Games By Genre

There are some ghostly goings on in an old house in North Carolina. Your enthusiastic ghost hunter friend Dr. Roxanne Westbridge is already on the scene, testing out her super new ghost detecting device. Eager to make sure the good doctor doesn't get spirited away, you quickly drive to the mansion, only to crash your car due to a paranormal encounter once you arrive. Amber is another example of an early CD-ROM adventure game. Like many early CD titles, it used the medium to store lots of pre-rendered video and graphics. This gave the visuals a boost in quality over...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Mysterious Egyptian tombs, magical relics, power hungry bad guys and hammy acting. Atlantis 3 - The New World (known as Beyond Atlantis 2 in the USA) has all the elements of a classic sci-fi channel B-movie and therefore all the right elements to make a classic PC adventure game too. Playing as a beautiful young Egyptologist, you will quickly find yourself swept up in a dramatic adventure that carries you across the world and even through time. Since...

Ridley Scott's seminal sci-fi movie may not have set box office records when it was first released, but its status as one of the most influential science fiction movies is hard to debate. Despite its cult following, there have only ever been two videogames based around the vivid, dystopian world of the movie. The first game was launched for early home computers and was something of a flop, the second game however was much more of a success. Developed by Westwood Studios, the sadly now defunct game studio better known for the excellent Command and Conquer series of games, the...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. There's certainly no shortage of adventure games on the PC, though unlike first person shooters or strategy games, the genre seems to come in and out of fashion. This particular adventure title reinvigorated interest in the genre when it was released in 2003, receiving widely positive reviews from the media and players alike. The game has aged well since its release and fans of more cerebral puzzle solving will find plenty to enjoy here as they follow George...

There's a stranger in Diamondback, and that stranger is you partner. In this western themed adventure game you must make your fortune and get revenge on "The Kid", who cheated against you during a high stakes poker game.

There's some ghostly goings on at Freddi's school! A despicably mean ghost has started to haunt her classroom, scaring her classmates and stealing all their toys. Freddi's no fool however and she quickly deduces that the ghost is a fake. In order to catch this fishy imposter, Freddi will need to construct a trap, but how can she find all the pieces? Life under the sea can certainly be exciting! Can you lend Freddi Fish a helping fin?

Don't want the hassle? Get the new, digitally remastered version of this game, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Something is rotten in the land of the dead and it's not just the flesh on the recently deceased corpses. For down on his luck travel agent Manny Calavera, life in the land of the dead is less paradise and more percentages. He struggles to pay off his debt to the "powers that be" by selling recently deceased individuals travel packages to take them through the land of the dead and onto the...

During a routine traning exercise, one of our super battle cruisers has suffered a computer failure. As a result, instead of heading towards an asteroid, it's now on course to destroy a heavily populated, peaceful planet. Despite the crews best efforts, the ship remains automatically on course. It's up to you and your meagre three probes to enter the ship and figure out a way to shut it down. Fail and not only will billions of people on the planet die, but the resulting war will claim the lives of millions more, no pressure then. Installation Iron Helix will install...

Do you ever wonder why we're all here? I suppose most people do, but after playing this game, don't expect to be any wiser. Just like the movie it's based on, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life is a funny, often surreal and quite confusing little trip into the minds of the famous alternative comedy group. Some annoyingly obscure puzzles do put a damper on the game somewhat, but in the age of internet walk-throughs this game is well worth a play through for Python fans. Installation To install the game, insert the first disc into your computers optical drive...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Many gamers play videogames for escapism. If escaping somewhere a little more sedate than futuristic battlefields or zombie infested post-apocalyptic wastelands is your thing, Myst might just be the kind of game you can get lost in. Set on a beautiful but surreal island, you must explore the mysterious locations and solve the various puzzles to uncover pages left behind by the mysterious scholar Atrus. Players are free to explore the island and tackle the puzzles at their own...

In this tongue in cheek adventure game you will play the part of a photographer, who makes his or her sleazy living by stalking celebrities and snapping revealing and often embarrassing photographs of them. Once you've snapped the unlucky celeb, you will need to sell your photos to the highest bidder. To win the game you will need to snap 24 unsuspecting hollywood hotshots. Installing and Playing Paparazzi This game uses a 16 bit installer and so won't install on 64 bit versions of Windows at all. The game itself will start on 64 bit versions of Windows, but it...

It's a spooktacular adventure for Scooby and his friends down in darkest Egypt! When the mystery machine rolls up at the great pyramids, you know that mummies and monsters can't be far away. This time the groovy gang and their Great Dane are visiting Velma's cousin Thelma, who's been snooping around some ancient tombs. By the time they arrive, Thelma is already missing and a spooky mummy is chasing away all the tourists. Can you help Scooby and his friends solve this mystery or will you just run off to your own mummy? Installation While the games installer does work...

If you've got a mystery to solve, then of course you're going to turn to a Great Dane and his four friends when they show up on your doorstep. Especially if the mystery involves hauntings, kidnappings and spooky castles. In this 2000 adventure title, The Learning Company gave kids the chance to help Scoob' and his pals solve the mystery of the phantom and save the princess Bernice. Installation Scooby Doo - Phantom of the Knight uses a 16-bit installer and so won't install on 64 bit versions of Windows. Luckily for Scooby fans, we've produced this replacement installer for...

Critically acclaimed upon release but largely overlooked by the game-buying public, this curious little claymation adventure game has become something of a cult classic. In the game, you'll guide the unlikely hero Klaymen around the bizarre Neverhood, solving puzzles and helping your fellow pliable pals as you go. The games unique clay animation visuals and excellent soundtrack have aged extremely well and it's a shame that this particular title finds itself languishing in copyright limbo, unlikely to be re-released any time soon. For any adventure game fans that are lucky enough to find a copy of the game on e-bay...

While many of us dream of being pirates when we're children, few of us manage to turn that dream into a career by the time we're all grown up. That's not true of our intrepid hero Guybrush Threepwood however, who is determined to become the most fearsome pirate in all of the Caribbean. Despite lacking the kind of skills a mighty pirate might need, Guybrush heads to the island of Melee in order to enlist under a pirate captain and seek his fortune. Thus starts one of the most fondly remembered point and click adventure games of the early 1990's....

The enduring legacy of the Titanic disaster continues to inspire popular culture to this day. In 1996, Cyberflix Incorporated decided that PC gamers would like the opportunity to look around a virtual recreation of the ship. CD-ROM technology was new and exciting and many companies took advantage of the format to store large multimedia files that would have been impossible to store on the outdated magnetic media that came before. While looking around the doomed ship and talking to its crew and passengers is fun and even educational, Titanic: Adventure Out of Time also gives you the opportunity to play...

Baseball is a hugely popular sport in many countries, including the USA and Japan. Here in the UK however, it never really caught on. In school, we play a similar game called "Rounders", which is frankly a stupid name well worthy of ridicule. There have been lots of computer simulations of Baseball, but Backyard Baseball is specifically aimed at children. In the game, the player will need to pick and manage his or her team of neighborhood kids and take them up all the way to the Backyard Baseball World Series. The original game (which we're covering here) was released...

Everyone's favourite wise-cracking hare and the slobbering, rambling Tasmanian Devil make an unlikely duo in this 2000 platform adventure. Thanks to the bungling Daffy Duck, Granny's Time Regulator has broken, with pieces scattered across different time periods. Bugs Bunny and Taz need to go on another time-travelling adventure and recover the missing gears and the time gem. Installation The game should install without any major issues on a modern PC. Simply insert the CD into the computers optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If the games installer doesn't start automatically, browse to the CD in Computer/This PC and run...

Virtual pet games have always been popular especially with children. All the fun of your own pet minus any real responsibility. The Petz series of games from Ubisoft was incredibly popular at the time, letting virtual pet owners care for either cats or dogs, or buy and install both games together and care for both types of furry four legged friend. While the virtual pet craze has died down a little in more recent years, these entertaining titles are still a great way to keep children occupied on a rainy day. Installation There are a few extra steps you need...

Do you have a little one who enjoys interior design? Give them something to do other than crayoning on the walls by letting them design the interior of a whole dream castle. Rather than portcullises, dungeons and iron maidens, the castles that Disney have in mind are altogether more welcoming, with ballrooms, gardens and lavish bedrooms. With the help of the fairy godmother and one of her subordinates, your child will be able to explore and decorate several dream castles, as well as find the missing gems to free Cinderella. Installing and playing This game doesn't work in Windows 10...

There's some ghostly goings on at Freddi's school! A despicably mean ghost has started to haunt her classroom, scaring her classmates and stealing all their toys. Freddi's no fool however and she quickly deduces that the ghost is a fake. In order to catch this fishy imposter, Freddi will need to construct a trap, but how can she find all the pieces? Life under the sea can certainly be exciting! Can you lend Freddi Fish a helping fin?

This guide was last updated on 14/03/20. The first book in the epic Harry Potter saga spawned a hugely successful movie and predictably, this video game tie in. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (or Harry Potter (TM) and the Philosophers Stone (TM) / Sorcerers Stone (TM) as EA (TM) would have us call it) received only mixed reviews from the muggles. Fans of Harry Potter and all things wizardry and witchcraft remember the game much more fondly however. Installation The game should install without any difficulties on a modern PC....

This collection of mini games featuring Sanrio's ever popular schoolgirl kitten is an ideal way to keep younger children amused. With 8 cute minigames, the kids will be able to serve ice creams and fly hot air balloons in the company of the cute but mute moggy. Installation Hello Kitty Cutie World requires no special steps for installation. Simply insert the CD and install the game as normal, following all on screen prompts. Running the game Hello Kitty Cutie World should run with minimal fuss on most modern Windows PCs. There are just two extra steps you need to take....

Kids these days eh? Actually no, let's not do that again. Back in June we covered Lego Racers 2 and found that it worked pretty well on modern PCs. This time we're taking a look at the first game. Just like the sequel, this game will let kids of any age race Lego karts around various themed circuits, out driving and out gunning the opposition. Installation The game should install just fine on modern PCs. Simply put the disc into your PCs optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If the autorun program doesn't start automatically, browse to the CD...

