Games online 80s. The best games of Soviet children. Tomb Raider Series

A selection of the most popular games for the console, I personally remember almost all of these games, and you?
Which ones do you remember the most? By the way, many even now play them.

Commander Keen and Dangerous Dave series

The famous company id Software started its journey with these game series. You can not even try the first three parts of Commander Keen, they are too "antediluvian". But 4, 5 and 6 (all released in 1991) are still quite suitable. Keen (Keen) is a boy-spaceman who fights with alien monsters, passing level after level. The final goals are different - in the 5th part, for example, you need to save the galaxy, and in the 6th part - to save your own nanny! :)

Of course, the plot is secondary here - this is a classic arcade game in which the most interesting thing is to run, jump, shoot and collect bonuses, and also look for secrets on the levels. By the way, the game has a built-in ping-pong-like mini-game, remember? :) And I also remember an evil hefty monster that cannot be killed, but as soon as he heard you, he started firing from his space machine :)

The Dangerous Dave series was similar, the first part of 1990 was not very interesting, something like an advanced Lode Runner. The second part - Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion (1991) - made the series famous (remember Babok Ezhek throwing knives?), and in 1993 two more parts were released in the same vein.

The Lost Vikings (1992)

Another arcade game from another great company - Blizzard Entertainment (which was then called Silicon & Synapse). There is not one main character, and as many as three - three Vikings were abducted by aliens - now they have to find their way home, passing 37 levels, quite diverse.

The great idea of ​​this game is that each viking has its own unique abilities - one runs fast and jumps high, the second slashes with a sword and shoots from a bow, the third has a shield - and the player will have to use these skills individually and in combination to win enemies and solve all puzzles. In 1996, the second part came out, but it was much worse (and it was made by another company). By the way, in 1994, Blizzard made another good arcade- Blackthorn.

Series Lemmings

The first part came out in 1991. There weren't that many games back then, so the Lemmings were exciting. We can say that this is a logical arcade game: in order to pass the next level, it was necessary to lead these non-existent animals to the exit in a limited time, using their various abilities - among them were diggers, blockers (did not let others go where they didn’t), suicides (exploded) and a host of others.

There were a lot of sequels, 3D Lemmings came out in 1995, but as with many other games, the 3D translation was a bad idea, and in 2000 Lemmings Revolution came out, returning fans of the series to their usual form.

The creators of the eternal hit Worms were certainly inspired by this game, they simply made the worms fight each other, and not look for a way to exit the level.

Civilization (1991) and Civilization II (1996)

In the days of the first "Civilization", games were carried on 3- and 5-inch floppy disks, and several games were sometimes placed on a floppy disk. Civilization opened up to us the world of turn-based strategies and spawned a number of similar games, and many of them are associated with the name of the author of Civilization Sid Meier (Sid Meier).

In Civilization, we were the creators of history, in fact, acting as a god: we built cities, chose how we should develop (reinvent the wheel now or later), monitored the “level of happiness” among the population, made friends and fought with other civilizations (where without it). And before you have time to look back, we grew from primitive people into a country launching a spaceship to Alpha Centauri.

Civilization V just came out, so the series continues to evolve.

Wolfenstein 3-D (1992)

It was with this id Software game that the FPS (first-person shooter) genre began, one of the most popular genres so far (however, back in 1991, the guys from id made the little-known shooters Hovertank 3D and Catacomb 3D).

Wolfenstein is the name of the castle, in the dungeons of which the Nazis hid the main character (that is, you) - the American agent William Blazhkovich. Well, you have to get out of the labyrinths of the castle, shooting at the SS, Gestapo, and maybe you will be able to kill Hitler himself! It was still impossible to jump and look up/down, but it was already possible to strafe. Several weapons, first aid kits, secret rooms - many standards were laid down in Wolfenstein 3-D.

The game got a sequel to Spear of Destiny, and more recently Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001) and Wolfenstein (2009), so the series is still alive. Blake Stone (1993) and Corridor 7 (1994) were released on the Wolfenstein 3-D engine.

Gobliiins (1991), Gobliins 2 (1992) and Goblins Quest 3 (1993)

Three series of funny magic quest about goblins pleased us in the early 90s. The number of letters i in the name of the game denoted the number of goblins that you control, while each of them has its own characteristics. A rare exception - we were often pleased to find the right solution, because the wrong options were accompanied by funny episodes and laughter.

Later, the developers from Coktel Vision released a quest with the tricky name Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth (1994) - if you love Goblins then play it - same style and same humor. More recently, in 2009, Gobliiins 4 was released.

Dune II (1992) and Dune 2000 (1998)

If Civilization was the first turn-based strategy, then this game became the first real-time strategy (RTS - real-time strategy). The plot was based on the famous book by Frank Herbert, and the success was also facilitated by the fact that in 1984 a film directed by David Lynch was released based on the book.

The game was a breakthrough, and soon the first Warcraft arrived. Dune II laid the foundations of the genre: base building, resource extraction and, of course, real-time combat. For the Ordos, it was the most difficult. Remember the giant sandworms that devoured vehicles? :) If it were possible to combine troops into groups, then we could try to play now, but moving units one by one, to put it mildly, is unusual. True, there are mods that correct this shortcoming. In 1998, a good remake came out - Dune 2000, so if you have nostalgia for Dune, then you can play it.

By the way, there was also the first Dune (1992), which few people played, at the same time it was interesting game, especially for fans of the book and movie, a mixture of quest and strategy.

Mortal Kombat 1-4 (1992, 1993, 1995, 1997)

Few games, even famous ones, can boast that an equally famous film was shot based on them. Mortal Kombat- this is a classic fighting game, the game series developed from the beginning to the end of the 90s, in the fourth part it became three-dimensional, but the second part is considered classic. Most players of the 90s and now can list all the characters in the game, and their hands still remember the button combinations for their favorite fatalities.

Of course, Mortal Kombat is more of a console game, so in the 2000s it continued its development exclusively on consoles.

Alone in the Dark Series

The first part was released already in 1992, which gives it the right to be called the very first horror quest. Journey through a creepy mansion (it was recommended to play at night to increase fear) with excellent graphics for those times and atmospheric music. The second and third parts (1993 and 1995) continued to travel through abandoned mystical places and battles with evil spirits. Two more parts came out in 2001 and 2008. The look and arcade elements of the game are similar to Little Big Adventure. It is also worth mentioning two more mystical quests from Infogrames based on Lovecraft's famous Cthulhu myths - Shadow of the Comet (1993) and Prisoner of Ice (1995).

Comanche series

The famous helicopter simulator, which has grown from an arcade into a serious one. Already in 1992, we could fly over a wide variety of territories and with different weather, destroying air and ground targets. By the way, the author of the game - the company Nova Logic - is also the developer of the Delta Force series, and the games are somewhat similar - Delta Force was like a soldier simulator.

Games within the Comanche series were released until 2001.

The Legend of Kyrandia (1992, 1993, 1994)

The rivalry between Sierra On-Line and LucasArts was diluted with this trilogy of quests in the magical world. Surprisingly, Westwood Studios managed to create successful games in a variety of genres in the 90s (what a pity that this did not save it from closing). In strategy, these were Dune 2 (and Dune 2000), the Command & Conquer and Red Alert series. In role-playing games, these were the Eye of the Beholder and Lands of Lore series, as well as Nox. In Quests - Blade Runner and Series The Legend of Kyrandia. There was also The Lion King arcade.

If you liked Kyrandia, then you played (or should play) another series - Simon the Sorcerer - in the 90s the first (1993) and the second (1995) parts were released, and in the 2000s three more. A fantasy world, an aspiring wizard, a lot of humor - all these are the hallmarks of both series.

Doom (1993) and Doom II (1994)

The cult game of all times and peoples. So famous that even those who have never played computer games know about it :) Just a year after Wolfenstein 3-D, id Software released a new first-person shooter (I suspect that the guys, getting carried away, worked for days), which became the "father" for all subsequent shooters. The demonic and even satanic (thank you, John Romero) game where you shoot all kinds of fiends has gained immense popularity.

It was still impossible to jump, but there was a network game! And a level map. When I got a home computer, my first game was, oddly enough, Dark Forces, which came out in 1995 (the second part in 1997), it was the first shooter based on " star wars". So, there you could already jump, look up / down, and the graphics were better than in Doom, but who remembers Dark Forces now? By the way, this good game was “killed” by the absence network game and the ability to stay on the level.

The words IDDQD and IDKFA will forever remain in the memory of fans :) Doom received many official and unofficial sequels and mods, I won’t even list them. For example, I played a mod with several levels that were nothing more than my own university building, and the rector was a cyberdemon that had to be killed at the end :)

It is worth mentioning that in 1995 the domestic shooter "Kremlin Dungeons" was released. He was noticeably weaker than his foreign competitors, but he was primordially Russian: what are Baba Yagas worth as monsters or the phrase "A bucket of living water added 10 years to life" :)

Doom is more alive than ever: Doom 3 was released in 2004, Doom 4 is in development, a movie based on the game was released in 2005, and Doom Resurrection for iPhone was released in 2009.

Master of Orion (1993) and Master of Magic (1994)

The legacy of the Civilization game has been extensive and among the many followers these two great games stand out. We were offered alternative worlds compared to Civilization: in MoO the action takes place in space, and in MoM - in a fantasy world.

Master of Orion was impressive in its scope - economics, technology, ship design, combat, diplomacy, espionage - all in one game. Subsequently, two more Master of Orion parts were released (in 1996 and 2003), but they had many changes for the worse, so fans of the series still prefer the first part.

But the continuation of Master of Magic did not follow, it's a pity, because now make a remake with the same gameplay, but with beautiful graphics and sound, and the game could compete with Heroes of Might and Magic and Disciples. Thanks to the efforts of Triumph Studios, we still got the successor to MoM in Age of Wonders (1999) and Age of Wonders II (2002).

Myst (1993) and Riven (1997)

Extraordinarily beautiful graphics for those times and a mystical (one would like to say Myst’ichesky) exciting plot made this game a cult one. 6 million copies sold (Riven has 4.5 million) - Myst is one of the best-selling games of all time. The game spawned a whole genre - first-person graphical adventure - and many games are still awarded the epithet "Myst-like".

Simultaneously with Myst came another famous game - The 7th Guest (1993, 2 million copies sold) - and its sequel The 11th Hour (1995). The 7th Guest was the first game to use video scenes and was the first puzzle horror game. If Lighthouse (1996) was the follower of Myst, Shivers (1995) was the successor of 7th Guest. Also in 1993 came Return to Zork, a first-person graphic incarnation of the famous 80s text quest series, and in 1996 its sequel, Zork Nemesis. The Myst genre also brings to mind Lost Eden (1995), a beautiful journey through the world of dinosaurs.

Myst spawned not only sequels, remakes and parodies, but even books and comics. Riven continued the work of Myst, and in the 2000s, 3 more sequels were released. In 2000, a 3D remake of the first part, realMyst, was released, and the game was also released on various platforms, including iPhone, PSP, Pocket PC, Nintendo DS.

SimCity (1989), SimCity 2000 (1994) and SimCity 3000 (1999)

This classic series spawned an entire genre. And the developer company Maxis itself, in addition to the sequels of the game (still being released), has released a bunch of similar games: SimEarth, SimFarm, SimCopter, SimAnt, SimLife, SimIsle, SimTower, SimPark, SimSafari and others, and finally the apotheosis in The Sims.

Business or life simulators seemed to be the embodiment of the desktop "Monopoly". I remember Transport Tycoon (1994), Theme Park (1994), Capitalism (1995), Theme Hospital (1997). And an alternative to modern SimCity was the ancient Roman Caesar, and Settlers too.

Simultaneously with the first SimCity, the game Populous was released in 1989, in which the developers decided not to limit themselves to one city, but to give the player control over an entire nation in the ancient world. Populous became the ancestor of a new genre - "God simulator", and in the 90s 2 more parts were released, and in 2001 Black & White was released, which became the heir to the series.

