PC/Windows 98

PC GAMES FROM 1998 TO 2000
Picture	Title 	Genre 	Description 	Where To Buy
 	Age of Empires II: The Conquerors 	RTS 	The sequel takes you through the next 500 (actually, 1000 - from the fall of Rome, which was the 5th century CE, to about the fall of Constantinople, or 1453 CE) years or so, from the decline of the Roman civilization to the invention of guns. AOE III takes over from here, but it just doesn't have the charm of the first two. More detail, more customization, pretty much awesome all around, as long as you're into the RTS genre. Getting this with the expansion is recommended. 
If you want play to play it online nowadays either play over Hamachi with some Bros or use Voobly. There's also fan patches that include a NoCD, some bug fixes, and Widescreen support.
The versions on-sale digitally are the 2013 HD edition or the 2019 Definitive release. Both requires Steam and probably won't run on 98/XP. The Definitive edition includes some new graphical options and what not (4k rendering / support). Both these versions include two new expansion packs. 	HD Definitive
 	American McGee's Alice 	Action 	Remember Alice in Wonderland? Well, take that, and run it through the mind of psychotic killer on a bad acid trip while high on steroids, and you've got American McGee's "Alice".Lots of dark, weird, twisted imagery and gameplay, with surprisingly enjoyable twists on all your favourite characters from the classic story. Haunting soundtrack by Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Tweaker).Be sure to get OmriKoresh's awesome high-definition texture mod, which brings the game's visuals closer to those seem in Madness Returns. Here. 	
 	Baldur's Gate 	RPG 	Role playing game based on the D&D universe; great story and characters, you have control over a party up to six heroes, and well, it's one of the best RPGs of all time.
The version on-sale digitally is the enhanced release, which someone people don't like. The GOG version does come with the OG release. 	GOGSteam
 	Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn 	RPG 	You control a party of 6 characters, each with their own extensive personalities. If you carry both Good and Evil NPCs in the same group, or if you heckle them, they will often leave or try to kill you/each other. High charisma generally avoids more extreme reactions, however.
D&D rules are in effect, giving you the option to choose from almost any fantasy class or multi-class. A pause feature allows for perfect management of the 6 (or fewer) characters in your control. There are well over 100 different spells and 20 levels in the original, and more in the expansion.
The version on-sale digitally is the enhanced release, which someone people don't like. The GOG version does come with the OG release. 	GOGSteam
 	Battlezone 	FPS/RTS 	The game has two campaigns, the American NSDF campaign (Stars and Stripes Missions) and the Russian CCA campaign (Red Brigade Missions). The game takes place in an alternate version of the 1960s in which the United States and the Soviet Union use alien technology to wage a secret war across the solar system, fighting for control of a rare resource known as "bio-metal".
The version on sale digitally is the "98 Redux". Probably not compatible with 98/XP systems. 	GOGSteam
 	Commandos Series 	Stealth/Real Time Tactics 	Commandos is a successful stealth-oriented real-time tactics game series, available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game is set in the Second World War and follows the escapades of a fictional British Commandos section. It leans heavily (though not always accurately) on historical events during WWII to carry the plot. The series was developed by the Spanish company Pyro Studios and published by Eidos Interactive.
Behind Enemy Lines and Beyond The Call Of Duty were known for it's challenging difficulty. However, Commandos 2 is considered the strongest of the trilogy; Excellent missions and maps, varying from Burma and the Pacific to German cruisers on the North Pole, but easier than the previous games. Commandos 3 focused more on action than Commandos 2 and is considered harder, but inferior due to the lack of game length. Strike Force is a generic FPS spin-off that was received poorly, but has some unique elements that make it better. Made by a Spanish team so double awesomeness. 	GOGSteam
 	Counter-Strike 	FPS 	Competitive multiplayer FPS with huge numbers of players, servers and mods of all kinds. May cause rage due to most of the servers being configured incorrectly while running a terrible game. Not quite as fun or lulzy, since the AWP was nerfed. Two remakes/modernizations, Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, have been released - but the original is still considered one of the best and remains very popular.
