Old Games that are Still Alive and Kickin'? 85
Lord Grey asks: "Recently I was killing time while debugging a long-running program and decided to fire up a copy of Shanghai II -- a Mahjongg game for the Macintosh. I've had this game for years, faithfully moving it from computer to computer while keeping pace (more or less) with the newer hardware. I started wondering if there were other people out there that just hold on to those old games and, if so, just how old are they? It would be interesting to see what the oldest game that still runs on current hardware is (my Shanghai II dates from 1991). Or am I the only one that's clinging to the past?"
Old games (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Old games (Score:1)
Re:Old games (Score:2)
Sword of the Samurai (Score:2, Informative)
Sword of the Samurai was one of the first games I ever played, I loved it then, and I love it now. I still play it, at least once a month. There is nothing like conquering the whole of Japan to make you feel damn good about yourself. I even got it to run on win2k, I expected it not to work.
This game is truly awesome, it has a great deal of complexity and an engaging story. You have many choises as to the way in which you acheive your goals. Even the graphics have an excellent retro feel. I would recomend this game to anyone, even today. I introduced some people in my office to it, they were dubious at first, but after a while, I found them playing instead of working. They were addicted
By the way, it was published in 1989 by Microprose
Re:Sword of the Samurai (Score:1)
Strategies for SOS armies (Score:1)
The one thing about the game that I never liked was the army battle sequences - I always hated that there was no mouse support, since the keyboard is so clumsy there, and I never had much success in using any sort of "strategery" there. Still a fantastic game, overall
Here is what I do, if attacking, I always use the katana approach. I take a set of footmen to each side of one of their units, but not too close. The I get the archers to fire on them, and draw them forward, in between my two teams of footmen, who then proceed to close in on their flanks. This is exceptionaly successful, and if you can pick of one team at a time in this way, you can win a battle where you are greatly outnumbered with hardly any casualties.
I like to take this approach to win as many of the assigned battles as I can, with each victory, you get a piece of land, and if you do it over and over you end up a rich rich man.
Man, I dig this game. It just hits the right balance and continues to interest me each time I play it.
I'm a little disappointed.... KOEI rules all. (Score:2)
I know everyone one must be desperate to know who I play. Wu Song, the hairy priest, who else?
Re:Old games (Score:2)
Re:Apple ][ (Score:2)
Re:Apple ][ (Score:2)
2. Break out the soldering iron and build this [tuhs.org]
3. Download Apple disk images from the net and transfer back.
4. Play!
Re:Apple ][ (Score:2)
Re:Apple ][ (Score:1)
In another 10 years when they ask this again, I'll have my Starcraft, Diablo, Day of the Tentacle, and Star Wars Rebellion to brag about.
Sorry to get your hopes up, uni.
Dancin Santa
Old Mac Games (Score:3, Interesting)
I also have ColorizedGunShy 1.2.1 creation dated Dec 20, 1998, Daleks 2.0 dated May 18, 1990 (can you see a pattern? I must have done a recovery of some kind on May 18, 1990). I have a dungeons of doom dated May, 1986, but it doesn't seem to run anymore.
WAIT - I think I just found my oldest one that still runs - StuntCopter1.2 creation dated November 7, 1986!
So, no, you are not alone, I am a packrat too!
More great games (Score:3, Informative)
Re:More great games (Score:1)
Re:More great games (Score:2)
In addition, there are graphics and sound patches that upgrade it from 80's style ugliness to early 90's style ugliness.
like old games? (Score:1, Informative)
Oldest game on every PC I have is (Score:1, Interesting)
Yes, I install IPX on every PC I use so I can still play Nsnipes.
(snipes is an MDA compatible game - circa IBMDOS and/or IBMDOS 2.0)
lh_ - who cannot remeber his login id and pass.
Re:Oldest game on every PC I have is (Score:1)
Planetfall (Score:3, Interesting)
I guess I keep it because someday it may be valuable! (Or maybe my dad might someday piece together one of his old systems for his "computer museum" and we could see if the disk is still readable.)
master of orion2 (Score:1)
any game that puts an autosave in, you _know_ it's going to be unstable. I'm hoping moo3 will be better. works ok under win98, just that damn council.lbx that comes up and crashes it now and then.. and once in a while it'll crash, and take something in the system with it, and my command.com won't work anymore.