SimCity can serve as a training program for future mayors: after all, you need to rebuild a modern city, with specific goals. Transport, energy, taxes, resisting force majeure, etc. - all this needs to be managed.

Arcade 90s

An eternal genre that will be popular for a long time - after all, you don’t always want to play challenging games, and now it’s convenient to play the arcade on your phone or portable set-top box. In the early 90s, when games were still not too complicated, there were a lot of arcades. I already remembered Commander Keen, Dangerous Dave and The Lost Vikings, and now other famous arcade games and their heroes:

I'll start with two famous heroes- plumber Mario and hedgehog Sonic - in general, of course, these are not PC games (although some games of both series were on PC), but their heroes are so famous that it would be blasphemy to write about arcade games and not mention them :) By the way , the Mario series is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling game of all time.

Prince of Persia (1989), Prince of Persia II (1993), Prince of Persia 3D (1999) is another game that needs no introduction. The third part was like tomb raider, and in the 2000s, the game series was successfully revived and even filmed.

Gods (1991) - a medieval-mystical arcade game from the Bitmap Brothers, who later gave us the Z strategy, at that time Gods had excellent graphics.

Metal Mutant (1991) - the original was a game with elements of a quest - you control a transforming robot that could turn into a cyborg, a combat robot or a metal dinosaur.

Prehistorik (1991) and Prehistorik 2 (1993) - remember that funny primeval guy with a club in search of food? :)

Ugh! (1992) - also a primitive arcade game, only here it was necessary not to run, jump and beat dinosaurs, but to skillfully control a wooden helicopter.

Duke Nukem (1991) and Duke Nukem II (1993) - if you didn't know, old Duke was an arcade at first, but even then he was a very cool guy :)

Dizzy series - admit it, girls, have you spent more than one hour playing for this cute and positive egg man? There were no battles and shooting, the game was more like a quest.

another world(1991), Flashback (1992) and Fade to Black (1995) - these three games from Delphine Software were with elements of a quest, if the first two are arcade games, then Fade to Black is a third-person shooter (almost the father of the genre , since it came out before Tomb Raider).

Aladdin (1993) - arcade based on the famous Disney cartoon.

The Lion King (1994) - a journey through the jungle of a maturing Simba was made by the famous Westwood Studios.

Jazz Jackrabbit (1994) and Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (1998) - the green rabbit was a great alternative to Sonic the Hedgehog.

Mystic Towers (1994) - an isometric arcade game with a role-playing bias, we walk through the labyrinths of the castle and fight monsters.

BlackThorne (1994) - Blizzard made not only The Lost Vikings, but also this action arcade game: it resembles Prince of Persia, only instead of a sword - a shotgun and grenades.

Earthworm Jim (1994), Earthworm Jim 2 (1996), Earthworm Jim 3D (1999) - a superhero worm fighting universal evil gained immense popularity, an animated series was made about him and a comic book was made. By the way, remember the main character of the Neverhood quest, he looks like a worm Jim, right? They were both designed by artist Douglas TenNapel.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (1997) and Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus (1998) - very original games, reviving the genre, there is nothing to even compare with, it's more like a two-dimensional quest. Or is it arcade? In general, if you haven't had time to play yet, it's not too late - fans of both genres should like it.

Postal (1997) - you could say that this is a third-person shooter, but the gameplay was simple, so we will consider it an isometric arcade game. It was distinguished by the fact that it was banned in many countries (of course, the level of violence went off scale, we play as a murderous maniac and shoot everyone in a row), and it would have remained a scandalous mid-level game if its cult sequel had not been released in 2003 from first person. The film was released in 2007, and all fans are waiting for Postal 3 this year.

Quests from Sierra On-Line

We can say that it was the Sierra company that invented the quest (adventure) as a genre. Escape games were very popular in the 90s, and the main rivalry was between two companies: Sierra vs. LucasArts. And if the second made a lot of them, then Sierra released a simply mind-boggling number of games in this genre, and it is famous for its series of games.

King's Quest (8 parts): The adventures of the royal family in a fantasy world. By the way, in the 2000s they made remakes of the first three parts, so it’s quite possible to play them now.

Space Quest (6 parts): a humorous series about the misadventures of a space janitor-loser, who often saves the universe by chance :)

Quest for Glory (5 parts): again fantasy world, while at the beginning of the game it was necessary to choose the class of the hero: warrior, thief or mage (does it remind you of anything?). At the same time, in the game, in addition to solving quest tasks, there were battles and a role-playing component.

Leisure Suit Larry (7 parts in the 90s and 2 more parts in the 2000s) - the adventures of a woman lover Larry, a game with erotic elements, the stimulus for passing was often looking for these very elements :)

Police Quest (4 parts, then the series continued in other genres) - police officers investigate crimes, while former police officers were directly involved in the creation of the game.

Gabriel Knight (3 parts) - a private detective reveals mystical adventures.

Gobliiins (3 parts in the 90s, the 4th came out in 2009) - a humorous quest about the adventures of goblins in a fairy-tale world.

EcoQuest (2 parts) - educational quests for children.

Phantasmagoria (2 parts) - the famous horror game was released in 1995 on 7 discs (which was unprecedented for those times), a young couple drives into a house with a dark past, play as a girl and try to uncover the secrets of the house - in fact, it was a movie, since the characters were not drawn, but filmed, they were played by real actors. The second part (1996) was filmed in a similar way, and was released on 5 discs. In the same genre of horror stories in 1996, Ripper was released by Take-Two Interactive (on 6 discs) with Christopher Walken as a guest star.

Shivers (2 parts) - Myst-like horror game with a set of puzzles. Here you can also mention the game Lighthouse (1996) from the same genre.

Of the single games without a continuation, it is worth mentioning Torin's Passage (1995) - a fantasy quest with a young hero in the title role. With this game, I still associate the excellently rendered Fable (1996) from Sir-Tech.

Role-playing series of the 90s

If now the third-person view is popular in RPGs, then in the first half of the 90s, the first-person view was generally accepted, as in shooters. Only the Ultima series had a side view of the player, and only with the release of Diablo, Fallout and Baldur's Gate did the trend turn towards isometric RPGs. Let's look at the most famous role-playing series:

Ultima (9 parts) - the first 5 parts came out back in the 80s, and 4 more came out in the 90s. Big world, NPCs living their own lives, freedom of action, no unambiguous division into Good and Evil. We can say that this series stood at the origins of the genre (the first part was released in 1981, and its prequel was already released in 1979) and became the parent of RPG with a third-person view. The series was reborn into the famous Ultima Online, in fact it was the first online RPG, starting from it, some people spent much more time in virtual life than in real life.

Ultima Underworld (2 parts) - the contribution of the Ultima game series to the role-playing genre can hardly be overestimated. If in other classic series the movement was frame-by-frame, then here it was continuous, like in shooters (by the way, the game was released at the same time as Wolfenstein 3D), and here you could look up / down!

Wizardry (8 parts) - 5 parts in the 80s, 2 parts in the 90s and 8th in 2001. A team of several characters with unique characteristics and the equipment of each, traveling through mazes and killing monsters - these are typical features of the role-playing series of the time, and Wizardry as a classic series is no exception.

Might and Magic (9 parts) - 2 parts in the 80s, 6 parts in the 90s and 9th in 2002. A large world that grows with each new part, as well as the choice between turn-based combat and real-time combat - that's what comes to mind about Might and Magic. This world is also associated with another famous series - Heroes of Might and Magic.

Eye of the Beholder (3 parts) - the first two parts were made by Westwood, the third one was made by SSI (it is worse). Carefully drawn graphics (Westwood trademark), interesting plot, witty riddles and hiding places, difficult fights.

Lands of Lore (3 parts) - Westwood made this series after Eye of the Beholder, excellent graphics and sound.

The Elder Scrolls(4 parts) - 2 parts in the 90s, 2 parts in the 2000s. Action RPG with a huge world, which received a continuation in the form of the famous Morrowind and Oblivion.

Betrayal at Krondor (1993), Betrayal at Antara (1997) and Return to Krondor (1998) - this series left the feeling that you were in a book (and it was - the game was based on fantasy works) and became one of the characters in it, the plot was divided into chapters, the classic first-person view was interspersed with isometric combat.

Ishar (3 parts) - - this not very famous role-playing series was distinguished by excellent graphics.

Allods (3 parts) - almost the first Russian game that has gained worldwide fame. Needless to say, it was nice to play not localized, but originally Russian quality game, in places using our history and folklore. Now the game has been reborn into Allods Online.

Logic games of the 90s

To be honest, I didn't play many games of this genre, but I remembered some of them.

Rockford (1988) and Supaplex (1991) are 80s heritage, similar to Digger and Pac-Man, the goal of the game was to collect all the power-ups in the level and not die in the process.

Chessmaster and Battle Chess series - Chessmaster has been the most popular implementation of chess on the computer from the 80s to the present day, and Battle Chess brought an element of dynamism - chessmen were alive and really walked and fought on the field.

Color Lines (1992) - the main competitor of Klondike solitaire as a "time killer" for female workers :)

The Incredible Machine series - it was necessary to connect various mechanisms and devices into a serial chain, when launched, the level task was performed.

Sports games of the 90s

In 1993, the famous football and hockey series from Electronic Arts: FIFA and NHL started. From golf simulators, I remembered the Microsoft Golf series, from billiards simulators - Virtual Pool, both started in 1995. AT sport games I played a little, so if you remember, write in the comments.

Let's get back to the game review.

Warcraft (1994) and Warcraft II (1995)

From these games began the glory of the great Blizzard - a company that makes only hits. If Dune II was set in the world of the future, then Warcraft offered a fantasy alternative. These were the first strategies that laid the foundations of the genre. In the first Warcraft, it was finally possible to unite troops - up to 4 units maximum and not with a "frame", but with the help of the Shift button :)

Warcraft II brought Blizzard to the top - it was a great game in all its components: nice "cartoon" graphics, beautiful cutscenes, multiplayer, cool character voice acting, map editor.

It seems that the Blizzard developers after the first Warcraft worked for days - to release the second part only a year after the first - it does not fit in my head how they did it. In Russia, the success of Warcraft II was also facilitated by the excellent translation / voice acting from the studio "SPK (Slovo Palitra Kod)" - perhaps this translation, and the translations of the Full Throttle and Neverhood quests can be called the best localizations of the 90s.

The second part was continued - Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal (1996) - made by Cyberlore Studios. Warcraft II was so popular that the continuation of the series - Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos - came out only in 2002, and in 2004 World of Warcraft came out, and the word Warcraft turned into a whole universe.

Full Throttle (1995)

The 90s is also the heyday of quests, now this genre is forgotten, which is a pity. One of the most bright games in this genre, LucasArts gave us: Grim Fandango, a series Monkey Island, the Indiana Jones series, Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max Hit the Road, The Dig, Loom - it's amazing how one company managed to make all these games.

Full Throttle became my favorite quest: first I went through it in Russian (thanks for the excellent translation and voice acting of the Akella studio), and then in English language. Feel like a biker, drive a Harley-Davidson and feel a breath of freedom in this game. In the 2000s, LucasArts decided to make the second part of Full Throttle, and no longer a cartoon quest, but 3D. Apparently, this was a bad idea, and all the developers of the first part had already left the company by that time, so Full Throttle 2 was never destined to be born.

Tim Schafer was the lead game designer on many of LucasArts' quests, and he continues to make great original games: Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, and the soon-to-be-released matryoshka game Stacking.

Little Big Adventure (1994) and Little Big Adventure 2 (1997)

Unusual game. If you try to characterize it, then we can say that this is a three-dimensional quest action in an isometric perspective. The game is one of a kind, standing apart from the rest. Childish, but at the same time adult. We play for a guy named Twinsen, his occupation is difficult to determine, we can say that he is a novice magician.

