# What are the best PC games of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021 "2006-06-01T15:16:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/61 "2006-06-02T23:42:26Z")
A somewhat random list of games that I think were objectively great (so excluding some of my favorites), personnally enjoyed (so excluding objectively great games that I happen not to like that much) and moreso than other similar games (so excluding other games in the same serie, or very good games in the same category), and that I can remember right at the moment (so excluding many, many games) and in no particular order : - Planescape : Torment - Fallout II - Blade Runner - Master of Magic - Civilization II - Europa Universalis - Master of Orion - X-Com ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/62 "2006-06-02T23:43:51Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > - Master of Orion That would be : Master of Orion II ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/63 "2006-06-02T23:51:36Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Pool of Radience-which suffers because the old box game was best game ever Wait, are you talking about the original or the remake? Because the only person I’ve ever heard of who liked the remake was the game’s producer, and that was pretty much entirely out of a deep and abiding denial. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/64 "2006-06-02T23:55:12Z")
1. Civ IV (I would like to say “the Civ series”) 2. Close Combat II (I would like to say “the Close Combat Series”) 3. Combat Mission 3 (I would like to say “the Combat Mission series”) 4. Baldurs Gate 2 (I happy with this) 5. Unreal Tournament 2003 (?) I’ve played a few more, but none of the others are worth mentioning. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/65 "2006-06-03T00:58:12Z")
1. Civilization II 2. Fallout 3. Pirates! 4. Paradroid 5. Medieval: Total War 6. Everquest 7. Zork 8. Cure of the Azure Bonds 9. Archon 10. Elite Most of those are well known to everyone, but a few brief descriptions of ones not previously mentioned in the thread: **Paradroid** was a Commodore 64 game (also on other systems) that was very simple game in theory that I nevertheless didn’t beat until I downloaded an emulator a couple years back. You played an android control unit and had to zip around a spaceship, controlling the haywire robots running amok and neutralizing them them either via control or by shooting them with the lasers of your host android. You had to keep hopping from robot to robot and the act of controlling them was settled with a Boolean logic style minigame. My description doesn’t do it any justice, but it was very addictive fun. **Curse of the Azure Bonds** was the next in SSI’s Gold Box series of AD&D games. I thought the plot was better than Pool of Radiance’s and Curse also fixed a lot of little issues that Pool had (such as introducing a ‘Fix’ command rather than forcing you to manually memorize a dozen Cure Light Wounds spells each time). **Elite** was my first taste of massive interstellar world. Two thousand planets to buzz around (split between 8 galaxies) as you trade cargo, buy weaponry, engage in piracy and all the rest of the fun in 3-D vector graphics. Old hat nowdays but, on the Commodore 64, this was amazing in both scope and gameplay. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/66 "2006-06-03T01:35:08Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Ah, man, that was a classic. Wonder if it’ll run on XP? Guess what? It does! I’ve got JA:2 and the expansion _Unfinished Business_ running on XP with no problems at all. There are also a couple of really, really good Mods out there for _UB_, notably _SOG '69_, which is a Vietnam War total conversion, and provides an excellent tactical Vietnam War gaming experience. No Queen Deidranna or Elliot, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/67 "2006-06-03T02:31:41Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Wait, are you talking about the original or the remake? Because the only person I’ve ever heard of who liked the remake was the game’s producer, and that was pretty much entirely out of a deep and abiding denial. He means the original. Man, I spent MONTHS playing that game on the old NES. The first game I ever rented a few times in a row. He also says that the sequel is a decent game. The original took us tons o time to beat. I downloaded the rom not TOO long ago and romped through it in a week, playing sporadically. Knowledge is power. Don’t let him snow you. He’s barely played Age of Empires 3, even though I have it on my laptop (which apparently nobody on the Dope plays). ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/68 "2006-06-03T02:55:16Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Wait, are you talking about the original or the remake? Because the only person I’ve ever heard of who liked the remake was the game’s producer, and that was pretty much entirely out of a deep and abiding denial. Actually I am a cheap bastard and If I buy it Im beating it.When I bought it I was disappointed but I kept at it. The only game I couldnt play was Myth.We tried and tried. Appreciated the graphics but just not enough. We were into Shingen the Ruler Romance of the # kingdoms and Nobungas Ambition ,Ghengis Kahn etc. in the old days. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/69 "2006-06-03T03:02:31Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > **Elite** was my first taste of massive interstellar world. Two thousand planets to buzz around (split between 8 galaxies) as you trade cargo, buy weaponry, engage in piracy and all the rest of the fun in 3-D vector graphics. Old hat nowdays but, on the Commodore 64, this was amazing in both scope and gameplay. “Elite” just missed my list. I erred in not including “Knights of the Old Republic,” just plum forgot it. **sturmhauke,** I’m glad there are still TA fans out there; it was a great masterpeice of PC gaming. Another very strong element of the game, I thought, was the unit balance; most RTS’s I’ve played don’t require a combined arms strategy, and allow for victory with one to three key super-units, unless you’re playing a designed scenario that can’t be accomplished without a particular unit type. TA (especially after the expansions) provided an RTS game where you had dozens of different unit types and had to use most of them to really master the game. It was the only RTS I’ve played where I felt immersed in actually fighting a _war_, utilizing combined arms to take and hold ground. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/70 "2006-06-03T03:03:08Z")
