windows XP/98/95Mac OS2003protected Quicksilver Software
Sensible Soccer
DOS1992 Sensible Software
Warlords
DOS1990 SSG Strategic Studies Group
Renegade Legion Interceptor
DOS1990protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
TomeNET
Windows XP/98/95LinuxMac OS2001freeware
TomeNET (Troubles of Middle Earth, Net) is an online, multiplayer rogue-like game set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth. It’s a persistent-world game inspired by Angband, a single-player dungeon-crawler based on Tolkien lore. You can play as familiar fantasy races like Elves, Dwarves, Humans, or Hobbits, as well as more obscu...
Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons
DOS1995 KOEI
Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons is an abandoned simulation game, sequel of Uncharted Waters, developed and released by KOEI in 1995. The Uncharted Waters series is set in the Age of Discovery and gives the player the freedom to set sail with their ship and go wherever you want exploring, fighting, trading, privateering, etc.
Extreme Pinball
DOS1995 Epic MegaGames
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 modes.
Tunnels & Trolls: Crusaders of Khazan
DOS1990 New World Computing
Tunnels & Trolls: Crusaders of Khazan is a computer RPG released in 1990 for MS-DOS and PC-98 platforms. It is based on the tabletop role-playing game Tunnels & Trolls created by Ken St. Andre, which was a lighter and more accessible alternative to Dungeons & Dragons. The main storyline, "Crusaders of Khazan," sends the party on an...
Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness
DOS1995protected Blizzard Entertainment
Slicks 'n' Slide
DOS1993
Sherlock: The Game of Logic
DOS1991protected Everett Kaser Software
Bad Blood
DOS1990 Origin Systems
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where leather vests are apparently immune to radiation, Bad Blood lets you wander the wasteland deciding whether to be a brute, a brainiac, or a mutant with questionable fashion sense. Dialogue-heavy and surprisingly progressive for 1990, it’s Fallout before Fallout was cool — minus the polish and plus a ...
Mah Jongg Solitaire
DOS1987 Arcanum Computing
V for victory: Gold-Juno-Sword
DOS1993protected Atomic Games
MicroProse Soccer
DOS1988protected Sensible Software
MicroProse Soccer is an abandoned action-oriented soccer game, developed by Sensible Software and released by MicroProse Software in 1988. The appeal of MicroProse Soccer was its simplicity and the smooth controls. In the United States it was known as Keith Van Eron's Pro Soccer.
Elona
Windows XP/98/952007freeware
Elona (short for Eternal League of Nefia) is a free roguelike RPG developed by Japanese indie developer named Noa in 2007. Its gameplay combines elements of open-world exploration, dungeon crawling, and life simulation. It has complex gameplay mechanics, and high replayability. Elona offers a sandbox world where players can pursue various role...