The uniqueness of this game is that we are immersed in a separate world that lives its own life, very similar to ours, but at the same time it is clear that this is a completely different planet and the feeling that anything can happen here does not leave.

Descent (1995), Descent II (1996) and Descent 3 (1999)

To stand out against the background of Doom-like shooters, it was necessary to come up with something else. And the developers from Parallax Software came up with a flying shooter! Indeed, now we were free to move in 6 directions on our own spaceship, clearing labyrinths from robots and exploding reactors. Another merit of Descent is that it showed us three-dimensional objects even before Quake! By the way, there was another shooter of the same year with 3D objects - The Terminator: Future Shock (its sequel - The Terminator: SkyNET - came out a year later, in 1996).

Each part had several additions, and in Descent 3 we were relieved of claustrophobia by making the levels more open. A series of three parts then grew into one of the best space simulators Descent FreeSpace (1998) and FreeSpace 2 (1999), however, these 2 games were developed by other companies.

Crusader: No Remorse (1995) and Crusader: No Regret (1996)

The famous company Origin has made a lot of great games, including two parts of the isometric action Crusader. High-tech action game with a mass of weapons (firearms, laser, plasma, freezing, fiery, disintegrating, homing), allowing you to destroy enemies in the world of the future in a variety of ways.

Teleporters, surveillance cameras, controlled robots, force shields, etc. - a lot of different ideas made it possible to pass level after level with dynamic music with breaks to visit the base, buying new weapons there. Eh, add role-playing elements to the game (and the game was made by Origin, the developer of the famous Ultima role-playing series) - so that you can “dress up” this superhero, upgrade characteristics and skills - and you would get a kind of high-tech Diablo, but alas ...

Command & Conquer and Red Alert series

In 1995, Command & Conquer was released, based on Dune II. The competition between Blizzard's fantasy world and Westwood's tech world continued: after the rivalry between Warcraft and Dune II, Warcraft II and C&C were now opposed. In addition to the gameplay itself, video inserts between missions and an excellent soundtrack are recalled. NOD and GDI - almost every player of the 90s knows these abbreviations.

If before that in RTS the worlds were fictional, then in Red Alert (1996) real troops fought - allies against the USSR, moreover, on land, in air and on water. The Red Alert series is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling RTS in the world (more than 35 million copies sold).

After C&C and Red Alert, KKND followed in 1997 - Krush, Kill 'n' Destroy (oh yes, those explosions) and Total Annihilation (the first strategy game with terrain and 3D units).

The worlds of C&C and Red Alert have continued their development to our time: C&C 4 was released in 2010, and Red Alert 3 in 2008.

Cyberia (1994) and Cyberia 2 (1995)

I still dream about glasses like Zach has :) Well, it remains to wait until 2027, because according to the plot of the game, it is at this time that everything happens. A mixture of quest, shooter and simulation genres, as well as video inserts and excellent graphics, made this game a success. Apparently, the quest component was not enough similar games- Rebel Assault (1993) and Rebel Assault II (1995) - to compete with Cyberia in earnest. Also associated with this game is BioForge (1995).

Theme Park (1994) and Theme Hospital (1997)

There were such games in which, if you did everything right, you could move away from the computer, have a cup of tea, and the development and your own life continued in the game. Perhaps it was the Settlers and these two games. Building your own park with rides and selling ice cream, listening to the squeals and joy of children, or building a hospital, equipping all the offices and hiring doctors - it was very exciting.

Theme Park was a very successful game (one of the best-selling PC games of all time with 3.5 million copies sold) and received two good sequels, already in 3D: Theme Park World (1999) and Theme Park Inc (2001).

Theme Hospital was filled with humor: we shot rats running around the building; treated for unusual diseases: invisibility, megalomania, swelling of the head by piercing it and from a long tongue by cutting it off; and of course unforgettable sounds when patients go to the toilet :)

Wing Commander and X-Wing Series

Perhaps the most popular space simulators of the 90s: you most likely played one of them, and did not like the second. If the X-Wing series was in the Star Wars universe, then in Wing Commander, on the contrary, a whole world was created, on which a film, an animated series and books were written.

Wing Commander III impressed with its video inserts - in 1994 it was an unprecedented event - in fact it was a movie. The main character is played by none other than Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker - a sort of irony in relation to the X-Wing series and Rebel Assault. The story in the Wing Commander series was as important a part of the game as the gameplay itself, and if you add to this the non-linearity of the passage, it becomes clear why this world was so captivating. As part of the series, Privateer and Privateer 2 were also released, which continued the traditions of the famous Elite, and these were no longer spaceship simulators, but life simulators in space, combining several genres in one game.

The X-Wing series was inferior to Wing Commander in terms of graphics, but it made it possible for all fans to feel like part of the famous movie saga - and you could play on the side of the rebels (for example, blow up the Death Star), and on the side of the Empire. I remember that the passage was very stimulated by the receipt of regular awards and titles :)

In support of the Star Wars universe, it is worth mentioning another "simulator" within its framework - in 1993 Rebel Assault was released (and in 1995 - Rebel Assault II), which was one of the first games with filmed video scenes and full voice acting (and only the second some of it was practically a movie at all), but, unfortunately, these games were remembered only for this, rail-shooters with limited freedom of action did not become popular (except for Cyberia).

Heretic (1994) and Heretic II (1998), Hexen (1995) and Hexen II (1997)

There is such a law of the game: as soon as a popular game in the fantasy genre appears, soon after it appears an alternative in the fantasy world, and vice versa. id Software and Raven Software still go hand in hand, and in the late 90s, soon after Doom, Heretic came out.

A dark shooter in the world of magic and mysticism - that's what can be said about these game series. In addition, the developers at Raven have always tried to add something new: Heretic is the first shooter where you can look up / down; in Hexen, you could choose one of three classes (and due to this it was interesting to go through the game not once, but three times); in Hexen II - four classes, quests, role-playing elements, plus the game became a new word in graphics at that time; and in Heretic II they generally made a third-person view. Well, Heretic and Hexen can easily be placed in the top 10 best shooters of the 90s, and even in the top 5.

If you liked mysticism, then you also played Blood (1997) - a kind of mixture of Heretic and Doom, while on the Duke Nukem 3D engine :) A game with a fair amount of black humor and original ideas, one weapon in the form of a voodoo doll is worth it. Blood II (1998) was already in a different style, so it did not gain popularity. Another shooter of the time, similar to Heretic and Hexen, is Witchaven (1995) and Witchaven II (1996).

MechWarrior 1-4 (1989, 1995, 1999, 2000)

To be different in the world of shooters, you had to come up with something special. Controlling a giant combat robot was a special idea. And to manage a whole link of robots, upgrade your mech and weapons, and of course shoot lasers, missiles, etc. - all this made a hit game out of a special idea. After the classic MechWarrior 2, we were pleased with the three-dimensional graphics in the third and fourth parts.

The players were divided into two types: those who played MechWarrior for a short time and did not try it again, and those who became fans of the series. I must say thanks to the developers: they constantly released sequels and additions to all parts until 2004, so as not to let the fans get bored. And now, robot fans are waiting for the revival of the series after 7 years since the last edition - a new MechWarrior is in the works.

It is worth mentioning that Shogo was released in 1998, combining the features of a shooter and MechWarrior.

Magic Carpet (1994) and Magic Carpet 2 (1995)

Bullfrog excelled at making original games, and this one is no exception. Who among us has not dreamed of flying on a magic carpet? The developers thought of implementing a flying shooter in a fantasy world (and in the high-tech world we had Descent and instead of fireballs there were rockets).

We collected mana, fought for it with monsters and wizards, and most importantly - we flew over this magical world! The graphics, beautiful for those times, made this world believable and allowed you to enjoy flights and battles.

BioForge (1995)

Fantastic third-person action quest in 3D. 3D models (which at that time was a new level in graphics), good voice acting, interesting plot - the gradual restoration of the memory of the cyborg main character during the game (just like in Planescape: Torment), tense atmosphere of an empty space base, great interactivity (remember how could an enemy be killed with his own hand?). However, in order to enjoy the game to the fullest, a good knowledge of the English language was required.

Need for Speed ​​Series

The legendary series, which is already essentially associated with the word "car simulator". The series is still very popular, in the 2000s every year there was a sequel. The first part of Need for Speed ​​(1994) was revolutionary: beautiful graphics, big choice cars, convenient control, different race modes: with rivals, duels, against the clock. The second part (1997) did not differ much from the first and slightly improved the graphics. But the third part (1998) further strengthened the glory of NFS: support for 3D accelerators, the police appeared, the weather and day / night changed, the soundtrack changed depending on the situation.

In the fourth part - High Stakes (1999) - they added an economic component (we earn money, we buy new spare parts and cars).

Need for Speed's main competitor was the Screamer series, which featured great graphics but more arcade gameplay. For motorcyclists, there was the Road Rash (1996) and the Moto Racer series. For big-wheeler fans, there was Monster Truck Madness (1996) and Monster Truck Madness 2 (1998). Another niche in car simulators - truck racing - was mastered by one of the few successful Russian games of the 90s - Truckers (1999).

By the way, right now I'm listening to the super-dynamic track Hyper - We Control, from the soundtrack NFS Most Wanted, just the perfect accompaniment for crazy races :)

Settlers (1994), Settlers II (1996) and Settlers III (1998)

A wonderful series that has continued to this day (the 7th part was released in 2010) and will certainly continue in the future. If most RTS strategies are focused on battles, then in medieval Settlers we focus on construction, production and economy, although there are also battles, and the developers increased their role with the release of each new part.

In Settlers, we built a village, then it turned into a city, and sometimes into a country. This is a strategy for those who are not in a hurry. You can build a city, and then just pour yourself some tea and watch how life flows in the game: here they sow the field, here they bring the mined coal, and here comes the fisherman, here he throws his bait, waiting for the bite ... Such attention to detail made the game even more plausible.

In Settlers II (this part became a classic) there was an unusual multiplayer - you could play together on one computer at the same time - the screen was divided in half and everyone played in their own half, all that was left was to stick two mice.

An alternative to Settlers (and also SimCity) in the 90s was the Caesar series (1992, 1995, 1998), where the action took place in Ancient Rome.

It's nice that with the release of each new part in Settlers, nothing changes radically (the developers are Germans, famous for their rationality), but the game becomes more beautiful and more believable, the 7th part is already a whole world.

Heroes of Might and Magic I (1995), II (1996) and III (1999)

Legendary gaming series. The turn-based fantasy RPG was born from the old game King's Bounty (1990), which, by the way, was remake in 2008, and also belongs to the game world of the Might and Magic RPG series. The first part of "Heroes" became successful, the second one became a hit, the third one ascended into the gaming hall of fame, after which this game series can be safely included in the top ten best games of all time.

Castles, battles, artifacts, interesting campaigns, magic - "Heroes" offered us a whole magical world, comparable to the world of Tolkien's Middle-earth, it was impossible not to plunge into this world. The success was facilitated by the presence in the game of the Hot Seat mode, in which several people could play on one computer.

Until there was "Heroes", we played a very similar game series Warlords (three parts came out in the 90s - in 1989, 1993 and 1997). But the "Heroes" won - the graphics were better, and the battles were not in automatic mode. A competitor for Heroes appeared at the very end of the 90s - simultaneously with the third part, Disciples was released in 1999.

Heroes IV (2002) was weak, the beautiful graphics failed to keep the players, the game changed a lot for the worse and "playability" disappeared. The fifth part (2006) brought everything back to normal, for which thanks to our developers from Nival Interactive, who in their youth probably spent more than one month behind Heroes. In March of this year, we are waiting for the sixth part, judging by the news and previews, everything will be fine.

