# Computer Games, Old school style **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 13, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848 "2012-11-13T00:39:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/1 "2012-11-13T00:39:01Z")
Scorched Earth > **[VC&G | » Great Moments in Shareware: Scorched Earth](http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/183)** > > Sixteen years after its humble emergence in the golden age of the BBS, Wendell Hicken's timeless 1991 artillery simulation remains a hallmark in \[...\] and Dinosaur Safari [http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/93...ur+Safari.html](http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/93...ur+Safari.html) My two favorite computer games we used to goof off with at school other than Oregon Trail. Please tell me I am not the only one who played these? So name your favorite old school computer games and someone tell me where I can find Dinosaur Safari that will run on Windows 7 or 8. We tried getting a game disk of it a few years ago and it kept crashing on our PC. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/2 "2012-11-13T00:51:51Z")
Moved Cafe Society --\> The Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/3 "2012-11-13T00:57:50Z")
I still occasionally dust off Scorched Earth, myself. I think the best thing about it were the abusable glitches: You could drive your tank straight through a mountain, or through the air, if you knew the tricks. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/4 "2012-11-13T01:14:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I still occasionally dust off Scorched Earth, myself. I think the best thing about it were the abusable glitches: You could drive your tank straight through a mountain, or through the air, if you knew the tricks. Haha Yes! My favorite part of the game had to be the little talk bubbles before you shot or when a tank died “Join the army, see the world they said” ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/5 "2012-11-13T01:31:59Z")
Scorched Earth may well have been my first PC game addiction. It’s been more-or-less perfected in the Worms series, IMO, but I LOVED that game! My friends wanted to play Doom (this was about 1992 or '93), but I wanted Scorched Earth! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/6 "2012-11-13T02:19:13Z")
[Wasteland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland_(video_game)). Classic. [The Ancient Art of War](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdgwPOf2BCA) and it’s equally awesome sequel, [The Ancient Art of War at Sea](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umpY5HW7xQk). There was a 3rd game in the series, _The Ancient Art of War in the Skies_, but I never played that one. [Star Control](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Ex4tSwfk8) 1 and 2. Great space combat games, and the 2nd had some elements of exploration and resource-building. I was a big fan of the _Bard’s Tale_ series, and I also loved the Sierra On-Line _Police Quest_ games. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/7 "2012-11-13T03:00:04Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > [Star Control](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Ex4tSwfk8) 1 and 2. Great space combat games, and the 2nd had some elements of exploration and resource-building. Star Control 2 is now available free on multiple platforms as [The Ur-Quan Masters](http://sc2.sourceforge.net/). ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/8 "2012-11-13T03:07:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > Star Control 2 is now available free on multiple platforms as [The Ur-Quan Masters](http://sc2.sourceforge.net/). Nice. I’ll have to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/9 "2012-11-13T03:16:10Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Haha Yes! > My favorite part of the game had to be the little talk bubbles before you shot or when a tank died > “Join the army, see the world they said” The version I played on PC, all of those phrases were contained in a text file which I used to edit and put friend-specific insults into the game 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/10 "2012-11-13T03:20:59Z")
The second link only shows me a bunch of screenshots from the old [KGB adventure game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KGB_%28video_game%29), which is another interesting one. I was actually just thinking how that would have been a great setting for a LA Noire spinoff. The detectives in LA Noire behaved like secret police most of the time anyways, so it would work great. Plus, since the Soviets built copies of 1940’s American cars for decades, they could recycle the car models. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/11 "2012-11-13T03:27:24Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > Star Control 2 is now available free on multiple platforms as [The Ur-Quan Masters](http://sc2.sourceforge.net/). Best fucking god damned video game ever made. I have played through that game more times than I can count, and it never gets old. As far as other old timey computer games I loved as a kid: Thexder Hugo’s House of Horrors (and the two sequels) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/12 "2012-11-13T04:07:02Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I was a big fan of the _Bard’s Tale_ series, and I also loved the Sierra On-Line _Police Quest_ games. The 2004/5 “remake” of [The Bard’s Tale](http://store.steampowered.com/app/41900/?snr=1_7_suggest__13) (with Cary Elwes voicing the Bard) also includes copies of the original The Bard’s Tale 1, 2, and 3. I recommend against getting the physical copy of the game as it doesn’t play on modernish versions of Windows. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/13 "2012-11-13T04:12:31Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > The 2004/5 “remake” of [The Bard’s Tale](http://store.steampowered.com/app/41900/?snr=1_7_suggest__13) (with Cary Elwes voicing the Bard) also includes copies of the original The Bard’s Tale 1, 2, and 3. Ah, but how do I get a new copy of [The Bard’s Tale Construction Set](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bard's_Tale_Construction_Set)? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/14 "2012-11-13T05:01:36Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Haha Yes! > My favorite part of the game had to be the little talk bubbles before you shot or when a tank died > “Join the army, see the world they said” “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a DEATH’S HEAD!” And then the entire level, including the shooter, vanishes in endless explosions. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/15 "2012-11-13T05:05:10Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > [Wasteland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland_(video_game)). Classic. Yep. I always found the book with the “paragraphs” a nice way to get around the expense in size it would have taken to include all the fixed conversations in the game itself. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/16 "2012-11-13T05:13:07Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > [Wasteland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland_(video_game)). Classic. > > [The Ancient Art of War](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdgwPOf2BCA) and it’s equally awesome sequel, [The Ancient Art of War at Sea](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umpY5HW7xQk). There was a 3rd game in the series, _The Ancient Art of War in the Skies_, but I never played that one. Man, I used to LOVE these two. War more than War at Sea though. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/17 "2012-11-13T05:43:57Z")
I’ve been trying to figure out how to play Civil War Generals II for years. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/18 "2012-11-13T06:40:57Z")
I’m also a big fan of Star Control II; _great_ game. Syndicate and Populous; played them both like crazy way back when. Both are now available on Good Old Games for the nostalgic, by the way. [Killing Time.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Time_%28video_game%29) Very cool and atmospheric; my mother also liked playing it. [Dungeon Master.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon_Master_%28video_game%29) Played that to death. [SunDog: Frozen Legacy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SunDog:_Frozen_Legacy) This too. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/19 "2012-11-13T07:40:41Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Dinosaur Safari > [http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/93...ur+Safari.html](http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/93...ur+Safari.html) I had a game maybe ten years ago called Carnivores that looks very similar. But also on the dinosaur theme, I still play [Dino Eggs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino_Eggs) on a Commodore 64 emulator. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848/20 "2012-11-13T15:31:38Z")
[Rocket Ranger](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6vIHcxGyIA) gets my vote. It has busty heroines, jetpacks, and a hidden Nazi moon base! Not to mention a decoder wheel you need to complete the game. “Tell us about the rocket pack or THE GIRL WILL SUFFER!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-games-old-school-style/640848.md?page=2)