Like Half-Life, you can't play the Steam version on OG hardware. You'll need a copy of the original for that. 	Steam
 	Deus Ex 	FPS/RPG 	Every time it is mentioned, someone will reinstall! Awesome cyberpunk shootan/RPG/stealth/adventure with a brilliant story based on various conspiracy theories, and a design that allows multiple tactics, ranging from stealthy pacifism (sort of) to blowing everything up. 
Note: there are several "modernizing" mods. The most notable ones are GMDX (refined but faithful to the original) and Revision (vastly reworked). Make sure to get the Fan Map Patch since the GOTY release introduced some glitches. 	GOGSteam
 	Diablo 2 	RPG 	Sort of like a roguelike with a very easy to use interface, Diablo and Diablo 2 are rpg dungeon crawlers that use random generation of maps and items to provide a lot of variety to players. Specially Fun playing with friends. And if you've worn yourself out on vanilla Diablo, there are some very professionally done mods out there, like Eastern Sun. 	Blizzard Store
 	Dungeon Keeper 2 	RTS 	Another old RTS, this one with a focus on playing evil. Has a wicked sense of humour, like torturing masochist girls to increase their happiness level. Recommended for lan play as it's still fun, but not a lot of people play it anymore.
Warning: Even the GOG version is not fully fixed for modern systems. You can try this: run in Windows 2000 compatibility mode, disable hardware acceleration. 	GOG
 	Elifoot 	Simulation 	A management sim game where the player is on the role of a football manager (as in, REAL football, not that bastardized rugby that Americans call football). You control a team, hiring and selling players, pickng on the team's tactics and other bureaucratic management duties which will reflect on your team's performance. 	Official site
 	Escape from Monkey Island 	Adventure 	The continuation of the Monkey Island series. The graphics look real shitty and the Monkey Kombat is a real shit storm as well, but if you can get past that it is a really good Monkey Island game like any other. Not the best of the series, but humorous and adventurous as it's brethren. 	
 	Fallout 2 	RPG 	Developed by Black Isle Studios and released by Interplay in 1998. Both this and the original Fallout are isometric RPGs with tons of choices regarding character development and general gameplay. Like its predecessor, it features turn-based combat, but it's bigger and has a lot more content. 	GOGSteam
 	Final Fantasy VII 	RPG 	A massively successful game that popularized JRPGs and launched SquareSoft to stardom overseas. Final Fantasy VII was a hit because of its state-of-the-art graphics (for the time) and FMV scenes, great soundtrack, exciting fantasy-steampunk setting and story, which featured massive corporations draining the planet of its life force. Its cast and important scenes are ingrained in JRPG fans' memory. It has aged quite decently, and while not the be-all end-all of its genre, it's still a really good game. Trailer.
The version on Steam is different from the 98 release. Has some fixes that the latter doesn't. Just stick with the Steam release. 
Also available on PlayStation, iOS, Android, Switch, Xbone, and PS4. Do note this is different from the Remake also on PS4. 	Steam
 	Freespace 2 	Action/Sim 	Excellent 3d space shooter boasting epic battles with enormous capital ships, a decent plot and great dogfighting gameplay. Quite possibly the best game of its genre. 
The devs released the source code years ago. Fans created the Source Code Project to keep the engine modern. There's a a lot mods to the game and you can download a port of the first game's campaign. 	GOGSteam
 	FreeSpace – The Great War 	Combat/Sim 	The story places the player in the role of a human pilot in the Galactic Terran Alliance, as it engages in war with the alien Parliamentary Vasudan Empire. This war is interrupted by the appearance of the enigmatic and militant Shivans, who begin slaughtering Terrans and Vasudans alike. Putting aside their differences, the Terrans and Vasudans form an alliance, and the player is assigned to missions to stop the Shivans' genocidal advance. The player pilots a starfighter, and alongside competent AI wingmen, completes these missions to determine the fate of two races. Important battles in the story feature capital ships, which dwarf the fighters piloted by the player, and explode spectacularly on destruction.