Syndicate (1993) and Syndicate Wars (1996)

Bullfrog has made a lot of good games, and here's another one. Here we are in the cyberpunk world of the future (the atmosphere is similar to the “Blade Runner”) we control a squad of combat cyborgs in an isometric view. The game is a bit like the X-COM series: it also combines two components - a small strategic one, with research, and the main one, tactical, with battles. But in X-COM, the battles are turn-based, but here in real time. I remember the pleasant opportunity to turn passers-by into members of the squad. The series is not forgotten, and its continuation is in development.

Panzer General and Battle Isle series

If you loved turn-based strategies, but you didn't like fantasy worlds, you must have played one of these series. Panzer General took us to the time of the Second World War, and we fought with real-life models of military equipment, and Battle Isle unfolded in a fantasy world, however, very similar to ours, the same tanks, planes and even armored trains. If in Panzer General the emphasis was precisely on battles, then in Battle Isle there was also construction and logistics.

Both series developed in parallel (as part of the Battle Isle series in 1997, even tactical game Incubation) and ended in 2000. Apparently, the RTS genre still defeated TBS.

Albion (1995)

Blue Byte Software was able to make not only strategies, but also gave us this unique role-playing game. Fusion of science fiction and fantasy, first and third person views, lots of dialogues, nice graphics, attention to detail and sophistication, team management - Albion draws you into your world.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Series

One of the most famous flight simulators dates back to 1982, the last, tenth part was released in 2006. Perhaps in 2011 the next part will be released. Distinctive features of this series are beautiful graphics and realism in everything. Flight physics, control complexity, real landscapes and airports, weather influence - this is not even a game, but a simulator for novice pilots.

X-COM series (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001)

The first two games in the series (UFO: Enemy unknown and X-COM: Terror from the Deep) became really something special. Firstly, a combination of strategy and role-playing - we were allowed to play both on a global scale and fight at a specific point - in fact, two games in one. Secondly, the turn-based combat mode - it was no longer the reaction that worked, but the mind, so it really was a tactical game. In this genre, where you had to manage a group of units, Syndicate, Jagged Alliance and even Cannon Fodder were popular at the same time, but the turn-based mode was only in Jagged Alliance, so it was new, and quite successful (which was later proved again Fallout). Thirdly, it was, of course, the atmosphere of the game - the war with aliens in a rather gloomy environment was captivating.

After the first two parts, something went wrong with the series: in X-COM: Apocalypse, they decided to make real-time battles (however, it was possible to switch to turn-based mode) and, most importantly, that very atmosphere of the game disappeared. X-COM: Interceptor made a space sim, X-COM: Enforcer made a shooter, and that almost ended the series. In 2011 they promise new game with the name XCOM is again a shooter, so fans don't have to worry.

It's good that an unofficial game series has developed in parallel with this. In 2000, when they nevertheless decided to revive the first part in 3D, but could not find a publisher, after many perturbations with the rights, Altar Interactive became the developer, thanks to which we received the UFO series in the 2000s.

Quake (1996), Quake II (1997) and Quake III (1999)

If anyone can compete in glory with Doom, it's Quake, perhaps even surpassing its great ancestor in the competition for the title of the most famous computer game in the world. Quake was a revolution - it became the first three-dimensional shooter, and its name is forever inscribed in the history of games. It just so happened that id Software became in the 90s the company that pioneered a new genre and a trendsetter in it. Of course, there were Half-Life, and Duke Nukem 3D, and Unreal, but the first were Doom and Quake.

In the 2000s, the glory of id Software faded, many different and interesting shooters came out high level from different companies, in addition, public interest has shifted to shooters with "approximation to reality", both in terms of the plot and the game itself.

Quake was much darker than Doom, but the "satanic" background was still here, it became less with the departure of John Romero from id, which, of course, lessened the charm of the company's games. Since the first Quake, shooters have become truly three-dimensional: 3D objects and monsters, now we could look up / down not with the keyboard, but with the mouse! Deliberate "gloom" and horror shooters also originate from the first Quake. Let's not forget about the excellent Nine Inch Nails soundtrack.

The second part was weaker, the third was again excellent, id Software again asked new trend, having made an online shooter: until now, fans of fast and “meat” online fights are hacking in Quake III, but 12 years have already passed! In 2005, Quake 4 was released, but it did not gain popularity, including because it was very similar to Doom 3.

By the way, under the guidance of John Romero, who left id, a Quake-like long-term shooter Daikatana was made, but the development did not keep up with the progress of the engines, and in 2000 the game failed commercially - the graphics at that time looked very outdated.

Neverhood (1996)

The original "plasticine" quest, which stands apart from the vast majority of drawn "cartoon" quests of that time. Imagine, all the scenes of the game were really molded from plasticine and filmed frame by frame. I also remember a funny and high-quality Russian localization - the game was called "Don't Believe in Bad", and in one of the locations a bunch of jokes were placed on a long wall. The quest is kind and funny, one gets the impression that you are watching a long cartoon.

Diablo (1996)

This action RPG has become, if not revolutionary, then at least turned the entire role-playing genre in a different direction. Less talk, more action - focus on fighting monsters, leveling up the character and his equipment. We had something similar in Ultima VIII, the guys from Blizzard thought of taking the action-orientation from the role-playing series of that time, removing long dialogues, removing the team - making one player, and doing it all in an isometric perspective.

Incentives to “dress up” your character with magical things, collect gold, choose characteristics for pumping, play online (PvM and PvP), and of course defeat the world’s Evil in the face of no less, and the Devil himself - all this has done its job, and spawned a new game world. In 1997, a sequel to Diablo: Hellfire was released, but it was not made by Blizzard and it turned out to be less interesting. About the second Diablo will be at the very end of the review.

Duke Nukem 3D (1996)

Duke diluted Doom's lead and left Quake shortly, so he had time to get the public interested. First of all, male, since now one could imagine oneself in the shoes of a pumped-up superhero, from whom bullets bounced off, and he entered the life of the male population of that time quickly and forever.

An unrealistically tough man in army boots, with rude humor and a brick-like haircut, was so popular that even in the line of the Spleen hit, the phrase from the game sounds: “And Duke Nyukem must die.” Remember how Duke made us happy with his RPG shots, trips to a strip bar, flights to jetpack and even vocals! :)

In the 90s, 3D Realms also pleased us with other good games: Rise of the Triad (1995), Terminal Velocity (1995) and Shadow Warrior (1997). The latter was a Japanese-style clone of the Duke: we slashed enemies with a katana and threw stars, shot with UZI and even rode a tank! However, after these games, nothing happened: in vain we waited in every issue of Toy Store (and then Game.EXE) and Game Land for news about the release date of Prey and Duke Nukem Forever. As a result, these games became the largest long-term construction in the history of games. Prey still came out in 2006, but did not gain popularity.

Well, we stopped waiting a long time ago, because 15 (!) years have passed since the release of the first part, but suddenly 3D Realms announced the exact release date of Duke Nukem Forever. It was like a joke repeated many times, but the trailer, which quickly circled the Internet, was spectacular, with real gameplay and like the good old Duke, so we are waiting for this May!

On the Duke Nukem 3D engine, a fun "village" shooter Redneck Rampage (1997) was made, where you could drink whiskey to replenish your health, and the goal of the game is to find your favorite pig, which was stolen from the protagonist by aliens :)

Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (1995) and Warhammer: Dark Omen (1998)

During the second Warcraft, another fantasy real-time strategy came out. There was no “base” building and unit production at all, all the attention was on the battles, you controlled an army consisting of several units. At that time, the graphics were surprising: the camera could be rotated and moved away / zoomed in. The great sophistication of the game in general and the thoughtfulness of battles and magic in particular, the detailed characteristics of the units, the detailing of battles, the use of the landscape, the excellent voice acting during the battle, a few role-playing elements in the form of artifacts and gaining experience by the units - this is probably what a medieval (or rather fantasy) should look like wargame, only the siege of castles was missing.

In 2006, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos was released, and in 2008 - Warhammer Online- MMORPG in the world of Warhammer.

Z (1996)

Remember this original strategy? It was different from all the others, where it was necessary to extract resources and build units on them. Here the map was divided into zones, each had a flag, and in order to capture the zone, it was necessary to reach this flag with a unit, and only then produce troops at the factory that stood in this zone. The more such zones belonged to the player, the more factories there were and the faster they made equipment.

The game is also remembered for its humor: it was not people who fought, but humanoid robots, sort of tough guys in sunglasses and cigars in their mouths, something similar to the Terran style in Starcraft. If the units had nothing to do, they could well drink beer (actually it was a lubricating fluid) or smoke :) In the game, you could blow up a lot (including bridges, mountains), while the debris flew up to the top of the screen :)

In 2001, a sequel was released - Z: Steel Soldiers.

Worms (1995), Worms 2 (1997) and Worms Armageddon (1999)

If in the 90s several people gathered at one computer, then they played this particular game. If Heroes needed to be played for a long time, and Mortal Kombat needed joysticks, then Worms could be played with four people.

Worms fighting each other with all modern and non-modern weapons - you had to manage to come up with this :) Funny voice acting in different voices and in different languages ​​(Russian was also there, you could replace it with your own sounds). Unusual weapons: the famous banana bombs, which were often used to take out half-levels; the "holy" grenade, which solemnly sang "Hallelujah" before the explosion; kamikaze - the worm sacrificed his life and could take his enemy with him; do not forget about the classic point-blank bazooka shot; homing pigeon; musk bombs - here a lamb runs to itself, then broads! :) Stop, something I fell into childhood and got carried away - in general, you get tired of listing :)

The apotheosis of the development of the series is, of course, Worms Armageddon, an extended version of which (Worms: Reloaded) was released in 2010. Several 3D sequels were released in the 2000s, but the 3D worms didn't really catch on, and the developers went back to the classic 2D version.

Lords of the Realm (1994), Lords of the Realm II (1996) and Lords of Magic (1997)

A rare opportunity to plunge into the world of the real Middle Ages, since most of the games similar to medieval ones are still devoted to a fictional fantasy world. Lords of the Realm is perhaps the only strategy of the 90s, in which the economic and combat aspects are equally well and fully done, without emphasizing, so the player was free to do more with what he liked. We can say that they crossed Settlers with Warcraft.

Lords of Magic was like Heroes of Might and Magic had real-time combat. In 2004, Lords of the Realm III was released.

Tomb Raider Series

Now, with the name of Lara Croft, most will remember the film with Angelina Jolie, and in the 90s it was the brightest introduction to action games and the ancestor of the third-person view in this genre. The series started in 1996 and continues to this day. There were more than enough male heroes, but there were no women yet, so the “cool” girl with a scythe and two pistols and her mystical journeys through ancient mysterious places - a sort of Indiana Jones in a skirt (that is, in shorts) - it was a great idea !

There have not been many successful films based on games, Tomb Raider is one of the most successful examples, Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Prince of Persia and the more or less famous Doom come to mind.

Until 2000, 5 parts were released (one per year), in the 2000s five more, and one is now in development. A total of 35 million copies of the game series have been sold, so there are more than one sequel ahead.

Broken Sword (1996) and Broken Sword II (1997)

Excellent drawn quests, which are still among the best in their genre. The adventures of the American tourist George and the Frenchwoman Niko (we alternately play for one or the other), their attempts to solve the mystical mysteries of antiquity, moving between cities and countries in the course of the game - all this is very exciting and sometimes looks like one big long movie. Pleasant animation, thoughtfulness of the game - perfectionism is felt - allow the game to be given the highest rating.

In the 2000s, there was a third (2003) and a fourth (2006) parts, but they decided to make them three-dimensional, which greatly worsened the game.

By the way, the cartoon "The Illusionist" was recently released, the animation of which reminded me of this quest, and when I went to the Revolution Software website, I found that in the middle of last year a director's extended version of the first part was released (including for iPhone), and a similar one was announced version for the second part, so I recommend it to all fans of the series.

