Classic Cuts: 10 Best Old-School PC Games

 

Half-Life/Half-Life 2 (Valve)

Among the earliest first-person shooters to prove that intelligent storylines and white-knuckle combat could go hand-in-hand, the original Half-Life laid the foundation for its equally monumental follow-up. Throughout these science fiction-themed, alien-blasting epics (watch out for those head crabs!), players take on the role of theoretical physicist Dr. Gordon Freeman, who must single-handedly beat back hordes of extraterrestrial invaders. Instead of starting off in a cell or in a world gone mad, though, Freeman's story begins as just another day at the office...until his research and experiments into teleportation technology go terribly wrong, that is, unleashing untold horrors into the world. And while the setup may sound familiar on paper, the execution was anything but... Featuring a gripping storyline, a diverse range of settings to explore, and an eye-opening array of adversaries to battle, the Half-Life series simply nailed it when it came to capturing the same sense of excitement you'd get from all your favorite sci-fi TV series. Only here, you get to play the hero, and lay waste to adversaries with an arsenal of hefty firearms, not to mention Freeman's favorite sidekick, a trusty crowbar — always the last-ditch go-to weapon when things really get hopping!

 

Diablo (Blizzard Entertainment)

Role-playing games are often grandiose, slow-moving, and stat-heavy affairs. Rather than take a stereotypical approach to the process though — offering hours of dice-rolling character development, turn-based melee combat, or films about elves and orcs endlessly blabbering on about who invaded their kingdom — Diablo instead decided to turn genre conventions on their head. Rather than keep things slow and low, the title pumped up fantasy-themed action to insane levels by focusing on real-time battles based on furious mouse-clicking and hardcore hack-and-slash melees. Players could essentially pick from three character classes (warrior, sorcerer, or rogue) and then wade into the thick of battle with skeletons, demons, and other fang-or-tooth-waving opponents, grabbing every item in sight as they simultaneously racked up huge body counts. Among the first titles of its kind to bring RPG gaming to the mainstream, Diablo also remains an all-time favorite for its fast and furious multiplayer battles. When first released in 1996, it was practically an institution on college campuses worldwide.

 

Battlefield 1942 (Electronic Arts)

World War II games were all the rage back in 2002 when Battlefield 1942 first stormed the beaches. But unlike other first-person shooters of that era, which focused almost solely on infantry combat, this all-star romp went a step further by adding player-controlled vehicles you could maneuver to whoop on opponents, vehicles such as tanks, jeeps, fighter planes, and even capital ships like aircraft carriers! Multiple character classes were available to pick from as well, offering players the chance to lock and load with a variety of era-specific weapons from sniper rifles to bazookas and machineguns. With up to 32 players allowed to duke it out together online, it didn't just bring new levels of excitement to military-themed mayhem — it also redefined the scale and ambition of what multiplayer PC gaming battles could truly entail. Needless to say, it's no surprise that Battlefield 1942 didn't just spawn a sequel or two — it also quickly invaded and seized control of players' hearts and minds, remaining among one of the field's most popular action-packed franchises to this today.

 

Civilization V (Firaxis/2K Games)

Since first being released in 1991, famed PC game designer Sid Meier's Civilization series has remained a timeless favorite with historical strategy enthusiasts. Credit its epic scope, addictive gameplay, and shockingly intuitive approach to grand-scale adventure and conquest, which help the franchise continue to rank today among the very best turn-based offerings when it comes to exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination. Over the course of 25 years, the Civilization series — which some credit for first introducing them to many historical places, faces, and empires — continues to be the first port of call for players looking to win as much through diplomacy and trade as through conquest and war. It's hard to blame them: as you can see right from its initial offering, in addition to seizing an empire by force, players can spread religion and culture, develop technology to reach to the stars, or strive to succeed by creating a better world. Credit its wildly unique and enjoyable design for making the franchise such a longstanding staple. Following the game's release, "Please, can I have just one more turn?" quickly became a rallying cry for hordes of adults, kids, and desperate significant others worldwide.

 

Sid Meier's Pirates (Microprose)

If you've ever been a kid, chances are you remember what it's like to dream of hoisting the mainsail, shivering your timbers, and setting sail for the open seas. A defining moment in PC gaming, this action-strategy hybrid — inviting you to captain a fleet, hunt for buried treasure, and duel with some of history's most notorious buccaneers — effectively puts the keys to a Spanish galleon in your hands and invites you to become a dashing corsair. Part excitement (see ship-to-ship battles, swordplay, etc.), part adventure (check out that hunt for your lost family), and part strategy (love those tactical combat encounters) — the sum proves far greater than its many interesting parts. Set in the Caribbean, complete with richly randomized play based on real pirates and buccaneers of the 16th and 17th centuries, Pirates invites you to trade goods, man a crew of scurvy dogs, and live the life of an infamous corsair. Well worth experiencing all over again, prospective peg-leggers would also do well to check out the greatly expanded and visually enhanced remake released in 2004.

 

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (Microsoft)

Among the best real-time strategy games of all time, this ridiculously slick and grandiose affair lives up to its name, given that it's hailed to this day as royalty by even the staunchest RTS critics. Offering enthusiasts the chance to start in the dark ages with one of 13 playable civilizations after the fall of Rome and build a mighty empire in a matter of minutes, players simply couldn't get enough of its epic action, which invited them to build intricately modeled towns, raise armies, and bring the scourge of war to their enemies. Five historically based campaigns provided a rich single-player experience, with engaging multiplayer head-to-head action just the cherry on top. A follow-up expansion, The Conquerors, only added further to the glory of the Middle Ages — and the potential glory you could claim by outsmarting friends and family members and sending them packing.

 

Deus Ex (Eidos Interactive)

To say that sci-fi role-playing masterpiece Deus Ex (clearly inspired by cinematic classes like Blade Runner) was genre-redefining is a massive gaming understatement. Released in 2000, the insanely ambitious tale — equal parts cybernetic adventure and pistol-packing exercise in futuristic grit — combined elements from both the FPS and RPG genres in a cyberpunk-themed world of mistrust, misinformation, and paranoid conspiracies. The title — which featured combat that plays out like a traditional FPS, but also includes a skill system that allows players to enhance both the characters' abilities and their weapons — isn't just worth playing for hands-on excitement though. It's also worth giving a whirl for the compelling atmosphere. Set in a bleak future where technology and biology have become inextricably intertwined, the franchise quickly won a place in enthusiasts' hearts, where it remains, with myriad sequels continuing to arrive to this very day.

 

Command & Conquer: Red Alert (Westwood Studios)

A spin-off from the hugely successful Command & Conquer (C&C) franchise, Red Alert quite simply raised the bar for the real-time strategy genre. Creator Westwood Studios had essentially already laid the blueprint for the RTS category with earlier classic release Dune 2 and forever redefined it with C&C, but it was 1995's alternate C&C: Red Alert that truly broke the mold and set the formula for all RTS games to follow. Beyond the crazy parallel history storyline and killer graphics, it was among the first RTS games to successfully feature and popularize competitive online play. Between a sick solo mode and insane head-to-head multiplayer action, it managed to capture the hearts of an entire generation of PC enthusiasts and helped popularize the idea of handing friends and family their rear ends over the internet. Enjoy over-the-top tactical action in a seemingly made-for-Hollywood style setting? You'll definitely want to break it out and give it a whirl again today.

 

By Scott Steinberg

 

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