Kids these days eh? When I was a child, Lego races took place on the carpet and involved a lot of pushing around little Lego models and a healthy chunk of imagination. Nowadays of course, you can simulate said Lego racing on your computer, with a copy of Lego Racers 2. While the computer version can be fun, we can't help but hope the traditional method still has its place. If you have a copy of this game and a modern PC, getting it going again is now easy and it's a great way to keep the kids entertained on...

Zowie! This cute little educational title will keep younger kids amused as they follow Pocket and Tails around town, solving puzzles and trying to catch the mischievous Wonderoos while they explore.

It's a spooktacular adventure for Scooby and his friends down in darkest Egypt! When the mystery machine rolls up at the great pyramids, you know that mummies and monsters can't be far away. This time the groovy gang and their Great Dane are visiting Velma's cousin Thelma, who's been snooping around some ancient tombs. By the time they arrive, Thelma is already missing and a spooky mummy is chasing away all the tourists. Can you help Scooby and his friends solve this mystery or will you just run off to your own mummy? Installation While the games installer does work...

If you've got a mystery to solve, then of course you're going to turn to a Great Dane and his four friends when they show up on your doorstep. Especially if the mystery involves hauntings, kidnappings and spooky castles. In this 2000 adventure title, The Learning Company gave kids the chance to help Scoob' and his pals solve the mystery of the phantom and save the princess Bernice. Installation Scooby Doo - Phantom of the Knight uses a 16-bit installer and so won't install on 64 bit versions of Windows. Luckily for Scooby fans, we've produced this replacement installer for...

Cheese loving plasticine pals Wallace and his dog Gromit star in this polished and well presented platform adventure game. While visiting their local Zoo, the pair stumble into a plot by that notorious gremlin penguin Feathers McGraw, who is busy capturing the other animals in the zoo and using them as slave labour. Installation The game should install just fine on a modern PC. Simply place the disc into your computers optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If the autorun program does not start automatically, browse to the CD in Computer/This PC and run the "InstallZoo.exe" program manually. We...

Originally conceived as a 3D sequel to Sega's classic Streets Of Rage series, Fighting Force sees you and an optional friend take on wave after wave of bad guys using just your knuckles and any weapons you happen to find lying around.

Ridley Scott's 1979 movie Alien has left a legacy not only for film but for videogames too. As far back as the Commodore 64, gamers have had their chance to fight the inhuman killing machines for themselves. Rebellion's excellent 1999 title Aliens Vs Predator not only gives the player the chance to be a fierce Colonial Marine, but also the camouflage wearing alien huntsman known as Predator. Skilled players can even take control of the Aliens themselves and scuttle after the hapless Marines or fight the fearsome Predators. Aliens Vs Predator is a superbly playable title that has aged surprisingly...

Battlefield 1942 is another classic PC game that spawned a popular franchise that's still around today. With it's focus clearly on multiplayer and teamwork, Battlefield 1942 was an instant hit with the PC multiplayer and LAN gaming communities when it was launched back in 2002. More than ten years on, a community of dedicated fans still take to the original World War 2 themed battlefields for multiplayer showdowns. Play for free on Origin Origin, Electronic Art's digital distribution network for the PC, gives anyone who signs up access to a complimentary copy of Battlefield 1942. This is a slightly tweaked...

This 1998 PC classic is actually a remake of an old classic arcade game, at least in theory. In reality, apart from featuring tanks, the two games have almost nothing in common. 1998's version of Battlezone is set in an alternate 1960's, where America and Russia take the cold war into space. As a tank commander, you'll not only have to duel with other tanks and enemy vehicles, but also command your own forces on the battlefield. This mix of frantic combat and real time strategy was met with critical acclaim when the game was launched, though the game was...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Nominated the best PC game of all time by PC Gamer, Deus Ex is a cyberpunk themed first person shooter with roleplaying and stealth elements. Originally released in 2000, the game has been supported by an enthusiastic community of modders and fans ever since. If you missed it first time around, or just want to revisit the classic game now that you have a more powerful PC, there has never been a better time to (re) enrol with...

Doom's significance to video game history is rarely debated. While not the first ever first person shooter, Doom is often credited with popularising the genre and introducing gamers worldwide to the guilty pleasure of multi player 'death matches'. Back in 1993, Doom's fast, frantic gunplay and realistic looking enemies earned it plenty of controversy as the gaming world got a taste of just how violent games could get. By modern standards of course, the game seems anything but realistic, but for those of us who fell under the games spell originally, the chance to Doom ourselves again is just too...

When it comes to obscurity, it's not the best computer games that tend to fade away, nor is it the ones that are notoriously bad either. Real obscurity is reserved for those games that were just relatively average when they released. When we stumbled upon this title, our curiosity was piqued by the screenshots on the back of the box, but what we found was a relatively enjoyable but entirely forgettable little romp, one that feels rather rushed and unfinished with no proper story to bind the levels together. Vampire games are supposed to suck, but not like this. Installation...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Crytek's stunningly ambitious open world shooter had jaws dropping around the world when it was first revealed in 2004. "How could a game look this good?" We all thought, "it's like looking at a photograph!" Ten years later and although the game might not look as incredible as you remember it, it still holds up very well and of course runs butter smooth on even relatively modest modern PCs. If you like challenging open world shooters with great...

In the future, the ultimate weapon on the intergalactic battlefield isn't a tank or a high tech fighter jet, but a big, stomping mechanised fighting machine, or mech for short. In Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries, you and your band of soldiers for hire will travel around the universe, deploying your heavily armed walking machines wherever the highest bidder tells you to. By taking on ever increasingly risky missions, you'll grow your reputation as the most fearsome band of mercs in the universe. Installation Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries has officially been released for free, meaning anyone who fancies a little old-school mech action...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-patched, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. It's a pretty safe assumption that most soldiers who fought in the Vietnam war wouldn't care to re-live their experience, but that's exactly what this first person shooter lets you do. That is minus the actual pain, misery and trauma of potentially losing limbs or your life, of course. Playing as rookie solider Dean Shepard, you and your brothers in arms will take part in 16 supposedly historically accurate missions. Installation The game should install without any particular...

When it comes to evil empires, they don't come much more evil and sinister than the Third Reich, which is probably why gamers seem to enjoy shooting SS troops so much. In this 1999 first person shooter you need to go back in time to stop Nazi Germany winning the second world war with a mysterious and sinister secret weapon. Clearly taking its inspiration from the ever popular Wolfenstein games, you'll fight the fascist hordes through gothic churches and castles as well as futuristic cities and bases. Installation Mortyr should install on modern systems just by running the installer on...

Cool cat Cate Archer is completely compatible with your contemporary computer! Stylish 60's chic themed "The Operative: No One Lives Forever" (to give it its full title) is a highly polished and superbly playable FPS title. Playing as super agent Cate Archer, you can move through 60 different levels of espionage action. Agent Archer will need to skydive, swim, drive and sneak around the games varied environments. Critically acclaimed when released and now something of a cult classic, No One Lives Forever can be run perfectly on the latest Windows 7 PC's and is still extremely playable today. Installation The...

Cate Archer's second and sadly final outing managed to improve on the gameplay and graphics of the already excellent first game and deliver a superbly entertaining espionage experience that is every bit as desirable as the super agent herself. Once again, the stylish Ms Archer will take on the evil forces of H.A.R.M across several locations in the world. She will need to use stealth, cunning, brute force and a variety of spy gadgets to accomplish her missions while staying out of their cross-hairs. Installation The game should install just fine on modern versions of Windows. When installing the game,...

Jack Mason might be a medic, but that doesn't seem to stop him from blasting his way through waves of enemy soldiers. By the end of the opening levels of Pariah you'll have amassed a significant body count in your hunt for your virus infected patient Karina. Pariah was released on PC and Xbox back in 2005 to a mostly mixed critical reception and has faded into obscurity since. If you enjoyed the game first time around, here's how you can enjoy a second play-through on your more powerful modern PC. Installation The game should install just fine on modern...

Movie tie-in games are often poor quality, rush-job affairs, but Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (herein referred to simply as King Kong) is actually a polished and very playable effort. Blending elements of survival horror and first person shooters, you play as both Jack Driscoll as he explores the mysterious island and later in the game as King Kong as he explores (and trashes) New York. Starforced not to play King Kong is unplayable on Windows 8 and 10 machines. The reason for this incompatibility is sadly because the game includes one of the most...

Like Doom before it, Quake raised the quality bar for first person shooters when it was originally released in 1996. It featured huge levels with multiple paths and different heights, a variety of new weapons and of course those stunning, distinctive rusty brown tinted visuals. Now that the visuals aren't so amazing any more, Quakes single player campaign really isn't anything so special. The game still shines in multiplayer however, with plenty of nostalgic players still hosting games. Modern Quake prerequisites To play Quake on a modern PC, you require two things. Firstly, a copy of the games level data,...

No matter how good the artificial intelligence gets, nothing beats a real human opponent. First person shooter games with online matchmaking have been popular for several decades now. While todays most popular shooters might be Battlefield and Modern Warfare, back at the turn of the Millennium, Quake 3 ruled the roost. On its release, Quake 3 was a cutting edge videogame, demanding the very latest PC hardware in order to run at optimal settings. In 2012 the game may look somewhat dated, but the fast, relentless death match action is as playable as ever. Installation 32 bit Windows users can...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Cutting edge PC gaming back in 1996 meant extravagant, multi CD games featuring gratuitous use of video clips. Realms of the Haunting is one such game from back then that has stood the test of time better than many. Playing as Adam Randall, you explore a mysterious haunted house looking for clues and fighting demons. The game was very well received at the time, though the clunky controls, primitive 3D graphics and grainy FMV clips haven't aged well. If...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Videogames are often accused of playing up to social and gender stereotypes and in the case of Redneck Rampage there's little doubt that the designers wanted to include lots of typical hillbilly humour. Playing as Leonard, you must fight off an alien invasion and rescue your prize piggy. Big on subtle humour it is not, but Redneck Rampage has plenty of old school shooter action and slapstick humour to keep you playing. The game was popular enough to...