Jagged Alliance (1994) and Jagged Alliance 2 (1999)

One of the brightest representatives of the tactical role-playing game genre. Managing a detachment of military mercenaries, unlike Syndicate and X-COM, not in a fantasy, but in a "real" world - each member of the detachment was not faceless, but had its own charisma (everyone remembers the Russian Ivan). The turn-based mode allowed not only to shoot, but also to think. In the second part, the graphics were improved, automatic weapons were added, it was possible to climb roofs and shoot from three body positions.

Well, all fans of the series have long been waiting for sequels, and if you believe the promises of the developers, two will appear in 2011 at once - a remake of the second part and Jagged Alliance Online.

Blade Runner (1997)

There were not so many games for cyberpunk fans: System Shock, Deus Ex, BioForge, Cyberia, Syndicate, Fallout - 6 famous games. And here's another Blade Runner - neither more nor less, but the slogan "the first three-dimensional quest in real time", and the famous Westwood studio as a developer. Well, 1 million copies of the game sold testifies to its considerable popularity.

The game was made on the basis of the cult film with the same name and in many ways it managed to repeat the same atmosphere (special thanks for the soundtrack, it's a pity that there were no rights to the original, Vangelis). Indeed, when the game is interspersed with video inserts and dialogues, you feel like the main character of the film. But it was an interactive movie, with a non-linear plot (12 possible endings), with investigation, evidence gathering and gunfights.

Beasts and Bumpkins (1997)

Maybe this game cannot be called one of the best, but taking advantage of the official position of the author of the article, I decided to mention it, because it was funny :) Now the game would certainly be popular, as it is very similar to the big "Farm Frenzy". The fields are being sown, the chickens are laying, the bread is being baked, the forge is working - reminiscent of the Settlers, but what made this game unusual was its humor. Funny graphics and voice acting - chickens cackle during the day, peasants burp after eating, and snoring and love sounds are heard at night (they are especially funny in the German version of the game). Well, periodically it was necessary to repel the attacks of giant bees and bears :)

Fallout (1997) and Fallout 2 (1998)

Cult post-nuclear role-playing game. She gave us a plausible version of the world after nuclear war. Unique system characteristics and skills of the character, turn-based combat mode, cities living their own lives, different variants passing - you can list for a long time what was interesting in this game. All this added up to the "atmospheric" that later games in the series tried to embody: Fallout Tactics (2001), Fallout 3 (2008) and Fallout: New Vegas(2010). But only the first two parts were made by the famous Black Isle Studios, and they, in my opinion, remain unsurpassed so far.

I always wondered how the developers managed in just a year to make the second part, which was larger than the first, even taking into account the fact that the engine remained the same. The world of Fallout 2 was bigger, and the time limit was removed, so you could stay in that world until you got bored. It remains only to forget the passage of the game, and go through it again, or you can do it a couple of times - with a “good” or “bad” character - for example, one of my acquaintances had fun by “carrying out” the inhabitants of all cities with electric fists.

Age of Empires (1997) and Age of Empires II (1999)

In the RTS genre, it was increasingly difficult to come up with something new in the plot: the fantasy world was occupied by Warcraft, the "real" world - Red Alert, the world of the future - C&C, KKnD, Z. But there was still the past - the Middle Ages theme was still free, and Ensemble Studios (and Microsoft as a publisher) was the first. Something like Civilization, but in real time - it was a dream.

Excellent graphics, voice acting, large-scale battles, atmospheric videos - distinctive features successful Age of Empires series (more than 20 million copies sold). The third part came out in 2005, and in 2009, unfortunately, Microsoft disbanded the Ensemble team, so the fourth part is in doubt.

MDK (1997) and MDK2 (2000)

A third-person shooter that could seriously compete with its first-person counterparts. A very dynamic game (special thanks for the soundtrack), it will definitely relax you after a busy day, a loose, largely arcade game, flavored with a fair amount of humor, the main character in a nanosuit, excellent graphics, surreal levels.

In the second part, the fun continued, and we were allowed to play for all three characters made in the name of the game (Max, Doctor, Kurt - however, another transcript - Murder Death Kill - perhaps more suitable), and playing as the dog Max, we could shoot from four weapons at the same time! :)

Half Life (1998)

The game that elevated the shooter genre to new level. Half-Life was in many ways one of the first: here the plot was not secondary, as in most shooters, and developed right in the game, using the engine. The opponents were smart, the player had allies. The game received many sequels, including network ones, the most striking of which was Counter-Strike (1999), this mod became an independent game that almost eclipsed Half-Life itself with glory, but still these are non-overlapping games: if HL is strong in its single player mode, then CS is exclusively networked. Half-Life is in the first lines of the best-selling games with 9 million copies sold.

GEG (1997) and GEG+ (1998)

A humorous quest is not such a common occurrence, and the GEG was also a little hooligan, and even domestically produced.

“Gag (from the English gag - a joke, a comic episode) is a comedic technique, which is based on obvious absurdity. For example, when during a fire a person carries water with a sieve - this is absurd, but it can make you laugh. When instead of cutting pancakes with a knife, they use scissors - this is absurd, but it also makes you laugh. One of the most famous gag groups in the post-Soviet space in the late 90s was Maskshow.

Yes, the GEG was indeed the epitome of absurdity. A secret agent bitten by a penguin - the embodiment of the Russian dream - spits at the ceiling all day. GEG is a joke and entertainment, with parodies and banter over famous films and games, with "strawberries" and mini-games (remember catching flies with a fork and sextris?). In general, until you look and try everything, you will not calm down.

In 2002, GEG 2 was released, but it was already a different game, it was not possible to repeat the atmosphere. In the 90s, two successful series of domestic quests also started - "Petka and Vasily Ivanovich" and "Brothers Pilots".

Dungeon Keeper (1997) and Dungeon Keeper 2 (1999)

"Evil is good" - this was the slogan of DK (and the second part - "It's good to be bad"), there were not so many such games - where you could play as a "bad guy". In addition, there were many original ideas here (however, as in all Bullfrog games): units could be grabbed and thrown to another place, punished and encouraged (spanked, fed, given gold, thrown into prison or a torture chamber), as well as move into them, and look already from the first person, so it turned out something like a shooter; we built unusual rooms (for example, instead of the usual "farms" we built a chicken coop where monsters ate chickens), we could set traps.

Unfortunately, the third part did not follow, but in the 2000s two successors appeared: Evil Genius and Dungeons, and a license was also bought out to create an MMORPG based on the series, so Dungeon Keeper Online may well come out.

Carmageddon (1997), Carmageddon II (1998) and Carmageddon TDR2000 (2000)

Need for Speed ​​was the obvious leader, so in order to stand out among the car simulators, it was necessary to come up with something new. And Carmageddon was new - it was a survival race with no special censorship and a clear focus on violence (which is why we loved it!) - we destroyed opponents and knocked down pedestrians (remember cows?).

Magic & Mayhem (1998)

An interesting fantasy game that got into this review for its originality - it is both a role-playing game and a strategy game. We play as a novice wizard and his wards, learn spells (combat + call creatures), go through level after level according to the plot. The second part came out in 2001.

Creatures (1996), Creatures 2 (1998) and Creatures 3 (1999)

This is a complex version of Tamagotchi, the game is based on a serious artificial intelligence system. A life simulator that simulates the development of living beings, their learning and self-learning. Handsome-eyed norns, looking like good gremlins or cheburashkas, inhabited virtual world and they were practically your children. They were born, you played with them, fed, punished, taught, they grew up and created families. Perhaps all future parents, and those who have taken place, should play Creatures.

Grim Fandango (1998)

One of the first three-dimensional quests and very original - a journey through the afterlife, where all the characters have something like Aztec masks instead of faces. In addition, the control in the game was exclusively using the keyboard, and instead of the usual tooltips on things, when you hover over the cursor, the main character simply turned his head towards significant objects.

Even though the game gained cult status, it was still too original for the masses - there was no commercial success, and this was one of the reasons why LucasArts stopped making quests.

Starcraft (1998)

Blizzard made Warcraft and Warcraft II as an alternative to the techno-strategies of the time and succeeded. After being the leader in fantasy strategy, there was nothing stopping them from trying to make their own high-tech strategy. And this game was destined to become the most famous strategy game in the world. Top selling list Starcraft games with 11 million copies sold, it is second only to The Sims series.

To assess the popularity of Starcraft, one can recall only one fact: it was played for 12 years, until 2010, until Starcraft II came out, which replaced the first part as a leader. Objectively speaking, Blizzard, with its three worlds - Warcraft, Diablo and Starcraft - excels in the strategy and RPG genres. One of the few legendary companies of the 90s, which not only did not lose fame, but also increased it. So their perfectionism and lack of release dates in game development (their famous phrase "when it's done" - that is, the game will be released when it is ready) became the key to success.

There were plenty of innovations in Starcraft: for example, an indicative nuance - round, rather than the usual square frames when choosing buildings or units, or a new type of building for strategies - the Terran bunker - a defensive building from which the fighters fired. It still boggles my mind that Starcraft's palette is limited to 256 colors - looking at the game (like explosions) it's hard to believe, and it proved once again that graphics are not of paramount importance. The developers managed to come up with three completely different races and at the same time maintain a balance of power (although I think that the Zerg in the first Starcraft are still pumped :))

Continuation of StarCraft: Brood War came out in the same 1998, Starcraft actually gave rise to a new DotA genre, and one can not talk about how they were cut and continue to be cut in Starcraft in the open spaces of Battle.net.

Interstate '76 (1997) and Interstate '82 (1999)

Crossing a car simulator with a shooter, and doing it in retro style turned out to be a great idea. From car simulators - a large selection of cars and the ability to upgrade, from shooters - a large selection of weapons, and most importantly - a stylish atmosphere: trendy retro cars, cinematic inserts (it's a pity the hero models seemed "wooden"), plot, voice acting, specially written soundtrack, criminals -romances, highways...

Delta Force Series

In the 90s, three parts were released (the first in 1998), and in the 2000s another 5 parts (the 6th in development) of this tactical shooter. Its popularity has shown that the trend of gamers' interest is shifting from shooters in a fantasy world to shooters close to reality.

Here they make it clear that the previously familiar FPS are just as unrealistic as blockbuster action movies, but in the harsh life of the special forces, everything is different. So we started to get used to being cautious, looking through the scope, crawling, not shooting unnecessarily, looking back, and generally getting used to the role of special forces in various parts of the world, and it was great to have sniper duels online.

Commandos (1998)

During the Second World War, we manage a whole special unit, each member of the squad has its own specialization (paratrooper, sniper, marine, sapper, spy and driver) and nationality. The result is a tactical stealth strategy. Before that, there was something similar in Jagged Alliance, where each member of the squad was also a person, but here everything is in real time and without a role-playing component, but with a focus on action. We study the routes of patrols, silently kill the Nazis, blow up buildings, manage various vehicles - in general, we do everything that is supposed to be for special forces. Missions around the world - from Norway to Africa, some of them based on war films.

The game spawned a whole successful series - three more parts were released in the 2000s.

Unreal (1998) and Unreal Tournament (1999)

Unreal was made long and carefully, so it no longer competed with the first (which it should have), but with the second Quake. The games are similar, however, the more eminent competitor did not oust Unreal - the players appreciated the gloomy (sometimes nothing was visible at all) alien world, and Unreal's engine was more advanced. If Quake was demonic, then Unreal is rather cosmic.

Unreal Tournament was released at the same time as Quake III, so the players were cut into both. Each had its own "chips", first of all, this concerns the variety of weapons. In 2003, Unreal II was released, but few people remember this, but the Unreal Tournament series continues to develop, apparently, we should wait for the next part.

From those times, I remember another shooter - Turok, remembered for its beautiful graphics and the original idea of ​​​​hunting dinosaurs (the Turok series is successful and still alive).