When released in the US, it was slapped with the Descent name. It has nothing to do with the series other than sharing some of the same devs and publisher. 	GOGSteam
 	Giants: Citizen Kabuto 	Action 	3rd-person shooter vidya game with real-time strategy elements. Good blend of the genres, lots of humour one damn fine game!Get this unofficial update to make it run properly on Win10. 	GOG
 	Grim Fandango 	Adventure 	Set in a day of the dead themed afterlife, Grim Fandango involves a Film-Noir style plot revolving around a salesman and a conspiracy in the Department of Death, an organization that helps guide souls from death to their eternal rest. Well known for its excellent in story, art style, music, characters, and dialog, this 3D adventure game is considered one of the finest in the genre. 	GOG
 	Ground Control 	RTS 	RTS based only in combat and tactics, forget about building a base and gathering resources, the only thing that counts here is your ability to command your units. Now free to download. 	FileplanetGOG
 	Half-Life 	FPS 	Excellent Sci-fi shooter that's aged decently. Interesting story and combat featuring a variety of military, scientific, and box opening weapons. Varied maps make for a must-play multiplayer experience. A metric fuckton of mods exist for this. There's also the two expansion pack: Opposing Force and Blue Shift. Decay is a Co-Op scenario originally from the PS2 version but fans have ported it to the PC. If you want more, there's also Uplink, a demo of the game that uses cut content not in the original.
Check out Black Mesa if you want a different, more modern take of the game.
The Steam version has some bugs not in the original. It won't run on older hardware due to requiring steam and whatnot. So you'll need to get a copy of the original release if you want to play on 98/XP proper. There's also Half-Life: Source. The game ported to the source engine with some engine enhancements. 	Steam
 	Hardwar: The Future Is Greedy 	Flight/Simulation 	Most people have never heard of it, but this is a very cool ﬂight simulator. The game is set in a colony called "Misplaced Optimism" on Saturn's moon Titan. You ﬂy around vehicles called "moths" and can play many roles such as trader, dealer, crooked cop, and so on. The people of Misplaced Optimism have been abandoned on Titan so trading valuable resources is a huge part of the game. The soundtrack is another strong point, with music from Autechre, LFO, Squarepusher, and The Black Dog. Very cool game, shame it never took off in the States like it could have.
gameplay vid 	
 	Heart Of Darkness 	Platformer 	A brilliant platformer from the maker of Another World. You play as a boy who enters a land where darkness rules over all to save his captured dog, Whiskey. Even if it is a bit hard and sometimes unforgiving, it's a classic to have if you love late 90s platformers.
Also on PS1. 	
 	Heavy Gear 2 	Sim/Combat 	Set in a alternative world where two opposing factions fight for control using mechs, they now have to unite to fight a common enemy (eh). Awesome customization, good quantity of mechs and weapons for you to use, and pretty fun side missions. Mandatory for any /m/an.Nearly impossible to run on anything this side of the year 2000. Like, seriously. 	
 	Homeworld 	RTS 	Probably the first strategy game of its kind. Homeworld places you in control of a space armada in three-dimensional space, which makes for more strategic opportunities (like attacking your enemy's Mothership from two separate points on the z-axis). Gather resources from nearby asteroids, dust clouds, and nebulae, develop awesome technologies ranging from fast-tracking turrets to gravity well generators, and build space craft ranging from the fast but weak Scout, to the lumbering Heavy Cruiser. The game's single-player campaign places you in the control of a race of Exiles from the desert world of Kharak as they journey through the galaxy to find their once and future Homeworld, Hiigara, and reveal the past they have long forgotten. 	GOG
 	Homeworld: Catacylsm 	RTS 	Not sure why this game isn't here yet, because it is awesome. Despite not being made by Relic I do think it's one of the stronger entries in the series. You play a mining sect of the heroes from the first game who encounter a malevolent space virus that can infect both organisms and machinery! Uh oh, spaghettios! Familiar to the first with lots of new ships and upgrades not found in either part 1 or 2. Stuff like multibeam frigates, hive frigates, siege cannons, shields (actual FUCKING shields) and infected cruise missiles will make you jizz rainbows. None of this stuff makes it into part 2 for some stupid reason. 	
 	Icewind Dale 	RPG 	(See Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn and PlaneScape: Torment) You have the ability to custom create your entire party. While this makes for a fun combat group, it takes away the unique character personalities that are present in other Black Isle games. The Icewind Dale series are purely combat oriented, forget about a memorable story or great dialogs, what counts here is to clean the dungeons of hundreds of beasts.
