25 Essential DOS Games of 1996

Pretty good year 1996, perhaps not as good as some of the earlier, but still rather great!
10 Years of PC DOS Gaming (Complete):
• 10 Years of PC DOS Gaming
10 Years of Amiga Gaming (Complete):
• 10 Years of Amiga Gaming
10 Years of C64 Gaming (Ongoing):
• 10 Years of C64 Gaming
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Gameplay recordings that you've seen in this video as a background to my commentary all came from amazing retro gaming related channels that do great job preserving the classics for the future. They all deserve your subscription, and they all have mine. These are:
0:00 Intro
0:15 Grand Prix II
1:53 Fantasy General
3:16 Quake
5:09 Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games
8:21 Realms of the Haunting (‪@goodoldgameplays5047‬ )
9:50 Toonstruck
11:38 Duke Nukem 3D
14:40 Lords of the Realm II (‪@UdoKrawallo‬ )
16:35 Discworld II: Mortality Bytes!
18:13 Archimedean Dynasty
20:00 Screamer 2
22:09 Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive
24:00 Death Rally
25:42 The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall
29:20 Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands
31:17 Indycar Racing II
32:35 Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
34:28 Mechwarrior II: Mercenaries
36:06 Tomb Raider
37:55 Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom
39:26 Master of Orion II (‪@zirkoni42‬ )
42:52 Descent II
44:46 Command & Conquer: Red Alert
46:43 NASCAR Racing 2
47:42 The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici
49:36 Outro
#retrogames #retrogaming #dos #1996

[@redacted5052]

This is a terrific series, and you’ve called out some real gems here.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thanks! Doing my best... :)

[@galloe8933]

Duke3D. Long story, so I'll keep it short. My foster mother got a video from one of her friends, it was a dirty video called "Beer poop" and I got rid of the "Virus" and she gave me the Computer and it had Duke3D in the CD rom drive, and Decent on an old CD holder. God ever, did I beat the heck out of that game.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

That's also really cool way of getting free games. You could say, that they were the pure kind of shareware. ;) Even if not shareware at all.

[@speedincooper]

What a great list! An eye-opener to see that 1996 was one of the best years for videogames

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I agree. We don't usually think of a particular year when talking about best games, just assume they came from more or less then or then. But if you put a number next to each, it may really be surprising seeing that some years were so much better than others. :)

[@Hektols]

Nice to see Fantasy General getting some love.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Well, it deserves it! :)

[@davidprosen5637]

It was some special thing having DOS and Windows as a dual OS system. I was stuck with NHL96/NHL97, and Fifa, Need For speed (!), Duke Nukem 3D, Red Alert. Settlers 1 I was playing 3 years before on the Amiga. :-)

[@zeusapollo6504]

Yeah, Civ 2 released in 1996 and used the dual system it was written for win 3.1 and win 3.1 did not even load without running it with a dos command from dos. Master of Orion II supported both DOS and Win3.1/Win95, but the DOS version was more stable and is still used today with fanpatches and higher resolutions in DOS. Red Alert nowdays is included with C&C in a remaster anniversary collection from 2020 and with the help of the orginal developers aged better than any other game of this list.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Remember editing config.sys and autoexec.bat for some games to even run?

[@Ldunk]

​@@OldAndNewVideoGames What about High-memory? 😂

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@Ldunk It was such a mess, and yet, we've somehow all managed to navigate it with ease. xD

[@kenny_boii]

To be young again when I had all the time in the world. I've played every one of these

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I know, there's so many games now, old and new, and not enough time...

[@Bowen_Landry]

I was not expecting to see realms of the haunting. I'm also most certainly not complaining. I really need to revisit that game. Great list.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thanks! As always, really... :) The next one's coming soon, but before that something else tomorrow.

[@GrimSqueaker2012]

Love Discworld II and Broken Sword. Two of my favourite games.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Yeah, both amazing. Though if I was to pick one, I think I would sadly lean towards BS a bit more...

