Abandonware DOS title

Abandonware DOS retro gaming spotlight

  • Post-apocalyptic RPGs: from Wasteland to Fallout

    Post-apocalyptic RPGs: from Wasteland to Fallout

    13th March 2022remakes and sequels, RPG, strategy
    Wasteland was an early party-based top-down RPG set in a post-apocalyptic world that filled a gap in RPG video games at the time (we're talking about the late 1980s): sci fi RPGs weren't many and post-apocalyptic ones were even less.There are two series of games that are part to ...
  • X-COM: Terror from the Deep - The sequel

    X-COM: Terror from the Deep - The sequel

    27th February 2022strategy
    X-COM: Terror from the Deep is a DOS science fiction tactical strategy game, the sequel of one of the most popular DOS games in history X-COM Ufo Defense. Terror from the Deep was designed by Stephen Gross (the X-COM original being designed by Julian Gollop) and was published by MicroProse ...
  • Ascendancy: 4X turn-based strategy game

    Ascendancy: 4X turn-based strategy game

    19th February 2022strategy
    Ascendancy is a science fiction themed turn-based strategy game developed by The Logic Factory and released in 1995 for DOS. Ascendancy is a classic 4X game (eXpand, eXplore, eXploit, eXterminate), similar to Master of Orion, yet with a few differences such as a technology tree.More info about Ascendancy:Genres: strategy, 4...
  • DOS game spotlight: Battle Chess

    DOS game spotlight: Battle Chess

    18th December 2021strategy
    Chess is a niche genre in video gaming. There were lots of chess simulations: black and white very old games, licensed games from chess champions, etc. No one ever attempted to broaden the audience until Interplay published Battle Chess. I'm a chess fan (I barely remember the rules), but I ...
  • Hail Caesar! For the second time

    Hail Caesar! For the second time

    11th December 2021simulation, strategy
    Caesar 2 is many things: a simulation set in ancient roman times, a city builder, a wonderful strategy game. Caesar 2 is all of this and more: it's one of the early games developed by Impressions that set the gameplay and quality standards later implemented in old strategy games like Zeus and ...
  • Retro game spotlight: Fantasy General by SSI

    Retro game spotlight: Fantasy General by SSI

    4th December 2021strategy
    Fantasy General is a hex-based turn-based strategy fantasy wargame set in a D&D world. The player can duel either against a computer or a human opponent or even take part in a longer campaign. There are two sides to chose from, one good and one evil (no neutral!), ...
  • Jones in the Fast Lane: board game meets life simulation

    Jones in the Fast Lane: board game meets life simulation

    27th November 2021simulation, strategy
    Jones in the Fast Lane is the kind of game that you don't see often these days. It's a mix between a digital board game and a modern day life simulation. The goal of the game is to live the life of Jones, making choices about school, work, your home, ...
  • Utopia: The Creation of a Nation (1992)

    Utopia: The Creation of a Nation (1992)

    25th September 2021strategy
    I bet not many of you remember Utopia: The Creation of a Nation. It's a single-player strategy game with strong city building elements set in the future. In Utopia your goal is to build and manage a planetary colony in an open-ended gameplay.ACE magazine review "Seems a little daunting ...
  • 1986 in retro gaming: Archon, Karateka, Space Quest

    1986 in retro gaming: Archon, Karateka, Space Quest

    24th July 2021action, adventure, strategy
    30 years ago, computer gaming was growing slowly. Computers like the C64 and the Spectrum were the main source of digital amusement among Home Computer owners. Finally after a few disappointing years, in 1986 a handful of interesting games began to conquer the PC public:Archon was an hybrid between an ...
  • Wargaming: The Perfect General

    Wargaming: The Perfect General

    2nd May 2021strategy
    The Perfect General is a turn-based strategy military game developed by White Wolf Productions and released in 1991 by Quantun Quality Production. The Perfect General gameplay is quite simple compared to other wargames, but it's based on a solid set of rules and let the players progress at their own pace ...
  • 1998 in PC gaming: Dune 2000, Axis and Allies, Railroad Tycoon 2