The version on-sale digitally is the enhanced release, which someone people don't like. The GOG version does come with the OG release. 	GOGSteam
 	Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business 	TBS/RPG 	A turn-based, squad-level strategy game with a roleplaying aspect, excellent mechanics, and good storyline. High initial learning curve, but very solid gameplay once you're familiar with it. Its prequel, Jagged Alliance 2 has also an active community and a very popular unofficial Jagged Alliance 2 v1.13 patch, which refurbishes the game with a fuckton of weapons and improvements. Great for satiating your inner /k/. It's the best in this genre. A unique jewel. 	GOG
 	Jazz Jackrabbit 2 	Run-and-Gun Platformer 	The sequel to the classic DOS game. One of the highlights of PC platforming. Still maintains an active community today thanks to its adrenaline-packed multiplayer and flexible level editor. 	GOG
 	Jurassic Park: Trespasser 	FPS 	Play as Anne, a plane crash survivor who finds herself on the shores of Isla Sorna, also known as Site B, two years after the events of The Lost World, and desperately needs to find a way off the island.
This game is one that everyone should play. It has been called the greatest game ever made by some, and its physics inspired the classic puzzles of Half Life 2, and Portal. Plus you get to kill Dinosaurs and who doesn't like to do that.In all seriousness, the game is quite the mixed bag. Regarded by some as "a dog of a game," by others as something of an unfinished masterwork.
Originally an ambition first-person survival horror with a number of puzzle elements, a number of problems plagued the development of the game. The dinosaurs didn't think right. The arm behaved like delicious jelly. Retards from Universally continually stepped in to tell the devs what to do without any regard for technological limitations. The team, ever-vigilant, assured the press that everything was fine, and that the game's overlong development and rapidly-growing budget were but minor setbacks. 
Of course, they weren't. The game shipped as something of a half-beta mess. The press eviscerated it. The public avoided it like the plague.And yet, the game remains quite the cult favorite, with a large modding community and fanbase attempting to bring the game's original vision to light so that the devs might be honored. Make of it what you will. 	
 	King of Dragon Pass 	Strategy 	You've got the responsibility of your own village in Dragon Pass and your goal is to become the king of it. To your disposal you have a council that give you advice and a large quantity of options of how to control your village. It's all done using a text-based interface. Every time time passes it will occur an event which you will have to deal with. This can go from dealing with a duel-dispute to having your male villagers being kidnapped by females, then them being released after being raped, then the females coming back with the children. 	GOG
 	Master of Olympus: Zeus 	Sim 	Sierra goodness. Build a city in ancient Greece, protect the inhabitants from diseases, enemy armies and obtain the favour of the gods. Call in heroes to kill mythical creatures that estabilished on your land, and stuff like that. Expansion adds a couple of tweaks. 	GOG
 	MDK2 	Action/Adventure 	Fun 3rd Person Shooter with huge environments and 3 different player characters. Humour and satire all throughout. Fans of Earthworm Jim may appreciate this. 	GOGSteam
 	Mech Commander Gold 	RTT, RTS 	Yet another game based in the BattleTech universe. Can't say if the campaign was inspiring or not, but what beautiful luscious designs! If your mechs walk over trees, the trees tumble over. There are detailed tiny cities with cars that your mechs can wreak havoc upon. And the mulitplayer in this game was fantastic. In it's heyday, you could play on GameSpy or Microsoft's own online servers for control over each team's base. All this with non 3d-accelerated graphics that could run on your grandma's Pentium 133!In Mech Commander, you assume the role of a strategian who guides his predeployed mechs to victory. Unlike RTSes like Starcraft and Age of Empires, you do not mine for any resources. If you lose a mech, you hope that its pilot has ejected safely. Hence why 'Real-time Tactics' is more accurate than calling it RTS. Some mechs are better at sensing enemies in undiscovered territory versus other mechs. Some mechs can carry more weapons. You've got scouting mechs that are weak but fast, like the raven. A more defensive mech that's slow but packs a punch would be something like the Masakari, the Awesome, or the Atlas. Then you've got the always versatile Mad Cats that are obligatory in every Battletech game. There is quite a lot of variety to the weapons too: short range, mid range, long range, cannons, missiles, lasers, and more. Some have ammo limits, others have cooldown times. Mechs equipped with jump jets can climb over terrain that other mechs could not, much like reapers can in Starcraft 2.It is a very painstakingly detailed game with much depth. And it sure is a captivating foray into the Battletech world.TL:DR -- watch the intro and be mesmerized. "Don't think mech warrior. Find out."Note: Mech Commander Gold was an expansion to Mech Commander which added more mechs and a few extra levels.	Free
 	Messiah 	Action, Adventure, TPS 	Messiah and Sacrifice, the last good games released by Dave Perry and his Shiny Ent. This game emanates some pretty weird vibrations. You play as a little cherub sent by God to clean up the corruption and sin on Earth. You are absolutely harmless and cannot harm a fly. You can easily be killed. Even flying is a bit of a problem, your tiny weak wings can't hold you for a long periods of time. Everything changes when you find a stronger and more dangerous body to possess. And you can invade and control the body of almost every NPC in the game. And that's where the fun part begins. Grimdark cyberpunk future setting, OST by Jesper Kyd and Fear Factory, fun puzzles and the Satan himself as the final boss of course.