[@GrimSqueaker2012]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames I'd agree with you on that. I enjoyed BS2 as well. It was a good time for games that were a little bit different.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@GrimSqueaker2012 Yep, these were the golden days of point'n'clickers. And BS games always felt to me like more serious looking LucasArts games. :)

[@khorgor]

This is an almost perfect selection of great Dos Games of the Era, every single one of them is worth playing even today

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Yep, they're all bangers! HOMM2 is moved to 1997 that will come next week I think, because I wanted to include it with Price of Loyalty expansion. :)

[@JLAvey]

I have/played so many of those games. Just finished Pandora Directive again a couple of weeks ago.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I was dreaming for a long while now of completing all Tex Murphy games in an order. But it requires so much time... I have to win the lottery. xD

[@NukeA6]

After this video, I'm convinced that 1996 is peak DOS. It really doesn't get better than this.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Next one will cover 1991. Either 1997 or 1990 after that, but I think that 1997 will be first cause I like to switch them up.

[@captainkoloth1631]

Nah. 1994. SimCity 2000, TIE Fighter, etc.

[@gamingtonight1526]

Damn right, right?!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@gamingtonight1526 And I've missed Heroes of Might and Magic II here too. Well, not missed per say, but decided to feature it in 1997 with its Price of Loyalty expansion, as it's the definitive version of the game. But technically speaking it did released in 1996.

[@zeusapollo6504]

Hard to argue with that, since 1996 had Daggerfall, Master of Orion II, Heroes of Might & Magic II and Civilization II. Daggerfall is also Elder Scrolls II, so its the year of the great Sequels - those Sequels were made with care and high quality or innovation(Daggerfall) in mind. When Sequels actually were played safe for the most part and were just a polished versions of the original formula. However, next year got X-Com 3: Apocalypse, Fallout 1, Diablo 1. Fallout was vey good and innovative and stood out for me on the PC. But 1997 had one of the best console games on the PS1 with Final Fantasy 7 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, both games are even today among the best in the series. Even today and in every Tier list, while Fallout 1 is basicly outclassed by Fallout 2. I would say PS1 was slightly ahead in 97.

[@nikospolitis5635]

1996 was on of the best years for Dos gaming.Daggerfall,Master of Orion 2,Screamer 2,Tomb Raider,C&C Red Alert,Quake...unbelievable...all those were released on the same year? Wait....where is Heroes of Might and Magic 2? :( It was one of the best Dos games.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Agreed. But I've decided to keep it for 1997 for the Price of Loyalty to be out, as an ultimate version of the game. :) I know, questionable choice, but if I'm to be honest, it allowed me to stick more gems in this one. ;)

[@chrisb2942]

To add a gem: FIFA 97, the first real 3d football game although FIFA 98 and Road to the Worldcup lifted it to another level.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I'll never forget Blur's song from Road to the World Cup 1998. xD

[@TrueFilter]

Actua soccer was

[@davidwest9375]

Another great video - thanks! Realms of the haunting is for sure up there as one of my favourite games of all time. Such deep lore, so much additional detail they didn't need to add - sure the ending was rushed, and the acting wasn't great (although i have no complaints myself!), but it still holds a special place in my heart.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

You know, there's a lot to enjoy in cringe acting. :) So, it's mostly not an issue for me either. I mean, I like Tex Murphy games... So, while they have great stories and gameplay, the acting is just out of this World, and I don't mean it in an award-winning way. xD

[@SeanRCope]

I loved DOS, stuck with it until the end. Used to build my own x86’s.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Just out of curiosity, when do you think that end of DOS came? I'd say that around 2002, even devs making mods to Doom and Wolf 3D gave up. But personally, I'd put it around 1999. I don't think that anything of significance came out for it after.

[@SeanRCope]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames yeah around 9/11 timeframe if I’m not mistaken.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@SeanRCope OMG! I don't even know how to reply to that xD

[@ThommyofThenn]

17:50 I've only read a little Pratchet but I love the look of this game and the voice acting is peak 90s it sounds like. Wacky wizards and cool conjurers!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Yeah, that pretty much sums up the game :)

[@deltapi8859]

Master of Orion 2 man ... I played very few Games in my life that would blow my mind more the more I played it.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Well, there's a reason why it's the best entry in the series :)

[@deltapi8859]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames I always thought that as well, however when they remade it they remade Master of Orion 1 ... Which I found weird...

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@deltapi8859 Hmm...

