# All Time Best And Worst PC Games
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 7, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999 "2003-04-07T04:20:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/1 "2003-04-07T04:20:59Z")
Been awhile since we did this.
Let’s see your lists. Here’s mine:
**Best. PC. Games. Ever.**
1. Civilization II
2. Total Annihilation
3. Red Baron
4. TIE Fighter
5. X-Com
6. SimCity
7. Empire
8. Wing Commander II
9. EverQuest
10. Elite
Honorable Mentions: M.U.L.E., Railroad Tycoon, Jedi Knight, Carmageddon, World Circuit, Pirates!, V for Victory series, The Battle of Britain, Doom II, Castle Wolfenstein, Alone in the Dark, Lemmings.
**Worst. PC. Games. Ever.**
(Eligibility note: Must be a major, in-real-stores release.)
1. Patriot
2. Ultimate Military Simulator II
3. Star Wars: Rebellion
4. Third Reich
5. The Lawnmower Man
6. Strike Commander
7. Braveheart
Your choices?
---
### Author:  [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/2 "2003-04-07T04:59:54Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Cosmic Race
> Awful Japanese PSX racing game reviewed by Chris Charla in the last issue of original GP\*. Remembered for being the only game ever given a 0% rating, the words “Cosmic Race” quickly came to mean “really, really, bad game”.
[http://www.geocities.com/ultragameplayers/encyclo.html](http://www.geocities.com/ultragameplayers/encyclo.html)
\*-Game Players magazine, later Ultra GP.
---
### Author:  [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/3 "2003-04-07T05:03:28Z")
If it’s PC Games only, in no particular order:
1. Monkey Island 2
2. SimCity 2000
3. X-Com: UFO Defense
4. Civilization 3
5. Day of the Tentacle
6. You Don’t Know Jack: Movies
7. Tie Fighter
8. The Sims
9. Diablo II
10. Sam & Max Hit the Road
Honorable Mentions: The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Battlezone (the RTS), DOOM, Dark Castle (Mac), Uninvited (Mac), Jedi Knight, Half-Life
(I’m not including games I worked on, because that seems weird. But I think a couple would qualify, but not necessarily due to my contribution.)
I’m also not making a worst games list, because there are so many bad games for so many different reasons – bad ideas, failed potential, or just reeking of incompetence.
---
### Author:  [@Mr.Mook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Mook)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/4 "2003-04-07T06:55:35Z")
Quake 2
Unreal 2
Both rocked.
Starfleet Academy sucked ass.
---
### Author:  [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/5 "2003-04-07T06:55:47Z")
- Civilization
- TIE Fighter
- X-com
- Fallout 2
- Baldur’s Gate 2
- Planescape: Torment
- Pirates!
- Master of Orion
- Railroad Tycoon
---
### Author:  [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/6 "2003-04-07T07:00:41Z")
Battlefield 1942
Civilization 1,2, and 3 are all excellent games
Halflife
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### Author:  [@Madawc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madawc)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/7 "2003-04-07T07:25:21Z")
Starcraft? or the Warcraft series doesn’t excite you guys?
I’ll second Diablo II
Tetris
Super Mario Series
short list… i can go on and on about good games
for bad games, don’t really know, if I really dont like them at first I won’t play them at all.
However, I get dizzy after playing anything like Quake FPS view and fast-paced.
---
### Author:  [@lukaspriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lukaspriest)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/8 "2003-04-07T07:48:24Z")
Best:
Undying
RTCW
HalfLife
Divine Divinity
StarCraft
---
### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/9 "2003-04-07T08:09:56Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by SolGrundy \*
> Honorable Mentions: The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Battlezone (the RTS), DOOM, Dark Castle (Mac), **Uninvited** (Mac), Jedi Knight, Half-Life
Dude, I agree with all the other good games you mentioned, but **Uninvited**? That’d be a top runner for one of my Ten Worst. Arbitrary, often illogical puzzles that _always_ ended in death if you didn’t get it right on the first try, plus a time-limit based on how many actions you make in the game, making experimentation impossible. Frustrating and stupid.
Then again, I really liked **Shadowgate** , so what do I know?
Also, I want to give a shout out to the OP, for suffering through **Braveheart**. The single good thing I can say for that game is that it had a really nice map of Scotland.
