Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac
Author: GN Team - Published: 8 October 2023, 1:28 am
Transport Tycoon is a simulation game created by Chris Sawyer and published by MicroProse in 1994 for PC MS-DOS.
Chris Sawyer, who had started his career by converting Elite Plus and Frontier: Elite II to MS-DOS, had a great passion for Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon. He came up with the idea of improving the famous strategy game by adding an isometric view for a more immersive experience. He also wanted to introduce new means of transportation, which is how the development of Transport Tycoon began.
Regarding the visual aspect, Sawyer did much more than introduce isometric graphics. Firstly, he chose to adopt an SVGA resolution of 800x600, which was much sharper than the classic VGA resolution of 320x200. Additionally, to manage all the game elements, he developed a button and window interface, a kind of Windows-like operating system specifically written for this game, which ran on MS-DOS. Every window could be moved, and all were updated in real-time. Compared to other games released in 1994, Transport Tycoon seems (and indeed is) light years ahead.
Read More
Author: GN Team - Published: 19 September 2023, 1:44 pm
Homeworld is a sci-fi real-time strategy/simulation game created by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra in 1999 for Windows PC.
The game concept is very straightforward: take the classic mechanics of a real-time strategy game like Age of Empires and bring them into space in a fully 3D environment. Of course, there are differences: for example, you don't have to gather different types of resources, only RU (resource units) that are extracted from asteroids. Moreover, there are no buildings to construct, only various types of spacecraft, much like in the classic Space Empires series. To build increasingly advanced ships, you'll need to research the technologies that become available over time.
Read More
Author: GN Team - Published: 15 September 2023, 8:58 pm
Windwalker is an action RPG created by ORIGIN Systems and initially released for Commodore 64 and Apple II in 1989. In 1990, it saw releases on Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, and Macintosh. Windwalker serves as the sequel to Moebius: The Orb of Celestial Harmony, an original RPG that combined top-down exploration with beat 'em-up-style action scenes. Moebius, released in 1985 for Apple II, followed in the footsteps of Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, another title born on Apple's home computer. However, its 8-bit origins were evident with simple graphics and rather limited audio, which didn't improve significantly even with the transition to 16-bit. The Amiga conversion, in particular, faced criticism for its graphics and animations. In this regard, Windwalker sets itself apart from its predecessor with a definitely improved audiovisual presentation, though still not at an excellent level. Notably, the choice of a 16-color palette remains consistent across versions on Atari ST, MS-DOS, Apple IIgs, and Amiga. Considering this was in 1990, more could have been achieved, especially on the Amiga and VGA PC. The music, or rather the absence of it, and the lackluster sound effects would disappoint even on the Commodore 64.
Read More
Author: GN Team - Published: 11 September 2023, 1:38 pm
Front Page Sports: Football Pro is a sports simulation game developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra On-Line. It was released in 1993 for MS-DOS. It's the sequel to Front Page Sports: Football, the first sports simulation game released by Sierra On-Line in 1992.
FPS: Football was praised for its realism and attention to detail. It allowed players to control every aspect of their team's performance, from drafting and trading players to designing plays and calling strategies during games. The game offered a comprehensive set of features, including:
Read More
Author: GN Team - Published: 10 September 2023, 2:36 am
Virtua Racing is a 3D arcade racing game created by SEGA in 1992. Due to its fantastic success, the game was also ported to the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis, thanks to an additional chip (SVP) added to the cartridge. In 1994, the game was finally released for the Sega 32X, an expansion for the Mega Drive that added 32-bit microprocessors to enhance the console's power. The 32X version of the game was called Virtua Racing Deluxe (or VR Deluxe) and was much more faithful to the original arcade version than the initial conversion.
Read More
Author: GN Team - Published: 30 August 2023, 5:06 pm
Jane's Combat Simulations: Longbow 2 is a helicopter simulation game developed by Origin Systems and released by Electronic Arts in 1997 for PC.
As you can imagine, it is the sequel to Jane's AH-64D Longbow, a game released the previous year. Both belong to the Jane's Combat Simulations series, which started with Advanced Tactical Fighters in '96 and concluded with F/A-18 in 2000. However, the two chapters featuring the AH-64D helicopter are undoubtedly the most famous.
Set during a hypothetical war between the USA and Iran, the simulation allows you to pilot the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter and lead a team that includes other helicopters like OH-58 Kiowa and UH-60 Black Hawk.
Read More