[@EpicHashTime]

Scorcher deserves a mention too. Proper cult classic. And Triplane Turmoil

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I have both covered in other videos, though I aimed this one to only include the most important games of the year in different genres. Both great games!

[@Zeziliath]

Zork Nemesis is one I had heard of before but forgot about. I am really excited to try this game! Always great to see amazing games because of you!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Cheers! :) The one before, prequel to Nemesis is also good and point'n'click, if you're allergic to parsers too. xD

[@cburger4life144]

Man, very glad this video got recommended to me. Subscribed

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thank you! :) Hopefully you'll like the other ones too :)

[@pju28]

You did again an excellent work with this video! Thanks for your effort and information! Greetings from Austria 🇦🇹

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thanks a lot! :) Glad you liked it. The next one should drop this week too. Though saying "next one" is a bit misleading as it will be for 1991. I like to mix 'em up to keep it fresh. :)

[@pju28]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames what ever you need to do you do it well like always!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@pju28 Thanks!

[@koncorde]

MOO2 could be remade today with some nicer graphics and sound effects and a bigger galaxy map etc and I'd play it to death.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

What do you think of Stellaris then, with all its mods and stuff?

[@zeusapollo6504]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames it does not have tactical combat so they can't be really compared. Galactic Civilization only has auto-combat, too.

[@zeusapollo6504]

Fanpatch 1.50 is the closed thing we have here and still runs in dosbox, but much better and higher resolutions.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@zeusapollo6504 While I agree that they're different, of course we can make all kinds of comparisons. We don't have to limit ourselves. Comparison can put side to side all things that are similar, and then list the differences. Kinda like banana vs apple, both fruit and sweet, one's long yellow and has to be peeled, while the other's round, can be in different colours and needs no peeling. ;)

[@mantovannni]

Some amazing games in this selection, I really enjoyed the stories from the past. I also have some great memories around both versus and co operative playing with friends and family. I've been playing golf games over the years because I used to play with my mum on Leaderboard on the C64 and golf games always take me back to those great times.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I loved Leaderboard Golf! Well, and pretty much any other golf game on computers and consoles. But people don't wanna play them as much these days anymore. The last time I played with someone, was when I still lived in London, and it was a three sided game on OG XBox. There was I, Mike, a Northerner with a very rough accent and slight prejudice towards foreigners and other races, that he actively tried to battle, which in itself was fun to witness, and Shaun, an American, who at some point in his life decided not to live in the US anymore, and move to UK, following a girl that left him.

[@AntipaladinPedigri]

5:03 Nameless soldier is holding the gun with his pingas

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I think there was a b-movie with a character having a shotgun mounted somehow to his lower parts. I may be wrong but it rings a bell... Or maybe it was a graphic novel?

[@AbsoluteMrGamer]

my new favorite channel :)

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thank you! I appreciate it. Those kinds of comments make it all worth it! :)

[@danmanx2]

I consider myself very lucky for experiencing Quake, Screamer 2, MW2, Tomb Raider, Duke3D, Death Rally, Descent 2 first hand. This is an excellent list.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Great games too! :) And thanks!

[@michaelblum410]

Spent a lot of time with Fantasy General. A great entry in the Five Star series and a marvelous inspiring soundtrack

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

It's my favourite out of the whole series.

[@DieWeltIstSchlecht]

Realms of the Haunting I still play from time to time, the atmosphere and video sequences are still amazing and creepy. One of my all time favourites!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

It's a good game, one of the best for the year. No wonder you like it so much! :)

[@2HeadedHero]

Great nostalgia trip!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thanks! :)

[@leandrusi4533]

I didnt know DOS actually still existed back in 96

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

There are games released for it now even. I mean freeware hobbyist releases and they're very rare, but there are. I'd consider 1997 as it's last good year, 1998 was more of a compilation/gold versions year, and in 1999 no one cared for it anymore.

