Well, I can’t think of a more fitting first list entry then a background of my favorite PC games from the 90′s. It’ll give anyone reading a brief insight into the games of my youth (without boring the crap out of anyone).

So without Further a due I give you my top 10 PC games of the 90′s

10. Warcraft: Orcs vs humans 1994:

This is the game that broke the genre right open and made a small software company named Blizzard into one of the most profitable game companies of all time.

Though this game didn’t support many features we’ve come to expect in standard RTS’s. And it’s critics said it was a direct rip off of Dune II we still came to all love this game. It helped pave the way for all future RTS games and made the genre popular.

9. Wolfenstein 3D 1992:

Thinking the game had some 3d glasses with it, I spent some of my paper route money and picked this game up. I then spent the next 8-10 hours straight playing through the entire game. I remember because I had to convince my father that I couldn’t sleep and that the game would help me relax and get tired, when he came down to use the bathroom at 3am.

Though it lacked any real replay value past the 2nd time through and it didn’t have multiplayer options this game opened up the whole new genre of FPS. Now I debated putting Doom or Doom 2 in the list, but I think I’m going to have to go for Wolfenstein. Not because it was the real first FPS or it helped launch ID software, but because it the first game I had ever played through in one sitting and the first time I convinced my father to let me stay up all night on a non school night.

8. Diablo 1997:

And Blizzard, opening it mighty hand bestowed the gift of Diablo to the world of men and yay it was good and the people doth smile and relish in their contentment. Besides it had Battlenet and you could aoe one shot mobs, whats not to love?

I don’t feel that I have to say very much for this one, it speaks for itself unless you were under a rock and never played it.

7. Daggerfall 1996:

Ok ok technically its called “The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall” but come on people, that’s just way to long. Speaking of long, this game was epic. It was the first real RPG and nonlinear/sandbox game I really got into.

You could do anything!!! AN-E-THING! Want to kill guards? shop keepers? townsfolk? What to steal from shops? buy houses, boats, horses? Want tons of cool weapons, magic, quests, and an absolutely HUGE kingdom to explore? NO PROBLEM. Daggerfall was where it was at. If the game had multiplayer options back then, no one would have heard of WoW we’d be playing “Daggerfall: expansion 27″ and loving ever moment of it right now.

6. Dune II 1992:

Years before Warcraft this game/genre was being laughed at as being an OCD game developers baby. Yes it was the first TRUE RTS, but the level of micro management in the game drove a ton of gamers away (my brother and cousin included).

Which was fine for me as PC multiplay wasn’t exactly supported in 92 anyway. If you could get past the micro management of units the game was really VERY good. Though I will concede to my brother that only being able to select and control one unit at a time was completely asinine.

5. Reunion 1994:

At the time this game was the epitome of what I was looking for in a PC game. It had space travel, it had aliens, it had resource and technology research management, it had colony and mining options for planets, it even had some RTS elements. Through all that into a game where you could build massive fleets of space ships and DING DING DING you had my attention.

Though it was little known, and even less played it still firmly has a spot in my top five games.

4. Planet’s Edge 1991:

ZOMG, a graphical DEEP RPG set in space with trading and a huge sandbox feel in 1991!! Yes, at the time this game knocked many a sock off in the PC gaming community. Though the game was extremely difficult to master and contained over 100+ hours of game play to fully beat in it’s entirety.

Wellll and the fact that you needed a massive manual to figure the quests out, and there were some bugs. All that aside this game provided me many wasted hours of exploring a vast diverse galaxy.

3. Starcraft 1998:

Ahhh yes, Starcraft a game that has almost single-handedly spawned the entire competitive gaming industry in Korea and has a very wide fan base. I for one spend countless hours OWNING (“pwning” was not yet invented) noobs on Battlenet via my 56k dial up connection and evil laughing while I zerg rushed.

2. Master of Orion 1993:

I really don’t care if the genre never really took off, or that people bitch and moan about 4/5x micro management. This game kicked ass, plain and simple. I’m sorry if you “didn’t get it” or your ADD didn’t allow you to pay attention, if so you really missed out. In fact I credit most of my adult asset/money management, multitasking, and managerial skills in general to playing this game for countless hours everyday for years on end.

Within an almost infinate replay value this became my go to game whenever I got sick of whatever else I was playing at the time. Ah and the management, OOOOHHH the management. How do I build up a big enough fleet to crush my enemies? Do I neglect new research or my planet development? Should I stop expanding? Do I try to make peace with them and go after them later? I could write questions like that for ever.

In 1993 MOO forced my 12 year old brain to think about thinks completely different, and for that it will always have a special place in my heart.

1. X-COM: Enemy Unknown 1993:

There has yet to be a game that has come even close to X-COM. Many have tried. Tried and failed? NO tried and died!! In all seriousness just thinking about how fun this strategy game was and how far ahead of its time it was will make me cream my pants a little.

It’s the only game on the list that I have played just about every year since its release. I even go as far as to buy every game title release that claims to be like, or have any X-COM roots or play style. For those of you who give a flying f*ck the closest game I’ve found IMO has been: UFO: Extraterrestrials

When I started making a list I had almost 50 games on it. It was very hard for me to cut that down to a top ten, but I wanted to share a few that didn’t make it.

Near misses:

Civilization
Heroes of might and magic
Lords of the Realm 2
Command & Conquer
Mechwarrior series
Total Annihilation

Honorable mention:

Duke Nukem 3D
Unreal Tournament
Baldur’s Gate
Doom
Fallout
Grim Fandango
Descent
SimCity
Half Life
Freespace
Tie Fighter
Star Wars: Rebellion
Quake
Ultima
Rainbow Six

What about you? What was your favorite game or games of the 90′s?
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