Synopsis: Alone in the Dark started a horror craze in video gaming that continues to this day. In the guise of Carnby, a tough Victorian-age private investigator who's trying to sort out a suicide that just doesn't make sense you must explore an ancient manor and put a stop to the evil that permeates it to the core.
In addition to the fact that the game looked great for the time it was released this was the original third person 3D action title , Alone in the Dark boasted an incredibly creepy storyline that kept us looking over our shoulders as we played into the wee hours of the morning.
Lovecraft fans will remember with glee the horrors of opening the front door too early and the ghost of the old woman that still freaks me out whenever I see an empty rocking chair. Perhaps the funniest thing about Alone in the Dark though is how long it took to become popular. When the title was first released, it had a pretty uninteresting cover and little US marketing. Consequently, the game sat on shelves for a couple of months before word of mouth got out about how great it was.
These days, if a title doesn't sell within the first thirty days, it disappears Fortunately, the Internet keeps you from having to wait three months to hear whether or not a game is worth buying. Synopsis: Firebird's Elite was one of the greatest games ever made, and Trent was pushing pretty hard for this one to get the top spot. Years ahead of its time, Elite used the simple graphics that were available at the time to put forth what still stands as the greatest space combat simulator ever.
As a young pilot, you had to buy and sell goods to improve your ship and kill enemies to build up your combat rating. Elite featured a fantastic economic model that required you to do research about a potential trading partner to figure out whether it would be a good match for the cargo you were carrying at the time.
As the game continued, plot points were introduced and you got the chance to take on secret Navy ships, unscrupulous traders, and even an entire alien fleet. Favorite moments? Trading in illegal substances and then trying to land at a space station after fighting it out with a handful of Vipers the local police ship.
Sadly, Firebird and Gametec after them never figured out that the ultra-simple flight model was what made the game so fun to play. Every sequel that came out to this title used real space physics and were, of course, a complete waste of time. Other games influenced by Elite: This was one of the first space combat sims, so its influences are numerous. Synopsis: Okay, so we didn't go goo-goo gah-gah over Diablo II , but we do have to give props to the original beast. Diablo put you in the shoes of either a warrior, sorcerer or rogue and pushed your mouse-finger to the limit in hour after hour after hour of addictive gameplay.
Sure, it was mindless fun, but boy was it fun! And although the Battle. Darkstone, Revenant, and Nox are just a few of the game directly influenced by the success of Diablo. Synopsis: Half-Life is, hands down, the most impressive game that has shipped in the years that IGNPC has been around, and it nearly shut down the office for about a month when we first got our hands on it.
Not only is Half-Life a near perfect action game, but it pushes story-telling to a whole new level and may have been in part responsible for consumers' refusal to buy more traditional adventure games in the months following its release.
While we're at it, we should probably mention the game's ability to make us jump every time a face-hugger leapt at us, the enemy AI that was far smarter than any intern we've ever had here those marines were real bastards , an excellent selection of realistic weapons, and a multiplayer mode that completely and totally rocked.
Even after two years, no action game has ever come close to eclipsing Half-Life's single player experience. A must for every serious gamer's library. While there haven't been all that many games directly affected by Half-Life yet, it's safe to say that every first-person shooter in development right now will probably be an eventual candidate. Synopsis: From the late eighties to the early nineties, Microprose owned gaming in a big way.
Master of Magic, developed by SimTex who Microprose eventually purchased is a good example of why they held on to the crown for so long. Obviously influenced by Sid Meier's Civilization which shipped about a production cycle before MOM hit shelves , Master of Magic put players in the shoes of a powerful wizard looking to expand his kingdom, protect his people and conquer his foes.
The game was an absolute refinement of the world building genre and nearly every exercise in the game, from researching new spells and gathering magical troops to exploring mysterious landmarks and building up townships, was really, really entertaining.
Perhaps the biggest step forward made by Master of Magic was the fact that it allowed players to wage war on several different dimensions simultaneously, an innovation that was also used in the Heroes of Might and Magic series and more recently in Civilization: Call to Power.