Dad, you tipe sooooo gud. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/71 "2006-06-03T03:17:37Z")
> [@Least Original User Name Ever](#): > > He means the original. Man, I spent MONTHS playing that game on the old NES. The first game I ever rented a few times in a row. He also says that the sequel is a decent game. The original took us tons o time to beat. Heh. Which sequel? There were four in that series. I’ll bet if I got up in my parents crawlspace, I could find a box with all the maps I made on graph paper for those games. And you could play the whole series with the same party! Man, I miss RPGs that let you import your character from the prequel. It used to practically be the industry standard. SSI did it with almost all their gold box games, _Might and Magic_ did it, _Bard’s Tale_ did it (although they never released any of the sequels for the Mac, which was my computer back then, so that was a moot point), _Wizardry_ did it, at least with the Cosmic Forge games. I’d kill to see a new RPG franchise with the same mechanic. > [@gonzomax](#): > > Actually I am a cheap bastard and If I buy it Im beating it.When I bought it I was disappointed but I kept at it. The only game I couldnt play was Myth. I had the same problem with the first _Myth_, which I never got very far in, but the second one was much better. I don’t recall exactly what they changed, but I played the hell out of the second one. My favorite level was one where you’re in an abandoned city, defending a library against wave after wave of undead. You’ve got a bunch of archers and molotov-throwing dwarves, and they’ve got to cross a wide plaza to get to you. Frickin’ awesome! By the time the level ended, you could barely see the flagstones, for all the bloodstains and scorch marks. I know that one runs on XP, too. Might be worth checking out, should be easy to get it cheap. (Or free, if you know a good abandonware site.) ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/72 "2006-06-03T07:48:53Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > **sturmhauke,** I’m glad there are still TA fans out there; it was a great masterpeice of PC gaming. > > Another very strong element of the game, I thought, was the unit balance; most RTS’s I’ve played don’t require a combined arms strategy, and allow for victory with one to three key super-units, unless you’re playing a designed scenario that can’t be accomplished without a particular unit type. TA (especially after the expansions) provided an RTS game where you had dozens of different unit types and had to use most of them to really master the game. It was the only RTS I’ve played where I felt immersed in actually fighting a _war_, utilizing combined arms to take and hold ground. I meant to mention that but I forgot. There really were no super units. The Commanders were pretty powerful, but of course you couldn’t go throwing your king in amongst the pawns at every turn. In one of the expansions, CORE got the massive Krogoth mech that could lay waste to a poorly defended base, but they were prohibitively expensive, extremely slow, and vulnerable to heavy artillery and certain aircraft. You couldn’t fit them on a sea transport, and air transport could just barely lift them and struggle along, but I think there was a trick where you could put one on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Of course, the aircraft carrier was more vulnerable than the Krogoth. The only real flaw in TA was in amphibious assaults. The sea transports had high capacity, but could only load and unload units one at a time by crane. This made quick landings on hostile beachheads impossible. Air transports could only carry one unit at a time, so you couldn’t field a very large force. There were amphibious tanks, but they were slow and unable to fight while underwater, making them easy pickings for anything with torpedoes or depth charges. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/73 "2006-06-03T08:04:27Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I had the same problem with the first _Myth_, which I never got very far in, but the second one was much better. I don’t recall exactly what they changed, but I played the hell out of the second one. My favorite level was one where you’re in an abandoned city, defending a library against wave after wave of undead. You’ve got a bunch of archers and molotov-throwing dwarves, and they’ve got to cross a wide plaza to get to you. Frickin’ awesome! By the time the level ended, you could barely see the flagstones, for all the bloodstains and scorch marks. The _Myth_ games are great - if you can play them right. Myth is one of the hardest computer games ever made. This is not an exaggeration, it’s plain fact, the game is meant to be extraordinarily challenging. I think that Bungie created it in opposition to popular strategy games like Warcraft which enabled the player to continuously generate more troops, build fortifications, etc - in Myth you get a small number of troops at the beginning of each level, and that’s it - except for rare cases when you are provided with reinforcements, you’re stuck with the same, usually very small, group of soldiers from the beginning of each level. For this reason, Myth is not really an RTS, it’s more like a version of chess - you really, really, really have to think ahead, you have to see every possible move in advance, you have to retreat constantly. You will NEVER win in Myth by numbers, you will always be outnumbered, usually on a ludicrous scale. Therefore this game is intensely frustrating to many people. ---
