Abandonware DOS title

Abandonware DOS retro gaming spotlight

  • Abandoned games set in the 19th century

    Abandoned games set in the 19th century

    2nd May 2020adventure, RPG, simulation
    The 19th century was the age of steam, railroads and remarkable discoveries. It was the age of literary masterpieces like the Sherlock Holmes novels, Dracula and Jules Verne's sci-fi stories.Some of the most popular games set in the 19th centurey are:The Oregon TrailThe Lost Files of Sherlock HolmesMartian ...
  • 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 ...
  • Business simulations: merchants, managers, CEOs

    Business simulations: merchants, managers, CEOs

    7th March 2020simulation
    Business simulations (also called tycoon simulations) are video games that focus on the economic and the management side of running a business. In tycoon games the player can be in charge of any kind of business: a company, a sports team, an hospital, an amusement park, even a drug ...
  • David Braben: an Elite game designer

    David Braben: an Elite game designer

    8th February 2020simulation
    David Braben is a British game developer and designer, also founder and CEO of Frontier Developments plc. He's best known for co-creating Elite in 1984 (with Ian Bell), the space trading and exploration game that started a whole genre. Name: David Braben Born on: 02/01/1964Occupation: game designer, programmer and entrepreneurKnown for: ...
  • Simulation games: Team Yankee, Hill Street Blues, Epic and more

    Simulation games: Team Yankee, Hill Street Blues, Epic and more

    13th December 2019simulation
    Simulation and vehicle simulation games are often the least remembered video game genres by retro gamers. While many simulations did achieve a certain degree of success back in the day, quite a few fell in the dark pit of forgotten retro games. Let's see how many of these you can ...
  • 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 ...
  • Video games can educate people

    Video games can educate people

    23rd August 2019adventure, simulation
    Educational games are a peculiar kind of video games of various genres. Gameplay, graphics and sound are still important aspects of educationals, but the mail goal of the developer is to teach the player something: math, history, ecology, anything! Some educationals are created with a young audience in mind, other ...
  • Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries

    Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries

    18th August 2019shooter, simulation
    "The graphics are enhanced, the gameplay is faster and more dynamic and the net play fully incorporated. MW2 fans will be very pleased with the upgrades and those new to the MW2 universe will enhoy a well paced game with superb graphics and cut-scenes. Just make sure you have ...
  • Space simulations: combat, trading and exploring space

    Space simulations: combat, trading and exploring space

    13th April 2019simulation
    Space simulation games are part of a niche genre that appeals to specific gamers, not everyone like it. I think we can categorize two main groups of space sims players: the ones who only want to fight in space (no trading, no mining, etc) and the ones who like full ...
  • Flight simulations at dawn

    Flight simulations at dawn

    12th January 2019simulation
    For a game collector like me, flight simulators are something to look for. The original big boxes of flight sims published a few decades ago included all sort of items: keyboard layouts, maps, huge manuals. I own a few and I plan to buy some more.Anyway... I have to ...
  • Solving murders and simulating detectives

    Solving murders and simulating detectives

    27th October 2018simulation, strategy
    Pure and simple detective stories are hard to find in video gaming today. Everyone goes for fantasy, sci-fi, horror, but the good old murder to solve is not so popular. Back in the 90s (or the 80s) you could play some adventure games based on a detective story. There was ...
  • Text only gaming: it's not always about interactive fiction

    Text only gaming: it's not always about interactive fiction

    8th September 2018adventure, simulation, strategy
    Text only games are a curious phenomenon. Unlike other kind of old games, they survived to this day in one form or the other. Maybe that's because it doesn't take a huge team to develop a game completely (or partially) devoid of graphics. When I say text-only games, some of ...
  • Flight simulators: not for everyone

    Flight simulators: not for everyone

    2nd June 2018simulation
    Personally, I never got in flight simulators. I tried everything: combat oriented flight sims, copters, planes, everything, but it's simply not my genre. I knew people who spent a lot of money to buy special joysticks, three monitors and other peripherals just to enjoy piloting a Cessna from one airport ...
  • Be a (simulated) manager: trade, trade, trade

    Be a (simulated) manager: trade, trade, trade

    19th May 2018simulation
    The simulations genre (I'm not talking about vehicle simulations) wasn't that popular until SimCity and Populous came along. Both games started two genres: city building and god games.With this update I'm adding a different type of simulation: trading sims. I'm not sure of the appeal of trading in a ...
  • Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition

    Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition

    20th September 2017simulation
    The 1990 edition of Balance of Power is an updated version of the classic Chris Crawford political simulation game. Choose the United States or the Soviet Union and try to be the winning superpower at the end of the game without destroying the world.
  • They made worlds: Space Rogue, by Origin

    They made worlds: Space Rogue, by Origin

    17th June 2017RPG, simulation
    Space Rogue is a science fiction RPG developed by Richard Garriott's Origin and desined by Paul Neurath (Ultima Underworld 1 and 2). Space Rogue combines a rough 3D space simulation experience with a top down view RPG gameplay when in stations or on planets. As a space pilot you can ...
  • Keyword: god games (it's good to be god)

    Keyword: god games (it's good to be god)

    20th May 2017simulation, strategy
    In the so called god games, the player takes the role of a divine entity (or something similar). Gameplay involves controlling people, units or even the environment on a large scale. God games usually show some artificial intelligence in the form of autonomous NPCs.
  • Abandonware spotlight: Hill Street Blues

    Abandonware spotlight: Hill Street Blues

    23rd November 2016simulation
    Hill Street Blues is an old DOS "driving" game developed by Krisalis in 1991. The gameplay it's similar to a Grand Theft Auto clone (we're talking about GTA 1 or 2) in which you are the police and you have to apprehend criminals. Hill Street Blues is a rare example of game based ...
  • New subgenre: Casino games

    New subgenre: Casino games

    18th November 2016simulation
    Surprisingly there are quite a few strategy casino DOS games. A casino game is usually a collection of smaller games packed into one: roulette, jackpot, card games.
  • Developer spotlight: Origin

    Developer spotlight: Origin

    24th August 2016RPG, simulation
    Origin Systems was founded in 1983 by one of the most popular game designers of all time: Richard Garriott. The most notable games of Origin Systems are the RPGs belonging to the Ultima series: Ultima from I to IX, Ultima Online, Martian Dreams and Savage Empire. Let's not forget the entire ...