Abandonware DOS retro gaming spotlight

Oldies remade: the best remakes of old DOS games

Games developed for DOS or early microcomputers (such as the Spectrum, Commodore 64, BBC Micro, etc.) date back to the 1980s. Simply put, these games are old. Graphics, sound, user experience, and interface were vastly different compared to recent games.Game development has made significant strides over the years, and today&...

Star Trek: Birth of the Federation

Star Trek: Birth of the Federation is a turn-based strategy video game set in the Star Trek universe. The game was developed by MicroProse Software and published by Infogrames for Windows in 1999. Players take on the role of one of five major Star Trek races: the United Federation of Planets, ...

Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries

MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries is a standalone expansion to MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, released in 1996 by Activision. Part of the larger BattleTech universe, the game puts players in control of a customizable BattleMech as they assume the role of a freelance mercenary pilot in the turbulent 31st century. MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries introduces a ...

Company profile: Cinemaware

Cinemaware was a video game developer and publisher founded in 1985 by Bob Jacob. The company was known for pioneering a blend of gameplay and cinematic storytelling, drawing inspiration from classic films and television.Cinemaware's titles were especially popular on platforms like the Amiga. Their most iconic games include Defender of ...

Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition

Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition is a geopolitical strategy video game developed by Chris Crawford and released in 1988 as an updated version of his 1985 game Balance of Power. The game simulates the Cold War era, where players assume the role of either the President of the United States or the ...

Premier Manager: one of the earliest football management games

Premier Manager was released in 1992 by Gremlin Interactive for the Commodore Amiga and MS-DOS platforms. It was one of the earliest football management simulation games and allowed players to take on the role of a football club manager in the English football league system. In Premier Manager, players were responsible ...

Demo versions: what happened to game demos?

Let's start by emphasizing a crucial point: not every classic game has been "abandoned". With the resurgence of all things "vintage", there's a renewed fascination with retro items, including video games. Consequently, certain companies have acquired entire back catalogs of old games and begun selling them anew. Hence, many captivating ...

Lemonade Tycoon: the remake of an unknown classic

Lemonade Tycoon is a business simulation game that allows players to run their own virtual lemonade stand and try to turn it into a successful and profitable business. The game typically involves setting prices, managing inventory, adjusting recipes, and dealing with factors like weather and customer satisfaction. The objective of ...

Princess Maker 2: a fantasy life simulation

Princess Maker 2 is a life simulation anime-style game developed by Gainax in 1993. In Princess Maker 2, the player is the father of a young princess and must tutor and raise her to the age of 18 by scheduling jobs, school classes and programming other activities. The princess is defined by attributes (strength, ...

Pharaoh: city building in ancient Egypt

Pharaoh is a city building strategy game that is part of a group of games that uses the same interface and the same gameplay style: Pharaoh, the Caesar series and Zeus. Here's a couple of excerpt from reviews of old video game magazines.

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 ...

God games: from Populous to Black and White

A god game is a genre of video games where the player assumes the role of a deity or god and has control over various aspects of the game world. In these games, players typically have god-like powers and influence over the environment, characters, and events within the game. The ...

Roller Coaster Tycoon 2: a classic simulation

Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 is a simulation game developed by Chris Sawyer Productions and published by Infogrames. It was released in 2002 as the sequel to the original  classic Roller Coaster Tycoon. In Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 players take on the role of an amusement park manager and are tasked with ...

Sid Meier was a pirate

Pirates! Gold is an open world game designed by Paul Murphy, developed and released by MicroProse Software in 1993 for DOS, Windows 3.x, Mac and also Sega Genesis and Amiga CD32. Pirates! Gold is a remake of the game Pirates, created by Sid Meier in 1987. Pirates! Gold gameplay is a unique ...

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 ...

B-17 Flying Fortress: heavy bomber simulation

B-17 Flying Fortress is a single-player historical combat flight simulation game designed by Mike Brunton, developed and released by MicroProse Software in 1992 for DOS, Amiga and Atari ST. As the title suggests, it's a simulation of the B-17 heavy bomber, set during World War II. Flight is not the only ...

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 ...

Solo Flight, by Sid Meier

Not many people know that the first games created by Sid Meier were flight simulations. Solo Flight was published by MicroProse in 1983 for Commodore 64, Apple II, Atari, and a year later, in 1984, for PC. The game takes place in the United States. As a fliying mailmain, the goal of the ...

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 ...