Thief (1998) and Thief II (2000)

It just so happened that the shooter is one of the most popular genres, and the competition there is still fierce. To successfully compete with others, you need to come up with new ideas. In the 90s, it was still easier: not all ideas were implemented, but now shooter developers have a hard time.

Thief became the founders of a new genre - stealth shooters. Usually we fired with might and main from machine guns and rocket launchers, right there we took pleasure in silently sneaking, quietly knocking out guards, extinguishing torches with water arrows, peeking around corners and stealing especially valuable things. Atmospheric cutscenes added to the charm of the game, and we already imagined ourselves as a real member of the guild of elite thieves.

Battlezone (1998) and Battlezone II (1999)

The first and only (?) hybrid of strategy and shooter (and even a simulator to boot) - "RTS from the first person." You build a base and manage units like in regular strategies, but at the same time you can control any kind of military equipment. You can leave the unit and wander on foot (as in GTA), climb into another one, your own or the enemy, for example, knocking out the pilot from sniper rifle. And you can climb into the bunker and survey the battlefield from the satellite - as in a regular strategy. It was especially cool to play online.

Grand Theft Auto (1997) and Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)

The foundations of the cult crime game of the 2000s were laid back in the 90s (and the roots of the Mafia game also grow from GTA). By changing the perspective, GTA became a real hit (by the way, the same can be said about Postal).

The genre is difficult to define, rather, it is a mixture of genres: it is a shooter, a car simulator, and a quest. GTA in the first parts gave us freedom of action: yes, we had missions and assignments, but we ourselves chose the path to fulfill them, and no one prevented us from living our lives in the city - driving cars, looking for secrets or killing civilians It was the player's choice.

Baldur's Gate (1998) and Baldur's Gate II (2000)

The large and detailed world of Baldur's Gate has become the epitome of classic role-playing games in an isometric view. The plot ideas are also classic - we play as a novice wizard and fight the villain for the throne.

The game was the first of its kind and subsequent similar games were made with BG in mind. If you can compare it to previous third-person role-playing games, then only with Fallout or Ultima VIII. Unlike Diablo, there is no limited world and focus on action, but everything is according to the classical laws of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

We played not only for the main character, but for the whole team, which was recruited to your company and helped you. A revolutionary innovation - the combination of turn-based and real-time modes in battles - we still fought in real time, but we could press "pause", think and assign new actions to the characters.

In the footsteps of Baldur's Gate, two parts of the similar Icewind Dale followed, and in the 2000s, the famous Neverwinter Nights became the heir.

System Shock (1994), System Shock 2 (1999) and Deus Ex (2000)

Cyberpunk fans were pleased, and even how - they combined a shooter with a role-playing game. And this is all back in 1994, when most of the famous shooters did not even exist. Gloomy space atmosphere (System Shock can be considered one of the first horror shooters), a feeling of loneliness, the possibility of penetration into cyberspace, a large selection of weapons and items, puzzles, e-mails, logs, in the second part - a full-fledged role system with characteristics / skills and items that change them, inventory.

The mass of innovative ideas was not appreciated - either there were too many ideas, or the game was ahead of its time - as a result, both parts were commercially unsuccessful, nevertheless, the game acquired the status of a cult, this situation, however, is not uncommon in the world of computer games.

The successor to System Shock (as well as Thief games) in 2000 became no less iconic Deus Ex: also a cyberpunk world, we influence the course of the plot with our actions, role-playing and stealth elements, dialogues, an excellent soundtrack from Straylight. In 2003, the second part was released, and the third is now in development.

In 2007 and 2010, BioShock and BioShock 2 (the third part in development) were released, which revived the ideas of System Shock.

home world (1999)

Often, space-themed films show impressive views of the stars, planets, or passing ships. At these moments you feel the true atmosphere of this bottomless outer space. That's the kind of atmosphere that they managed to embody in Homeworld - well, besides, it was a space RTS, and not in the sense of Starcraft, but for real, that is, battles right in space, and even in 3D.

The second part was released in 2003, and the third is still waiting.

Planescape: Torment (1999)

The most role-playing of role-playing - so you can call this game. There are about 1 million words in the dialogues. There are no templates here: fighting is almost optional, you don’t need to save the world from another villain, there is no familiar equipment, there is no classic division into good and evil. All you need is to remember who you are as you travel through a dark, bizarre world. The game prompts philosophical thoughts about life and death - it is a game with meaning, and not just for fun.

Aliens versus Predator (1999)

In this shooter, an old dream was realized: to play as characters from cult films - both for the Alien, and for the Predator, as well as a man. At the same time, all the "chips" from the films were implemented (special thanks for the sounds) - both the thermal vision of the Predator and running along the walls of the Alien. At the same time, the game for different characters is individual, so it is interesting to play AVP for each of them. Behind the Predator is a traditional action shooter. For the Alien is a stealth shooter where you need to be invisible, sneak up closer, since you can only attack from close range. For an infantryman, the game turns into a horror shooter, you need to run all the time and carefully look around.

Counter Strike (1999)

Initially being a Half-Life mod, this game has grown into a separate world and almost eclipsed the original. In the same 1999, the network shooters Quake III and Unreal Tournament were also released, however, unlike them, Counter-Strike was not in a fantasy world, but closer to reality: terrorists against counter-terrorists, weapon models were not invented, but taken from real ones.

People were cut in CS in the truest sense of the day and night, and even now they are cut. I remember the news about a Romanian schoolboy who was taken by an ambulance directly from an Internet club - he sat there for 9 days in a row, playing CS, and reached physical and moral exhaustion.

In 2004, sequels were released: Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike: Source.

The Sims (2000)

Neither more nor less, and the game itself sold for the PC - 16 million copies (by the way, The Sims 2 is in second place with 13 million). Maxis, which created the famous SimCity in 1989, and then a whole lot of different Sims (SimFarm, SimGolf, SimPark, etc.), has come up with the most exciting idea - a virtual human life.

And many spent their time doing more of their virtual life than a real one - they managed a family, went to work, communicated, improved their skills, even went to the toilet - in general, it was no longer just a Tamagotchi, but a whole world worked out, similar to the real one, and with the release of the second and third parts of The Sims this world has become even bigger and more believable.

Hitman: Codename 47 (2000)

Modern killer - it is strange that this hero was implemented in games so late, even judging by the history of the film industry, this hero has always been very popular. We already had a lot of interesting characters: the Prince of Persia, the tough guy Duke Nyukem, the loser Roger Wilco, the smart Dr. Freeman, the silent and crouching Garrett, and even Lara Croft, and Agent 47 was invented only in 2000.

There were not so many similar games at that time - a third-person stealth shooter (however, it was possible to play in the sequels in the first person as well). different ways passing, non-linear levels, reconnaissance, disguise, invisibility - many wanted to be in the shoes of a killer (sounds scary) and the game became so popular that three more parts were released in the 2000s, and in 2007 a film based on the game was released.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption (2000)

The theme of vampires has always been popular - proof of this is the mass of books and films. Sooner or later, it had to be embodied in computer games. One of the incarnations was this action-RPG with a third-person view.

Medieval Europe, management of several characters in a group, an original role-playing system and, of course, vampire paraphernalia and atmosphere. In 2004, a sequel was released - Vampire: The Masquerade- Bloodlines.

Diablo II (2000)

I will finish with my favorite game, and it came out at the end of the decade, at the turn of two centuries and even millennia. The second part surpassed the first one by an order of magnitude - we were given the opportunity to choose from 7 characters and made a skill tree, which gave rise to hundreds of pages of character development strategies, now several specializations were possible within the class. A lot of "chips" were invented: unique sets of things, runes, gems, charms, sockets, Horadric Cube, an unusual save system, mercenaries, acts in different areas.

The game is passed by fans far and wide, different characters, on hell and hardcore, with duels, "locomotives" and boss races, personally, I can no longer see these porcupines in the first act, when you once again start the game as a forgotten character :) We have been waiting for the third part for a long time, and that's all nearer the moment when it will come out.

In the same 2000, a good role-playing game Nox from Westwood was released with beautiful graphics and also a focus on action. Unfortunately, it was not appreciated, as there was little original in it - it was similar to both Diablo and Baldur's Gate - by the time Nox was released, the first Baldur's Gate had already been played, and simultaneously with Nox, the second part of Diablo was released, its waited and she overshadowed Nox in many respects.

Diablo and role-playing games in general are somewhat similar to life: we also gain experience, new skills, and life gives us new “quests”, and we move on to new, more difficult levels.

December 17th, 2013

Good afternoon dear readers. This post is nostalgic, so those who were not born between 75 and 83 will not be interested in reading it.
I want to warn you right away that there will be no statements that these games are the best. The graphics in these games are the most primitive, the sound is also in its own way. general level they do not even reach the level of 8-bit prefixes. However, the point here is not in the schedule, but in a reminder of the most unusual period of childhood, when the USSR was living out its last years, and the wind of change was already blowing with might and main from the leaky cracks of the Iron Curtain.

I first got acquainted with computer games in 86, when I moved to live in the RIIZhT area. The local culture club housed a cinema, in the lobby of which a computer games salon suddenly appeared. It looked like this, it was a small platform on which there were several ordinary tables with domestic-made color TVs and Atari brand computer consoles - http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_XEGS
There was a kitchen alarm clock on each TV set, which would start at a certain time for the game and notify of the end of the time with a heartbreaking ringing (worse than the lesson bell). The prices for the games were quite draconian. For example, 10 minutes of playing time cost 1 ruble. At that time, one ruble could buy 5 bottles of Tarragon lemonade or 6 cups of ice cream. One hour of the game cost 6 rubles - a very impressive amount for an ordinary schoolchild, given that the cost of a ticket to the cinema was a maximum of 30 kopecks.
This salon lived its own special life, because there were constantly children, and of various ages. You need to understand that there was no alternative to these games, except for pocket "Electronics" http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Well,_wait!_(electronic_game) and slot machines for 15 kopecks http://ru.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Soviet_gaming_machines.

True, I must say that for some children, dads or moms worked in laboratories where there were computers, but this category was rare. Naturally, we could only watch the lucky ones enviously, and in rare cases, spend our hard-earned savings ourselves in exchange for an imported fairy tale. At that time there were many temptations, including watching movies in video salons.

Video salons at that time were a small room in which there was a row of chairs, in front of which there was a bedside table with the largest color television set of domestic production and the dream of any Soviet person - a VCR. It was only later, after perestroika, a powerful stream of imported electronics poured into the domestic market. And at that time, the video recorder not only cost a lot of money, but was also a rarity that still needed to be obtained. If I'm not mistaken, the average cost of a video recorder ranged from 2 to 4 thousand rubles, about the same as the cost of a used Zhiguli. But for a ruble, we could watch another action movie, horror movie and other "elements of the sweet Western life." In addition, a boom in chewing gum was approaching the country, which cost from 50 kopecks to 1.5 rubles.

And yet we spent money on games in the salon. In my area, I knew at least 4 points of such salons, and all of them were located either in the cinema building or in the houses of culture. For example, one of them was in the recreation center of the Rostvertol plant. It would seem, what is the point of going to different points if the price of the game turned out to be the same? And the point was that in every salon there were different games, which brought some variety to the gameplay. A little later, the first ZX Spectrum home computers appeared on the local radio electronics market - http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum.

But they were very expensive, and in my memory only two of my friends had such a miracle device. The Spectrum, unlike Atari, had more games to choose from. But unlike Atari, the Spectrum had a number of significant drawbacks. Firstly, the process of loading the game itself was reminiscent of medieval torture on the nerves. The games were recorded on an audio cassette and loaded using an ordinary tape recorder. Any minor failure, and everything had to be recorded again, while no one guaranteed that the recording would be complete, not to mention the annoying squeak. Secondly, the game could freeze just like that, especially in the midst of a battle. And thirdly, the most weak point there were joysticks that broke with periodic regularity.