When your boss isn't happy, it can be a stressful time for anyone at work. While most of us can go and hide in the toilets and pretend to have a poo, poor Malachi isn't so lucky. You see, his boss is none other than God, THE God, who knows all and sees all.

If the only question you ever thought was hard was "Do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?" then the 1994 film Star Trek - Generations would definitely have had you firing your photons. At least until you went to see it of course, as perhaps predictably the movie was quite mediocre. While you can still easily watch the movie on Netflix, playing the game of the movie is somewhat harder and despite our best efforts we haven't been able to get trekking with this one. Installation The game would not install at all on our Windows 8 PC....

Elite Force 2 is another game set in the ever popular Star Trek universe. This time you get to head up an elite band of federation combat troops stationed aboard that peaceful exploration vessel the Starship Enterprise. In the game you'll fight the usual antagonists from the Trek universe, as well as some entirely new aliens that seem to enjoy munching their way through starship hulls. More than a decade on, Elite Force 2's environments often feel basic and its AI clumsy, but there's still a fun little game in here especially if you're a Star Trek fan. Installation The...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, to give it its full title, is the sequel to the 1995 DOS game Star Wars: Dark Forces. While the game is a sequel to Dark Forces, it's also the first game in the Jedi Knight series, confusing isn't it? Getting Jedi Knight (as we will refer to it from now on) to run on a modern computer can be even more confusing, with several guides around the internet all recommending different...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Modern day game players often complain that the first-person shooter genre has become a little stale. Constant updates of titles like Call of Duty and Battlefield offer new gameplay modes, but little in the way of innovation or new ideas. If you're tired of the same old thing and want a completely different challenge, then you might want to look to the past and investigate the superlative System Shock 2. System Shock 2 is an utterly engrossing survival...

Disney's ever popular science fiction movie series has a special place in the heart of many gamers. Set at the height of the popularity of the video arcade, Tron captured the imagination of many a small boy (and not so small boy) and has been the subject of lots of video-games ever since. In 2003, Monolith games brought us Tron 2.0, a first person shooter set in the neon-lit wonderland of the Tron universe. The clean lines and bright visuals of the ENCOM mainframe translate perfectly into a first-person shooter game and look fantastic even by modern standards. With the...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. After graduating from university, I was lucky enough to land a job with a local games company. I have fond memories of those days, mostly because we got a whole hour for lunch. Few of us actually ate lunch during that hour, because games were permitted on the LAN. While all sorts of games were tried, my favourite was always Unreal Tournament 2004. Featuring a great range of weapons, vehicles and game modes, UT is, for many of...

This low budget cowboy themed shooter failed to make much of an impact on release and time hasn't exactly been kind to it since. Sluggish controls, poor graphics and lacklustre enemy AI combine to make for a drab experience that for most folks is better left in the bargain bin.

Sega may have pioneered the visually stunning cel-shaded graphics style in their 2000 Dreamcast game Jet Set Radio, but it didn't take long for other games to copy the distinctive art style. One such game is the stunning looking XIII. Based on the comic of the same name, you must recover your lost memories, exonerate yourself from the presidents murder and investigate the shadowy XX organization, all while trying to stay alive and avoid capture. The games vivid graphics still look great on modern systems and this cult classic is well worth playing on your powerful modern PC. Installation By...

Flight simulators will always have a home on the PC. The complex cockpit controls of a real aircraft simply cannot map to the simple, user friendly game controllers that games consoles are limited to. That doesn't mean every flight simulator is strictly for aviation nerds though. Crimson Skies is one flight game that has some elements common to more traditional flight simulators, but more of a focus on fun, exciting dogfighting than the deep technicalities of real aircraft flight. Installation The game should install without any issues on a modern PC. Simply place the disc in your computers optical drive...

Video games don't often paint a pretty picture of the future. Then again, the opportunities for the kind of death defying action, adventure and conflict that gamers seem to love probably wouldn't come about all that often in some kind of Utopian future setting. In Forsaken, a bunch of scientists go a little too far with a subatomic fusion reactor and wipe out the entire planet, causing it to be reclassified as a condemned world. This is good news for intergalactic rag and bone men however, who are now free to loot the planet on their super fast hover bike...

Space, the final frontier. Huge, desolate, empty. The perfect setting for a videogame? Lots of people seem to think so. In this space trading and exploration game you get to be your very own Han Solo and fly around the galaxy, completing missions, trading commodities and combating mysterious aliens. Despite failing to live up to the hype on its original 2003 release, the game was generally well received by critics and fans alike and is kept alive today by a small but passionate group of players and modders. Installation Installing the game is easy, just place your Freelancer game disc...

The evil and mysterious Shivans have decided they want all of the big empty vaccum for themselves and are prepared to blast all of humanity into tiny pieces of debris. You're not going to sit idly by and let that happen though, are you?

If you thought copyright enforcement was getting strict these days, be thankful you don't live in the future envisioned in Fury 3. In 2482, intellectual property theft has become so rampant that it has started an all-out intergalactic war. During this conflict, the Terran peace council developed a race of warriors called the Bions. Far from simply suing people for illegally downloading the latest beats on the intergalactic internet, these super soldiers could wipe out an entire planet in a matter of hours. Of course, like all science fiction super soldiers, they got a little bored after the IP wars...

War has broken out (again) and as seems to be typical in computer games, you are the only qualified pilot of the one and only awesome super fighter called the Hellbender. Using your awesome spacecraft, you must deal death to the evil Bions, before they use their death ray on earth and wipe out humanity. It's certainly not the most original plot for a game, but Hellbender won many fans when it was originally released in 1996. While its dated visuals are unlikely to impress anyone now, those who have fond memories of playing the game in the 90's will...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Say what you like about games design guru Peter Molyneux, his games are nothing if not ambitious. When Bullfrog Productions decided to make a game about flying on magic carpets, rather than just produce a simple shooting game, Molyneux's team instead came out with this engrossing and innovative strategy title. Playing as an apprentice wizard in the great wizard war, you will need to fly around on your carpet fighting creatures, possessing villages and battling other wizards too....

Before JJ Abrams irreverent reboot turned the franchise into a plot thin, special effects heavy generic sci-fi movie, Star Trek was the thinking mans science fiction series. Loved by nerds but often mocked by the mainstream, the adventures of the Federation star ships have inspired several computer games over the years. Star Trek Bridge Commander is one such game, a simulation title that allows wannabe star ship captains to take the helm of their very own Federation vessel. If you are a fan of the pre-Abrams Star Trek universe (or as I like to call it, proper Star Trek) you...

Another game set in the lucrative Star Wars universe, Rogue Squadron casts you in the role of an elite rebel fighter pilot, tasked with defending rebel strongholds and striking back against the evil imperial forces. You'll get to fly a variety of nimble starships as you blast your way around the galaxy.

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. The enduring popularity of Star Wars amongst videogame players has created a legacy of computer and video game titles spanning back over three decades. From the superbly atmospheric Star Wars arcade game to the more recent online roleplaying games, the conflict ridden fantasy universe has always served as a great background for game playing. LucasArts' 1997 game, X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter, allowed Star Wars fans to play as either a rebel or an imperial TIE fighter pilot and...

American humour and satire magazine MAD has been entertaining readers since the 1950s. In 1999, Brøderbund/The Learning Company decided loyal readers deserved some shelf space back in their houses and so released Totally Mad, a whopping seven CD-ROM set collecting the magazine's content from issue 1 through 376, plus over 100 Mad Specials including most of the recorded audio inserts. Although not technically a game, we can imagine many of our readers might be interested in this collection. Note that there is a newer DVD-ROM set called Absolutely MAD, which adds several more years worth of content to the collection,...

If current global temperatures continue to rise, then probably before long we'll all have to get used to living under the sea. Why not practice for such an eventuality by playing this futuristic submarine simulator? In the game you'll look for Thorium crystals, fight mutant marine life, save fish farms and attack and defend various installations. Installation The game should install without too many problems on a modern PC. Simply place the CD into your computers optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If the installer does not start automatically, browse to the CD and run the SETUP.EXE file manually....

If there's one genre that's not well represented on the PC, the platform game must surely be it. There have been few PC exclusive platform games throughout the years, due at least in part to there being no standard PC gamepad to play them on until recently. Curiously, the dark fantasy themed platform game American McGee's Alice was launched as a PC exclusive in 2000 and would not receive a console port until 2011. Despite launching on the PC, a platform not well known for platform games, the game went on to become a success and remains popular to this...

This colourful platform game originally début on Sega's classic Saturn games console. A year later Windows users were treated to the cool little insects antics. Bug isn't your typical platform game hero, he's a hotshot in Hollywood and in this game, he's just scored his biggest break ever. In the amazingly scripted movie Bug's agent has signed him up for, he must rescue his girlfriend from the evil Queen Cadavra. To do this, he'll have to run and jump his way through several levels of platform mayhem (apparently before they signed Bug! it was going to be a Bee movie)....

Everyone's favourite wise-cracking hare and the slobbering, rambling Tasmanian Devil make an unlikely duo in this 2000 platform adventure. Thanks to the bungling Daffy Duck, Granny's Time Regulator has broken, with pieces scattered across different time periods. Bugs Bunny and Taz need to go on another time-travelling adventure and recover the missing gears and the time gem. Installation The game should install without any major issues on a modern PC. Simply insert the CD into the computers optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If the games installer doesn't start automatically, browse to the CD in Computer/This PC and run...

In this 1999 platform title, Bugs unwittingly activates a time machine believing it to be a carrot juice dispenser. This mistake sends him on a quest across the eras to retrieve the magic golden clocks so that he can return to his own time. The game was a modest commercial success and spawned a sequel, Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters.

Poor Croc, back in 1997 things must have seemed so rosy for the cute little critter. While platform game fans were fawning over Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64, Croc came along to Playstation, Saturn and PC owners to give them their own cutesy 3D platformer. While Croc was never going to usurp the famous plumber on his first 3D outing, it didn't matter to the many users who had no access to Nintendo's hardware. Croc was a huge success, shifting over four million copies worldwide. A successful sequel also appeared a few years later, but after that no...