    1998 in PC gaming: Dune 2000, Axis and Allies, Railroad Tycoon 2

    24th April 2021action, puzzle, strategy
    20 years ago PC gaming was thriving. Half-Life re-defined the game design of FPSs. Baldur's Gate and Fallout 2 gave hope to gamers who were waiting for the next generation of RPGs. Adventure gamers enjoyed Grim Fandango immensely. Real-time strategy fans spent countless hours playing StarCraft. And let's not forget&...
  • Supremacy: Your Will Be Done

    Supremacy: Your Will Be Done

    27th March 2021strategy
    Supremacy: You Will Be Done (also known simply as Overlord) is a rare example of mix between real-time strategy and science fiction themed 4X game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploid, eXterminate). Supremacy was developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Mastertronic in 1990.PC Review wrote about Supremacy in 1992: "Two huge civilisations battle ...
  • Retro company spotlight: Strategic Simulations Inc.

    Retro company spotlight: Strategic Simulations Inc.

    29th August 2020RPG, strategy
    SSI (Strategic Simulations Inc.) was one of the most prolific game companies of the 80s and the 90s. SSI was founded in 1979 and developed and/or published more than one hundred games. SSI was popular among video games players for two things: wargames and RPG goldbox games.Strategy games developed ...
  • Games set during the cold war period

    Games set during the cold war period

    14th March 2020simulation, strategy
    There was a time when the two major political superpowers were at war, but nobody knew. U.S.A. and the former U.S.S.R. used spies, subterfuge, blockades, political and military influence all over the world. The so called "Cold War" era lasted decades and ended in 1989 with ...
  • Strategy games: Battle Bugs, Beyond Columns, Roadwar Europa and more

    Strategy games: Battle Bugs, Beyond Columns, Roadwar Europa and more

    10th September 2019strategy
    Lately I'm taking some time to update the info of some of the less popular games on Abandonware DOS. Here's a few:Beyond ColumnsFalling block puzzle - Released in 1989 for DOS. This blatant Columns clone is not much in terms of graphics, but it fills an empty spot in the ...
  • Chris Crawford: game designer

    Chris Crawford: game designer

    4th September 2019simulation, strategy
    Chris Crawford is a computer game designer known for simulations and strategy games, including the popular Balance of Power. Among developers he became known for his passionate advocacy of game design as an art form, founding both The Journal of Computer Game Design and the Computer Game Developers Conference (now ...
  • Cards, tabletop and board games

    Cards, tabletop and board games

    19th July 2019strategy
    Card games and board games are not the most popular games available on Abandonware DOS. After all, there are countless versions of Poker, Clue, Scarbble, Monopoly and many other board/card games you can play for free online or buy on Steam or GOG. That's not an excuse for not ...
  • PBEM: Play By E-Mail multiplayer mode

    PBEM: Play By E-Mail multiplayer mode

    1st June 2019strategy
    What is PBEM? PBEM stands for Play By E-Mail. PBEM games allow a peculiar multiplayer option; players can play turns in an asyncronous way and send the result of their completed turn via e-mail to all opponents. As the Internet evolved, PBEM in recent games ceased to exist and quickly ...
  • More strategy games: Battle Isle, Army Men, etc.

    More strategy games: Battle Isle, Army Men, etc.

    20th April 2019strategy
    Looking back at the past Abandonware DOS content updates, I noticed a few missing games that deserved to be included in the Abandonware DOS database. Most notably: Army Men, one of the Battle Isle games and a few more I remember from a time when I played them, many years ...
  • Wargaming everywhere

    Wargaming everywhere

    23rd February 2019strategy
    As I add to Abandonware DOS every game I can think of, week after week, I get increasingly astonished by the sheer number of wargames available back in the day. I had no idea that wargaming was so popular in the 80s and the early 90s.With this update I ...