[@victorbukhaltsev9010]

Toonstruck was my first game. Great one

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Really? What a great game to start with! :)

[@aerouge4492]

Man those games stir memories. In those years I still had lots of free time to enjoy almost all the games you showed. I sunk days of playtime into Moo2. Descent Freespace was the pinnacle of Descent ... oh and "Die by the Sword" did you cover that in your obscure series? If not, take a look at it!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Nope, it's a Windows game. I have it on my list as a possible title for the last video on "10 Years of Early Windows Gaming 1998". So, fingers crossed. ;)

[@aerouge4492]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames ooh looking forward to that year then :-)

[@holymegadave]

I think you are the man that can help me. Im searching for a win 98 game about tanks... cential view... pure deathmatch... i cant remember the name... the graphics looked like some java game... but i cant remember. I have a vivid image in my mind but i cant recall its name. I searched all over the internet without luck. The game was just battles against other tanks in an arena, no camping, no history, just pure deathmatch.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Oh man, I don't really know what it is, but I will heart this comment, so maybe someone else will. :)

[@poppers7317]

I hated that there were no sheep in Lords of the Realm 2.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

All I remember are the cows. xD

[@poppers7317]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames the first one also had sheep. But I don't remember what set them apart from cows.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@poppers7317 Well... Sheep can be stolen and die easier. They reproduce and are sheared between winter and spring, and during the other seasons can be used as manpower. To a certain degree at least. Cows, produce milk and meat. I think that's all I can recall.

[@JB-mm5ff]

Lords of the realm II.. that's what it was called! Cheers mate

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

You're welcome and enjoy! It's a fun game. Even if it came out in a time, that made me switch between amazing games constantly, rarely giving all of them my play-time justice. xD

[@opa-age]

Spent so much time on Descent 2 and Red Alert back in those days....

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Great games! :)

[@n3r0n3]

uh Zork nemesis.. I still remember it after all this time!! The psychiatric institution was so spooky for me as a kid

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Well... You seem fine to me. But please, put the gun down. ;)

[@Zontar82]

the best year for pc gaming, period. Duke 3d, quake, pandora directive, death rally, fantasy general so many more

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

It was a good year, but I"m also picking the best of the best... :)

[@dhoffnun]

I had a copy of Death Rally that came bundled with my PC back in the day, but could never get it running. Always wondered what it was like! Now I know. The first Screamer and Test Drive 5 also came bundled with it - now those I played to bits.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Death Rally is amazing, it's such a fun little game. You don't need to overanalyse anything in it. You just jump in, grab the keyboard, and are in for hours of mindless fun. :)

[@TheJimmyDonut]

Quake was also the first game that really pushed me to use mouse + keyboard. Duke Nukem had a look up/down mechanic, but it wasn't fleshed out as good

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Oh yeah, and even if you didn't look up or down, you could still shoot there in Duke just by setting your crosshair in the right spot on the X axis. :)

[@Brian-qn7fn]

So many memories.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Yep :)

[@drmarquez146]

Ahhh the golden days of pc gaming, this makes me very nostalgic, how many hours i spent breaking the lords of the realm 2 mechanics

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

It must've been a lot of fun! :)

[@whiskeygamer9402]

Whenever I play the old dos games on my Laptop I always connect it to a 17" CRT Monitor 👍🏽

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

No aliasing on CRT screens :)

[@whiskeygamer9402]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames No refresh rates👍🏽

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@whiskeygamer9402 Synchronisations though, that were... Similar and also limited frame rates.

[@ThePressurizer]

I'm feeling an intense urge to play The Settlers. It's a sad thing that the German games industry has pretty much gone down the drain.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I never thought about it, but pretty much since Lula, I don't think I remember any game that would be German. So, you may be onto something. And it's a pity as they had some amazing management/business games. Very creative and fun.

[@ThePressurizer]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames Well, the Gothic and Sacred series were very nice RPGs. But that mostly ended in the 2000s.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@ThePressurizer Gothic could really use a true and well made sequel.

[@tamassmahajcsik-szabo6408]

Anno-series, anyone? Anno 1404, 2070 and 1800 were successes.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@tamassmahajcsik-szabo6408 True. Though the video's about DOS games only. :) I will be making a series like that for Windows at some point too. And trust me, some of these Anno's will land in them. :)

[@grzegorz__]

soo many good games, from all kind of genres. My brother loved Indycar Racing, Nascar Racing while I was playing Death Rally and endless hours in Master of Orion. And Quake. Honestly, genre variety was soo much better than on consoles. FPS games, which on consoles at that point of time were pretty much unplayable (due to gamepad), mouse controlled strategy games. Mouse (lol) or/and Joystick controlled Indycar Racing, for best precision. Point n click games, RTS games...