Croc's second and final outing sees the titular cutesy crocodile set out on a quest to find his true parents and defeat the recently resurrected Baron Dante. If you've played the original Croc (which we covered in this article) you will know what to expect. Croc has a few new tricks in his tail and this time rather than just rescuing the cute little Gobbo creatures, Croc will be tasked with all kinds of errands as he makes his way around the game environments. Back in 1997, Croc 2 was met with less enthusiasm than the first game, with reviewers...

When it comes to cute, anthropomorphic animals for video game characters, the humble earthworm might not be the first creature that comes to mind. Nevertheless, Earthworm Jim was quite the star back in the 1990s, with videogames and even his own cartoon show. This edition of the game for Windows 95 includes extra levels and improved graphics and animation and is considered by some players to be the definitive version. Installation The game is actually designed to play directly from the CD, however we are going to need to copy the contents to our hard drive in order to update...

This guide was last updated on 14/03/20. The first book in the epic Harry Potter saga spawned a hugely successful movie and predictably, this video game tie in. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (or Harry Potter (TM) and the Philosophers Stone (TM) / Sorcerers Stone (TM) as EA (TM) would have us call it) received only mixed reviews from the muggles. Fans of Harry Potter and all things wizardry and witchcraft remember the game much more fondly however. Installation The game should install without any difficulties on a modern PC....

One boys quest to save his dog takes him on an incredible platform adventure. What do you do if your beloved pet dog is abducted by unseen shadow creatures during a solar eclipse? Well, obviously you run to your treehouse and jump in your home-made spaceship of course! At least, that's what you do if you're Andy, the pint sized hero of platform adventure "Heart of Darkness". This 1998 game was considered a big budget blockbuster title when it was released. Containing a full orchestral soundtrack and dozens of full motion video cut scenes. The game hasn't aged as well...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Once upon a time in the land of Lyr, acrobatic wannabe sorceress Nikki and her creepy jester companion Fargus decide to put on a firework display. Rather than nipping down the newsagents and being content with Catherine Wheels, Rockets and Sparklers, Nikki decides to steal a spellbook. While trying out the spells in her newly pilfered tome, she accidentally summons a demon that eats the nearby town. Rather than do a runner like most juvenile delinquents, Nikki and...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Time can be especially cruel to videogames. The ever increasing power and graphical fidelity of modern computers and consoles can make a blockbuster game from five years ago look primitive compared to more modern games. It's a testament to just how good a game Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time really is when almost 10 years later the game still feels so fluid and playable. While the visuals have dated some, on a modern PC they...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Ever wanted to be a secret agent? Raz has, and he's so determined to become one he's sneaked off to the special summer camp for gifted kids. See, Raz isn't your typical geeky school-kid, he's got psychic powers! Hearing about the psychic training camp, young Raz immediately sneaks off in the hope of becoming a fully fledged psychic agent, or Psychonaut. Released back in 2005 to critical acclaim but tragically missing out on commercial sucess, Psychonauts has since...

While Mario games continue to raise the bar in terms of platform game excellence, poor Sonic never really managed to make the transition to 3D quite so smoothly. This 2003 port of the Dreamcast game is certainly one of the better 3D Sonic titles and is fondly remembered by many fans. Despite issues with the games camera and the now dated visuals, Sonic fans of all ages are bound to enjoy this colourful romp. The game was re-released on the Steam digital network in 2011, but we're looking at the original 2003 CD release here. Installation Sonic Adventure should install...

Vikings are well known for their war-like pillaging and conquering, so it might come as a surprise to find that this Viking themed game isn't about slaying your enemies but more about solving puzzles. Erik the Swift, Baleog the Fierce, and Olaf the Stout have been abducted from their village by aliens. The trio each has a different skill and they must work together in order to escape. Only Baleog can attack, for instance, while Erik can run and jump and Olaf can block anything, even alien laser beams, with his shield. By switching between the three characters the player...

The worlds friendliest and most hyperactive tiger bounces onto PC screens in this brightly coloured platform game. Tasked with collecting honey pots for Pooh bears party, Tigger stomps and jumps and ducks and dives across the game levels with his typical unwavering optimism. During his adventure, Tigger will bump and bounce into his other friends from the Hundred Acre Wood too. In typical video-game tradition, they'll send Tigger off on side quests or offer him useful tips. Tigger's Honey Hunt is a generic platform game, but that typically won't matter to the children who make up the games target audience...

Cheese loving plasticine pals Wallace and his dog Gromit star in this polished and well presented platform adventure game. While visiting their local Zoo, the pair stumble into a plot by that notorious gremlin penguin Feathers McGraw, who is busy capturing the other animals in the zoo and using them as slave labour. Installation The game should install just fine on a modern PC. Simply place the disc into your computers optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If the autorun program does not start automatically, browse to the CD in Computer/This PC and run the "InstallZoo.exe" program manually. We...

Picture the scene, it's an all to near future and little Lucy looks up from her 4DS internet gaming slate. "Tell me what games were like when you were a boy, Grandpa?" she asks curiously. "Oh they were wonderful!" her grandfather enthusiastically replies. "You could go to these big buildings called shops and buy these little spinning discs, that had the games on!" he continued. "You'll never believe this but, once you'd bought your game that was it, you played it and used your skill and guile to finish it". "Wow gee!" said Lucy, her eyes wide with wonder "You...

It's an urban myth that lemmings are suicidal. What actually causes their apparent suicidal behaviour is not a desire to end their own lives but simply misadventure. You see, during population booms, lemmings like to explore. It's during this exploring of new geography that the lemmings often meet with their demise. The green haired lemmings in this computer game also have no desire to die, but also lack the intelligence not to follow their fellow rodents off the edge of a cliff. Fortunately you, the player, have been given a limited number of super lemming skills to dish out. With...

Lemmings Paintball, really? This little oddity came out in 1996 and disappeared into obscurity soon after. A curious isometric puzzle game, you'll need to guide your lemmings around mazes to locate flags and paintball the opposition. While the cynics amongst you might well conclude that the Lemmings are simply in this game to cash in on the 1990's craze, gamers who enjoyed other old school isometric shooters such as Cannon Fodder may find some fun with this title. Installation The game should install without any issues on a modern PC. Simply pop the CD-ROM into your computers optical drive and...

Programming wizard and 8-bit pioneer Geoff Crammond was one of the first programmers to bring solid-filled 3D graphics to the home computer with his 1986 game The Sentinel. Due to the technical limitations of computers at the time, The Sentinel has some unusual gameplay mechanics that make for a surreal experience. Playing as a telepathic robot called a Synthoid, your robot warrior cannot move, save for looking around the landscape. To progress, you make copies of yourself and then transfer to them. While you're getting to grips with this, the menacing Sentinel is forever gazing over the landscape. Should he...

The two things most testosterone fueled gamers love are cars and guns. With this in mind it's surprising that there aren't more games like Bandits - Phoenix Rising that merge the two concepts together. In this post apocalyptic racing game you'll aid the exploits of bandit misfits Rewdalf and Fennec as they try to survive the wasteland and make themselves rich. The game launched to generally average reviews back in 2002 and has slipped into obscurity since, meaning it can be found for just a few bucks on sites like E-bay or Amazon. Installation The game should install just fine...

Have you ever seen the movie "Fifth Element" ? If so, did you think "wouldn't it be awesome to be like Bruce Willis in his flying taxi cab?" No, we didn't either, but clearly the developers of Beam Breakers did. In this futuristic racing game you will fly your anti gravity car around futuristic cities, delivering pizzas, passengers and even participating in the odd illegal race or two. Installation Beam Breakers should install without any fuss on modern PCs. Simply insert the disc in your computers optical drive and follow all on-screen prompts. As you install the game, Windows may...

Driving games have always been popular, allowing us to drive cars we'll never so much as touch in the real world, at speeds that would frighten even a trained racing driver. With that in mind, it might seem silly to create a game about racing radio controlled race cars, which is exactly what Bumblebeast software did when they launched Big Scale Racing. Why simulate something that you could just go out and try for yourself? Perhaps surprisingly, Big Scale Racing turns out to be an extremely playable and addictive little game, one that is sadly languishing in copyright limbo since...

Some low budget games, or movies or TV shows manage to be great despite their creators limited resources. Sometimes, they manage to be spectacularly awful too. Bumper Wars is neither of these things and manages just to be average and instantly forgettable. The games story goes something like this; inspired by amusement parks on earth, a bunch of aliens decide to re-create the spectacle in space, this time arming the bumper cars with guns and weapons. Installation The game should install with no problems on a modern PC. Be aware that the default installation directory is "C:\Program Files\Bumper Wars". On...

Roads? Who needs those when you've got a hulking 4x4 truck? In this budget title you get to drive a selection of tough trucks across rugged terrain. Rather than racing, you'll usually be looking for "Navigation buoys". The challenge is simply not to wreck your truck as you cross the rugged terrain looking for them.

For many gamers, Crazy Taxi will forever be associated with the Sega Dreamcast. This much loved games console was the final home hardware release from gaming giants Sega. The game actually started life as an arcade cabinet in 1999, where its fast paced pick up and play gameplay made it ideal for the quick turnaround demanded of coin-operated titles. Migrating to various formats after the Dreamcast was discontinued, the game finally got a PC port in 2002. In the game it's not so much that you're a crazy taxi driver, more that the whole city is full of completely wired...

Segas iconic 90's arcade racer is the very essence of a bygone age of powerful coin operated video games. The game was visually stunning for the time, with a handling model that was instantly accessible yet difficult to master. Those who visited arcades back then will remember the instantly appealing presentation and iconic Daytona music. It's no wonder that people remember the game fondly, even if it doesn't always live up to the memories all these years later. Daytona USA Deluxe is a port of the Sega Saturn version of the game known as Daytona USA Championship Circuit Edition. Sega...