If you haven't played this one, you owe it to yourself to find a copy and get cracking. Other games influenced by Master of Magic: Age of Wonders and Disciples come to mind although both of those game were probably more in the vein of Heroes of Might and Magic which came out the same year as Master of Magic. Synopsis: While there's no doubt that Wolfenstein 3D was an excellent game, it was Doom that really took the third person shooter ball and ran with it.
While it may seem a little bit crude now, for the time, Doom's graphics and gameplay were unsurpassed and every single first person shooter on the shelf owes its existence to the release of this title. And, while many sophisticated gamers may cast jeers at Doom's storyline, we personally found the one man, many demons angle to be pretty sweet. Keep in mind also that this is the title that cemented the shotgun, chaingun, and rocket launcher arsenal into the minds of virtually every developer in the world.
Network play in was unheard of, but Doom made it a household word. One of the most, if not the most important releases in PC gaming history. Other games influenced by Doom: Er, every first person shooter out there.
Synopsis: With all of the real time strategy games that have been released over the years, there have been very few that have really stood the test of time.
This masterpiece of strategy from Blizzard took what had become a formulaic approach to the RTS genre and added brilliant race design and a near perfect interface that changed the face of the genre.
The three races, the Zerg, Terrans, and Protoss, are so different in design and style of play that it still amazes us that one race has never emerged as the most powerful.
Not only was the gameplay superb, but the sound, graphics, and interface were also of the quality that we've come to expect from Blizzard.
After two and half years on the market, Starcraft has stood the test of time and still regularly graces the top ten lists in sales. Now that's staying power. Other games influenced by Starcraft: Hmmm, hard to say. The argument would go that Starcraft was really influenced by everything else that had come before.
Still, the races in Conquest: Frontier Wars leads us to believe that the future will be very Starcraft oriented. Synopsis: It may not seem as glamorous a selection as the rest of the games on this list, but let's face it, this title changed the face of gaming forever and has probably been played more times the world over than any other release out there. So why was this game so ridiculously successful?
Three big reasons It was easy to learn - just about anybody could pick up the idea of making shapes fit together in a pit. It was easy to play - right, left, down and one action button was all you needed to make the game functional which explains why it's shown up in so many different forms on so many different systems.
It was accessible to anyone - just about everyone, from hardcore action fans to grandmothers who had never even seen a video game before fell in love with this title after about five minutes. Unfortunately, most of the follow-up titles attempt by Alexey Pajitnov, the game's creator, to repeat the success of his masterpiece were horrible. If only we could erase the pain of Hatris, Weltris and especially Facetris. Other games influenced by Tetris: Sadly, quite a few bad ones including: Hatris, Weltris, and Facetris, but it also started gamers' love affair with color meets shape puzzle games and so is responsible for Klax, Columns, Bust A Move, and Poyo Poyo as well as the fairly playable clones Wordtris and Wetrix.
Synopsis: This game was literally years ahead of its time and remains the favorite RPG of a great number of genre fans. By using brand new stealth mechanics, players could go through the shadows, avoiding detection while completing objectives or taking out enemies quietly. Starcraft was and still is one of the best sci-fi real-time strategy games out there. Nowadays Starcraft is seen as a prime example of how to make a perfect real-time strategy game.
It takes a day of playing to understand the basics of Starcraft, but months, if not years of constant battling against other players to master. Age of Empires is yet another popular name in the list of best classic computer games.
These three game series are considered to be the most influential real-time strategy games in video game history. Age of Empires was mostly received so well thanks to the amazing AI that often works at a pace similar to the player.
Launched in , Fallout 1 was the result of a bold move by Interplay Entertainment to bring a new theme to the world of role-playing games.
Fallout 2 was the sequel to the original Fallout. It launched in September , and oh boy was it incredible. It took all of the elements from the original Fallout and expanded them. The game featured the main campaign screen and a turn-based battle screen — both elements required their management and player strategy for a player to be successful. Did we miss any of your favorite classic computer games from the 90s?
