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Message board > General Discussion > Best Computer Games of all time 
  

Best Computer Games of all time by Chris - Tue 28th May 2002, 4:23pm
Seeing the excitement being caused by various computer games being posted has reminded me of a thought I was having the other day as to the best computer games of all time. I invite everyone to submit their favourite 5 computer games (in order) of all time.
by Chris - Tue 28th May 2002, 4:24pm
My favourites:

1) Championship Manager series (PC)
2) Tetris (Gameboy)
3) Grand Prix Legends (PC)
4) Civilisation series (PC)
5) Grand Turismo 3 (PS2)
by mjb - Tue 28th May 2002, 4:36pm
Here's Mine:

1. Championship Manager series [PC] (even though the game is just a glorified spreadsheet)
2. Settlers II [PC]
3. Civilisation series [PC]
4. Super Mario series [Nintendo]
5. Zelda series [Nintendo]
by Lee Carvallo - Tue 28th May 2002, 4:37pm
Although Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge should be in there, somewhere
by Iain - Tue 28th May 2002, 4:40pm
1) CM series [PC]
2) Sensible World of Soccer [Amiga - those were the days...]
3) Fifa series [PC]
4) GTA series [PC or PS2]
5) Civilisation series [PC]
by Mike - Tue 28th May 2002, 5:55pm
How about, for the Acorn Electron:

Sphinx Adventure - an utterly impossible to complete text adventure, given that there was no save facility (remember loading games off tape?) and that after a certain number of moves, a dwarf came along and killed you every time. Kept me busy for years though.
Daredevil Denis - a motorbike made from about five pixels (you could only really tell it was supposed to be a motorbike from the artwork on the box) that you had to drive as fast as possible, jumping over trees and avoiding spiders. And other things. I think.
Bugblaster - not sure if this is the correct name, but I think it comes in several different guises. Vaguely space invaders like, but you sit at the bottom of the screen shooting caterpillars, spiders and other bugs.
Overdrive - a racing game with no corners. That's it. You just hold down accelerate and shift from side to side slightly to avoid the cars that you overtake. Occasionally it's really tricky and two cars come along close together.
Snapper - the Electron version of Pacman. Superb. Every level was ranked (logically enough) by fruit and the ultimate aim was to get to the level with the acorn on it. My babysitter reckoned he could get to the acorn level, but he never did when I was watching. I reckon he was lying.

As you can tell from this, I was only really into computer games when I was little...
by Jon - Tue 28th May 2002, 7:31pm
(in no particular order)
Micro Machines II - the best multiplayer racing game or all time (though no network play facility - sob!)
GPL - more a profession than a game
Civ - wasting time.. mmmm....
Doom I and II - two dimensions are more than enough for a shoot 'em up
Decathlon (or any similar) - you know, the one where you have to press the buttons as fast as possible to make the guy go fast. I've never seen anyone win the pole vault though
by RTT - Wed 29th May 2002, 1:34pm
Alot of thought has gone into this; extending my lunch break to a full 45 mins. I ought to mention that I considered no less than 29 titles for this coveted award. First, some of the near misses:

Gravity Force II (Amiga) - devastatingly simple concept but priceless in two player. Took up most of my GCSE exam leave.

Super Off Road (NES) - a friend and I once played this for almost 12 hours straight. We never got past level 62 because Ivan Ironman suddenly became ludicrously good (I suspect they hadn't designed track 63).

Mario Bros. Series (NES / SNES) - all my top 5 are two player games (I must be sociable). Mario III and Marioworld are probably the best solely single player games ever.

Command & Conquer series (PC) - definitely the best RTS games written, primarily because the sides were so different, yet well matched. Most pretenders to the crown have either unmatched sides (Total Annihilation) or match them simply by changing graphics but keeping abilities the same (Warcraft).

Monkey Island Series (PC) - hilarious. But can only be played once.

Advanced Lawnmower Simulator (Spectrum) - now hear me out. This was the original management game; you had to maintain / upgrade your lawnmower whilst earning enough money to do so by cutting lawns for various people. Obstacles included rare rose gardens, stones in the grass, ponds etc. You knew how well you were doing based on the sandwiches you were brought by your employer: corned beef = ask for as much money as you want, peanut butter = get the job done and run away.

Cosmic War Toad (Spectrum) - what on earth was going on? Why did you keep turning into a tadpole? What were those things you were supposed to shoot at? What was the aim of the game? What affected which levels you could try? Who knows?

CJs Elephant Antics (C64) - spectacular graphics. Platformer where you had to shoot peanuts (from your trunk) at baddies whilst attempting to rescue your friend.