If you thought reality TV was getting boring these days, you should hop in your time machine and go to the year 2057. In this dystopian future, jails are so overcrowded that the government decides to let criminals fight it out in futuristic armoured vehicles, while the bloodthirsty population watches on. In the game, you'll play a convicted felon and fight for your life through several arenas. Installation While the game should install just fine on 32 bit versions of Windows, Death Drome is yet another game with a 16 bit installer program, meaning it cannot be installed on 64...

By the time I was eight years old, I had already decided on my career path. I was going to be the next Michael Knight, driving around in a talking car and fighting bad guys. Sadly, the Foundation for Law and Government never seemed to have a recruitment drive near my school, so I ended up as a writer instead. Lucky for me there's this Knight Rider game, where I can play at being Michael Knight and KITT, save the day and flirt with whatever bit-part actress is playing the pretty girl in distress this particular week. At least that...

Kids these days eh? Actually no, let's not do that again. Back in June we covered Lego Racers 2 and found that it worked pretty well on modern PCs. This time we're taking a look at the first game. Just like the sequel, this game will let kids of any age race Lego karts around various themed circuits, out driving and out gunning the opposition. Installation The game should install just fine on modern PCs. Simply put the disc into your PCs optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If the autorun program doesn't start automatically, browse to the CD...

Kids these days eh? When I was a child, Lego races took place on the carpet and involved a lot of pushing around little Lego models and a healthy chunk of imagination. Nowadays of course, you can simulate said Lego racing on your computer, with a copy of Lego Racers 2. While the computer version can be fun, we can't help but hope the traditional method still has its place. If you have a copy of this game and a modern PC, getting it going again is now easy and it's a great way to keep the kids entertained on...

Cars, guns, playground insults and multiplayer madness. Mashed has all these ingredients in spades. Up to four players can duke it out on the racetrack and win by fair means or foul. Installation To install Mashed, do not use the autorun on the CD. Instead, explore the contents of the CD in Computer and double click on the "Setup.exe" file. Mashed will then install without any issues on modern PCs. Running the game The installer will create shortcuts to a file called "Launch.exe". If you find that you cannot start the game, browse to the Mashed installation directory and try...

Before Burnout popularised insane street races through city traffic, Midtown Madness was giving PC gamers their own high octane thrills. Players can choose from a variety of cars (and even a bus) and dash haphazardly through Chicago, vying to beat their opponents to the next checkpoint.

They might not be endearing themselves to PC gamers these days, but at one time Microsoft were doing some pretty cool things for gaming on Windows. Their luxury joysticks were the envy of simulation fans everywhere and to promote the gaming capabilities of the then-new DirectX platform, the Redmond giant published a number of high-quality games titles. Motocross Madness is one such title. The game mixes simulation and arcade elements and features what was for the time a very realistic handling and terrain model. Installation The first hurdle to playing Motocross Madness on your modern PC is getting the game...

Popular racing game franchise Need for Speed has been delivering high octane racing thrills since 1994. Starting as a realistic simulation title on the ill-fated 3DO games console, it didn't take long for realism to give way to more imaginative racing action. This second game in the franchise takes the action across outlandish tracks and locations. You will get to race such exotic cars as the Ferriari F50, the Mclaren F1 and even the one-of-a-kind Ford Indigo concept car around beaches, city streets, jungles and volcanoes. Being the first game in the series to take advantage of the then cutting-edge...

The early 3D graphics capabilities of home computers and consoles in the 1990's seemed to inspire an influx of Rally games. 1994's fondly remembered Sega Rally Championship was one of the first of such games to really utilise the new technology to simulate bumpy and uneven road surfaces. In 1996, Europress treated PC gamers to an excellent rally title with Network Q RAC Rally Championship. Although a number of PC games were slowly moving to Windows back in 1996, many still ran better in MS-DOS. Network Q RAC Rally Championship is our first title on Play-Old-PC-Games.com to use DOSBox. DOSBox...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. This technically impressive and very playable post apocalyptic driving game escaped the attention of many gamers when it was released back in 1998, due to a lack of funds for a significant marketing campaign. Boasting a detailed physics engine, excellent graphics for the time and full force-feedback support, the game was a technical tour-de-force and earned itself many fans amongst the gamers who did come across it. All these years later, the graphics may have dated but the...

Swedish software studio Digital Illusions CE (DICE) may be most famous for its Battlefield series of games, but the studio has produced everything from pinball simulators to platform games since its inception in 1992. In 2002 the studio was commissioned to produce a driving game for the new Microsoft Xbox console and the PC. The result was Rallisport Challenge, a superbly playable rally simulator that still looks and plays fantastically well more than a decade later. Featuring Rally, Hillclimb, Ice Racing and Rallycross, you'll need all your skill and concentration to complete the career mode and become the world rally...

Fancy tearing up the track and terrorising the neighbours cat? In Re-Volt you will drive various RC cars around courses loosely modelled on the real world, but without all that pesky realism or kill-joy authority figures telling you that you can't race your toy cars through supermarkets or city streets. The game was well received on release and despite it having been out of print for several years it still has a small but dedicated fan following online, making it well worth a spin if you can find a copy. Installation Re-Volt should install on modern PCs without any difficulties....

Videogames let us do all kinds of silly or impossible things. Just taken that bad guys full ammo clip in the chest? No problem, here's a first aid kit and you're good as new. Road Rash lets you race motorbikes through rush hour traffic, while fighting with other riders. Fall from your bike and you simply get up and run back to it, rather than end up in a body bag. Never let realism stand in the way of a fun game, we say. This version of Road Rash is based on the 3DO version and is a partial remake...

When gamers think about futuristic racing games, usually games like Wipeout or F-Zero spring to mind, where racers dash around the track in fantastical flying machines. Rollcage had an altogether different idea for the future of motorsport however. In this game, racers compete in buggies with huge wheels, that can freely flip upside down or drive over the ceilings of tunnels.

Those giant futuristic monster truck/buggy hybrids are back again in Rollcage Stage 2. We covered the first Rollcage game back in February and found it worked great on our Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines, bar some issues with configuring controllers. Due to a decision that could only have been made by men in suits sat around a board room table, the game is known as "Death Track Racing" in the US. Stage 2 adds more tracks and gameplay modes over the first game but keeps basically the same formula, inheriting the same controller problems as the first one and...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-patched, pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Like your racing action fast, frantic, drifty and without all that pesky realism? If so, Screamer is the kind of game aimed at you. Clearly inspired by Namco's Ridge Racer games, Screamer made good use of the high-end PCs of the time to deliver a fast texture mapped 3D racing experience that, visually at least, console gamers of the era could only dream of. Installation Screamer is a MS-DOS game and cannot run natively on modern versions...

When you're super sonic racing, there's no time to look around! Before Sonic decided he needed a car to speed around a race-track, he was racing his friends on foot in Sonic R. Originally released for the Sega Saturn console, Sonic R has bright, colourful graphics and bold blue skies, along with a very memorable euro-pop style soundtrack by Sega fan favourite Richard Jacques. If you're a fan of Sega games from yesteryear, it's hard not to fall for Sonic R's charms. While the game is a little on the easy side, it's very entertaining to play and younger players...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Star Wars Episode I may divide the opinion of Star Wars fans, but the fast and furious pod-racing scenes from the film remain a highlight. Of course, it didn't take long before LucasArts gave us the chance to try our own hands at pod racing from the comfort of our PCs or games consoles. A long long time ago (well okay, only back in March 2013), we reluctantly told you that Star Wars - Episode 1 Racer didn't...

Hold onto your Midi-chlorians and get ready to fire up those engines, we've just published a new update for Star Wars - Episode 1 Racer. This new patch uses the very latest WineD3D For Windows wrapper, as compiled by Dosse91. Our tests showed significantly improved stability and a quicker start up time thanks to this new version, so go ahead and try for yourselves and let us know in the comments if things are better or worse for you. Star Wars Racer is one of the games we get asked about most and unfortunately one of the most troublesome, so...

Not to be confused with ToCA 2 Touring Cars, this game is a challenging but ultimately highly rewarding race driving simulator. In the game, you will work your way up the professional driving career ladder by taking part in all kinds of different motorsport disciplines. The game was very well received on release and has aged well, with a realistic but not too intimidating handling model and graphics that still hold up reasonably well more than ten years later. Unfortunately, Codemasters made the disappointing decision to burden this game with Starforce copy protection, making it particularly difficult to play on...

As you might imagine, here at Play-Old-PC-Games.com we love PC gaming, but we also have a soft-spot for our PlayStation consoles too. The PS4 in particular has seen a lot of use since we got a copy of the excellent Bloodborne, though we can't help wondering what happened to so many of our favourite PlayStation franchises from yester-year. A PlayStation without Ridge Racer or Wipeout seemed unthinkable a few years ago, but sadly the PS4 has neither, with no modern update of these once mighty franchises anywhere in sight. While we might not have a new Wipeout game to look...

Some videogames may have huge budgets, motion capture stunt-men and top voice actors, but it is often the ones that don't that end up being all the more memorable for it. Anyone who played through the original Resident Evil will fondly remember the terrible voice acting in that game. Sega's House of the Dead 2 has a similar low-budget script and hammy acting. The game casts you as either James Taylor or Gary Stewart, agents in the mysterious AMS organisation, who are called upon to investigate a zombie outbreak. The game also introduces Goldman as the main antagonist, he's the...

Another entry into the PCs huge catalogue of high quality real-time strategy games and one of the best selling PC games of all time. Age of Empires 3 sends you back to 1492 and lets you command your colonial forces as you seek to colonise the Americas. While the game has many themes that are the same or very similar to most other real-time strategy games, Age of Empires helps keep things interesting by letting you progress through several different technological "Ages", each of which give you new units and buildings to play with. Installation The game should install just...

Another entry into the PCs gigantic back catalogue of real time strategy games. Armor Command tried to mix things up by adding 3D views for each unit, allowing you to experience the combat from a more intimate perspective. Unfortunately, issues with control when using the 3D views means players will probably spend most of their time on the more traditional overhead view. Installation The game should install without any major problems on modern PCs. Simply place the CD in a suitable optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If the games installer does not start automatically, browse to the CD-ROM...