Recently, it was revealed that a certain ripoff lego game stole its death sound from the ending cutscene in Messiah. Here's a video. No editing. 	GOG
 	Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor	RPG 	First person RPG, party based. The mechanics are a bit outdated and teh graphcis are really ugly, but if you're a fan of the genre it offers a huge world to explore and gigantic dungeons filled with all kind of beasts. 	GOG
 	Myth II: Soulblighter 	RTS 	Like previous the installment, Myth II is a real-time tactics where players are given a pre-determined selection of units with their own strengths and weakness, without the option to recruit any further units later in battle, emphasizing the strategy aspect of the gameplay. 	
 	Nocturne 	Survival Horror 	A survival horror game in the vein of Resident Evil/Silent Hill. Great atmosphere and genuine chills. Controls are a bit clunky but work well enough once you get used to them. The first Blair Witch game is a psudo-sequel to this if you want more. 	
 	No One Lives Forever 	FPS/Stealth 	60s Superspy themed FPS. Play as a Cate Archer, a petty thief turned secret agent, and fight an evil organization attempting to take over the world. Game is known for its humor, very wide array of gadgets, and setting.
Easy to get, but pirate it if you're too cheap. Unlikely to get a re-release since no one knows who owns what. 	Link
 	Nox 	Action RPG 	Very good Diablo clone, character class making a large difference to the game experience. Multiplayer is spiced up with customisable magic traps and co-op scenario levels. Quirky art and story that will stick with you.
Also, you have 360 degrees of movement (instead of 8 directions like Diablo), ability to jump, and a field of vision effect that is better than Diablo as well. Includes a cool soccer multiplayer mode, a drag and drop hot-key system that makes multiplayer quick and furious, and a nifty quest expansion that is free but you have to download seperately. Official servers are dead, so you'll have to lan or go to one of several online communities. 	GOG
 	Omikron - The Nomad Soul 	Adventure 	Go around a futuristic city possessing people to stop a serial killer. Features David Bowie (and his wife). From the designer David Cage, who would later go on to make Fahrenheit (aka Indigo Prophecy) and Heavy Rain. 	GOGSteam
 	Outcast 	Action/Adventure 	In 2007 the U.S. government successfully sends a probe to an alien world in a parallel universe. The probe starts transmitting video images of the world back to Earth. Then, just minutes into the mission, an alien life form discovers the probe and damages it, causing an unforeseen backlash of energy to create a black hole threatening Earth. Cutter Slade, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, is given the job of escorting three scientists (William Kauffmann, Anthony Xue and Marion Wolfe) on a mission to this alien world to recover the probe and close the black hole.Awesome voxel engine, awesome soundtrack by Lennie Moore and The Moscow Symphony Orchestra, pretty solid plot with a twist, large and beautiful world of Adelpha to explore, lots of quests.The latest unofficial patch fixes the Twon-ha riding and mud-slowdown bugs (works on both CD and DVD versions). You can find all you need at OpenOutcast and Planet-Adelpha.net. There's also a community patch that lets you play the game at resolutions up to 1280 by 1024 pixels, including regular HD, and claims to fix a few bugs. Grab it here (working download link on page 15). 	GOG
 	Pharaoh 	City building 	Ancient egyptian city building game. You lead a family to build cities all over ancient Egypt. Involves the usual quarry of providing services and goods to people of varying wealth along with some wild animals. Also includes custom missions with the expansion containing a mission editor. Fairly historically accurate. 	GOG
 	Planescape Torment 	RPG 	Widely regarded as THE BEST RPG ever made. This is a very dark, story driven game. D&D rules are present, using the Planescape setting, with an amazing multiverse world where Good verse Evil blended with Law verse Chaos: featuring philosophy, existentialism, demons, angels, order and chaos beings, etc. (See Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn and Icewind Dale for more game style details.)Although this game focuses more on the RPG/dialogue part and a bit less on the Action/Combat, the combat sections are still awesome like in BG I&II, featuring even "cutscene spells" ala FF summons. Features a wide varied cast of colorful and unique companions even for a D&D adventure. The music, writing and story in this game are objectively THE BEST of any other RPG. Period.
