I’ve played a lot of PC games over the years… probably too many, come to think of it. But with all the time I’ve dedicated to games, I’ve also been able to sum up a fairly long list of titles which I think are truly excellent, and worth re-installing and playing again later on. Here’s a list of 6 games you might not have played before that I think were excellent titles of their time, and still stand out among today’s offerings as monuments to what the medium can achieve (and how much fun you can have).
All titles are currently available on Steam, and I’ve even listed their price for you. Some of these games are a real steal, and all are worth a play-through!
Deus Ex (currently $9.95) [Link]
What would you do if you were a nanotech-enhanced, monotone-speakin’, super-soldier working for the NSA? What would you do if you had a huge arsenal of weaponry and specialized talents? What if you wore a huge leather and metal trench coat? Deus Ex asks these hard questions, and answers them too – with a conspiracy theory so big, you might just wind up believing some of it yourself.
Deus Ex was a revolutionary game because it took the standard first-person shooter, threw in a lot of RPG elements (inventory, upgradeable skills, etc) , and wrapped it in a nice, slick package. It’s powered by a modified version of the original Unreal Engine, and is a really huge game that, thanks to the different skills you can learn, can be played in almost any style that suits you. Even a decade after it’s release, the visuals are still nice and crisp, and the music and voice acting is very well done. I really recommend this game if you like the FPS / RPG hybrid games, and for $9.95, you could definitely do worse.
Sid Meier’s Railroads (currently $19.95) [Link]
Ever since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated by trains – I still can’t help but take a peek when I see one racing by my morning commute. Sid Meier’s Railroads, and the Railroad Tycoon games it is based on, recreate my childhood fantasy of driving around trains all day, and throw in some pretty fun (and challenging) economic simulation to boot. If anything, it’s simply fun to zoom around the game’s beautiful environments and watch all the mechanical marvels make their rounds.
Like Sid Meier’s Pirates, and a lot of other games from the legendary designer, Railroads has very high production values in art and sound, and features gameplay that’s simple to grasp, but which gets more complex as you play. The game features a variety of scenarios which task you with making a profitable railroad company (or reversing the fate of one that isn’t), all kicked off with a nice tutorial. Different missions start during different periods of history, and as you play, you can spend money on research to develop new engines and technologies appropriate to that era. Getting people and things where they need to go is the name of the game, so if you enjoy logistics simulations that aren’t too heavy-handed, download the demo and give it a spin – you’ll be laying some track in no time.