Another RTS title in the long running Command and Conquer series. In Red Alert 2 you can get yet another fix of faced paced base building, troop commanding and resource gathering. This time the action takes place in America, after a full-scale Soviet invasion. As before, you can play through the single player campaign and side with either faction, leading your armies to glory over the capitalist or communist oppressors. When you're done with that, you can even take your skirmishes online and face much more challenging human opponents. Installation Red Alert 2 should install without any problems on a...

Real time strategy games have always been popular on the PC. While Dune 2 was the first game to establish the modern RTS template, it was the Command and Conquer series that really took the genre to new heights of popularity. To celebrate the series 13th anniversary, Electronic Arts very generously made several of the early Command and Conquer games a free download, meaning you don't even have to hunt eBay or the charity shops if you want to play this one. Downloading and Installing To install Command & Conquer: Red Alert, you should use the free Red Alert 1...

Welcome back commander. Electronic Arts seemingly unstoppable Command and Conquer franchise spawned yet another sequel in 1999. Boasting a revised game engine, new unit types and variable terrain, the game went on to become a smash hit. Like Red Alert, Tiberian Sun has also been released into the public domain, meaning anyone can freely and legally download a copy. No need to track down an old CD-ROM this time! Downloading and Installing Several sites now offer Tiberian Sun as a free download, though the original mirror at EA.com seems to be down at the moment. You can still obtain the...

The reality of war may be hell, but the popularity of playing armchair general on the PC means there's no shortage of fictional confrontations for your digital toy soldiers to fight in. Command and Conquer Generals is another game in the popular Command and Conquer franchise. Somewhat controversially, the game allows you to play as either the yee-haw world police of America, the propaganda using, nuke wielding Chinese or the terrorist organization the Global Liberation Army. Each army has its own unique weapons and structures, giving the game plenty of replay value. Installation Command and Conquer Generals should install on...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Real time strategy games have always been popular on the PC. The combination of high resolution screens and super accurate mouse and keyboard control make for slick, enjoyable gameplay for armchair/office chair generals all around the world. Dark Reign is another fantastic example of the genre. Set in the distant future, the player must avert a civil war by mastering the tactics of two warring factions. Having done this, the player is then sent back in time to...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Beloved for its unique graphical style, strong indie game vibe and excellent playability, Darwinia was an instant hit when it released back in 2005. Nearly a decade later and the games simple but striking visuals haven't aged at all, making this an excellent classic title to revisit on your PC. In the game, you will direct the normally peace loving AI entities known as the Darwinians as they fight back against the insidious computer viruses that have started...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Ever get bored with being the good guy? Most of us have slogged through dungeons in our favourite RPG games, but have you ever stopped to consider who keeps those torches burning and those monsters fed and watered? That is the job of the Dungeon Keeper, the Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen of the underworld. If you fancy trying your claw at dungeon design, this classic strategy game should keep you occupied and entertained for hours. Unlike the dreadful new mobile...

A simple but surprisingly fun little real-time strategy game that puts you in charge of an emergency rescue department. In the game you will need to dispatch police, fire crew and paramedics to various accident and disaster scenarios. The game lacks the often daunting complexity of many PC simulation games and is a good introduction to the real time strategy genre for older children and younger teens. Installation The game should install without any problems on a modern PC. The default installation directory is C:\Emergency. We recommend keeping this folder since the game will place its save files and other...

Frank Herbert's seminal sci-fi novel Dune is set in a science fiction universe where computers are religiously outlawed due to an artificial intelligence led rebellion. Conventional warfare with guns, projectiles and explosives is obsolete due to the invention of impenetrable, wearable force-fields. It's fair to say then, that most of the Dune computer games take some artistic license with the source material. Emperor - Battle for Dune is the sequel to the genre-defining Dune II. The game was generally well received, but criticised by some for failing to innovate or move the genre forward in any meaningful way. Nevertheless, if...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Here we go again! In the near future, war has been abolished and the world lives in peace, which sounds like fantastic news for the human race. However, since this game is called "Hostile Waters" you probably already guessed that the peace doesn't last. A group of megalomaniac dictators decides peace is for pussies and decides to launch a missile attack against the rest of the world. The surprisingly capable intelligence services of the newly pacified planet are...

Realistic military strategy games might not be for everyone, but for the patient armchair generals out there, they can be extremely engrossing. When it comes to realism, things don't get much more realistic than Fleet Command, which Wikipedia describes as "basically a naval combat strategic training simulator". This article is focused on the original release of the game, not the Naval Combat Pack re-release (which unfortunately we don't have a copy of). Installation The hardest part of getting the game working on modern PCs is getting it installed. Sonalysts Combat Simulations actually produced an updated installer for the game but...

The sequel to the 1998 game Magic and Mayhem, Magic and Mayhem: The Art of Magic is a blend of fantasy role-playing game and real time strategy game. Playing as the young wizard Aurax, you stumble out of your hut on your birthday to find that your hangover is the least of your worries. Hastily taught magic by your sister, who quickly becomes another damsel in distress, Aurax must use his new-found spellcasting abilities to fight back the forces of chaos and save his sibling. Rather than simply just raining down magical death on his enemies, our young hero can...

There's an unwritten rule in Japanese science fiction, add a giant mecha suit (think robots, but with human pilots) into the mix and everything is ten times better. Metal Fatigue takes this approach with the RTS genre, allowing you to construct giant stomping power suits to dominate the battlefield. Apart from that, your various war machines will also fight battles on three different planes; in the sky, on the ground and underground too. Installation While the game appears to have a 32 bit installation program, we were not able to get the game to install on our Windows 10 machine...

When Westwood Studios released the seminal Dune 2 way back in 1992, they probably realised they were on to something big. What they maybe didn't realise was just how well they managed to nail the real time strategy formula on what was essentially their first go. Real time strategy games have come in their droves since Dune 2, but by and large they all stick to the same resource gathering/base building template laid down in Dune 2 all those years ago. While Rise of Legends doesn't deviate from this template completely, it still has a few neat ideas of its...

Robot Wars was a great spectacle for a time, until people learned that basically the best robot they could design within the rules of the competition was a moving wedge that could flip itself and other robots around the arena. During the height of the craze, Infogrames decided PC gamers would like to have a go at designing their own battle bots, but rather than let us arm them with lasers and heat-seeking missiles like we always dreamed of, we were stuck with the same mundane axes and circular saws that featured in the TV shows. In the game you'll...

It's the distant future and once again humanity is left picking up the pieces following a global apocalypse. While the humans were busy rebuilding, a race of beast people decided that they'd had enough of the humans war-like ways and would eradicate them once and for all. Thus began the battle for Newerth (sounds like 'New Earth', see what they did there?). Savage is an ambitious game blending together elements of first person shooter games and real-time strategy. The game can only be played online. One player always assumes the role of commander, tasked with directing his or her army...

While this games title might lead to believe it was about motorbike gangs, in actual fact Soldiers of Anarchy is a real time strategy game. Focusing on small scale conflicts between soldiers, you'll need to plan carefully as you order your highly trained commandos around the battlefield.

There's certainly no shortage of Star Wars games on computers or games consoles. It seems players can't get enough of taking part in the endless imaginary intergalactic conflicts that exist within the Star Wars universe. Star Wars: Force Commander gives you yet another chance to take to the battlefield in George Lucas' universe, this time as a battlefield commander for either the empire or the rebels. Star Wars: Force Commander divided the critics when it was released and still does to this day. Some label it as the worst Star Wars game on PC, while others find it entertaining and...

Does Starcraft need any introduction? This supremely popular real time strategy game is still played professionally in countries like Korea, where e-sports have reached mainstream levels of popularity. Although its popularity has waned a little since Starcraft 2 was launched, classic Starcraft is still loved by millions of players. What's more, it can be purchased very cheaply and, unlike the more restrictive sequel, played on even older computers throughout the house. A perfect game to keep bored teenagers occupied over the summer holidays! Starcraft Remastered Like many classic titles, Starcraft has now been remastered and updated for modern PCs. Starcraft...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Ever feel like big corporations are gaining too much power? Don't be silly, must be the chip in your head not working correctly. Now, if you'd like to step into this darkened alley, this gentleman in a trench-coat will re-educate you with his Uzi 9mm. If you hadn't already guessed, Syndicate Wars is another game set in a violent, dystopian future. As an executive in the evil EuroCorp, you will take control of four cyborg assassins as you...

Another entry into a long line up of classic real-time strategy games on the PC, Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos (to give it its full title) is famous not only for being an utterly engrossing strategy game, but for laying the foundations for the incredibly popular World of Warcraft online role playing game. Play as either Orc, Human, Undead or Night Elf as you command your heroes and struggle for control of vital resources across Azeroth. Time may have dulled the games visuals, but it remains as playable today as it was in 2002. Installation Warcraft 3 should install without...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. There's certainly no shortage of real time strategy games on the PC and Warlords Battlecry 2 is yet another excellent example of the genre. Playing as one of twelve races in the game, you must conquer no less than sixty seven different regions. To spice things up a little, one of your units is a "Hero" who can also go on quests while the carnage unfurls around him or her. Well received by critics and gamers alike when...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-patched, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. World War 2 commandos eh? Those dashing men of steel, athletically charging around the battlefield, single handedly taking on tanks and bunkers despite their fondness for tobacco. In this game you will get to command a bunch of these heroes across several missions which take place over the course of the war. Don't think you will be charging in all guns blazing however, this is a real time tactics game and only skilful planning and careful strategy will...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-patched, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. The wild west might not be the most common setting for videogames, but that's not to say there haven't been some classic titles set in this often romanticised period in American history (as well as some stinkers!). Back in 2001, Spellbound Entertainment treated us to this curious but playable little title, which blends elements of real time strategy, stealth and puzzle solving (Wikipedia describes it as a "stealth-based real-time tactics computer game"). In the game, you take on...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-patched, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Another classic RPG title for the PC, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (or Arcanum for short) is a role-playing game set in a fantasy steampunk universe. It's a world populated by fantasy races like Elves and Orcs, with magic users and those who have embraced the power of steam. It's a world where magic and technology regularly collide, with the two powers being incompatible and therefore at odds with each other. In this rich fantasy setting you...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-patched, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. If you like exploring dungeons, there's certainly no shortage of them to explore on your PC. Arx Fatalis is another fantasy role playing game for the PC. In this particular dungeon romp, you will explore the subterranean caverns of the post-apocalyptic world of Arx. A world whose inhabitants have been forced underground after their worlds sun suddenly died. The game takes place from a first-person perspective, much like the popular Elder Scrolls games. Installation The game should install...

