PC Games: Decent Ones

Mostly Retro
On
June 23, 2014
Alright, so it has been a while since I have written an article on here. Unfortunately, this one won't be as informative as my last one but it is mostly cause all I am doing is talking about the old games I used to play, some fun stories about them, and if they're something worth playing again. Some of these I didn't actually play when they came out, but I figure I might as well share since the majority existed in the nineties and early thousands.

Originally a post on a forum, I had too much to write about and figure might as well make it an article with pictures and everything. And this article is just for fun I suppose, so don't expect any major details about the games since all I know is how fun they are and the history I had playing them, though I'll try to throw in a few facts about them if I can. And if this goes against the writing rules, then sorry about that I haven't looked at them in a while but I hope writing articles just for fun is something you can do.

SIMFarm
Release Date: January 1, 1993



This game was pretty fun, I liked the music and concept. I prefer the DOS style and feel of this game over the current farm simulators. I mean sure they obviously look better, but the old days were known for one thing: catchy background music and overall nostalgia feel.



But nostalgia of course isn't the only thing that engulfs me in this game more. The fact that it was as addictive, or maybe mostly the music; and the feel of the overhead view of doing things rather than being a real farm man walking around, like in the console farm games I'm sure exist. But just being above in the skies doing all the work was a much more fun alternative of gameplay. I did get used to the graphics, and their style was another thing I liked, just because it just felt so much more deep looking at detailed sprites just because of all the different styles of it you can see, rather than looking at a 3D game that mostly only changes in gameplay because 3D is hard to make look different for most games.

The only exception I make to walking around the farm in 3D is in Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for just being a damn good game for its time and really standing out as the best game in the series to me and the only one where your character actually becomes a man, and loses the trademark baseball cap as well. SimFarm is my favorite farm simulation game, though. And if you can put up with the simplicity of its style, it'll be worth it. It is really easy to pickup because its a DOS game so it is freeware now, and if you want it, it takes up very little space as well. Only tricky thing is with newer machines, it'll be a bit rough to get the music playing at all. But just search up "SIMFarm Download" and you should find it.

The Oregon Trail
Release Date: 1993



Many grew up with the really oldschool version, some grew up with the new versions. I grew up with the best version: the one for Windows. This version had the most catchy music, jingles that gave you a bit of fright whenever something bad happened such as the Ox instantly losing water, becoming sick or a person instantly getting the measles and dying of typhoid fever...ALL in one minute sometimes.



At occasion it is a slow game, well sometimes all that seriousness can take place in as little as thirty seconds to as much as twenty minutes. All the sequels, now currently mostly on DS, Wii and 3DS consoles, are alright but not as good. Overall, still a great game and I recommend playing it if you haven't, if you have five friends watching then put their names in the game and you can get a few laughs over who will get sick first and compete over who will last the longest towards the end of the trail.

It is multiplayer if you put your imagination to it, though if that is something you lack then I do not recommend this game as all you're doing without creativity is watching a sprite man ride a sprite cart pulled by a sprite ox over green sprites. Imagination really can bump up a game if you use it right, otherwise you just have a generic arrangement of sprite patterns. It is worth the play and I recommend it, and if you're a bookworm you will get a lot of fun from the villagers' history of the land of Oregon. This game is freeware as well, though finding this specific version I reviewed is hard to come by. There are similar ones to the one I mention, but if you want the one I enjoyed the most then just look at the picture so you know what it looks like. It also has a really catchy background tune, which some versions do not have. Either way, good luck finding it.

Runescape
Release Dates
Runescape Classic: January 4, 2001
Runescape 2: March 29, 2004
Runescape 3: July 22, 2013


Great game, second version was the best to me. Every main version, actually, was so good a change (besides Runescape HD and 3) that it has stayed into play over the years, with Runescape 2 finally seeing a revival of its own and Runescape Classic still existing as well due to how many still enjoy it. However, well Runescape Classic is free forever, provided you registered during that age, Runescape 2 still requires a membership even if you did play back then in order to re-experience the fun again so free is not an option this time around, at least for existing users. According to what the website says, it is possible to register and play for free for about two weeks, and I imagine it shouldn't ask you for credit cards like the membership trial does. So it's rather unfair to the veteran players of the second era for a free experience again, but at least they finally listened to us and gave us what we wanted back for a long five years of waiting.



