For the rage: Gamespy's Top 20 PC Games of the 80s

[Nebu]

I paid over $500 for my first 5 1/4 external drive to replace my tape drive (in 1982 I think).  It was an expensive hobby back then and I could only justify it because I was also doing a lot of programming as well. 

I agree with the observation above.  I don't think the PC really hit its stride until the 90's.  The early 80's were owned by apple and the later 80's by apple and commodore. 

[Jain Zar]

I got an NES before my Commodore 64.  I loved the C64 more than both the NES AND the Genesis I got 2 Christmases later.

Sure the action games were better on the consoles, but for creative games with heart and soul and mind, the Commodore won hands down.

I've played about half of that list, excepting Mule, Earl Weaver Baseball, Flight Simulator (Fuck you PC heads!  Sublogic made it bitches!  And Microprose sims were better.) Maniac Mansion, Elite, Ancient Art of War, Pirates, and Cities of Gold.  (Though I have played sequels or spiritual successors to most of the missing titles.)

I cannot disagree with any of them being there.

But some games I would also say belong on one:

Pitstop 2.
Impossible Mission
Gremlins
Ultima 5 (sorry, 4 gets all the love, but 5 was better than 4.)
Gunship
Montezuma's Revenge
Karateka
Ghostbusters (Fuck the haters.  This game might have been simple, but it was fucking FUN.  Still is really.)
Adventure Construction Set
Test Drive
California Games

Games that were probably 90-92 and are thus disqualified:  (But are worthy of at least a nod.  Being in the 90s for a PC list means being ignored for an endless array of FPS and RTS titles plus a couple MMOs.)
Star Control
Gods
F19 Stealth Fighter
Mechwarrior
Wing Commander
Ultima Underworld
Pinball Dreams
Dragon Wars
Warlords 2

[cironian]

Games that were probably 90-92 and are thus disqualified:  (But are worthy of at least a nod.  Being in the 90s for a PC list means being ignored for an endless array of FPS and RTS titles plus a couple MMOs.)

For old-school PC gaming I think the best line to draw is to include everything up to and including 1993. Doom was released at the end of that year, and after that games shifted away from what they were before. Both due to public expectations and available CPU power, I guess.

[Zetor]

Star Control 2 was teh awesome. If someone hasn't played it yet, they should.

Wizard of Wor needs a 80's mention imo. Cooperative pew pew with friendly fire? I pk ur flax!


-- Z.

[WindupAtheist]

As far as gaming went, PC was basically Commodore's bitch in the eighties. For my money the Commodore 64 was the single greatest gaming platform of all time.

[eldaec]

Commodore 64

Wizball.

[Strazos]

I only had a NES in the 80s, and didn't get a Genesis and SNES until the early/mid 90s.

Hell, I didn't get my own PC until 98 or so.

[Jain Zar]

Oh yeah.  Forgot to mention H.E.R.O. from Activision.  Still one of my favorite 80s action games.
(I know it was on the consoles too, but a LOT of Activision classic era titles were multiformat before Nintendo largely put the kibosh on it in the US.  And made a generation of gamers a bunch of Japan worshipping assholes.  Rest in hell EGM for that contribution..)

[Zira]

It is missing ..

Speedball