---
### Author:  [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/10 "2003-04-07T08:25:36Z")
The best:
1. Planescape: Torment
2. Arcanum
3. Fallout 2
4. Fallout
5. Baldur’s Gate II
6. Baldur’s Gate
7. Icewind Dale II
8. Icewind Dale
9. Morrowind
10. The Longest Journey
Worst:
1. Pool of Radiance 2
2. Betrayal at Antara
3. Lands of Lore 3
4. Black Dahlia
5. Diablo II
6. Fallout: Tactics
7. Menzoberanzan
8. Enclave (based on the demo)
9. Eye of the Beholder III
10. Oni
---
### Author:  [@MetalDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MetalDog)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/11 "2003-04-07T10:45:47Z")
Best:
Thief
System Shock
Clouds of Xeen
Morrowind
Giants: Citizen Kabuto
Sacrifice
Monkey Islands 1,2,3
Sam and Max hit the Road
Day of the Tentacle
Zork: Grand Inquisitor
Quake
(As with SolGrundy, not counting ones I’ve worked on, even though they were ace =))
Worst:
I’ll just put my all time pet hate down, although there are a lot of games that are bad in one way or another, this one took the biscuit for sheer insult to my intelligence.
SiN
---
### Author:  [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/12 "2003-04-07T12:04:29Z")
While I’m not enough of a gamer to name the ten best and ten worst, I have to object to Doom I&II being left off the top ten. These games created the first-person-shooter genre, and did it so well that I still play those occasionally with friends, deathmatch on home-made maps. Yes, Wolfenstein 3D came before, but Doom set the standards for all the other ones. Without Doom, no Quake, Half-Life, Unreal or whatever you young whippersnappers like to play these days.
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### Author:  [@MetalDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MetalDog)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/13 "2003-04-07T12:19:19Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Priceguy \*
> \*\*While I’m not enough of a gamer to name the ten best and ten worst, I have to object to Doom I&II being left off the top ten. These games created the first-person-shooter genre, and did it so well that I still play those occasionally with friends, deathmatch on home-made maps. Yes, Wolfenstein 3D came before, but Doom set the standards for all the other ones. Without Doom, no Quake, Half-Life, Unreal or whatever you young whippersnappers like to play these days. \*\*
Have to disagree - Wolfenstein would be the more likely candicate for that if you’re looking for FPS origins. Without Wolfenstein, no Doom, by your argument (althought I do think it would have been done sooner or later anyway).
Doom made progress and was a great game, but it was Quake that made the leap to full 3D and the mouselook+WASD interface. Doom was an inbetween engine-wise and it’s biggest contribution was the stunning use of sound and lighting as well as the buckets of gore.
It could also be argued that Half-Life set the standard for plot and AI (although these things are still sadly lacking in many FPS). Of course anyone who played the original System Shock could tell you that SS did it before Half-Life and did it somewhat better, although it’s engine wasn’t as purty.
Of course if you want to go way back, 3D maze might be considered the precursor to them all 😉
---
### Author:  [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/14 "2003-04-07T12:25:17Z")
Yes, Wolfenstein came first, as I said, but Doom introduced the elements that have since become mainstays, such as the variety of different weapons and different monsters. Most of the weapons used in Doom have counterparts in other first-person-shooters, and we’re simply used to being able to gun each other down with rocket launchers and chain guns. In the same way that Advent paved the way for text adventures, Doom did for first-person-shooters.
OK, Quake took one major leap in allowing full 3D with the ability to look around, jump, crouch and so on. I’ll concede that.
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### Author:  [@Fingolfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fingolfin)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/15 "2003-04-07T12:27:00Z")
**1. Rollercoaster Tycoon 2
2. Railroad Tycoon
3. Sim City 4
4. Diablo II
5. High Heat Baseball**
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### Author:  [@Nangleator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nangleator)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/16 "2003-04-07T12:53:48Z")
_So_ glad to see Red Baron on the list. God. Damn! that AI was good on the historical pilots. I had some amazing dogfights with some of the guys, like Lothar Richtoven. Verner Voss and I had a personal thing going. We were about even in a long string of single combats. The mission VCR was amazing, and I’ve never seen it bested. They don’t even try anymore.
Also, F-19 and it’s sequel, F-117, were great for tension and adrenaline release. Loads of satisfaction in that one.
I had a blast with Red Storm Rising and Transport Tycoon.
