10 commercial games that should be free
It’s not that we’re asking for games. It’s just that some video games absolutely deserve to be experienced by as many gamers as possible. History in progress, classics that should be free, accessible to everyone.
Here we list some of them. Games that we never forget, despite having been behind them for more than 10 years. If you can find a copy, play it, learn from them and see how they influenced what we play today.
Another World (1991)
Another World is a fantastic and revolutionary brainchild of French developer Delphine Software. The new graphic style and smooth animation were absolutely amazing and amazed the whole world, who was so wary of “french crazy games” before. The spiritual sequel, Flashback, was also fantastic, but Another World was an incredible adventure, full of surprises and emotions. It must be experienced by all players. Oh, and let’s forget Fade to Black, the sequel to Flashback, which came with an awkward camera and frustrating controls.
A History Lesson: A Fabulous Adventure with Heart.
Meanwhile, you can try:
bear go home
Colonization (1994)
Microprose released Colonization in 1994, a turn-based strategy game inspired by Civilization but with its own personality. He stole days and days from millions of players, who would go to great lengths to colonize a piece of land and in the end were honored by naming a bird after him. Or something. In 2008, Colonization received a much-deserved update with Civilization IV: Colonization. A missed opportunity for the 1994 game to become free-to-play and act as a neat marketing gimmick…
A history lesson: The most addictive thing ever!
Meanwhile, you can try:
freeciv
Destruction Derby (1995)
Created by Reflections, this is a racing game with the added bonus of smashing other cars. You can compete, you can finish first, but in some modes you also get points by crashing into opponents. It spawned several sequels and quite a few imitators, of which FlatOut is the best known.
A history lesson: the damage model was absolutely impressive.
Meanwhile, you can try:
TrackMania Nations Forever
driving speed 2
Moonstone: A Knight of Hard Days (1991)
Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight combined several genres, but it was the fighting that stuck in players’ memories. The knights died in the bloodiest of ways, limbs flying off and blood spilling all over the place. Moonstone was banned in Germany. Now, if that’s not history…
A history lesson: blood is good! In video games, naturally!
Meanwhile, you can try:
street fighter 2
Mortal Kombat (Project MUGEN) 4.1
One Must Fall: 2097
Planescape: Torment (1999)
Planescape: Torment came on the heels of the Fallout games and is another brilliant RPG that didn’t sell as well as it deserved. The Nameless One is the protagonist, who wakes up without any memories only to quickly discover that he is immortal. The plot is largely based on the text and the intertwined stories are full of satire and dark humor. It is a cult classic and is still fondly remembered by thousands of players.
A history lesson: An RPG with its own – rotten – identity.
Meanwhile, you can try:
Erm… Queen of the cake?
Road Rash (1991)
Road Rash is a violent motorcycle racing video game in which the player had to use all means to come in first place. Not just racing, but hitting other bikers with nunchucks, clubs, and the like. There are rumors that a new chapter may be in production, although Electronic Arts is silent on the matter.
A history lesson: it was fun to compete and fight at the same time, and the environment was one of the most realistic to date.
Meanwhile, you can try:
furious biker
System Shock (1994)
System Shock was released by the now-defunct Looking Glass Studios, receiving critical acclaim but poor sales. It was revolutionary for the time, with innovations like climbing, crouching, and leaning in a true 3D environment. Don’t laugh, it was revolutionary in the 90s! The sequel, System Shock 2, played the same tune: critical acclaim and poor sales. The spiritual sequel BioShock corrected this, being considered one of the best games of 2007 and selling like hotcakes.
A history lesson: the free 3D environment was revolutionary.
Meanwhile, you can try:
Starsiege: Tribes (Multiplayer, sure, but it’s also very sci-fi)
gloom
The Lost Vikings (1992)
It’s made by Blizzard, you know, the same guys from Diablo, Warcraft and Starcraft. Wait, it was actually made by Silicon & Synapse, before they became Blizzard. The Lost Vikings was the smartest platformer as it put us in control of three different Vikings who had to work together to navigate the levels, using their different abilities. The player only controlled one at a time. A sequel was released in 1994.
A History Lesson: A fun platform game that required constant thought.
Meanwhile, you can try:
Hurricane (if you have any better suggestions, feel free to let me know…)
The Secret of Monkey Island (1990)
Sure, there’s Loom, Maniac Mansion, or Full Throttle, but Guybrush Threepwood is hands down the most badass, often goofy, character in video game history. He wanted to be a pirate and he mostly succeeded, even facing a supernatural enemy: LeChuck, with his dark beard. The last game in the series, Escape from Monkey Island, was released in 2000 to positive reception, but far from critical acclaim. Since then, there have been rumors of a fifth game, but nothing has come of it yet.
A history lesson: Point & Click has never been so much fun!
Meanwhile, you can try:
Flight of the Amazon Queen
A tale of two kingdoms
The Need for Speed (1995)
Need For Speed (yes, with ‘The’ in the name) was first released on 3DO in 1994 and a year later on PC. It featured realistic graphics and handling, but most of the sequels went for a more arcadey feel. If you’re not comfortable with this classic, then go for 4D Sports Driving, a flawed but revolutionary game that offers different camera views, replays, and a track editor. And it was developed by Distinctive Software, later responsible for this very The Need For Speed under the EA brand.
A history lesson – paved the way for many driving games.
Meanwhile, you can try:
Final Drive Fury 2.0
Mercedes CLC Dream Test Drive