Atari in this regard were stable, but it was not possible to find them and buy them. True, one day a miracle machine appeared in the club, which was a large body with an individual seat, a b / w monitor and a joystick and buttons built into the panel. The machine accepted 2 kopeck coins. He worked in this way, for 20 kopecks, the game began, and when the lives ended, it stopped. But the most important thing is that the games in it were from Atari, so it is not surprising that he was almost always busy with a crowd of stronger boys. But it was not without drawbacks. Firstly, the games changed very rarely, and secondly, the joystick broke down regularly. As a result, the machine did not last long, which is a pity.
So, I proceed to list the most popular games from Atari with the full name of each of them. If someone wants to remember his youth, then thanks to the name, he can easily find it on sites with emulators of these games. At one time I downloaded and completely passed Motesuma, because I dreamed of passing it as a child. Of course, then Dendy and their derivatives appeared, and the games became much cooler and more difficult, but the memory of the first games is still alive in my heart.

1. River Raid is a scrolling shooter video game released by Activision in 1982 for the Atari 2600 and later for the Atari 400/800, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and other game consoles and home computers. The game was created by programmer Carol Shaw, formerly of Atari.

It was an absolute hit of the time due to the ease of control and the fun of the gameplay. By the way, at present, this shooter has appeared on the android platform, so it can be downloaded to the tablet.

2. Zybex is a shooter video game released in 1989 by the British company Zeppelin Games for eight-bit home computers.

Two rebels, Rinser and Kassalana, escape from an intergalactic prison to avoid their own execution. They have deadly hoops on their heads, which they cannot remove, but the one who put them on can do it. To force him to take them off, you need to get the omnipotent Zybex crystal from the planet of the same name. To overcome the path to Zybex, the heroes have to collect sixteen teleport tokens scattered across the sixteen planets of the Tssokan system.

One of my favorite games, especially if you play it with someone in a pair. Great music and choice of weapons.

3. Montezuma's Revenge is a video game for the 8-bit Atari family, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Apple II, Colecovision, Commodore 64, IBM PC, Sega Master System and ZX Spectrum (as Panama Joe) created by Robert Jaeger and published in 1984 by Parker Brothers. The name of the game is taken from a colloquial American English expression regarding the intestinal disorder (diarrhea) that a foreigner in Mexico can get when trying to drink raw Mexican water (see Montezuma's Revenge (illness)). On the territory of the former USSR, the game is also known under the names Monty (Preliminary Monty - this was the name of the preliminary, widely disseminated, but not finished version of the game. In particular, this version did not have an ending), Cucaracha and Pedro in the underground.

Montezuma's Revenge is one of the first platformers that combines treasure hunting, wandering through a maze of many rooms and solving puzzles. The player controls the game's character, named "Panama Joe" (also known as "Pedro"), moving him from one room to another in the labyrinthine dungeon of the 16th-century Aztec Emperor Montezuma II, filled with enemies, obstacles, traps and dangers. The goal of the game is to score points by collecting gems along the way. Panama Joe must look for keys to locked doors, collect and use items such as torches, swords, amulets, etc. without losing his lives. The game's obstacles are laser gates, conveyor belts, disappearing floors, and fiery furnaces. The character of the game moves by jumping and running, as well as moving along poles, steps and chains. Enemies - skulls, snakes and spiders.
The game was a big hit and was considered very addictive, despite the relatively primitive graphics of the time and the two-dimensional space.

One of the best games at the time. Deservedly considered a hit, thanks to the huge number of rooms and the search for keys and treasures. Playing on a b/w monitor was considered the pinnacle of skill, as experienced player memorized the location of all the keys with different colors.

4. Star Raiders 2 is a very popular game for its time. Some players sat down on it seriously and for a long time.

5. International Karate - so to speak, the prototype of "Mortal Kombat". They played this game until they were blue in the face, especially since karate at that time was a very popular phenomenon in the USSR.

This series of games also includes "Karateka", "Bruce Lee" and "Ninja".

By the way, Ninja was very popular, because there was the possibility of fights, and throwing stars.

6. Henry's House - a game about a dude who wanders around the rooms of the castle and collects different things. The point of each level is to find the key in it and go to a new themed room. The passage of the game is quite difficult but also interesting.

7. Boulder Dash or Rockford - a series of cult [source not specified 1190 days] computer games. The game was originally released in 1984 for the Apple II, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Atari 400/800 computers; later ported to NES, Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, IBM PC and many other platforms. The game was created by Peter Liepa and Chris Gray and published by First Star Software, which is still the copyright holder.
The playable character named Rockford must go through several "caverns" while collecting diamonds and trying to avoid dangerous creatures, falling rocks and dead ends.

Boulder Dash was one of the few games to be ported from home computers to arcade machines (the opposite happened quite often); four such machines were developed by three different companies.
The game is a clone of the Digger game released in 1983.
We called this game "The Ant". A very complex process that requires attention, reaction and thinking. Not everyone could pass even several levels.

8. Alley Cat (English alley cat - homeless cat) is computer game created by Bill Williams and published by Synapse Software for the Atari 8-bit / Atari 800 computers in 1983, and later for the PC in 1984 by IBM. Plot: The cat wants to survive on the street.

9. Archon: The Light and the Dark
Archon: The Light and the Dark is a video game developed by Free Fall Associates and distributed by Electronic Arts. It was originally developed for Atari 8-bit computers in 1983, but was subsequently ported to a number of other systems of the time, including the Apple II, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, IBM PC, Apple Macintosh, PC- 88 and NES. The game was designed by Paul Reich III (who also created the game's graphics) and John Freeman, with programming by Ann Westfall.

10. Panther

11. Super Cobra

12. Zorro

13. Spy vs. Spy or MAD Magazine's Official Spy vs. Spy is a computer game first published by First Star Software in 1984 for Atari, Commodore 64, and Apple II 8-bit computers. It was an innovative two-player split-screen game based on MAD Magazine's Spy vs. Spy is about the comical adventures of two spies trying to kill each other with incredibly sophisticated and sophisticated traps and weaponry.

The game has been ported to a wide variety of other platforms including ZX Spectrum, Acorn Electron, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 16, MSX, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Master System, Game Boy, Xbox, Game Boy Color and Nintendo Entertainment System. A remake that included a retro version was also released for iOS in 2012.

14. Spelunker

15. Moon Patrol

Moon Patrol is a classic arcade type game released by Irem in 1982. For distribution in North America, it has been licensed by Williams.
The player controls the "moon buggy", looking at it from the side, and travels on the surface of the moon. Obstacles such as craters and mines must be avoided. The buggies are also attacked from the air by unidentified flying objects and from the surface (tanks). Moon Patrol is one of the first side-scrolling shooters. In addition, the game is noted as the first game of this genre with parallax scrolling.

16. H.E.R.O.


H.E.R.O. (acronym for Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation) is a Single-player game published by Activision. It was originally developed for the Atari 2600 and released in March 1984. The game has been ported to many home computers and gaming consoles that time. The player must use the "helicopter backpack" and other tools to rescue people lost deep in the mine.

17.Ghostbusters

18. Draconus

There are fewer schoolchildren in modern courtyards. At home - iPad, computer, TV set. What about on the street? Maniacs and curfews. In the 80s, things were different. At home - mortal longing, and we disappeared all day on the street! And to us ! Let's remember?

These games are lost, perhaps forever. Now in Tula championships of yard games are held, but mostly nostalgic adults participate in them, those who are now 30-40, and then (in that wonderful "then"!) Was 7-12 years old. Alas, love for “rubber bands”, “Cossack robbers” and “classic meatballs”, alas, can no longer be instilled in children.

"Rubbers"

Perhaps the main yard hit of our childhood. It was played mainly by girls from the first to the fourth grade, some of them lingered a little, “warming up” with their younger sisters and neighbors in between school and already real dates.

An elastic band (ordinary, linen, which we simply called “for panties”) was in the arsenal of every schoolgirl. For the game, it was necessary about three meters, the ends were tied, and even better, they were sewn together (by yourself or asked your mother).

I was lucky: my grandmother worked as a cashier in the Krivoluchensky Haberdashery, so in addition to simple white rubber bands, I had both black and colored ones.

The meaning of the game: two people stood at a distance, catching an elastic band on their legs, the rest jumped through this elastic band. There were many levels (in height and complexity): from the ankles ("first") to the very neck ("seventh").

Particularly jumping surprised grandmothers-cheerleaders sitting on the benches with the “eighths”: in this case, the rubber band was held by hands at the height of the ears.

A girl who could not jump through the desired combination was considered to have “dropped” or “stratified” and became a “pillar” with an elastic band on her legs. Jump came out next. It was possible to play "rubber bands" with at least three of us. Although ... If there were no people in the yard, but it was literally impatient to play "rubber bands", they played together, attaching the edge of the rubber band to a tree or a swing.

"Classics" or "balls"

A long time ago, my dear children, when there were sidewalks in the Tula courtyards ... But seriously, in our childhood in the old courtyards of our city there really were wide, even footpaths. And they were all written in chalk. And at each entrance, rectangles were drawn, divided into numbered cells. These were the "classics".

The meaning of the game was that it was necessary to go through (or rather, jump on one or two legs) all the cells in order. And not just to jump, but at the same time to kick the puck, which was called the "bitochka".

Any number of players could participate in the game. It was possible to jump and one.

The main artifact of the "classics", of course, was the cue ball. By the way, it could be bought in the store, however, they rarely came across. Store copies were made of light metal and were decorated with a "bas-relief" of the heroes of the cartoon "Well, you wait!".

If there was no purchased cue ball, they made it themselves. First of all, they stole shoe polish from their parents in flat jars, mercilessly throwing away the remnants and filling the contents of the tin box with sand. To prevent the cue ball from opening inadvertently, its edge was cut off on the asphalt. The same beautiful meatballs were obtained from boxes from under the Montpensier.

I don’t know how it was in other areas of Tula, but in Krivoluchye there was another deposit of the most luxurious cue balls - the Vtormet scrap metal collection enterprise (we called it ferrous metal). There was a “ferrous metal” across the railroad tracks from Priupskaya Street. So it was even more interesting for us, 7-8-year-olds, to go there: so far from home, without asking, and even crawl under a standing train ... A real quest! And on the ferrous metal itself, we looked for (and found!) Chic washers, presumably lead. Smooth, smooth, heavy (you won’t miss!) - only we had such!

"12 sticks"

This game was a little different from simple "hide and seek". The same "water", the players are hiding. At the beginning of the horse, they collected 12 sticks, put them on the edge of the board, and under it - a pebble so that you could step on the other edge of the chip and destroy the structure. The sticks were installed near the “chura” wall, which the leader stood facing (“Who did not hide, I am not to blame!”). And when, during the game, the water “knocked” the hidden player, his task was to run to the chura as quickly as possible and, with a cry of “chur-sticks” (or “chur-sticks-catch!”), destroy the structure.

We played “12 Sticks” with the whole yard, encouraging the driver with cries-mantras: “Whoever doesn’t walk around the city leads four horses!”, “Axe-axe, sit like a thief and don’t look out into the yard!” (this meant that the driver was close to the "chure" and it was too early to run from cover), "Saw-saw, fly like an arrow!" (it's time to rush to the sticks!).

"Paints"

It was a game of speed and agility. Ten people gathered to play "Paints". All but two were "paints". Everyone chose their own color.

The remaining two became, by agreement, the seller of paints and the buyer, who for some reason was a monk. Probably, this had some kind of sacred meaning, but the monk was not presented in the most favorable light. He approached the seller and, as it were, knocked on the door, then - the dialogue:

Knock Knock!

Who's there?

I am a monk in blue pants. There's a hole in the head, a bottle in the f**k. I came FOR PAINT.

