Abandonware DOS retro gaming spotlight

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 ...

CODiE Awards 1999: Starcraft, Unreal, Lego Loco

In 1999 we surpassed 6 billion inhabitants in the whole world. In Europe, the new currency - called EURO - replaces national currencies. In the USA, Napster is released, and if you don't remember it, go looking for it on Wikipedia! Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 5 (five!).Movies released in 1999: Star Wars: The ...

Magic Carpet, by Bullfrog

I remember little of Magic Carpet, but one thing I remember clearly was the plain fun I had flying around casting spells. It was one of the smoothest first-person games around at the time and it gave me a wonderful feeling of flying freedom. Sadly I never got a chance ...

Wolfenstein 3D: the grandfather of FPS

Wolfenstein 3D is the first-person shooter that popularized the whole genre in the early 90s and is considered one of the greatest games ever made. Wolfenstein 3D was designed by John Romero and Tom Hall (id Software) and released as shareware by Apogee Software in 1992 for DOS. Wolfenstein 3D is ...

Star Crusader: space combat

Star Crusader is an abandoned science fiction first-person 3D space combat simulation, developed by Take-Two Interactive and released by GameTek in 1994 both for DOS and for Amiga platforms. During the game you will have to choose on which side you want to fight: the Gorenes or the rebels. Depending on ...

CODiE Awards 1993: A-Train, Links 386, Wolfenstein 3-D

In 1993 the games awarded by the CODiE Awards aren't the most remembered of that decade. Looking at this meager list, the only game that stands out after all these years is Wolfenstein 3-D, which is simply the father of Doom and all the first-person shooters that came after that.1993A-Train ...

The Operative: No One Lives Forever

The Operative: No One Lives Forever is a first-person shooter with stealth gameplay elements, developed by Monolith Productions and released by Fox Interactive in 2000 for Windows, Mac and PS2. As Cate Archer, a spy working for a secret organization in the 60s, you have to find out who killed your ...

Witchaven: a fantasy first-person slasher

Witchaven is an abandoned fantasy first-person shooter (or "slasher", since you'll wield melee weapons) developed by Capstone and released by IntraCorp in 1995 for DOS and Windows. Witchaven includes RPG elements such as experience and leveling your character but it's primarily an action game with swords and spells.More info about ...

Cabal: an abandoned shooting gallery game

Cabal is an abandoned arcade conversion of a popular shooter game set in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Cabal was developed by TAD Corporation and released by Capcom in 1989 for DOS.Zero Magazine (issue 06) wrote: "The idea in not only to shoot everything that moves but also most of ...

Play Elite online: the birth of space simulations

The very first Elite was the kind of game that starts a whole genre. Space sims - I'm talking about the trade-fight-explore kind of sims - started with the creation of David Braben and Ian Bell. Games like Freelancer and EVE Online owe Elite a great deal. The Elite series ...

Heretic and Hexen: fantasy FPS

Wolfenstein 3D made the FPS genre known to the world, Doom raised the quality bar and the popularity of First Person Shooters. Then came Heretic, a fantasy version of Doom with the addition of an inventory. Heretic was one of the few FPS I actually finished (and loved). I never ...

Operation Wolf: first-person shooting gallery

Operation Wolf was a hit at the arcades, in part thanks to that wonderful cabinet. I have to admit that I've never played it outside my home. I used to play Operation Wolf first on a Commodore 64 (and yes, I enjoyed it) and later on a 386 PC. What I really ...

What were your favourite shoot'em ups?

Shoot 'em ups were extremely popular in the '80s and '90s, even among PC owners.In a shoot 'em up, players control some sort of vehicle (or an aircraft) with the only goal of destroying the largest number of enemies while dodging their bullets as long as they ...

More shoot'em ups from the past

Shoot'em ups were one of the most popular video games genre in the 80s and, perhaps, in the 90s. Then, for a number of reasons, shoot'em ups gradually lost their appeal as a genre. Yes, there were exceptions like Geometry Wars and similar games, but the golden age was long ...

Pie in the Sky engine and the Colosso series

Pie in the Sky engine was a game engine developed by Pie in the Sky Software. The Pie in the Sky engine was also used by independent companies to develop their games.The Colosso games (three FPS part of the same series) are quite rare and, surprisingly, the developer liberated ...