Let us know in the comments. Rahul is a tech geek, author, blogger, podcaster, YouTuber and a keen learner. Rahul enjoys learning, testing, and messing up with new tips and tricks, apps, and gadgets. He has been writing for several years and has even contributed to popular Magazines like Huffington Post. When he is not making this site better or shooting videos for TechReviewPro YouTube channel , you can find him helping people in groups, forums, and private communities.
He is very down to earth person and believes in Karma, hence he never misses an opportunity to help others. Got a query? Ask him via Email: [email protected]. Visit our About Us Page.
According to our Disclosure Policy , the site contains some affiliate links for products. We get a small commission when you buy following the link. But our recommendation is always based on the merit of the products and not influenced by other factors. This website collects and uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. If you have any query or concern, please write to us: [email protected].
Warcraft II But this was a challenge I was more than willing to overcome, as I couldn't help but be enamored by the game's varied collection of stages, platforming challenges, and stealth action.
The time-travelling premise was a joy that kept me set on progressing no matter the trial or tribulation. To this day Ape Escape continues to be one of my all-time favorites. The game still retains a lot of the charm that infatuated me all those years ago. Not to mention I'll always remember its part in helping me grasp complex control schemes as a child. If you haven't played this one already, you owe it to yourself to pick it up.
Matt Espineli. Of all the mods that came from Half-Life, Counter-Strike is without a doubt the most prominent. The multiplayer-only FPS spawned a competitive scene like no other shooter, and continues going strong with the latest iteration in Global Offensive. But the reason it's stood the test of time is because of its precise, tactical, and rewarding gameplay. There's such a specific way to play Counter-Strike on any sort of competitive level, and I spent so much time and effort learning the optimal spots to toss grenades, best angles to engage in firefights, how to handle each gun's recoil pattern, and even what gear to buy each round in relation to a match's situation.
Sitting out large portions of rounds from dying early tested my patience, but by the same token, it made kills and wins that much more satisfying. Many of these servers acted as different game modes, like Surf maps that were designed in a way to launch yourself across huge maps by exploiting the movement system against specific geometry; or the original Gungame mod that introduced me to the thrill of racing others to get kills with every weapon possible.
Counter-Strike was whatever its players made of it. There wasn't built-in matchmaking, so the competitive scene thrived from the effort of the playerbase to organize fair matches. Strategies and tactical considerations spawned from an intense level of experimentation and smarts of its players. And all those wild mods found within dedicated servers came from the imagination and execution of those who wanted to make a great game even better.
Valve swooped up the team behind the original mod and brought an official release in And in , Counter-Strike's version 1. But on a personal level, there's no other FPS that has brought me as much triumph and despair simultaneously. Michael Higham. I was instantly won over by the conceit of Driver , which lets you drive anywhere in the game's world.
By the time of its release, we already had games like Grand Theft Auto where you could freely explore, but GTA still used the classic top-down perspective. Driver is a game that looked like the Need for Speed and Gran Turismo games I spent so much time enjoying, but one where the roads you could see off to the side of your current route weren't just there for show--you could actually drive on them as you wished. The novelty of such approximations was deeply appealing to me as a kid growing up in Connecticut who didn't travel much.
Hey, the roads are weirdly steep! That's just like the real San Francisco! That novelty aside, the driving in Driver was slick, and it's still satisfying today, letting you expertly weave in and out of traffic.
It hits a sweet spot of feeling realistic without slipping into the extremes of Gran Turismo-style simulations. With separate inputs for acceleration and burnouts, you have a level of control over how your car moves that you still don't in many other games, letting you pull off smooth s and other maneuvers to help you escape the cops.
Driver certainly had its faults, largely on the technical side. It was pushing boundaries, but with the PS1's limited hardware, compromises had to be made. Most striking were the awful draw distances and severe pop-in, but it wasn't until Driver 2 that roads featured curved turns.