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Oh, definitely. Consoles are easier to operate but when it comes to variety they could never hold a candle to PC. I mean, most genres that we know today either spawned on grey boxes or transformed into what they are, from what they were before on them. PC as a whole, be it DOS or Windows, is by far the most important gaming system of all times! :)

[@sturmherooflance]

I enjoy this video series.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thanks! :D

[@Toon_Pirate]

An incredible year for pointy-clickies. I still think about Toon Struck all the time. Christopher Lloyd is so much fun in that game

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Truth be told, he's great in anything. Sure, he had to be a bit cringe in Back to the Future, which I loved, but he's genuinely a funny dude.

[@kerpal321]

1996 was such a great year, tons of great games, great movies, great tv shows, great music

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Terrible Internet, let's not forget that one. ;)

[@kerpal321]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames well the internet was new at the time so it was super exciting and it was still good enough for multiplayer pc gaming

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@kerpal321 Oh, yeah, obviously! I've run my phone bills to the sky paying for those god awful speeds. xD

[@Healthy_Toki]

Descent 2 was such a good execution on the concept that we barely got any 6dof free flying fps games in the decades since. Foresaken? Overload? You can probably count on one hand.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

True, true and, brace yourself, true! ;)

[@AntipaladinPedigri]

16:27 me chasing that obvious red flag in dating

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

LOL :)

[@rob679]

Daggerfall can be experienced with less clunk (and less buggy) thanks to Unity port and base game is totally free from for example Steam. And most importantly, mod support!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

You know, people can complain about Steam, and it being closed platform, as much as they want, but its MOD support through Workshop is just amazing, and no other platform does it even remotely as good and as easy. I mean, sure, I can go to Nexus to add something to my games, but with Steam I don't have to, and all of them are just one click away.

[@zeusapollo6504]

Daggerfall Unity + Dream Mod is the best original ES expierence you will have before Julian is releasing Wayward Realms that was just announced 5 days ago or so.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@zeusapollo6504 Oh, I saw a video about the Wayward Realms, they sounded enchanting. I'm gonna be waiting for that. :)

[@Teddyfunhouse]

I believe we just got some major lore as to why this channel was created. See, i believe the only reason this channel exists is to try every Amiga game and DOS game just so he can prove to his father that screamer 2 is only for DOS. I dare you to prove me wrong

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I knew it... I worried that it would happen, and that I was just lucky all this time, and it finally did. Dang it! You've figured me out... So, now, listen carefully. Do me a favour and answer your door when you'll hear a knock. It will be a pizza delivery, and definitely NOT Batman send there to deal with the only witness of what had transpired. ;)

[@Teddyfunhouse]

I would write a longer reply to this comment, but someone is at my door. Brb

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@Teddyfunhouse I doubt that you will be... Buwahahahaha... xD

[@TeaAndTankControls]

A hell lot of great games in 1996! It's interesting to see what genres were becoming more popular and what was kind of left in the past. Even if I've heard of most of them, I played only Duke 3D from this list, so I'll go sit in the class corner for people who haven't done their homework. :D Cool Duke voice, btw! And there's multiplayer? How did I miss that? The adventure games you mentioned all look really good and I'll have to try them out. Broken Sword is especially beautifully drawn. Oh, and I'm surprised that you didn't touch on the very punny Drew Blank name for a cartoonist :D And all 3 Back to the Future movies were great. :) Also, "shotee" is a great word! It should be added in the dictionary. I'll do it for you. So next time you look it up, it'll be there. ^^

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

You missed multiplayer in Duke? Oh, it was just the best! Getting a friend or a few together, few PCs in one room and just getting at it... xD You've not played Broken Sword games? They are fantastic! And I say it with all weight of those words in mind.

[@TeaAndTankControls]

@OldAndNewVideoGames I missed Duke 3D altogether as a kid. Maybe I just never ran into it. Or maybe dad didn't think it was appropriate for my age. There are more Broken Sword games? So many good games to play. And Dosbox is suddenly broken :S

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@TeaAndTankControls Define broken? Also, are you using any frontend? D-fend reloaded? Or DBGL?

