# Suggest some full-version freeware games

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [October 7, 2008, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816 "2008-10-07T06:20:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 15\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/21 "2008-10-08T19:35:26Z")

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> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> That looks really, really cool - like a cross between _Elite_ (one of my favorite games of all time), _Thrust_, and _Asteroids_.

Speaking of Elite, it and Elite Plus are [freeware](http://www.iancgbell.clara.net/elite/game.htm).

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**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/22 "2008-10-09T20:10:11Z")

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Are any RPGs available? I do not like shooters.

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**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/23 "2008-10-09T21:07:39Z")

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Try [Broken Sword 2.5](http://www.brokensword25.com/). It’s a fan creation that tags onto the commercial Broken Sword franchise.

It’s a point’n’click adventure RPG – good old school adventuring and picking up almost everything that isn’t nailed down. _g_ I’ve been playing it for a while, and it’s pretty entertaining. Not just because it’s free – the visual and gameplay quality are excellent.

You’re basically playing a snarky protagonist (think Monkey Island type snark) who’s looking to solve the mystery of why his girlfriend is messing about with a secret Neo-Templar organization. If you’ve played the previous Broken Sword games, there are plenty of shout-outs to the commercial installments which is cool.

I do have a couple nitpicks – it’s not always clear that you can “examine” an object just by right-clicking on it. I had to do some experimentation to find that out. Also, you can’t change the resolution of the game which bothered me a bit since I’m playing it on my Wind which has a 1024x600 screen – I don’t think this would bite anyone else in the ass though.

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**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/24 "2008-10-10T00:59:21Z")

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> [@lizardling](#):
>
> Try [Broken Sword 2.5](http://www.brokensword25.com/). It’s a fan creation that tags onto the commercial Broken Sword franchise.
> 
> It’s a point’n’click adventure RPG – good old school adventuring and picking up almost everything that isn’t nailed down. _g_ I’ve been playing it for a while, and it’s pretty entertaining. Not just because it’s free – the visual and gameplay quality are excellent.
> 
> You’re basically playing a snarky protagonist (think Monkey Island type snark) who’s looking to solve the mystery of why his girlfriend is messing about with a secret Neo-Templar organization. If you’ve played the previous Broken Sword games, there are plenty of shout-outs to the commercial installments which is cool.
> 
> I do have a couple nitpicks – it’s not always clear that you can “examine” an object just by right-clicking on it. I had to do some experimentation to find that out. Also, you can’t change the resolution of the game which bothered me a bit since I’m playing it on my Wind which has a 1024x600 screen – I don’t think this would bite anyone else in the ass though.

Thanks. I’ll try it.

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**Author:** ![Bobalude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bobalude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobalude)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/25 "2008-10-10T02:00:06Z")

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I remember enjoying [Dink Smallwood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dink_Smallwood) a while back. It’s available here: [http://www.rtsoft.com/dink/download.htm](http://www.rtsoft.com/dink/download.htm)

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**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/26 "2008-10-10T04:56:13Z")

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> [@gonzomax](#):
>
> Thanks. I’ll try it.

No worries. Let me know how it works for you. I’d also recommend poking around online for ‘abandonware’ which is essentially commercial games that have been abandoned by their creators for whatever reason – original company went bust, copyright ran out, that sort of thing.

Quest for Glory is an example of that. I just got reminded by a coworker that one of those now got remade as freeware or something of the sort. I think it was #2 in the series. It’s on my list after I finish Broken Sword 2.5.

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**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/27 "2008-10-10T04:59:25Z")

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Check out the [Chzo series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chzo_Mythos#External_links). They’re excellent old-school adventure games.

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**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/28 "2008-10-10T06:09:54Z")

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> [@ultrafilter](#):
>
> Check out the [Chzo series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chzo_Mythos#External_links). They’re excellent old-school adventure games.

I second that. The first two games are decent, but the series really hits it’s stride in the last two games.

And since the first two games are referenced a lot in the 2nd two, you kind of have to play them in order.

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**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/29 "2008-10-10T09:06:42Z")

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[Gamershell](http://www.gamershell.com/fullgame_download_archive.html) appears to have a rather extensive list of free full games… And if you’re looking for some classics, there’s always [Abandonia](http://www.abandonia.com/).

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/30 "2008-10-10T15:19:08Z")

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> [@gonzomax](#):
>
> Are any RPGs available? I do not like shooters.

For online games: [http://www.freemmorpglist.com/](http://www.freemmorpglist.com/).

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**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/31 "2008-10-10T16:56:56Z")

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> [@DeadlyAccurate](#):
>
> Area 51 is free. It’s a 1.9GB download, and I think it’s ad-enabled.  
> [GamersHell - Your Gateway to Gaming Since 2000](http://www.gamershell.com/news_61608.html)

Ad-enabling apparently doesn’t work everywhere. I just downloaded the whole thing and installed it just to have it say “We’re sorry but free, ad-supported game play is unavailable in this country. Please visit our portal site to find games that are available for play.”

They absolutely couldn’t have told me that before wasting my time, could they? :dubious:

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/32 "2008-10-10T17:35:02Z")

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> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#):
>
> Ad-enabling apparently doesn’t work everywhere. I just downloaded the whole thing and installed it just to have it say “We’re sorry but free, ad-supported game play is unavailable in this country. Please visit our portal site to find games that are available for play.”
> 
> They absolutely couldn’t have told me that before wasting my time, could they? :dubious:

The ads are for the US Air Force- I suppose you’re not exactly in their target demographic. 😃

It worked fine for me, but I played through the first six levels and then uninstalled. Visibility is extremely low (dark, underground bunker with the power out) and everything shakes when you’re firing- makes it really realistic (I suppose, never having been in a firefight in a bunker full of hostile aliens) but also virtually impossible to shoot anything from more than three feet away, and even harder to tell _if you’re hitting whatever you’re shooting at_. That’s a deal breaker for me.

It’s a shame, because the sound, graphics, storyline (so far) and general atmosphere were phenomenal.

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**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/33 "2008-10-10T17:45:09Z")

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[Nethack.](http://www.nethack.org) Still the best game ever.

Warning: will eat your life.

JRB

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**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/34 "2008-10-10T21:59:39Z")

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> [@JR\_Brown](#):
>
> [Nethack.](http://www.nethack.org) Still the best game ever.
> 
> Warning: will eat your life.
> 
> JRB

Dude. _agree_ I still haven’t made it to ascension without cheating, though, and it’s been decades. 😕

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**Author:** ![Robin\_Goodfellow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Robin\_Goodfellow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robin_Goodfellow)\
**Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-full-version-freeware-games/466816/35 "2008-10-10T22:22:47Z")

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> [@JR\_Brown](#):
>
> [Nethack.](http://www.nethack.org) Still the best game ever.
> 
> Warning: will eat your life.
> 
> JRB

Yeah, I was gonna say there aren’t any _really_ good free RPGs, but then I remembered that roguelikes qualify.

For my money (ha), I prefer the slightly more structured [ADOM](http://www.adom.de/) or [Zangband](http://www.zangband.org/) for my open-ended fantasy adventuring.

On the other hand, if you want to try an instant classic Metroid-style platformer with a great story, you (and everyone else) must play [Cave Story](http://www.cavestory.org/).

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