It is a shame for PC gamers that the platform often misses out on Japanese roleplaying games. While some make the transition from console to PC, many stay firmly as console exclusives. In Japan, the PC gaming scene is rather niche, which explains why (until recently at least) many Japanese games don't get a PC port. Installation The game will install just fine on any modern PC. Simply place the CD in your computers optical drive, wait for the menu to appear, click on "Install Breath of Fire IV" and follow the on-screen instructions. If the installation doesn't start automatically,...

Way back in 1996, Diablo took the classic Rogue template of randomly generated dungeons laden with monsters and treasure and updated it for then cutting-edge PC hardware. It was a critical and commercial success and with robust online and LAN multiplayer, a favourite of university students across the world. This year marks the games 20th anniversary, so what better time to revisit Tristram and the Cathedral labyrinth? Installation The game should install without any difficulties on a modern PC, simply place the CD-ROM in your computers optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If installation does not start automatically, browse...

Once upon a time, in the land of videogames, there was a game called Rogue. Rogue was a roleplaying game which involved exploring dungeons, a familiar concept to gamers all around the world. The dungeons in Rogue were randomly generated and changed each time you set foot into them. Rogue was never the prettiest of games, even by the graphical standards of the early eighties, yet people still play it to this day. The addictive exploration and looting mechanic has inspired dozens of games, including the Diablo series. As millions of PC gamers continue to enjoy Diablo 3, now seems...

Atomic bombs have destroyed the world, leaving behind a devastated wasteland full of monsters, radioactive ooze and desperate, often violent, survivors. Sounds like a great setting for a videogame doesn't it? Fallout was the first post apocalyptic roleplaying game in the now well established Fallout franchise. While set in the same alternate history universe, it plays quite differently from the more recent entries in the series. Rather than a first-person perspective, the game is turn based and played out on a large grid representing the current area. While its visuals may have dated, there's still a hugely engrossing roleplaying game...

Take Atari's classic coin guzzling arcade game "Gauntlet", add in a dose of humour and a silly story about dragons and bring it all to the PC, what do you get? Get Medieval is a fun little dungeon crawler that's much better when played with friends. The game supports up to four players via local coop and LAN and is well worth a look if you loved a little Gauntlet action in the arcades. Installation Get Medieval has a 16 bit installer program which unfortunately means that it won't work at all on 64 bit versions of Windows. To work...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Also known (exclusively by me) as Nox: The Quest For Bacon, this polished but often forgotten PC roleplaying game by real-time strategy pioneers Westwood Studios was well received upon its launch back in the year 2000. Playing as unlikely hero Jack, your day is ruined when, just as you were about to sit down to a fine dinner of bacon, you are accidentally summoned to the realm of Nox during a black magic ritual. In order to get...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. There's no shortage of really good RPG games on the PC, from the post apocalyptic future of Fallout to the vast dungeons and countrysides of the Elder Scrolls series, there's enough hours to wile away exploring fantasy realms to fill up several lifetimes. Planescape: Torment is yet another fantastic addition to the catalogue. Set in a more traditional dungeons and dragons style setting, you play the role of the "Nameless One", an immortal warrior on a quest to...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Emperor Silver demands a new wife! Being a busy sort of chap, he decides that the most efficient way of doing this is to kidnap every woman in the kingdom and then arrange some sort of marathon speed-dating session where he meets each and every one of them. While sending out his soldiers to complete this task, he understandably annoys a few of the locals and as one such perturbed citizen, you'll start off on your epic quest...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Vampire The Masquerade is a popular pen and paper roleplaying system first published in the early 1990's. Its compelling, dark fantasy world offers players and game designers alike plenty to sink their teeth into. At the turn of the millennium, Activision released the first of two PC games based in the Vampire The Masquerade universe. For fans of Masquerade or vampire fiction in general, Redemption is an entertaining though often frustrating roleplaying game that will reward more patient...

Captain Quazar is a long-forgotten isometric run and gun game that originally launched on the ill-fated 3DO games console. Excellent presentation and humorous cut-scenes are sadly not enough to save this relic from the realms of obscurity, due to overly repetitive gameplay.

Enter an intense, 360 degree world one thousand (or perhaps now 983) years in the future! Panzer Dragoon is a much loved Sega video game from the mid 1990's. It is the first game in a franchise that still has a cult following today. The game sees you cast as a dragon rider, desperately trying to fight your way through hordes of enemies to catch up to the menacing black dragon. While your white dragon knows where to fly, you are responsible for defending against the airships and bizarre hostile creatures that inhabit the game world. The gameplay is simple...

A faithful remake of the classic BBC Micro/Commodore 64 game, Thrust Xtreme sends brave pilots once more into the treacherous caverns of the evil space empire. Using your ace pilot skills, you will need to retrieve the Klystron pods from each planet and escape back into space. Downloading/installing This game has been released for free by its author and can be downloaded here. Although you can download the game entirely for free, it's polite to tip the author a buck or two and you can do that on the download page (a window will appear enabling you to do so before...

When you're an evil wizard, career opportunities don't come along all that often. Sure, you could probably apply to work in the banking sector if you could prove you were evil enough. To that end, Zark decided to hatch his most sinister and evil plot yet, steal all the colour from the world of Wizworld, making it as dull as a lecture in economics. Luckily, the good wizard Wiz and his feline friend Nifta have a plan to re-capture all that colour and make Wizworld beautiful again. Wizball is a remake of an old Commodore 64 game, it harks from...

Shooting Pool is always fun, but unlike most videogames it is something we get chance to do in the real world too. If last time you played in the bar you weren't quite the hustler you hoped to be, maybe you can brush up your skills with this fun Pool simulator.

Baseball is a hugely popular sport in many countries, including the USA and Japan. Here in the UK however, it never really caught on. In school, we play a similar game called "Rounders", which is frankly a stupid name well worthy of ridicule. There have been lots of computer simulations of Baseball, but Backyard Baseball is specifically aimed at children. In the game, the player will need to pick and manage his or her team of neighborhood kids and take them up all the way to the Backyard Baseball World Series. The original game (which we're covering here) was released...

Retro odd-shaped ball action.

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-patched, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. The wild west might not be the most common setting for videogames, but that's not to say there haven't been some classic titles set in this often romanticised period in American history (as well as some stinkers!). Back in 2001, Spellbound Entertainment treated us to this curious but playable little title, which blends elements of real time strategy, stealth and puzzle solving (Wikipedia describes it as a "stealth-based real-time tactics computer game"). In the game, you take on...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Like System Shock 2, also by the sadly now defunct Looking Glass Studios, Thief and Thief 2 are two first person games that feature the kinds of innovative and refreshingly different gameplay that so often seems sorely lacking in today’s video game market. Playing as master thief and all round shady guy Garrett, you will need to use your eyes, ears and brain to sneak your way around the steampunk inspired city and uncover conspiracies, all while filling...

The mystery of what happens to us all after death is one that has inspired the arts and literature for centuries. According to the post-death experience that this game predicts, some of us at least will end up as heaven and hells own planning officers. That's right, it's Sim City for the souls in this amusing take on the popular city building and planning genre.

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Also known as Battle Isle 2220 - Shadow of the Emperor, this game is a turn based strategy game launched in 1995 by Blue Byte software. Building on the success of the first two games, Battle Isle 3 adds exciting 3D graphics and improved AI to this futuristic strategy series. Installation The original Battle Isle 3 game CD has a 16 bit executable installer and therefore the game will not install on 64 bit systems at all. On...

Peter Molyneux's hugely ambitious god-simulator was dazzling both graphically and in scope when it was originally released back in 2001. Initially critically acclaimed by almost all of the gaming media, the title has had a curious legacy since then. Many critics have since argued that, after the initial 'wow' factor had worn off, the game failed to deliver on the ambitious concepts it introduced. A visual tour-de-force at the time of release, Black and White's huge worlds and detailed villages have aged well compared to many games from the last decade. If you missed this title first time around because...

Who knew blowing up your friends could be such fun? Bomberman is a game all about planting bombs to try and blow up your buddies, while trying to avoid the explosives they've left for you. This budget compilation bundles three Bomberman games, two ported from the PC Engine and one from the Playstation.

In video gaming history, there have been few games that can stand the test of time better than the Civilization series. Set from the dawn of humanity right up until the colonization of space, there are players who are still playing the same game of Civilization 2 they started over a decade ago. Of course, time hasn't stood still in the real world since Civilization 2 launched and this has caused complications for many gamers who still want to play the classic title. Fortunately, with a little tweaking, Civilization 2 can be made to run on modern PCs. In this...

Another entry into the ever-popular politician/dictator/god simulator series, Civilization III released to critical acclaim in 2001 and went on to sell millions of copies. Since we've covered Civilization II and IV, it seems only right that we take a look at the third game in the series. Fortunately, this one isn't too difficult to get running. The version of the game we're looking at here is the "Complete" edition, which was released in 2004 and includes the two expansion packs that were previously released for the game. This version is also the version that comes in the popular Civilization Chronicles...

Desert Island Discs is a radio show broadcast here in the UK on the poshest of stations, BBC Radio 4. In the show, various celebrities and politicians choose which particular gramophone recordings they would choose to be stranded with if they found themselves on a desert island. Should Radio 4 ever decide videogames were culturally relevant and subsequently launch "Desert Island Games", then it's a fairly safe bet that Sid Meier's Civilization series would feature frequently. In the fourth instalment of the game, the rules are remixed and the graphics are tarted up, but the engrossing turn based strategy remains...