The game is a point-and-click adventure and probably the only one that has ever become so popular, second being Diablo I suppose. In this game, you can train various skills, or simply train one and be a "pure" player. Either way, the game is a wonderful experience...well, until 2008 when they reinvented the entire game gradually building up to Runescape 3. Luckily, the adventure isn't over yet. You can still play Runescape 2 again as aforementioned, though if you have trouble finding it (which I doubt you probably will now) look up Oldschool Runescape as it is called. I found it via iFunny last year, and had no clue it was real until I looked but it is.

The game also has holiday events, which are my favorite part about it; where you can get exclusive holiday-themed items that you can never get again if you miss out...well, now they decided to make it more "fair" and include the same ones introduced every time the season is back, which ruins your proof of being a long player as an item like, say the Yo-Yo was from 2004 and if you still play the current version (for some reason) you can use the Yo-Yo again and people will be surprised that you have such an old item and that proves you're a veteran player. But, yeah I could go on about this game, but the article probably wouldn't be approved so I'll just cut it short here for now and leave the adventure for you to unfold yourself, rather than me unfolding it for you here lol.

Diablo
Release Date: December 31, 1996



Great game, good multiplayer. Kind of like an early Runescape. It was worth the effort to build up your character again and again for when you forgot your original username. Mage will always be my favorite; collecting the spellbooks throughout the dungeon in multiplayer over and over was just such an expansive experience thanks to the game's ability to make the dungeon look different every time you enter in multiplayer mode; along with different spellbooks as well. Though even if you get the same book again, it increases the power of said spell so it is even more effective.



This is why I like being a Mage the best, it literally feels like you are Diablo once you gain all that power from the spellbooks. Though if you face off against a Warrior, be sure you're ready to have enough spells to hold him back otherwise in about roughly one or two hits, you'll be dead pretty much unless you made sure to give yourself a lot of health against his powerful weapon. Aside from the fun you can have with friends, Single-player was alright as well if you want a one-time experience to see if you can strategize your way through the dungeon instead, well multiplayer allows you to build off your strength to try and try again until the dungeon's once deadly beasts turn into mere ants with all the power you accumulated within your dungeon replays.

And with friends to back you up, if any still play this game anymore, this truly makes it the best Diablo to play in my opinion; I still play it again from time to time. The best class without friends is probably the Mage then if you want to avoid hoards of beasts coming from the shadows as fighting the stronger ones off one by one leaves time for the backup beasts to slay you silly, along with the one you're fighting. And magical beasts exist so watch out for them as they're some of the most powerful. But yeah, I do recommend this game and it should be pretty cheap to come by nowadays. Maybe one day, it'll be crowded with people again. At least I hope it is, cause it is still a fun game.

Interactive Buddy
Release Date: February 8, 2005



The image came out kind of different than expected, but I like the style it makes it feel more retro so I kept it like that. So anyway, Interactive Buddy is basically your everyday simulation game. You have a variety of weapons and objects to entertain Buddy, though this game is like one of those ultimatum games. Either you can bad to Buddy by chucking grenades, bowling balls or simply clicking your mouse to explode the air around or on him to piss him off. Or, you can be nice to him via holding his hand and lifting him up, using the baseball to play catch rather than nudge his brain back and forth and play the radio to get him dancing.

Personally, if you consider this game, I recommend going on the good side first, for doing good gets you good, and vice versa with the other choice; at least in the buddy's behavior. Buddy will be so grateful for your generosity towards his well-being that he will occasionally give you a hundred bucks...with that alone, Buddy seems a lot kinder than most people in the world who don't give back more than what's given. But that sums it up, and I do recommend this game if you want something simple. It is an internet game like Runescape, a non-download and playable via Newgrounds so do not worry about downloading being a problem here.

That is about all the PC games I can remember playing when I was younger. I have a few more, but the rest are just more DOS games and simple ones so I won't bore you with those and so I chose the ones I thought stood out the most. If you feel like I should redo this again, albeit on one game that you think I was the most informative on, or just one that you want to know more about, then I'll be happy to. The one I do have the most history about personally that would take less research time is Runescape, and it could be a full-fledged article if I wanted it to be. But, I feel like talking a while about a video game might be boring to some, so it's up to you if you want it or not. That is about all I have, then. I hope you enjoyed the read. I am in preparations of an even better article on the way, but I figure since it has been four months I would give you a little filler article for the time.
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