Time flies and so grind the gears of industry!
Here they are in "kind of" chronological order. Check out these games I used to play as the industry developed and games got progressively better. I'm sure there are many games I'm forgetting.
(Click the titles to see them free playable? Download at your own risk.)
I was bumping around online and got distracted with a free game website. I have not downloaded or used the site at all. I figured, while I spent so much time there, I should report on what I found and why I spent so much time there.
Quite simply, here are all the game titles I found and recognized that I had played growing up. If you want to see me play any of these on stream or make videos about any of these let me know. Otherwise, this is just here for giggles (your amusement).
1 - DUKE NUKEM 3D
I played on PC.
The graphics were not clean but it was a striking step up from Doom. The environment was dynamic like Doom but even more so and the enemies were also 3D renders. The graphic quality was low and there were some 2D renders mixed in or ... hmm can't remember I'll have to play it again. It was memorable and I'd definitely play it again now.
2 - ECCO THE DOLPHIN
I played on Sega Genesis console.
I love dolphins. I had such a big thing for being a dolphin in this game. The element that was the most fun that really made this game was jumping above the water. You could jump and dive and get going so fast and flip in the air. It wasn't even really part of the game play for any part of the game. It was just a fun mechanic they added. Most of the puzzles and gameplay were under the water and navigating mazes without running out of air. You did have to surface for air or find bubbles underwater (like Sonic the Hedgehog).
3 - HEXEN 2
I played on PC.
Hexen is similar to Heretic and Doom. I don't vividly remember playing the levels as I often mix up this title with Heretic. So, um, yeah. They are pretty similar for vibe and gameplay. Another similar game at the time was called Corridor 7. It was future setting like Doom but more about aliens than demons but on the same game dev level as Wolfenstein but much cleaner graphics than even Doom was.
4 - QUAKE 2
I played on PC.
Mostly I just remember playing the demo version and not liking it. But it was a huge step up from Doom until Doom caught up for development. I didn't like it but I played it more than a few times cringing every time morbidly curious and trying to be socially acceptable. lol
5 - HERETIC 2
I played on PC.
Heretic came out around the same time as Doom. It was an alternative. Doom was set in the future on mars. Heretic was set in the dark ages. The 3D environments were similarly dynamic (very much unlike Wolfenstein). I played Doom more but found Heretic interestingly similar and fun.
6 - FROGGER 2
I played at someone else's house.
I played the classic title (much more difficult) and this FROGGER title but maybe not this exact Frogger 2, looked the same though. I loved it and the past versions any time I encountered it. Definitely memories built around frogger.
I played at someone's house many times.
Clean game. What to say about it? Simply one of the most fun early pvp games I ever played.
I played on PC.
I must have played this over and over. I loved sending out the harvesters to yum yum yum eat up and gather all the lovely tiberian ore. I don't guess I was the best player but I loved that you could randomize the maps and play endlessly new levels against the PC.
I played on PC.
I think I ended up stealing this game CD from the owner. Don't worry. That's what family is for. The only other game I ever "took for an extended period of time" was Doom. Renegade was the first FPS game I ever played I think. It wasn't very smooth because of the 3D renders but there was just enough computing power and imagination capturing pew pew pew that I couldn't get enough of it. PVE I just played endlessly against the computer.
I never really played PvP much. MMO was not in my vocabulary until World of Warcraft. We lived out in the countryside with crappy crappy internet dial up. KKKkkkkkssshhhh-wweee-aaah-weeeeaaaah-kkkksshshhshhh!!
I played on PC in store as a demo.
I then played the whole series as it released up until some of the most recent titles but not all of them. Tomb Raider didn't even know they had a hit on their hands. "No one will play it. There's only a female lead." Which was exactly why everyone wanted to play it. There were no female lead games out there with such a clear female lead.
For some it was role play. For others it was a pixel girl friend you could control. <3 "I'm a girl! I have a girlfriend!" Who knows really... it was an insane hit and took the industry by storm. The mother of all Fortnite 3D renders. It all started with Lara Croft.
11 - CHESS CRUSADE
I played on PC.
Okay. So this is NOT the exact game I played but I had to put it here cause it's close. I'll have to try it later. The game I played and it made a hUGe impact on me was simply called Battle Chess. When you made your chess moves the pieces would move and animate the attack sequence.
The win of the position on the board, of course, would go to the attacking player. The funniest move was if you could get a rook in position to successfully capture a queen. She would zap him with her magic staff. He would then grab her and swallow her whole.
12 - WOLFENSTEIN
I played on PC.
I've played many versions of this game but my favourite is still the very first version that came out around the same time as the first version of Doom. The hallways were very basic and clunky and all the enemies were 2D renders in a 3D environment. At the time it was all very ground breaking and establishing a new 3D market for gaming.
13 - PLANTS VS ZOMBIES
I played on PC.
I played on mobile as well over the years. It's a clean title you can just keep going back to and is still available as a mobile game. It's fun. It made an impression on me. Like many titles this one I was late to and still enjoyed.
14 - MEDAL OF HONOR
I played on console.
One of the most memorable moments for me for the Medal of Honor gameplay was a moment the guards (if they caught you) would say "It's Jimmy Patterson!" and sound the alarm. It was a stealthy part of the missions. You were in disguise and couldn't arouse suspicion.
15 - STRONGHOLD 3
I played on PC.
This was a strangely playable and replayable game. At the time there were no game titles this clean. It is similar to economy building games like Command and Conquer but was set in medieval times. It wasn't pvp either. So, it's more like... tower defense? Before tower defense was a genre.
16 - MARIO
I played on console.
Everyone has played Mario! My earliest memories playing Mario quickly brought up my cousins. But most of the Mario gameplay impression was simply me drooling over the fact a family friend had a SUPER NES console while we were still playing the original title on game boy and an Atari console.
Mario is classic and will forever have a dominant place in my heart. If I was ever to get a tat that was game related it would be Mario related, I'm sure. Not that we would be getting tattoos any time soon. Just sayin. Mario is that iconic.
17. - DOOM 3
I played on PC.
I've played most of the Doom titles but never saw the movie. For me, when doom went 3D in the style of Quake it lost its magic for me. I loved the original Doom titles. The gameplay is so basic and boring now but it captured my imagination. I was slaying demons... on MARS.
It was also like nothing else previous for the 3D environment. The enemies were still 2D renders on a 3D environment but it was a huge step up from Wolfenstein.
MMORPG - WORLD OF WARCRAFT the Burning Crusade
I played on PC.
I have to mention this title. I started playing during the Burning Crusade and was sucked into monthly membership playing for almost 10 years all on membership. I hated it. I also loved it. I had never played a MMORPG before that point. Free roaming a world was mind blowing.
It demanded and demands you to grind hard to level up as soon as the game expands. So, I hated that. I'd get to the top ranks and be there for about a month or a week and boom!.. a new expansion would hit.
I simply started playing the free version rerolling characters and messing around. But, that was the slow wind down of me giving up completely on the game. I was trying to tweak out a level 19 rogue for the longest time to play the pvp battle grounds. That was fun. But once I figured the cost of membership was too much I just dipped.
Played free version. Then eventually stopped altogether. I still hate it for how it's still going and they are still charging a bazillion dollars for monthly membership. Greedy bastards. They expand the game but they have barely updated the look and feel of the world.
Some other (no link) titles I played:
HALO
OUTPOST
STAR WARS BATTLE FRONT 2
CRASH BANDICOOT RACING
BAULDERS GATE
CHAMPIONS OF NORATH
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