And interactions with police, your chief concern outside of time limits during missions, are exceedingly simple, as they simply try to smash you to bits. And yet, while the novelty of exploring an open world in a car is not what it once was, the simplicity of Driver makes it something I still can appreciate today. Technical troubles aside, playing cat and mouse with the police remains entertaining two decades later. While the lineage of modern immersive sims can be traced as far back as Ultima Underworld in , Looking Glass Studios evolved the genre with the System Shock series.
System Shock 2 in particular so closely resembles what we see today in similar games: an FPS-RPG hybrid that lets you spec a character for different abilities as you scour an environment for items and unravel a story full of twists and turns. System Shock 2 was absolutely terrifying and often unpredictable, with deformed humans on the prowl and environmental hazards strewn about the confined space of a desolate space station.
It tapped into a type of horror that I didn't quite get from early Resident Evil and Silent Hill in that it was a first-person experience that instilled a constant state of panic in an environment that you can influence.
Outside of nailing its unnerving atmosphere, the game featured a fairly complex web of RPG elements that let you build a character to a specific play style. Despite these abilities and character progression, I never felt quite powerful enough, which was key to keeping up the tension. Maybe it was a factor of being fairly young when I first played it and that it was still early in my understanding of the complexities of western RPGs, but System Shock 2 turned out to be overwhelming and challenging.
Not only was it an incredibly unique and enrapturing game, it set the tone for some of my favorite games that would soon follow. I still hold the original Deus Ex as one of my favorite games of all time, and BioShock remains in the modern gaming zeitgeist, but I can't help but remember the impact of System Shock 2 and how its DNA lives on in so many other games.
The moment I first saw Soul Reaver is crystallized in my mind. I was leaving a cousin's house and, as I said my goodbyes, he turned on his PlayStation. A few moments later a narration over an intro sequence began, "Kain is deified," a booming voice said. He was mortal once, as were we all. However, his contempt for humanity drove him to create me and my brethren In strolled Raziel, a visually striking character; pale white of skin with obsidian hair curtaining his chiseled David Bowie-like face.
A distinctive red sash was draped over his right arm, and a confident swagger carried him across an arcane throne room. Raziel was the first-born of his vampire clan and kneeled before his creator, Kain. I was transfixed by him and the world that Soul Reaver had established in mere seconds. I continued to watch as Raziel was branded a traitor and cast out by his sire, thrown into a lake to burn, but born again after an eternity as an otherworldly wraith.
By the time the intro was over I was completely invested, I needed to see what happened next. Soul Reaver had an impressive shifting gimmick that allowed Raziel to move been the material and spectral realms, which shapeshifted the environment and provided different puzzle, platforming, and combat opportunities.
But story was the star of Soul Reaver for me. Co-written by Amy Hennig, who would go on to write Uncharted games at Naughty Dog, Soul Reaver was built on the foundation of the Legacy of Kain series, which it referenced frequently.
This history, how it shaped Kain as a villain and Raziel as a hero, was absolutely fascinating. The world of vampires had changed considerably since Raziel was condemned, so learning about what it was like from him and seeing what it had become alongside him, was incredibly compelling. It's a cliche at this point to call games with a strong sense of place "Souls-likes," referencing From Software's Dark Souls and Bloodborne titles.
To me, those kinds of games are Reaver-likes Tamoor Hussain. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was so much more than a video game; it was a cultural phenomenon. It was buying your first skateboard and spending all day in a car park trying to do an ollie. It was baggy jeans, DC Shoes, and a canvas belt hanging down to your knees. It was parents looking bewildered as their kids found identity and friends in an extreme sport gone mainstream, thanks to Activision, Neversoft, and the best skateboarder in the world.
It helps, then, that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was a great skateboarding game, and there had been few before it. We took turns at the Chicago level, which--with no prior skateboarding knowledge--was just two minutes of random ollying. Still, something about the game clicked, and we put our Christmas vouchers together later that year to buy the full game. It was like nothing I had played before, and it helped me fit in during those awkward teenage years. The snap of your skateboard against the low res concrete.