Must Play for any D&D/RPG fan. Also recommended for Fallout fans. (same team)
The version on-sale digitally is the enhanced release, which someone people don't like. The GOG version does come with the OG release. 	GOG
 	Quake III 	FPS 	Arena combat improved, populated, and perfected. Fast paced combat that demands mastering movement, spatial awareness, and every single weapon in the game. You'll need good hand-eye coordination, inhuman reflexes, the ability to read your opponent's mind, and yes, even a little bit of strategy. And that's just to get a 1:1 kill/death ratio. If you think you're hot shit at Team Fortress 2 or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, you need to test your mettle in Quake. You could play this game for a decade and still be mediocre. Still has a thriving competitive and pro scene today.
Quake 3 was re-released as f2p Quake Live, with slightly watered down weapon balance and a skill matchmaking system to make sure your butt and ego are still intact after your first few games, but that was changed back into a paid game so it's pointless now. If you start to get good, try the Quake 3 mod CPMA (Pro-Mode. Basically Quake 3 on crack).
There's a few source ports since the source code was released a while ago. check out ioquake3 or quake3e. 	GOG
 	Recoil 	Vehicular Combat / Arcade 	You control a flying tank. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, maybe this video willMade by Zipper Interactive (SOCOM series) and based Westwood. 	
 	RollerCoaster Tycoon 	Sim 	You own a crappy theme park, it's up to you to add new attractions and build awesome roller coasters, while (usually) managing money, to make the park better. While a sandbox would've been nice, there are a lot of scenarios to triumph over, so this one will last a long time. (Pick the Scenario "Arid Heights" for a money free, pretty much sandbox mode.) RCT2 has more ride options and custom scenarios. However the default scenarios suck ass. All the RCT1 scenarios for RCT2 can be found online with some searching.
The RTC1 scenarios can be imported into OpenRCT2. 	GOG
 	Rune 	Action 	You are a viking warrior, seeking revenge against the evil god Loki, who killed all your friends and is trying to bring forth the end of the world. A gritty fantasy-themed 3D hack and slash with some platforming and much exploration, a style that was quite popular at the time (similar games come to mind: Dark Vengeance, Die by the Sword, and Severance: Blade of Darkness). While it starts slow, it soon gets pretty intense, the levels are large, and the game really does not hold your hand. From the makers of Prey.
Was ported to the PS2, but is a bit strip down compared to the PC release. 	GOGSteam
 	Sacrifice 	RTS/Action 	Sacrifice provides a truly fresh approach in the 3-D RTS genre, allowing players to act as both commander and combatant over huge, real-time, generated landscapes in single or multiplayer modes. Wizards will not be disappointed as Sacrifice serves up over 50 spells and creatures.Multiplayer can be played via LAN, TCP/IP, or private server. There is a manual patch (includes all fixes in Patch 3) which fixes the lobby bug and is required to play on the private multiplayer server. http://sacrifice.kicks-ass.net/ 	GOG
 	Sanitarium 	Point 'n' Click/Adventure 	A point and click adventure game about a man who wakes up in an asylum, and must figure out what around him is real, and what exists only in his mind. 	GOG
 	Shadow Man 	Platformer, Action-adventure	Game based on an obscure comic book series of the same name. Think of it as a darker, scarier and gorier version of Mario 64 where you get to kill Jack the Ripper. Supports gamepads and works on XP/Vista and Win 7. The only modding you can do with this game is changing the texture, music and SFX files. Also available on PS1, N64 and Dreamcast. This and the DC version are the best, N64 is passable providing you have the expansion pak, PS1 version is slow and ugly and should be avoided. Has a sequel on PS2, but it's crap. 	GOGSteam
 	Shogo: Mobile Armor Division 	FPS 	An anime-styled game from Monolith's early days. Half the missions take place on foot; the other half have you stomping around cities in your mech. 	GOG
 	Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri 	TBS 	Same folks who made the Civ. games. essentially Civ 2 in space, with a nice little story to it for the hardcore fans. A single player campaign follows the initial colonization up to different endings depending on what victory you go for. Play as one of a variety of factions (12 humans and 2 aliens, with 5 humans and the aliens coming in the expansion). You will be playing the game for quite some time depending on map size since it has a very expansive tech tree.