Why the monk looked so terrible, why he came to the store in such an indecent form, I never understood.

But when we were kids, we didn't care about that at all. They just played, that's all.

Then the shameless monk chose the color of the paint, and while the seller called the price and made a calculation with the monk, the paint went to the start. With the last ruble paid (a blow of the monk's hand on the hand of the seller), the "paint" was torn off! If the monk, despite the presence of you know where the bottles are, managed to catch up with the “paint”, he took it for himself and returned the money. Most often the paints were faster. It is understandable!

childhood artifacts

After us, these things will tell nothing to any archaeologist. But we would sell our souls for them!

Inserts from chewing gum "Love is ..." (Love is ...). On each insert - different plots and explanations of what LOVE is.

Strikingly beautiful cue ball with a pattern under a layer of plexiglass. Now sold for collections.

Tiles. Previously, they faced the facades of houses. Children, on the other hand, used different-colored tiles for games and collections as a kind of equivalent for settlements in disputes and exchanges.

Let's remember the counting rhymes

A crocodile was walking, smoking a pipe, the pipe fell and wrote:
"Shishel-myshel, f*cked, left."
(Sorry, but you can’t throw words out of a song).
Sometimes the pipe, falling from the clumsy paws of the crocodile, wrote:
"Shishli thought, snot came out."

A truck was driving and ran over Nikolai. Nikolai shouts: "Hurrah!"
Call Dr.A.
The doctor rides on a bottle
Right on the back of the German's head.
The German thought it was war, made a cannon out of shit. I loaded a cutlet there, one-two-three, and there is no gun!

Release year: 2013
Genre: Action, Arcade, Strategy, Simulator
Developer: Various
Publisher: Various
Developer site: Absent
Interface language:
Platform: PC
Edition type: Repack
Tablet: not required

OS: Windows XP / 7 / 8
Sound: DirectX compatible
Video card: Any, DirectX compatible
Free place on disk: 4.5 GB

Author's repack, which includes a selection of 220 of the best games of the past years, from the early 80s to the late 90s.
The repack integrates the DOS-emulator DOSBox 0.74 and a self-written launcher that launches the selected game with the optimal virtual machine configuration for it. Launching any game comes down to selecting it in the launcher and pressing the play button. All the work on setting up each game has already been done for you by the author of the repack

In general, if you caught the collapse of the USSR, if you are familiar with the "dashing 90s" by hearsay, if you remember 5.25" floppy disks, Poisk and Pravets computers, remember the phrase "Yes, Intel 386DX is cool!", If Are you familiar with the phrases "Arkanoid", "Digger", " super mario", "Star Control", "Lode Runner", "Wolfenstein 3D", "DOOM 2", "Duke Nukem 3D", "Dune 2", "Warcraft I", etc., and many of them cause an unstoppable attack nostalgia - You should definitely download this release!

Abrams: battle tanks
Airborne Ranger
Aladdin
ALBION
Alien Carnage
Alley Cat
Alone In The Dark
Alone In The Dark 2
Alone In The Dark 3
another world
Arcade Volleyball
Arkanoid
Arkanoid: Revenge of DOH
Back To The Future 2
Back To The Future 3
bad blood
Bad Street Brawler
barbarian
Barbarian 2
Battle Zone
Beneath A Steel Sky
Bioforge
Black Thorne
Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold
blockout
Blood: Spill Some
Bubble Bobble
Budokan The Martial Spirit
Caesar
Caesar II
Cannon Fodder
Captain Blood
Carmageddon
Catacomb 3D
cd-man
Chasm: The Rift
Chopper Duel
color lines
Comanche: Maximum Overkill
Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Commersant (Kommersant)
cool spot
Corporation
crime wave
Crusader: No Regret
Crusader: No Remorse
Dangerous Dave
Dangerous Dave: Dave Goes Nutz
Dangerous Dave: Haunted Mansion
Dangerous Dave
darklands
Death Rally
Death track
Descent
Descent 2
Desert Strike
Digger
disc world
Disney's Lion King
DOOM
DOOM II: Hell On Earth
Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem: Episode One: "Shrapnel City"
Duke Nukem: Episode Two: "Mission: Moonbase"
dune
Dune II: The Building Of The Dynasty
Dungeon Keeper
Dyna Blaster (Bomberman)
Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim 2
eden blues
Elite
Elite Plus
Epic Pinball
Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon
F-117 Nighthawk Stealth
F-15 Strike Eagle
F-19 Stealth Fighter
F-29 Retaliator
fade to black
Fallout
Fatal Racing
FIFA Soccer 96
Flashback: The Quest for Identity
Flintstones: Lost in Bedrock
Formula 1 Grand Prix
Frogger
Full Throttle
Gabriel Knight: Sins Of The Fathers
Gobliins
gods
golden axes
Goody
Grand Theft Auto
Heretic: Shadow Of Serpent Riders
Heroes Of Might And Magic
Hexen: Beyond Heretic
home Alone
Hovertank 3D
Indiana Jones
Jagged Alliance
James Bond: License To Kill
Jazz Jackrabbit
Judge Dredd
Jungle Book
Jungle Strike
Kicks
King's Bounty
Knightmare (Myth)
Lakers vs Celtics NBA Playoffs
Legend Of Kyrandia
Leisure Suit Larry 1
Leisure Suit Larry 2
Leisure Suit Larry 3
Leisure Suit Larry 5
Leisure Suit Larry 6
Lemmings
Lemmings 2
Lemmings 3
Liero
Livingstone Supongo
Lode Runner
Lost Vikings
Lotus: The Ultimate Challenge
Mac 3
Magic Carpet 2: The Netherworlds
Master Of Orion
MDK (Murder, Death, Kill)
MechWarrior
MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
Metal Mutant
Metaltech: Earthsiege
Montazums Revenge
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 2
Mortal Kombat 3
One Must Fall
Operation: Wolf
Overkill
pacman
Panzer General
paratrooper
planet of zoom
Police Quest
Police Quest 2
Police Quest 3
Popcorn
Prehistoric
Prehistoric 2
Prince Of Persia
Prince Of Persia 2
Quake
Quarantine
Raptor: Call Of Shadows
Rebel Moon
Redneck Rampage
Rick Dangerous
Rick Dangerous 2
Rise Of The Triad
Robocop
Saboteur 2 (Durell)
Scorched Earth
Settlers
Settlers II
Shadow Warrior
Shamus
Shell Shock
Shinobi
Sid Meiers Civilization
Sid Meiers Colonization
Sim City
Sim City 2000
Soccer Italy 90
sopwith
Space Quest 1: Sarien Encounter
Space Quest 2: Vohaul Revenge
Space Quest 3: Pirates of Pestulon
Space Quest 4: Time Rippers
Space Quest 5: New Mutation
Space Quest 6: Spinal Frontier
star control
Star Control 2
Star Control 3
Star Fighter 3000
Star Goose!
Star Wars: Dark Forces
Stellar 7
street fighter
Street Fighter 2
Strife
supaplex
super mario bros
System Shock
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri
test drive
Test Drive 3
The Incredible Machine
The Incredible Machine 2
The Need For Speed
Titus The Fox: To Marrakesh & Back
tomb raider
UFO: Enemy Unknown
Virtual pool
Wacky Wheels
Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny
Worms
Xenon
Xenon 2: Megablast
Xonix
Zaxxon
Zed
Zeliard
Kremlin Dungeons
Field of Dreams

Soviet children did not have smartphones, laptops, tablets, the Internet, game consoles and other modern amenities. For those born after the 2000s, it may seem that in Soviet childhood it is boring. But this is far from true. Yes, the generation of the USSR did not have all of the above, but there was something more - a real "analog" childhood with a bunch of games that united children from all over the yard and made them truly happy!

Let's remember the most common and best games of Soviet children...

rubber bands

The accessory of this game for girls is a linen gum. The game is played by 3 or 4 people. Each of the participants makes jumps through a stretched elastic band at different heights. The first level starts at the ankles and ends at the level of the neck.

Classics

The Classics game takes place on asphalt. This requires a small stone and crayons. Small draw cells with numbers in a certain order. The main rule in this game is to throw a stone at the cell, after which you need to jump to it on one or two legs and return in the same way.

Leader, leader, give me a pioneer!

You go quieter, you will continue - stop!

At the finish line, the driver turns his back to the participants and says: “You drive more quietly, you will continue - stop!”. While the driver is talking, the participants need to run closer to the finish line. As soon as the leader stops talking, the participants should freeze in place. In this game, victory will go to the one who first runs to the finish line and touches the driver.

The sea is worried…

The host, turning away from the participants, says the rhyme:

The sea is worried
The sea is worried two,
The sea is rough three
Marine figure freeze!

During the counting rhyme, the participants begin to make movements, depicting all kinds of figures with their hands. At the time when the driver finishes talking, the players need to freeze in some position. After that, the leader, having touched one of the participants, must guess the depicted figure of the player.

Cossack robbers

Participants are divided into two teams: "Cossacks" and "robbers". The action of the game can take place in the entrance, in the yard, on the street. The “robbers”, guessing a code word, run away, while drawing arrows of their movement on the pavement. The goal of the "Cossacks" is to find the "robbers" by these arrows and find out their secret word.

dodgeball

In this game, two participants must stand on both sides of the site, the remaining participants must be in the center. The main goal of the "bouncers", throwing the ball to each other, is to hit one of the participants in the center. When one person remains in the team with the main players, he must dodge the ball as many times as he is old.

I know 5 names

One participant in the game picks up the ball, while saying: “I know one name of the boy,” after which he throws the ball on the ground and pronounces the name. The options can be different: “I know one city”, “I know the same name of a girl”, etc. Having used all the options, the player says the same chants, only at the expense of two. If, while hitting the ball, the participant did not name his name in a timely manner and did not hit the ball, then the course of the game is transferred to another player. The winner is the one who can reach ten.

edible-inedible

All participants in the game sit in a row. The driver throws the ball to any player, while pronouncing some object. The participant must catch the ball if the object turns out to be "edible", if not, then must hit it. The host's goal is to confuse the player. The faster he throws the ball, the more fun the game will be.

knives

Participants draw a circle on the ground. After that, each one after another throws a knife into the territory of the opponent, while winning back as much land from him as possible. The knife can be thrown into sand, earth, and also into wooden benches. If the legs did not hit the ground during the throw, but fell, the other player throws the knife.

ring-ring

The participants of this game sit in a row and connect their palms with a boat. The driver of the game should have a small object in his fist: a button, a coin, a ring. The goal of the driver, bypassing each player, quietly put a “ring” into him, while saying “Ring-ring, go out onto the porch.” The participant who had the object rises and tries to escape. The task of all other players is to catch the evader.

Are you going to the ball?

The driver of the game reads the slogan:

"Yes and no, don't say
Don't take black and white
Are you going to the ball?"

Its purpose is to confuse the participants. The participant's task is to answer the questions without using the words "black", "white", "yes", "no".

I was born a gardener

All participants must choose a name for themselves - the name of a flower and then tell it to the other players and the driver. The driver pronounces a counting rhyme: “I was born a gardener, I was seriously angry, I was tired of all the flowers, except ...” and says the “name” of one of the participants. The player whose name was announced must respond. If the participant did not respond, the gardener assigns him a task (sing, dance, etc.)

Elephant

This game was played by children and teenagers in every courtyard of the USSR. Her rules are quite simple. Players are conditionally divided into two teams: “elephants” and “riders”. The participants of the first team stand one after another, bending in half and hugging each other. It turns out a kind of dense system, which was called the "elephant". Members of the second team line up not far from the "elephant". Each of the “riders” runs up, leans on the last “elephant” and flies further, trying to “saddle the elephant” closer to the head so that all the remaining “riders” fit. The task of the "elephant" is not to fall under the weight of the "riders". The task of the "riders" is not to fall from the "elephant".