---
### Author:  [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/17 "2003-04-07T13:00:06Z")
Bound to miss some out but:
**Best**
1. **Monkey Island** - to this day “Look! Its a three headed Monkey!” cracks me up. If i have a son he will be called Guybrush.
2. **Deus Ex** - That game lost me a girlfriend (and a good one at that.)
3. **Civilization II** - Civ3 is great, but Civ2 was in the right place at the right time. If they ever make a “Coming of Age” drama based on my life, then Civ2 will feature heavily.
4. **Sam and Max** - Just for the line “I will call this kitten ‘Mittens’ because i think it would make a nice pair.”
5. **Medieval: Total War** - According to my current girlfriend normal people do not shout “IN YOUR FACE YOU FRENCH GITS! FEAR THE LONGBOW YOU B\*STARDS! FEAR THE GODDAMN LONGBOW!” at three in the morning.
6. **Grim Fandango** - Words cannot describe just how beautiful this game is. There are three things in life i would die for - Love, Britain and Grim Fandango.
7. **Neverwinter Nights** - started playing through it again last night with my current (“eugh! computer games???”) girlfriend. She’s as addicted as i was first time round. Although to be honest she was converted the moment she found out she could choose her own outfit and hair colour.
8. **Unreal Tournament** - Hiding somewhere high up and sniping is neither a) big b) clever c) funny. According to my mates anyway.
9. **Thief** - Absolutely amazing. The only game where the demo alone has swayed me into buying it. Almost failed the first year of my degree because of it. It was a crime that it didn’t sell better.
10. **The Sims** - Earthshatteringly original and addictive. Almost cost me the final year of my degree. So much personality in one simple game.
**Worst**
No contest - i posted the following in this thread and i stand by my choice.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, i give you:
**Rise of the Robots**
That game sucked arse like nothing has sucked arse before.
You could virtually beat the entire game with one goddamn move - i think it was “across and punch”.
“Ahhhhhhhh” I hear you say “But its a beat’em up - surely it doesn’t matter how crappy the computer is at it since the real fun is in multiplayer!”
_BOLLOCKS_
the one move thing still worked.
If you were the first player to get a punch in and repeatedly did the move you couldn’t lose.
I couldn’t even not play the game - all my mates knew i had it - none of them had it, so of course every time anyone came round my house they wanted to play it - they’d seen the ads in the newspapers, on tv, in the cinemas. It was even getting rave reviews from several lying-bastard-scumbag games magazines whose claim to be “unbiased” i was fast learning to doubt.
EVERY time ANYONE came round my house this would happen:
_Warning - due to over-immersion in Ninja Turtles the following youth flashback contains excessive “Dude-ing”_
Mate: “Cool! Rise of the Robots!”
Garius: “Dude it sucks arse.”
M: “No way! I’ve seen the ads it looks f\*cking cool!”
G: “Seriously man it bites! There isn’t an arse big enough in the whole world for that game to suck - lets do something else.”
M: “Dude! Shut the f\*ck up! You’re just saying that cos you want to play Lemmings again! I’m putting it on!”
G: _sigh_ “fine.”
Thirty minutes later
M: “Dude this game sucks arse.”
and so on…
I swear to god that i had to do that about 30 to 40 times before people stopped insisting on playing it. thats 30ish times 30 minutes (the average time it took to reach people’s “this sucks” level). Add in the time it took me to complete the game and stop trying to convince myself it was a good thing to spend my birthday money on and thats about 20hrs
I lost virtually a day of my youth to Rise of the frikkin Robots
someday someone will pay for that.
oh yes.
someone will pay."[this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=162314&highlight=rise+of+the+robots)
---
### Author:  [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/18 "2003-04-07T13:14:59Z")
I like real time overhead games like Command and Conquer, Starcraft, and Commandoes.
Though it isn’t my kind of game, where does Mist stand in the pantheon of historical games?
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### Author:  [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/19 "2003-04-07T13:17:29Z")
\*\*Half Life
No One Lives Forever I & II
Civilization 2
Warcraft
Deus Ex
Secret Weapons of the Lufwaffe
\*\*
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### Author:  [@Marine\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marine_One)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-and-worst-pc-games/166999/20 "2003-04-07T13:30:09Z")
I want to kill the goof that created:
**Trespasser**
The so called Jurassic Park game.
Remember it? Horrid beyond description. Only game I’ve ever thrown away without finishing.
The limp-wristed arm physics was laughable. And what other game has ever had a heart tattoo as a health indicator?
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