Re:master of orion2 (Score:1)
Re:master of orion2 (Score:1)
Actually MOO2 would be a bit better for its automation possibilities - but nevertheless MOO1 is a great classic. It doesn't really lack very much graphics, the VGA interface is ok. The technology tree could be longer...
Re:master of orion2 (Score:2)
Many of them are being re-released on new hardware (Score:3, Interesting)
Namco has released NamcoMuseum, a game cartridge for Gameboy Advance that has four of my all-time favorite legacy video games... Pole Position, Dig Dug, Ms. Pac Man, and Galaga (Galaxian too, but who cares). Combined, these four games probably took the majority of my childhood quarters. This cartridge is fantastic, because even though I used to own the consoles to run these games, as of recently I can't find anything older than my SNES. This more than makes up for my loss.
I had purchased my GBA to play all of the Gameboy games I hadn't played in years (due to a fried gameboy), so I had legacy titles in mind from the start. I only own two GBA titles... F-Zero, and the NamcoMuseum pack... and I can honestly say I haven't touched F-Zero in weeks. Merely turning on NamcoMuseum and hearing all of those familiar sound effects and songs from years ago gave me chills. I can't put this game pack down.
New games come and go... but those legacy titles never die. Hopefully in a few years I'll have enough dough to start collecting the actual arcade units... but multi-game packs like these will more than keep my attention for the time being.
Older IS better - Adventure (Score:2, Interesting)
The best games are the most primitive (Score:1, Interesting)
Apple ][: Wizardry, Choplifter, Sabotage, Pirate Adventure
Amiga: TURBO (if you don't know, don't even bother asking)
Telnet: Genocide (geno.org:2222)
3D FPS are for pussies with no imagination like you.
many great games, but loderunner ownz my heart. (Score:2, Informative)
Check out some of these truly excellent abandonware sites for some good games:
The Underdogs [theunderdogs.org]
BumbleB [bumbleb.org]
The Abandonware Ring [abandonwarering.com]
LodeRunner! (Score:1)
Man, I'd nearly forgotten about LodeRunner. I bought LodeRunner returns from Sierra, but like a great many of their products, it's been effectively orphaned. That and they messed with the gameplay a bit in that you had to get keys to unlock doors to access certain areas of the map and there were "sticky" spots where your walking speed was halved. The appeal of the original was the simplicity of play and the simplemindedness of the enemies. Man, I burned some hours on it.
I also wasted scads of time on Wizardry (1-3) and several of the Eamon text adventures. Mmmm, might have to bust out the Apple II emulator and rerun some of these classics. Sleep is for mortals!
For those interested in Eamon, there's a good page available at http://www.lysator.liu.se/eamon/ [lysator.liu.se].
Mame Cab (Score:1)
Still love Donkey Kong JR & Centiped
Empire (Score:2)
Re:Empire (Score:1)
Wayne
Re:The same Empire...? (Score:2)
C64-a-rama! (Score:1)
Yes, I still fire up my '83 beige box (or one of my creamy C128Ds) to play games such as these...
Current, and much older... (Score:3, Interesting)
I think, however, the "oldest game" list is best satisfied by retrocomputing. Mind you, I have some Atari home computers in my closet, with cartridges and software on disk/tape.
I've also played them, now and then, on my Atari home computer emulator. I've also used the serial port on my PC to emulate an Atari disk drive (!) and played some favorites on a hybrid Atari/PC combo.
And even in another form, classic arcade games sort of fit the bill. But my oldest ones are all from 1981: Gorf, Pac-Man, Wizard of Wor, Zaxxon. Still running on original hardware and still quite playable.
Yeah. Those classics are staying around for as long as they generations who played them are still on the earth. And probably just a little bit longer.
I'm just happy that I don't collect rotary phones. Heck, kids today probably don't even have any idea how to use them!
Re:Current, and much older... (Score:1)
It just doesn't translate (Score:1)
I could play Tempest and Omega Race for days... i still have fantasies of finding the old cabinet games someday. And I loved Battlezone...