Heroes of Might and Magic is, as you might expect, a game about commanding heroes, who use both might and magic to fight against other heroes. These other heroes look the same as your heroes but crucially they prefer a different coloured flag. Actually, despite the games title, when it comes to the actual fighting, your heroes are nowhere to be seen on the battlefield and it's left to you to command the rank and file soldiers to victory instead. I suppose "cowards of hiding in a tent and occasionally casting spells" didn't have the same ring to it. Not...

Way back in 1998, strategy gamers were getting excited about the original Laser Squad game on the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. Though the game featured just a handful of levels, it set the template for a series that would eventually mutate into the X-COM games, the latest of which has only just released. At some point along the way, strategy gamers were treated to this long forgotten title that featured online play via e-mail, no less. Although the online multiplayer has long since shut down, you can still enjoy this title by taking on family members in "hot seat"...

While I've always owned games consoles too, I've come to think of the PC as the definitive gaming platform. By being a completely open platform with no publishing fees, games on the PC can be more innovative and creative than on any other platform. Even if this innovation doesn't always result in a great game, it still means that PC gamers get to experience some really unique game concepts that would be unlikely to get the green light on the major games consoles. Republic - The Revolution certainly is an unusual game. Playing the part of a political activist, you...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Why be a tycoon for oil, property or other such boring commodities when you can be a rollercoaster tycoon? In this strategy and simulation game you will get to build your own theme park, complete of course with huge roller coasters. Similar in concept to Theme Park World, successful tycoons will need to carefully manage their money while keeping visitors happy and re-investing in bigger more spectacular rides. If you were disappointed with the dreadful Rollercoaster Tycoon 4...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. The Sim City series of games has been keeping wannabe town planners occupied since 1989. With the latest instalment of the series getting so much negative publicity due to its unreliable servers and it's arguably unnecessary requirement that you are always connected to the internet when you play, it seems like a good time to revisit the previous instalment in the series. Luckily this metropolis building mayor simulator can run on modern PC's without too much hassle. Installation...

If the only question you ever thought was hard was "Do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?" then the 1994 film Star Trek - Generations would definitely have had you firing your photons. At least until you went to see it of course, as perhaps predictably the movie was quite mediocre. While you can still easily watch the movie on Netflix, playing the game of the movie is somewhat harder and despite our best efforts we haven't been able to get trekking with this one. Installation The game would not install at all on our Windows 8 PC....

What would you do with a million dollars? In one episode of the cult cartoon show South Park, precocious pudgy preteen Eric Cartman decides to spend the million dollars left to him by his late grandmother on his own theme park. With no pesky visitors, he's free to ride all the rides by himself, but his plan soon comes undone when he has to hire maintenance staff and other workers to keep things going. Fortunately, you don't need an unexpected windfall to have a go at running your own Theme Park, you just need a copy of Theme Park World...

Another impressive strategy game to add to the PCs huge back catalogue, Warlords 3 - Dark Lords Rising is a stand-alone expansion pack for the game Warlords 3 - Reign of Heroes. The game is a turn based strategy game set in a fantasy world. In the game you take on the role of the sinister sounding Lord Bane and you will command the forces of evil as you try to reconquer the lands of Siria. The game was well received on launch and is accessible to new players without being too simplistic for strategy game veterans. Installation The most...

Considered by many to be the ultimate 2D Worms experience, Worms World Party sees your squad of wiggly warriors will battle it out in turn-based encounters across various landscapes. Using all kinds of wacky weapons from rocket launchers to exploding sheep, Worms World Party is sure to entertain and amuse players of all ages.

HP Lovecraft's monster Cthulhu is a malevolent entity so powerful and fearsome that the mere sight of him will drive you insane. Lurking in the shadows of man's subconscious, Cthulhu likes to recruit worshippers all around the world to do his twisted bidding. His evil followers usually  form cults, who then promote Cthulhu's madness by worming their way into positions of power, conducting bizarre and macabre rituals or by constantly phoning their victims to ask if they have been in an accident or have PPI insurance.  In this creepy survival horror title, the lead character Jack Walters has a run...

When there's something quite bizarre in the locality, who are the individuals that one should send a telegram to? Why, it's Ignatius Blackward and Nadia Franciscus of course. These two swashbuckling heroes will use their wits and weapons to bring an end to the horror unleashed on old London town by the nefarious alchemist Adam Crowley. Installation Nightmare Creatures should install without any issues on a modern PC. Simply insert the CD-ROM into your computers optical drive and follow the on-screen prompts. If the installation process doesn't start automatically, browse to the CD-ROM in Computer/This PC and run the Autoexec.exe...

Don't want the hassle? Get this game pre-fixed, DRM free and ready to play from GoG.com. Fully working or your money back. Cutting edge PC gaming back in 1996 meant extravagant, multi CD games featuring gratuitous use of video clips. Realms of the Haunting is one such game from back then that has stood the test of time better than many. Playing as Adam Randall, you explore a mysterious haunted house looking for clues and fighting demons. The game was very well received at the time, though the clunky controls, primitive 3D graphics and grainy FMV clips haven't aged well. If...

Raccoon City used to be such a nice place to live, until strange gangs started terrorising families living on the outskirts of the city. We're not talking about the kinds of gangs that throw eggs at your window or hang around menacingly in their hoodies on street corners either. According to reports, this particular brand of hoodlum has been eating their victims alive. It's up to the Racoon City STARS investigative team to get to the bottom of these grizzly goings on. While looking for their missing colleagues, Jill, Chris, Barry and Wesker from STARS find themselves trapped in a...

The residents of Raccoon City were an unfortunate bunch. When your neighbours like to make zombies in secret labs, it's only a matter of time before something bad happens. This time the zombies aren't content with wondering around a mansion and instead have decided to come munch on the entire population of the city. As either rookie cop Leon or tough girl Claire, you will need to battle zombies and solve puzzles in order to stay alive and escape the city before it's too late. Installation While the game can run directly from either of the CDs, we recommend that...

The PC received an improved and updated port of Silent Hill 2 in 2002, in the shape of Silent Hill 2 Directors Cut. This version of the game still runs on modern Windows PCs, 32 or 64 bit. It makes a firm point about PC gaming when you consider that the PC version, released in 2002, actually supports a higher resolution than the re-released HD collection did on the games consoles.

Ever notice how some of the best sci-fi horror movies have the least imaginative titles? John Carpenter's highly regarded movie "The Thing" certainly doesn't buck this trend. If you hadn't already guessed, the thing that appears in the titular film and game isn't in any way pink, fluffy or cute, but rather a grotesque blob of parasitic alien killing machine that can posses you or your fellow team members. The game takes place after the events of the cult movie. You will lead a team into what remains of the base to investigate what happened to the original crew. As...

HP Lovecraft's monster Cthulhu is a malevolent entity so powerful and fearsome that the mere sight of him will drive you insane. Lurking in the shadows of man's subconscious, Cthulhu likes to recruit worshippers all around the world to do his twisted bidding. His evil followers usually  form cults, who then promote Cthulhu's madness by worming their way into positions of power, conducting bizarre and macabre rituals or by constantly phoning their victims to ask if they have been in an accident or have PPI insurance.  In this creepy survival horror title, the lead character Jack Walters has a run...

Captain Quazar is a long-forgotten isometric run and gun game that originally launched on the ill-fated 3DO games console. Excellent presentation and humorous cut-scenes are sadly not enough to save this relic from the realms of obscurity, due to overly repetitive gameplay.

America and Russia may never have been the best of friends, but few of us would have expected a full scale invasion of America by the Soviets last decade. In the world of Freedom Fighters, however, history took a few different turns. Bolstered by their swift victory over the Germans in World War 2, thanks to their development of the atomic bomb, the USSR quickly goes on to dominate Europe. Using their influence to help other communist countries around the world, it's not long before the reds turn their attention to the USA, and a full-scale invasion begins. Playing as...

If you liked to play policeman/woman when you were a kid, chances are that involved running around with toy guns and shooting at your friends, rather than directing traffic or writing speeding tickets. Real police work might not be as exciting as you imagined it when you were a child, but fear not. According to Future Cop: LAPD, policework in the future is all about transforming mecha-robots armed with mini-guns and missiles and shooting first and asking questions later. Released in 1998 for Windows, Mac and Playstation to mostly positive reception, the game somehow managed to flop at retail. While...

The best thing about computer games is how they let us do things that would have some pretty dire consequences in the real world. Reckless driving, speeding through busy city streets, stealing high performance cars or generally being an all round bad guy, it's not something many of us would want to try for real. In a game however, sign me up! Grand Theft Auto III (GTAIII for short) was the first game in the series to move the perspective from a top down 2D view to a fully 3D world. While it's graphics may seem primitive now, it was...

In my experience, most wars are 'out' wars. One summer holiday, my best friend and I decided to have an 'in' war. No sooner had I built my fort from the sofa cushions however, than an irate mother forced a ceasefire and made us take the conflict outside. The particular 'out' wars in this game take place not in back gardens but in outer space. As a member of the elite CDF Marine Jump Corps, you'll don your super battle armour and fight the evil insectoid aliens as they crawl across the galaxy. Installation The game should install without any...

It seems like we're asked about Star Wars games more than anything else here on Play-Old-PC-Games.com, which brings us to this particularly troublesome little title. In this game, you take on the role of mercenary Dash Rendar and help the rebels topple Imperial walkers, blow up TIE fighters, rescue princesses and all the usual Star Wars things. Installation Your first challenge with Shadows of the Empire is to actually get the game installed. If you are still using a 32 bit version of Windows you can install the game from the CD normally. If you're using a 64 bit version...

While the first of the Star Wars prequels might not have pleased everyone, back in 1999 it was big news at the box office and the Lucasfilm marketing machine was working in overdrive. The now sadly disbanded LucasArts software house produced and licensed several games based on elements or characters from the movie, including the official Phantom Menace video game for PC and consoles. It may not be the most critically acclaimed Star Wars game ever released, but this movie tie-in holds plenty of happy memories for those gamers who played it first time around. Time certainly hasn't been kind to...