The soundtrack filled with pop-punk and hip hop that became the backing track to the next few years of our lives. Neversoft had found a winning formula, so it's no surprise the franchise exploded like it did. It's a shame that the series has declined so rapidly since the mids, in a similar fashion to my mate Dan who decided to skateboard down a big hill in Guildford. It didn't end well for him don't worry, he lived , and sadly it hasn't been a smooth ride for the Tony Hawk's video game franchise either.
Still, I will always think back fondly to the times I had with that original game and how instrumental it was to some of my happiest memories. Will Potter. I'm not. I had to look it up to make sure I was using it correctly. Essentially, it's when someone is holding onto two ideas that contradict each other.
In this case, it's my concurrent belief that Sonic Adventure is both a good game, and a bad one. To be fair, there's some context to take into consideration. It's also not Sonic's fault that all of a sudden, gamers collectively agreed the quality of voice acting must outgrow its endearing incompetence.
Lastly, it's not Sonic's fault that falling through a level's geometry through no fault of your own became unforgivable post the apex platformer of the time, Super Mario 64 Sonic '06 is definitely Sonic's fault, however.
The fault is in just how many of these dated elements Sonic Adventure chose to incorporate in the first place. While Sonic Adventure in its simplicity and charm will always have a place in my heart, in , it teetered on the edge between a new age of games, and the old.
It exemplified so much of what the series had always been, what I had grown up with, but its rushed release came at a time that left it clutching a sprained ankle near the starting line of where games could go--an unfortunate fate the Dreamcast fell to years later.
After the excitement of launch died down, developers and gamers everywhere took note that Sonic would never be able to rely on his speed alone again, but like Sonic Adventure itself, he's sometimes fast enough to occasionally catch up in the rear view of my mind's eye, just close enough to wave. Nicolas Sherman. Namco's Soul Calibur was the first 3D fighting game that I really loved. Yes, I had played all the Tekken games and a fair amount of Virtua Fighter. Both were enjoyable, deep, and rewarding fighters, but I just never took to them--they always felt off; a little sluggish in the way they moved and restrained in the degree of movement I had available to me.
But Soul Calibur changed all that with its eight-way directional movement system. From the first moment I played it on Dreamcast, I knew that it was a cut above the other 3D fighting for me. Not just because it felt faster and more fluid than its contemporaries, but because the cast of characters presented wildly divergent gameplay opportunities.
Soul Calibur has one of the strongest cast of any fighting game series and I remember being so excited to see that everyone had a different weapon, which meant they moved in strange, unfamiliar ways. Aspects of their design such as reach, combo potential, and strength were all also wildly different, giving me plenty to sink my teeth into.
It looked like a game that surely could not be balanced, and in a lot of ways it wasn't. And, in many ways, that made it is what made it outrageously fun. Finding characters that I liked, experimenting with them, taking into account things like physics, weight, speed, and factoring that into how I could quickly and ruthlessly launch my opponent out of the ring became an obsession. I can't even estimate how long I spent playing Soul Calibur because where it started and where it ended is a blur, and remains that way since I still fire it up and play a few rounds now and then.
Soul Calibur is a series that, because of this game in particular, I hold very near and dear. Its had its ups and downs, but I just cannot quit it, and memories of playing the original are a big part of why. It'd be like losing touch with a childhood friend. Like many kids growing up, I sure wished I had a Nintendo I mean, yeah, they probably did, those games rock, but at the risk of destroying my own argument before it begins, surely there's sentiment in being the only kid in the neighborhood who didn't know when and where to save my mushrooms for shortcuts, haunting those sleepless sleepovers.
When Naughty Dog sensed the collective anguish of wannabe PS1 kart fans and released Crash Team Racing to the acclaim of Bandicoot fans everywhere, it became and still is one of my favorite games. However, while I, and many others were drawn in by the simple charm of Crash and co.
It's well known that in Mario Kart, a couple of lucky items can send you from the back of the pack to the front of the lump in seconds or vice-versa. Crash Team Racing wasn't like that.
0コメント