Hell, you could probably make the tech tree into a good Asimov novel. Read through the descriptions and watch the animations--it'll change your perspective on reality. 	GOG
 	Silver 	Action/RPG 	There's a bad guy called Silver who's kidnapped your wife right in front of you, and it's your job to get her back, and what better way than to kill every bad guy in sight using swords and magic? This isn't your average Action RPG. The controls based on mouse movements and button combinations makes it just that much better. As you can tell it isn't the story that is the drawing-point but rather the lovely characters, Fat Bob, and the enjoyable gameplay. 	GOG
 	Soldier of Fortune 	FPS 	Neo-Nazi terrorists stole four Russian nukes, it's up to a mercenary group to get them back. Incredibly violent, with realistic dismemberment effects.Recommended to use the Community Edition mod, as it adds new features and optimizes multiplayer. 	GOG
 	Starcraft 	RTS 	Well-balanced RTS with probably the most challenging online/competitive scene of any game ever. This game is the national sport of South Korea. Despite its reputation as a hardcore RTS, Starcraft is relatively accessible for newcomers to the genre, featuring a great campaign. Fun turret defense and other scenario maps popular online. The community is, of course, still massive and very active.
With the release of an HD remaster, the original version was made free. 	Link
 	Starsiege: Tribes 	FPS 	A overall great FPS featuring jetpacks and massive maps. Pretty much every weapon requires that you predict your enemy's movement in one way or another, and this combines with an ability to build up crazy speed, by skiing down hills and jetting to the next one, to make a plump and very rewarding learning curve. It's also free now, go download it! 	Link
 	System Shock 2 	FPS/RPG 	Survival Horror FPS-RPG Hybrid. Considered very scary and atmospheric. The game allows you to customize your character's stats and skills in various ways, allowing different game styles. For example playing the game like a "normal" fps without focusing on firearm-skills won't get you far, and you will most likely miss some areas/features accesable only to those with technical skills.  Those who find this too hard/scary/dated should look to Bioshock. If you're a fan of Deus Ex, and scary shit, you may love this game.Notice that some people have experienced problems getting the game run right on modern platforms, but these can be fixed with various methods and fan-made patches, like this one. 	GOGSteam
 	The Longest Journey 	Adventure 	What Funcom was known for BEFORE the atrocity that was Age of Conan. The sequel, called Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, is tarnished by subpar combat mechanics, but both have incredibly amazing stories with snappy, and often hilarious, dialogue to boot (Mostly in the first game).
To argue that these games are as tragic as Mother 3 and MGS3 would not be unreasonable. 	GOG
 	The Sims (series) 	Sim 	Holocaust: The Game. If you have ovaries, you will love this game. 	
 	The Typing of the Dead 	Typing 	Actually, screw guns and shotguns. The keyboard is your gun and letters are your bullets. Yes, you heard me. Words come up in front of the zombies and you have to type them out with your keyboard in order to kill enemies. The Chariot fight is somehow even more intense now that you're paying attention to a story about bedwetting.
Also on the Dreamcast. 	
 	The Wheel of Time 	Action, RPG, Strategy 	Finally (for the time) a good action with RPG elements, and most importantly a really good story from the fantasy universe of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time book series; the game was made with the Unreal engine so expect a lot of good effect and atmospheric graphic even now. 	