**Author:** ![Daylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@Daylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylon)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/74 "2006-06-03T10:19:56Z")
In no particular order - Pirates! (original) M.U.L.E. Autoduel Doom Civ Ultima III F.E.A.R Tetris Half-Life Adventure! ZORK Myst my 2 cents D. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/75 "2006-06-03T17:02:18Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > I meant to mention that but I forgot. There really were no super units. The Commanders were pretty powerful, but of course you couldn’t go throwing your king in amongst the pawns at every turn. In one of the expansions, CORE got the massive Krogoth mech that could lay waste to a poorly defended base, but they were prohibitively expensive, extremely slow, and vulnerable to heavy artillery and certain aircraft. I tried a lot of Krogoths against some skilled players. It did have its place, but it wasn’t a panacea; the moment you revleaed you had one your opponent’s usual repsonse was to come hunting to the Krogoth factory with air units. As part of a combined arms attack, they were great for punching through defenses, either making way for a larger mixed-unit force or killing AA defenses to allow air assauts. > [@](#): > > The only real flaw in TA was in amphibious assaults. The sea transports had high capacity, but could only load and unload units one at a time by crane. This made quick landings on hostile beachheads impossible. Air transports could only carry one unit at a time, so you couldn’t field a very large force. There were amphibious tanks, but they were slow and unable to fight while underwater, making them easy pickings for anything with torpedoes or depth charges. I never saw this as a flaw, to be honest. I thought it SHOULD be hard to achieve a beachhead. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/76 "2006-06-03T19:41:22Z")
MOO2- hard decision between this one and MOO but MOO2 added some good options. Panzer General Gary Grigsby’s Pacific War - one of the most indepth computer strategy games ever. StarFlight Pirates(original) Railroad Tycoon Crusade in Europe Gunship Red Storm Rising Goddamn I miss the old Microprose days. ---
**Author:** ![lobstermobster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobstermobster/32/10033_2.png) [@lobstermobster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobstermobster)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/77 "2006-06-03T20:35:32Z")
mother fucking CHIPS CHALLENGE. I dont know about you guys, but this game is the most important in my world which is the only one i know. I think i’ll play right now… ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/78 "2006-06-03T21:33:31Z")
My Top 5 is Transport Tycoon Deluxe with the latest patch. Every six months or so I have a major relapse and play it for days on end. Ahh! > [@Ellis Dee](#): > > 1. Stunts The most fun driving game on a computer I ever played. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/79 "2006-06-04T02:56:35Z")
A couple of others I’ve thought of: MDK and MDK2 Call of Duty ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021/80 "2006-06-04T06:37:00Z")
In no particular order Wing Commander: Set the gold standard for space sims. Thrilling music, fun characters, and excellent gameplay. The sequel to this game, Wing Commander 2, introduced an excellent story to the gameplay of the first, as well as establishing the unfortunate tradition that you have to dispose of the carrier from the previous game at the start of the next. System Shock (Enhanced CD version): The original FPS/RPG, where you played the hero in one of the most cliched sci-fi plots of all time: Man vs. Batshit Insane Supercomputer. You have to play the CD version to appreciate this game, with you running around recieving (or more commonly, finding) audio messages from other people trapped on the station (and later finding the remains of the people who sent the messages), all while the supercomputer Shodan, who has decided that she is a god and must eliminate Humanity so that her creations may flourish, constantly taunts and threatens you in her absolutley freaky voice. Her “Creature of flesh and bone” monologue is famous. The sequel would introduce, among other things, zombies with shotguns. ZOMBIES WITH FREAKING SHOTGUNS! :eek: Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters: one of the greatest PC games of all time, bar none. Amazing music, fun characters, excellent top-down ship combat, with things like gravity and inertia being modeled (the Gravity Whip is a time-honored strategy for allowing heavier, slower ships to gain speed to fight with smaller opponents, also, you could try and run your enemies into the planets and destroy them). In this game you had to rebuild the Alliance of Free Stars and defeat the forces of the Ur-Quan, and find a way to free Earth from the inpenetrable glowy-red Slave Sheild. Matterhorn Screamer: In this game for the Commodore 64, you had to help Goofy climb a mountain without falling to his doom. This was my first computer game, thus being the first step on my way to being a computer geek, which, as I’m sure you all know, greatly benefited the computer gaming community as a whole 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-pc-games-of-all-time/359021.md?page=5)