Re:It just doesn't translate (Score:2)
Hope this doesn't sound like an ad for them. I don't work for 'em, but I did buy a pinball machine there, and they let me skulk around the showroom playing classic pinball / video games for free during my lunch hour
C64 Cartridges (Score:2, Interesting)
The oldest PC game I've got floating around is probably Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (DOS), my parents still have it for my brother. Runs too fast even on a slow pentium tho so you can't see the animations (it used to be on an old IBM 286).
Re:C64 Cartridges (Score:1)
> The clunky joystick reminds me of how far we've come with peripherals.
As someone who grew up with the C64 / Atari 2600 joystick, I have yet to find anything better. I'm right handed, so I like to control direction with my right hand. Why has nearly every joystick or joypad since that time delegated directional control to the left hand?
(Yes, before someone suggests it, I do own a first-generation Gravis gamepad which has a "left-handed" mode that allows you to use your right hand for directional control.)
Joysticks (Score:1)
On the spectrum (Score:2)
I used to spend hours on that game; very simple, but a lot of fun (somewhat like Tetris)! These days, I have free replacements in Gnome and KDE, although I prefer KDE's version, just for the graphics. I find it harder to differentiate the tiles under Gnome.
Digger! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Digger! (Score:2)
Re:Digger! (Score:1)
A couple of great oldies (Score:2)
Wonderful use for a fast PC, eh? Install MAME and Speccy & Tandy emulators and play better games than most of the junk around today.
Admittedly I play a lot of Unreal Tournament too!
Oh Man (Score:1)
Mean Streets (4 5 1/4 disks)
F-19 Strike Fighter
Mean Streets was fun, played that for ages.
Comanche plz. (Score:2)
/biglig scans the web
Comanche 4 (4?!?) out next month, eh? Looks pretty good too. Previews suggest Commanche 2 & 3 were a bit too like a flight sim for me, so perhaps I'd better wait.
Ah, well, if I try and save my money I'll only end up buying an iPaq.
We still Hitchhike (Score:1)
The game I'd really like to get installed is a really obscure little number called Marco Polo. I haven't figured out how to get it going with the current sound card and o/s, but I haven't thought about it too hard either. Maybe I'll dust it off.
(We also have numerous versions of "Oregon Trail" from when our kids were younger--some for PC, some for Mac. Even the oldest can still be made to work.)
Spy Hunter... (Score:2)
You can come play it, if you want.
Re:Spy Hunter... (Score:2)
--Ty
subspace !!! (Score:1)
Awesome online multiplayer space fighter game.
Re:subspace !!! (Score:1)
Check out Cosmic Rift
Moria, Rouge, Nethack,Omega (Score:2)
Infocom! (Score:1)
Many games! (Score:1)
Sword of the Samurai as many others here seem to have.
Master of Magic and Master of Orion. Love those games.
X-Com.
The Dark Heart of Uukrul. Lemme tell you, that is probably the best $30 I've ever paid for a game, and that was back in 1988. It's from Broderbund, RPG game.
All the Bard's Tale games.
Most of the Wizardry. Especially Crusaders of the Dark Savant.
And I still have Sierra's first Quest for Glory in the box that is entitled "Hero's Quest."
A bunch of others that I can't recall offhand, but those rule. Man, those were the good old days.
Stunts/4D Racing (Score:2, Interesting)
Wasteland (Score:1)
It was psuedo-unoffically reborne in alot of peoples hearts as the very good 'FallOut' series.. (although I dont think any offical linkage between the 2 exist).
Who can forget Karatica (sp!).. old C=64/Apple ][ side-scroller where all you did was Kick and Punch.. very nice..
Re: (Score:1)
Atlantis (Score:2)
Some not quite antiques (Score:1)
the Keen episodes. Granted they're not quite as old (*early* nineties). And those will give some
really great gameplay. And of course Paganitzu.
Good old Beeb (Score:2)
Starflight! (Score:1)
Another that I used to play like there was no tomorrow was Star Saga, though they were a bitch, since all the text of the games was in a stack of booklets that came with the disks.
Maybe you look at this source (Score:1)
Wolfenstein 3D (Score:1)