Star Wars series (Atari ST) - played at a friends house. Amazing 3D wireframe graphics. For some reason you couldn't destroy Darth Vadar's TIE Advanced no matter how many times you hit it.

Bomb Jack (Amstrad) - we had this at school. I won the competition at the summer fete. Many "wet playtimes" were wasted on this.

Others considered: Rainbow Islands, Skidmarks, Street Fighter II, Bomber Man, Doom.....

OK, now onto the real award winners, in reverse order:

5) Lemmings (Amiga) - mind bendingly addictive. Also extremely tough in single player, though I did eventually finish it. However, with two mice the Amiga version allowed competition mode. You controlled either green lemmings (with blue hair) or blue lemming (with green hair) and had to try and get as many as possible of both types into your house. This meant destroying their bridges, putting blockers in front of their house....etc. Fantastic.

4) Super Mariokart (SNES) - battle mode was frenetic. The AI was just right for making GP mode a sensible learning curve. I still play time trials on Rainbow Road (but have yet to beat Neil).

3) Bubble Bobble (NES) - another game I have completed. Was virtually impossible in single player mode as there were just too many monsters in the later levels. Also, you kept thinking you'd finished and they launched another 10 levels at you.....Lots of midnight oil burnt here.

2) The Settlers (Amiga) - or "Die Siedler" if you had the German version, as I did. A superb game; you never tire of making your economy more efficient, coming up with new strategies. Progress was slow enough that you could correct little mistakes. Two player was about as tense as a game got; Is it safe to train Knights now? Is it worth attacking to get control of that coal mine? Why hasn't he attacked recently?

1) Tetris (GB) - had to be really. I suspect I have spent thousands of hours on it, and still go back for more. Two player is worth far more than a UT2 session; I have witnessed my heart rate go through 170 at the end of a tense 4-3 3-4 3-4 4-3 4-3 series. Is 9 heart high 5 possible? Well, with no evidence to the contrary, I will continue trying until arthritis sets in.
by dw - Wed 29th May 2002, 2:03pm
Hmmm...my top 5:

5.) Super Soccer (SNES): The most unrealistic football game ever, but with wicked DSP graphics and lots of potential for cool goals. Great when you played as the Nintendo team.

4.) Another World (SNES, etc.): Unique for its day - a film style game that was the most atmospheric game I have ever played. Similar to Prince of Persia but with a fuck-off laser pistol and much more menacing baddies.

3.) Sim City 2000 (PC): Spent hours and hours building my city up and even now that I've seen all the things to build, I still go back and tinker with those taxes every now and again :)

2.) Command and Conquer Red Alert (PC): Trying to beat a light tank rush was a bitch, but loads of potential for tactical stand-offs and cunning strategies involving Tanya. By far the best in network.

1.) Super Mario Kart (SNES): Although the Grand Prix were quite easy to win, the challenge of beating your best friend race-in, race-out kept you going. Battle mode was a good diversion.


If anyone wants to take me on at Mario Kart or C&C let me know...I'll whooop yo' ass!!
by Commodore 64 rulez ok - Wed 29th May 2002, 2:42pm
Can't waste much time, as have finally got Finals Fear. However, I'd consider at least the following, in no particular order:

Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Absolutely brilliant. I wish Nintendo would re-release this for the SNES, with 20 new tracks - it would be a best-seller.

Championship Manager II (PC)
The best football manager game ever, at least until 1999.

3D Tetris (PC)
This was amazing - the 2D version is just boring in comparison. If you're a Tetris fan but have never played this, get hold of it asap.

Bolo (PC)
A strategy game where you had to move various objects with different functions around the screen to somehow get yourself to the goal. Can anyone help with the most difficult levels?

Donkey Kong (Handheld game)
Absolutely amazing, far better than the PC version. I used to spend hours and hours in car journeys playing this. The follow-ups were great too.

Double Dragon (Arcade)
Normally I'm not a fan of "beat-'em-ups", but playing this was one of the highlights of my week as a child, every Wednesday evening after swimming at Hinckley Leisure Centre.

Thing on a Spring (Commodore 64)
This was fabulous - a little green creature on a spring bouncing around a four storey underground complex.

Monty Mole & sequels (Commodore 64)
These were so good, I still find myself humming the theme tunes 10 years later. Monty on the Run was my favourite, and also the only one I've ever finished.

Gribbly's Day Out (Commodore 64)
Another classic, this time you played Gribbly Grobbly as he bounced and flew around various levels collecting Gribblets and taking them to the safety of his cave.

