In my times as a mainly PC gamer, there's been quite a few games I have gone through. What never ceases to astound me, however, is the number of games that I try to tell people about and they have no idea that they exist. It makes me wonder if I was in my own little bubble in the video game community and that strikes me as strange. So what better way to get the word out than on one of the world's most powerful communication tools? The Internet. Or at least, I would hope that people look into it. Here's five old PC gaming gems you may not have heard of, and should check out.
#1: Midtown Madness 2
Ironically, the first one on my list is the second in the series. Even if you're not a fan of car games, this game was pretty fun. Midtown Madness 2, the sequel to Midtown Madness (obviously), came out September 22nd, in the year 2000 by the developer Angel Studios. It was a free roam/arcade/racing game where you could bump and smash into other cars and perform stunts and time trials in the streets of San Francisco and London. It was quite a bit of fun and even featured a special "cops and robbers" mode for Multiplayer. Though you can't really play Multiplayer nowadays without a lot of workarounds and some friends to play with you, the Singleplayer was still a lot of fun.
#2: Freelancer
Yet another sequel, Freelancer was the sequel to "Starlancer". Freelancer was released March 4th in 2003 by Digital Anvil. The game itself nowadays is held as a cult classic and a fantastic entry in the "space sim/combat" genre. In it, players could, both in singleplayer and multiplayer, fly around the galaxy and discover new places, trading commodities, battling pirates, joining the navy, mining asteroids, and more. It featured a main story in the singleplayer aspect as well, telling the tale of Edison Trent, a freelancer who has to save the galaxy from a mysterious alien force. Then again, you could just fly about in space and do whatever you wanted.
#3: Dungeon Keeper 2
In most games you play as the spoken of hero of the lands, going from place to place and saving the world as you wander, plundering and looting whatever dungeons you run through. In Dungeon Keeper 2, that's the direct opposite of what you do. Dungeon Keeper 2 was released on June 30th, 1999 by Bullfrog Productions following it's predecessor, Dungeon Keeper. In the game, you were the bad guys. You spend your time creating minions and building your dungeon, defending it from the forces of good in an evil crusade across the land to wipe it clean of the goodly heroes. It's fun to be the side of evil for once. As the motto of the game reads, "It's good to be bad."
#4: Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines
Now, before anyone says "UGH, VAMPIRES." Let me explain. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is an RPG based on the tabletop RPG system "World of Darkness". The game itself, made by Troika Games and released on November 14th, 2004, has become a cult classic since it's initial release. The game immerses you into the dark and gritty world of Vampires; you role play as one yourself. Vampires in this game have supernatural abilities and only care to spend their time in the night life of a grungy and seedy Los Angeles. The game practically oozes atmosphere, and it's something great to get lost in for several hours.
#5: Psychonauts
Psychonauts was a platforming game developed by Double Fine Productions and released April 19th, 2005. The game itself puts you behind the character Raz, a boy with psychic powers who joins summer camp with others like him to become a "psychonaut." Though upon joining said camp, he starts to unveil a sinister plot trying to be held under wraps, that only he can solve with the help of his newly made friends. The humor is great, and the game is just too darned fun to pass up. Put this one on the mind, trust me.
If you're interested in any of these, you can probably pick them up on Amazon.com for just cents, GOG.com if they're available as refurbished newer versions, or on the Steam application wherever possible.
And as always, thanks for reading.
