Abandonware DOS retro gaming spotlight

GameSpy Greatest PC Games of All Time: The '80s

This is a special feature of the popular (and old!) video games site GameSpy. These games were handpicked by the GameSpy staff to be part of the best PC games published in the 80s. GameSpy Online, often referred to as GameSpy, was a division of IGN Entertainment that provided a ...

The shareware business model

Shareware is a type of software distribution model that allows users to try a program before purchasing it. It's a marketing strategy and distribution method that was particularly popular in the early days of personal computing, primarily during the 1980s and 1990s.Shareware games were released for free with limited ...

Dungeon Master: a RPG classic

Dungeon Master, released in 1987 by FTL for Atari ST and later for Amiga and DOS, is a classic dungeon-crawling role-playing game (RPG) that holds a special place in the hearts of many nostalgic gamers. Dungeon Master is considered the father of first-person, 3D, grid-based dungeon crawlers.

Secret of the Silver Blades: a GoldBox RPG

Secret of the Silver Blades is a fantasy RPG set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons universe, developed and released by SSI Strategic Simulations Inc. in 1990 for DOS, Macintosh, Amiga and Commodore 64 systems. Secret of the Silver Blades is part of the Pool of Radiance series and uses the same "...

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar

Ultima IV is remembered as one of the best Ultima games ever released, designed as usual by Richard Garriott. Garriott took the Ultima series to a whole new level by introducing the eight virtues: honesty, compassion, valor, justice, sacrifice, honor, spirituality, humility. Ultima IV started the trilogy known as "Age ...

Crusader: No Regret

PC PowerPlay (1996) wrote: "The creators of the game obviously had a great time with the concept and as such have produced a very polished final product. For those people who have played the first game there will be no disappointment in the sequel, and for those who have not previously ...

Might and Magic 2: Gates to Another World

Might and Magic 2: Gates to Another World is a single-player abandoned fantasy RPG designed by Jon and Michaela Van Caneghem, developed and released by New World Computing in 1988 for DOS, Apple 2 and many other platforms. MM2 is the second chapter of the Might and Magic series and it's an improvement ...

An old school RPG: The Magic Candle

The Magic Candle: Volume 1 is the first chapter of a series of fantasy old school RPGs. The Magic Candle was developed and released by Mindcraft Software in 1989 for DOS but was also published for Apple II and Commodore 64. The whole Magic Candle series is very similar to some of the ...

Adventure Construction Set: build your own CRPG

Adventure Construction Set is an abandoned application developed by Stuart Smith and published for DOS, Amiga, Apple II and Commodore 64 by Electronic Arts in 1987. As the name suggests, ACS is a game-building system (we're talking about adventure RPGs) that lets you edit maps, items, creatures, etc. Included with ACS is ...

Baldur's Gate: the game who revitilized CRPGs

Baldur's Gate a fantasy RPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe which is regarded as the RPG that brought new life in a dying genre in the late 90s. Baldur's Gate was developed by BioWare and released by Black Isle Studios in 1998 for Windows, Lunux and Mac. Some of ...

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception

According to Infocom, the game is designed for the 13 to 19 year old market and we agree. It could also be used to introduce younger kids into role-playing on the computer. BattleTech is made to be solved in about 35 hours, but it can easily be finished in around 20. It depends on ...

Hired Guns: a sci-fi RPG

Hired Guns is an abandoned game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis in 1993 for DOS and Amiga platforms. Hired Guns is a sci-fi RPG in which you control four mercenaries in four individual simultaneous first person sub-screens tasked with destroying all the bad guys from a single planet.

Amberstar: an old-school RPG

Amberstar is an old school RPG very similar to Ultima 6 that uses a top-down view for interiors and small locations and a first person pseudo 3D view for everything else. Unfortunately, the sequel (called Ambermoon) was available for Amiga only and no version existed for DOS or Windows.

Jagged Alliance 2: like X-Com in South America

I'm a fan of the original X-COM. I think it's one of the best turn-based tactics games ever released for DOS. Unfortunately, games like X-COM are not many. Jagged Alliance 2 has a similar tactical component: you give turn-based orders to a team of mercenaries, mission after mission. There's no management ...

Retro RPG spotlight: Bloodwych

Bloodwych is an abandoned RPG set in the fantasy world of Trazere. Two players can play at the same time in split screen mode, a feature that was unusual at the time, especially for an RPG. Bloodwych was released in 1989 by Image Works for DOS, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ...

The Aethra Chronicles Volume One: Celystra's Bane

The Aethra Chronicles is not a well know RPG, but it deserves some praise. It was developed by only one person (Micheal Lawrence) and, as the title implies, was intended to be the first volume of a saga. Unfortunately, volume two and three were never made. For a shareware game, ...

Daggerfall: the second chapter of the Elder Scrolls

The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall is an old school first-person 3D RPG developed by Bethesda Softworks and released in 1996 for DOS. Daggerfall is the second chapter in The Elder Scrolls Series. The open world gameplay, the procedural generation of dungeons and the freedom of exploring and taking on the quests at ...

The best first-person party-based RPGs according to you

Party-based role-playing games with a first person perspective became popular after the release of Dungeon Master in 1989. Before Dungeon Master only a handful RPGs used first-person as a point of view, the Bard's Tale and Wizardry series among others.Dungeon Master managed to create a very neat user interface without ...

The beginning of Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is a first-person 3D RPG set in the Ultima universe created by Richard Garriott. Ultima Underworld was designed by Paul Neurath, developed by Blue Sky Productions and released by Origin Systems in 1992. It was followed by Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds.More info about ...

A classic roguelike: Linley's Dungeon Crawl

Dungeon Crawl (also known as Linley's Dungeon Crawl from the name of the original programmer: Linley Henzell) is a classic roguelike: an RPG with permadeath, procedural generation and high replayability. Dungeon Crawl was released on 1997 but it's not maintained anymore. The spiritual successor of Crawl is DCCS (Dungeon Crawl Stone ...