Colossal Cave (aka Colossal Adventure) (Commodore 64)
A giant text adventure game that I have not yet finished, though one day...

Trollie Wallie (Commodore 64)
This was great - you played Trollie Wallie as he moved around a supermarket 6 screens wide and 5 screens highs, collecting objects and taking them to the checkout.

Manic Miner (Commodore 64)
Another all-time classic - Miner Willy explores 20 underground caverns collecting all the objects and racing for the exit before his air runs out.

Jet Set Willy (Commodore 64)
The sequel to Manic Miner, equally frustrating and equally brilliant. This time Willy, having made his fortune from the mining trade, roams around the house, tidying up all the broken glasses and other mess your guests have left after a party last night before your housekeeper will let you into bed.

The President is Missing (Commodore 64)
A fantastic investigation game, complete with suspect book, clues and tape, including morse code and other great stuff.

Batman - The Movie (Commodore 64)
5 levels of great action - two platform (one in the acid works and one in the cathedral), one logic level, one driving the Batmobile escaping the police and one flying the Batwing, cutting free all the poison-filled balloons the Joker has tied to vehicles.

Paperboy (Commodore 64)
Another classic - on your bike, you deliver the Daily Blah to selected houses on a street, avoiding all the obstacles, before completing a BMX track.

Centipede (Commodore 64)
Brilliant - you had to shoot all the bits of the centipede as it crawled down the screen between the mushrooms, multiplying as it did so. Extra points for shooting spiders and scorpions. The later the level, the faster it moved and the more bits it was in; extra lives at 10000 points. My record was 80000+ I seem to remember, it's written down at home.

... and many more I'm sure I've forgotten.

Dan, I'll take you on at Super Mario Kart, any time after exams. Rainbow Road Time Trial PB - 1.28.79. Beat that.
by Mike - Wed 29th May 2002, 4:47pm
For those of you who were (are?) into the classic text adventures, either telnet eldorado.elsewhere.org from the command line, or type telnet:eldorado.elsewhere.org in your browser(*).

Play all the Infocom games (40 or so of them), including the Zork series and Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, plus a few more besides. A superb timewaster...

(*)I would have made this into an easy click link, but Martin's [link] tabs don't seem to pick the address up, as it doesn't start with http://
by Dubya - Wed 29th May 2002, 10:50pm
NEIL - I played Bolo for far too many hours on crappy macintoshes. Network games are the best part - did the PC version have network operation?
by dw - Thu 30th May 2002, 7:53am
Perhaps a post-exams Mario Kart contest is in order. For all of you addicted to the SNES check out the PC emulator. You'll need these two files to start with:

Executable
Config

...and then some games...

Super Mario Kart
Super Mario World
Street Fighter the New Challengers
Mortal Kombat
F-Zero
by RTT - Thu 30th May 2002, 8:29am
I personally think Snes9X is better than zsnes.

Also, here is WinUAE, the Amiga emulator I use. I'll post some game images once I finish my exams.....
by Simon - Thu 30th May 2002, 8:45am
I hate Arkanoid. Mainly because I'm terrible at it.
Back in the days when computer games came on tape (glad someone else remembers that) we had a Commodore PET (look it up in Google to see how far computers have come in our lifetimes). Obviously you couldn't save a high-score on a tape-based game so if you got a high-score you had to leave the computer on to prove it...
by ccsi - Mon 3rd Jun 2002, 1:31am
As everyone else is doing near misses, I must nominate some others:

Summer Games (Spectrum) Whilst the inspirationally keyboard-wrecking Daley Thomspon's Decathlon (btw Jon, I agree about the pole vault; totally impossible, yet the 400 could be done in under 40 seconds(!) with a team doing alternate 10 second bursts) was a fine game, its clone, Summer Games, is, as far as I'm aware, the only computer game to feature rowing and therefore worthy of mention. True, the way to do well was the usual quick alternate pressing of the increasingly malfunctioning 'n' and 'm' keys but, - as anyone truly competitive knows - the pain in this can approach that of a 2k.

Colin McRae (PC) Together with football, Heineken, Pringles and pizza, this was a fundamental ingedient of the legendary Beeramid week. Say no more. [Except, it must be pointed out that Martin only ever won because he boringly looked after his car and picked up enormous amounts of time on the last few stages of any rally, he was actually quite crap]

Goldeneye (Nintendo 64) 4-player action on this still plays amazingly and doesn't seem dated at all. Particularly fun is despatching someone with a grenade launcher by bouncing off some walls.