 	Thief: The Dark Project 	Stealth 	This is the game that made stealth games a viable genre. Play as cynical wisecracker Garrett as he goes around stealing shit from rich assholes and getting involved in big conspiracies. Great stealth mechanics. Made by the same folks who brought you Ultima Underworld I and System Shock 1 & 2, so you know its real good shit.
Check out the PCGamingWiki's article if you want to enhance the game. 	GOGSteam
 	Thief 2: The Metal Age 	Stealth 	Garrett continues his work through the city, trying to earn enough money to finally retire. Unfortunately for him, he keeps getting involved against his will in larger-than-life plots involving the corrupt police, crazy religious zealots and hippies. Graphics-wise, it's only marginally better than Thief 1 and the rest is almost the same. Where this game shines is in its level design: all the levels are very well designed, some of them are HUGE. All of them offer interesting challenges. It's arguably the best stealth game ever. 	GOGSteam
 	Turok 2: Seeds of Evil 	FPS 	In Turok 2 the player is armed with different types of weapons in order to kill enemies. New to the game are mission objectives to perform, such as destroying ammunition dumps or activating beacons. These objectives have to be completed in order to finish the level. After doing so, the player must protect an Energy Totem from enemy onslaught, and then can proceed to the next level. Holy shit.
Also on the Nintendo 64. 
The version on sale digitally is the 2017 remaster by Night Dive Studios. Its the definitive version of the game in pretty much every way. Doesn't work with 98/XP so beware. 	GOGSteam
 	Unreal 	FPS 	A prison starship crash-lands on an unknown planet, and the sole survivor finds herself in the middle of the conflict between two alien races, one of brutal slavers and the other its rebelling subjects. Unreal looked stunning at the time, easily surpassing brown-tinted rival Quake II, and it still holds amazingly well. Its open levels truly give a sense of grandeur and alienation, unlike the typical cramped corridors of most older FPS titles (and many recent ones too). The tracker-based music is also renowned for its high quality.
Be sure to get the free community patch featuring improved renderer and compatibility. Also check Kentie's renderer and the S3TC textures. 	GOGSteam
 	Unreal Tournament 	FPS 	On par with Quake 3 as one of the greatest online shooters ever to be created. Helped define the arena shooter genre to the masses with a large variety of weapons, imaginative maps that reached beyond Quake's cybergoth aesthetic. Also, lens flare errywhere. Despite its age, it still has an active online community, and a fuckton of maps and mods made by people over the years. There also may or may not be a /v/ server running at the time of writing this. Certainly overshadowed by its sequel, UT2004, but definitely something you need to play at least once. Modern Warfare and Halo kiddies, beware.
Be sure to use Kentie's renderer and the S3TC textures. 	GOGSteam
 	Warhammer: Dark Omen 	RTS 	There's an eclipse that has awakened some bad motherfuckin' undead all over the warhammer fantasy universe. You're a mercenary out after some cash so you lead your army throughout the country chopping up the undead, goblins and bandits on your way to unravel the mystery for the emperor. The gameplay is similar to the Total War series but there is more focus on smaller amounts of units with special abilities. Be wary, though, this game is merciless, extremely fun, and hard. If you're a strategy enthusiast, then play this. 	
 	Worms Armageddon 	Combat/TBS 	You play as a team of worms with lots of guns, grappling hooks, etc., taking turns to blow the hell out of the enemy team of worms, similarly armed. Probably the best game in the series. Lots of fun, especially with someone else to play with.Online community plays a wealth of creative and fun gametypes.
Still gets updates to this day. 	GOGSteam
 	Yoot Tower / The Tower II 	Simulation 	Build and manage a high-rise. See if you can make a profit while keeping your tenants happy. Sequel to SimTower, from the same crazy guy who created Seaman and Odama.
The MacOS release is the definite version, at least the English version. The Windows version has some glitches, less refined graphics, menus, and animations. The Kegon Falls maps is pretty much unplayable on Windows since there's glitch that crashes the game when a save file on for that map is loaded.
If you know moonrunes, the Japanese version got a tons of more content that never made it over to the states. Including a tie-in with Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. 99% of the content isn't compatible with the English release. 	
Category:Microsoft
Category:Computer