This page is all about classic games and where to find them to run on a modern PC, either using an emaulator or a re-make designed by enthusiasts to work on modern systems. I also provide links to some recent commercial games based on older classic games (e.g. available to buy on Amazon), info about the MAME emulator that runs original ROM games from the arcades in their exact original form and some reviews of my favourite classic games. See the menu below to scroll down to the each section: |
Emulators are available running on Windows to play old home computer games such as the 8-bit Amstrad CPC or Spectrum games.
Many remakes are of classic 8-bit games (e.g. Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari) but also includes some remakes of old PC games that ran under DOS. See the following sites for remakes (most of these games will run on Windows, but some are for Unix-based systems.) You will need to hunt about a bit on the Sourceforge site, as it contains open source software of all kinds. Also see the later section on individual games, providing info on some of my favourite games and where to get remakes of them to run on Windows.
There are a few sites where you can get original old PC games which often still run on modern PCs, sometimes you will need to use a DOS emulator such as DOSBOX as many of these ran on DOS. I recently found Laser Squad (for PC) on Underdogs.
There are also emulators which will run the actual original Arcades version of games taken as a dump from the original arcade cabinet, MAME is perhaps the best emulator, running thousands of ROM files, the actual files must be found elsewhere on the net, there are also lots of support files such as additional artwork for the games, these are often available from the MAME site.
MAME actually emulates many different original arcade systems, such as Taito, Capcom and other major arcades systems, bear in mind MAME is emulating the original arcade cabinet system and the ROM files you use with MAME are a 'dump' of the actual original ROM cartridge or board of the original game, so you are playing the authentic game as it was played on the arcades, quite a phenomenal achievement considering you can now play thousands of games like R-Type, Final Fight etc. within MAME's single software interface on your home PC. Also bear in mind that these were original games, which were often 'ported' with later versions being written for the home computer systems of the time such as the Amstrad CPC, Amiga etc. (you can get the emulators to play the 8-bit versions etc. above.) These home computer versions were often much less impressive than the arcade cabinet originals, because whereas the arcade machines had dedicated powerful co-processors and graphics chips, the state of the art for their day, the home computers like the Spectrum and Amstrad provided only minimal graphics and sound capabilities in comparison. So many of the games you find in MAME were original arcades games and as such (particularly the later ones of the 1990s onwards) had graphics and sound almost comparable to modern PCs or games consoles. Some of my favourite MAME /arcade games are listed below and can be obtained from the web sites above, remember, you officially need to own the original ROM chip of the game to play it, you will see a screen providing this disclaimer when you play any MAME game. Also, most MAME games feature joystick support (some may be used with light guns) and many allow multiplayer support.
Favourite MAME Games / MAME Reviews:
Some of my Favourite Games and where to get remake versions / original versions.
Chaos and its more ambitious sequel Lords of Chaos was an original turn-based strategy game for the old 8-Bit computers (Spectrum / Amstrad, Commodore etc.), you controlled a wizard and summoned monsters to fight opposing wizards. You can see a detailed description of Chaos at Wikipedia. You can get the original versions and play them in the appropriate emulators.
New remakes of Chaos that will run on a PC and other modern operating systems include:
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Cyber Wars (a modern online Chaos clone)
Cyber Wars was an online multiplayer game that ran in a Web browser, it was located on the (now defunct) GamesDomain Web site until around early 2004, it was based on the old strategy game Chaos and involved a Commander (like the Wizard in Chaos) summoning monsters of different types to defeat enemy Commanders (of which I think there could be up to eight). Cyber Wars used probability to determine if a monster (or upgrade) worked, e.g. a really hard monster like the Mech would have a very low probability of summoning (say 10%), whilst the weaker Alien Hatchling would be about 80% chance of summoning. Also, Cyber Wars used the idea of Alignment, including Mechanoid, Neutral and Alien. The more monsters or upgrades of each type you summoned, the likelier your alignment would be of that type, also the higher your alignment number would rise in that type, so say I had summoned around four alien monsters, I could expect my alignment to change from Neutral (the default state) to Alien, also I could expect my alignment score to rise to something like Alien 3. The highest alignment score was around 8 or 9, this allowed summoning really hard monsters like the Mech (a Mechanoid monster) or Alien Queen (an Alien). To add another twist you could summon a hologram instead of a 'real' unit, unlike a real unit, the hologram (or 'holo' wasn't restricted by probability or alignment, and always appeared, however, an enemy Commander could use a holodetector to target a suspected enemy unit and if the unit was a holo it would disappear. The game also included upgrades (such as a ranged weapon, armour, jetpack etc.) and ranged attacks. The game was turn-based and a real game of strategy, with multiplayer capability over the Internet.
Sadly, the GamesDomain site got taken over by another site and Cyber Wars disappeared, however, you can play a very good remake called Cyber Battles at http://www.duelboard.com
Barbarian was a very fun 8-bit (Amstrad, Spectrum etc.) one-on-one 2d fighting game, featuring some nifty moves like the 'Web of death' and decapitation, which resulted in the opponent's head bouncing off down the arena. You can get the original 8-bit versions and play them in the appropriate emulators. Barbarian was limited to single screen (arena) but Barbarian II was a kind of platform game where you could move from screen to screen. There are a few remakes of Barbarian around, try...
The Wing Commander series was a stunning 1st person perspective space simulator / fighting series of games, featuring the Kilrathi (cat-like enemy civilisation) you can download the original PC games but several remakes are available:
Rebel star and it's sequel Laser Squad were 8-bit games for the Spectrum, Amstrad CPC etc by Jullian Gallop, who also wrote the Chaos series of games. You can get the original 8-bit versions and play them in the appropriate emulators. You can also get the original PC versions. Both games features turn-based tactical tile-based gameplay involving marines and ranged-combat. There are several remakes available (some are still in development):
Also see this section on Underdogs for Squad-type games.
There are also excellent commercial clones of Laser Squad, including Jullian Gallop's Laser Squad Nemesis (an online multiplayer game) and the X-Com games, which closely resemble the tactical squad based gameplay in Laser Squad.
| Laser Squad Nemesis |
X-Com Enforcer |
X-Com Interceptor |
X-Com Apocalypse |
| X-Com Terror from the Deep |
UFO Enemy Unknown |
UFO Aftershock |
UFO Aftermath |
Future Tactics |
Based on a fantasy board game 'Birthright the Gorgon's Alliance'. This is a commercial PC game that runs on Windows / DOS but getting very old now, you could get it from Sierra and it should still be available on Amazon. The game is a strategy, turn-based game which you can play against computer or human opponents, it is based on several elements centring around control of the world map, with several kingdoms competing for power. A complex economic system provides a realistic backdrop to creating armies and hiring powerful lieutenants or mages. There are also features of first-person perspective role-play and real-time battles where you can control individual regiments or mages etc. The game has enormous depth and is THE fantasy kingdom simulator, beating any commercial game like Age of Empires or Total War, whereas modern Real Time Strategy games focus on manipulating units around a board in real time, they lack all the complexity of economic factors, strengths and weakness of individual characters and often even lack the ability to manage battles realistically. The Gorgon's Alliance combines all these essential elements, including an RTS element in the form of the real time battles. The game can be played in several modes, from the complex to simple, it really is a highly recommended game, despite a few bugs which make the game crash. A highly commendable game that despite its age is still the best game of its genre and is unmatched even today. An early version of the game was Lords of the Realm, set in mediaeval England and lacking the magical / fantasy element.
Check out these commercial games which you can still get on Amazon:
| Gorgon's Alliance (on US Amazon in $ only) |
Lords of the Realm I |
Lords of the Realm III |