Joust (Arcade/PC sim) you controlled a highly-pixellated knight with lance on a horse with wings and had keys to make it go left or right or 'flap' which gave it a brief rise in height. Rapid flapping could cause some truly angelic ascensions and slow flapping allowed a controlled descent. The enemy consisted on other knights on flying horses that flew around randomly. The rules were simple: if you collided with an enemy with the lance higher you killed it - otherwise it killed you. Inspired! However, far more fun was had with the 2-player version. When we discovered this on a PC simulator, many a dawn was seen through in multiplayer battle.

Defender (Arcade/PC sim) Quite simply the original arcade game. Everyone must know this: you controlled a spaceship that could thrust left to right and up and down and had to shoot down aliens trying to kidnap people who strolled along some sort of planet surface. You get extra lives for doing well, and apparently when it first came out in America in 1983, someone once managed to make one game last more than 24 hours! (this was in the same games package as Joust)

Fifa football series (many) The original and - until Pro-evolution Soccer (PS2) - best football sim. A typical game may have finished 6-4 with at least 5 goals coming from outrageous bicycle kicks; and also the only significant grading of player skill was their pace, but the 2 (or more) player version was awesome.

Grand Prix 2 Probably the first game that actually had graphics that resembled real life. Jacques Villeneuve used this game in 1996 to get used to the tracks prior to his F1 debut. It also had great crash effects - a well executed head-on collision could actually split the car in half, but if you could limp back to the pits they could always repair it in 8 seconds. I was so addicted to this in 1997 that I got my top 5 Monza laps all within a tenth of second of each other. Oh dear.

Elite (BBC micro) Probably before most people's time but essentially a game that, with only 32k of RAM to play with, managed to combine fighting spaceships with trading merchandise in an intergalactic economy, Most fun was got through trading narcotics, which got the police ships onto you.

Free Cell Crap game, but who can honestly say they haven't spent hours playing it?

Finally, Pong This was the first computer game ever written and therefore surely worth its place in any list. In an inspirational piece of underutilisation of technology, I know someone who programmed this game into his PS2.

Already been mentioned but also worthy of mention again:

Command and Conquer (PC) would definitely be #6 in my list - if only for 2 player options.
Sim City series (PC) - how can town-planning actually be that exciting?
Super Mario (Gameboy/NES/SNES) - why is controlling an insane plumber who doubles in size on eating a mushroom so addictive?
Daley Thompson (Spectrum et el.) A nameless work-colleague of mine actually broke the keyboard on his work laptop when he got hold of this on a emulator!


Phew, reckon I've sobered up now.
by RTT - Mon 3rd Jun 2002, 8:22am
ccsi said: Summer Games, is, as far as I'm aware, the only computer game to feature rowing and therefore worthy of mention.
Not true. I had two games for the Spectrum called "Supertest 1" and "Supertest 2". They featured the rather odd combinations of:

Supertest 1: Pistol Shooting, Cycling, Diving, Slalom.

Supertest 2: Rowing (it was actually 1x sculling, but they called it rowing), Penalties, Ski Jump, Tug of War.

I dramatically improved my times on the "hit n and m" disciplines when I started playing with a joystick. My joystick was so lightly damped that if you held it out to one side and let go it would oscillate around the centre quite nicely. This was far less tiring than pressing keys and actually much faster. Needless to say I 1) knackered my joystick and 2) took the skin off the top of my thumb (used to flick) and had to wear gloves to keep playing.
by ccsi - Mon 3rd Jun 2002, 11:40am
Supertest 2: Rowing (it was actually 1x sculling, but they called it rowing), Penalties, Ski Jump, Tug of War.
Oops, this was the game I meant, I just had forgotten the title - must be the old age.

I too managed to break my joystick on the rowing! Did you find that the Tug of War was surprisingly difficult?
by smug - Mon 3rd Jun 2002, 2:27pm
re: Colin McRae ccsi said: Except, it must be pointed out that Martin ... was actually quite crap
This is blatantly untrue. Being 'quite crap', if true, would imply being beaten regularly, whereas in truth I seem to recall tending to win such contests.

Your being occasionally faster over the 1st stage by some small number of tenths of a second seems hardly relevant given I could achieve such results with the control and composure required to complete each stage, and thereby the series, with barely a scratch to my vehicle.
by Simon - Tue 18th Jun 2002, 4:23pm
There's an exhibition at the Barbican Arts Centre in London through the summer holidays which allows visitors to play on 40 years worth of "classic" computer games. Full details at this link.

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