Many people consider console games as producing the classics you know: Nintendo, Sega, Atari games and so on. But there actually exists a great selection of classic games on the good old PC. Many of which were never released any where near a console. Collecting classic PC games is actually surprisingly affordable.
Like all game collecting, there is various pros and cons to classic PC games. The biggest pro I think I can give the PC games is cost – it is a lot cheaper to build up a classic PC game collection. Not only that, many of these classic PC games were light years ahead of the consoles in terms of visuals and sounds. The downside to classic pc game collecting is that many of these games will simply not play on a modern PC. If you are PC savvy, this is not such an issue, as there are various workarounds, but for others it can be a real headache. The best way I feel to work around this, is to buy your self a good classic PC and dedicate that to your classic PC game collection. Its worth noting that you can pick up an old PC very cheaply and in many cases they will come with some games thrown in as well!
Here is a list of five great classic PC games that I think would be a great way to start any classic PC game collection:
Grim Fandango- This classic was brought to us by gaming legend Tim Schafer and is a very entertaining and dark funny story. At its heart it is a typical Lucas Arts adventure game with all the things you would come to expect. It is just a fun game, plain and simple, with a great story and a very interesting cast of characters, that you will actually care about. This is also available to buy really cheaply. It should just cost you some spare change!
X-Com Enemy Unknown- This is a classic strategy game that sees you have to deal with an alien invasion. This is the first part of a long running (soon to be rebooted series) that is still loved to this day. Very affordable and is available in many packs with all of its sequels as well. You can pick these games up fairly cheaply.
Kings Quest- This is a long running series of games made by PC legends Sierra. These are really story driven adventure games that looked way ahead of their time. Many of the later releases even used real actors for their FMV scenes. The whole series may not be fantastic, but the first game is definitely worth checking out to just see how good classic PC games back in the day looked compared to the consoles of the era. In general these are not too expensive if you just want the games. But if you want them complete with all the manuals and little extras, then they may set you back a fair bit.
Space Quest- Again made by the people at Sierra. This is a very story driven series of games, much like the Kings Quest series, but the comedy here is pure gold. Like King’s Quest, this can be found in collections with many of its sequels.
Theme Park- This is a sentimental favourite of mine, it looks very primitive by today’s standard,s but it is still a whole heap of fun and you will be amazed at just how addictive this game is. It is also a great showcase for just how far ahead of the SNES and Sega Mega Drive games, the PC games were back then. Theme Park can be picked up really cheaply and in many cases you can get it just as cheap, with its sister title Theme Hospital thrown in as well!