[@TeaAndTankControls]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames D-fend reloaded? DBGL? I have no idea what those are (ok, I did look them up just now), but the names are fun :D I'm using plain DOSBox. And I drag the exe file over its shortcut or, if I'm feeling fancy, I run it, mount the drive, cd to the folder and run the game. :D And by broken I mean that it was running but showing a black screen. Kind of like your computer :D But I've already fixed it by changing the output settings. ^^ It might have been affected by my numerous graphics driver gymnastics.

[@Blackadder75]

I don't care that Quake was the future, Duke 3D was loads more fun. As for history, I kinda forgot that 1996-1998 still brought DOS games, as we now associate Windows 95 with that era we think that everything moved to Windows, but yes, it took years for that to really happen

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Yep, DOS was still pretty much active. That said, 1998 was more of a year of "Gold", "Complete" and any other editions bundling games with their expansions for DOS, and very few genuinely good new games came out. Which is odd, cause 1997 was pretty good. It felt like a cut off, as if the devs, all of them, decided one day that it was it. And no more games for DOS were needed.

[@Blackadder75]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames it was when finally a good windows based game engine or whatever you call that was developed, that gave windows games enough performance. they didn;t stick with MS DOS because they loved it so much but because Windows couldn't do it. MS DOS had all kinds of it's own problems and limitations.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@Blackadder75 I have a lot of fond memories of DOS. Like A LOT. But I'm glad we went the way we did to Windows.

[@gamingtonight1526]

Bought all these games back in 1996, except the shooters (didn't buy them), and they are all still proudly sitting on my game shelves in their 90s style big boxes, with those fat manuals in many cases! My favourite game is this list is Archimedean Dynasty! Which I bought because it's so much more than a shooter! Also, I have been offered $150 for my Daggerfall big box game!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I bet that all of these will only increase in value as the time goes by. Not saying you should sell it, not the case at all, just that they'll be more worth it.

[@gamingtonight1526]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames They're my retirement. An auction house said I should insure my collection for $40,000!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@gamingtonight1526 They do gain in worth dramatically. All I would be worried about is disks life-span. Cause I've recently went through all of my old Amiga floppies, and more than half are unreadable anymore. :/

[@IOSALive]

OldAndNewVideoGames, You're amazing! Let's be friends and hang out!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thanks! That's very kind of you! :)

[@nicholsliwilson]

Grand Prix 2 is super impressive for the time & I wish I could get in to sims but I can’t. Still I absolutely understand why others could with this one. I could say the same for Indycar Racing II & Nascar Racing 2, too. If anyone hasn’t played Quake, go play it now! There are updated versions on every platform (as seen here) & in spite of it’s age it’s still fun as hell. It’s hard to explain to younger people why it blew everyone away in it’s day… if you had a PC that could run it but this is why you have modern FPS’s now. I have Realms of the Haunting to hand right now. It wasn’t as hard to get used to as it may sound & it was worth it. Toonstruck looks fantastic. You’re really walking Christopher Lloyd around a cartoon world but whilst the difficulty isn’t set too high there is enough there to appeal to adults, the whole “whipped cream” joke is kind of burned in to my memory regardless of whether I want it to be or not! 😄 Duke Nukem 3D! What can I say! The game mechanics are as deep as the humour isn’t & I’m currently playing through it on my (hacked) 3DS of all platforms & it’s a blast, pun intended. Wait, you’re not a real world Lord of the Realm? I’n confused? 😄 My ex & me lost soooooooo much time to Discworld II! It’s actually my ex’s favourite Discworld game but we are both Discworld fans. We did however play it on Playstation 1. Archimedean Dynasty is one I’ve only recently played & I definitely missed out in the day. The game play is fluid, it looks great for it’s time & has a coherent story. It was a strong rival to the Wing Commander games but just didn’t flood the market in the same way, even with a great seaquel & kind of got washed away. Screamer 2! What a game! It may look dated now but in it’s day it looked great & played great, especially with a good 3D accelerator. Tex Murphy: TPD did a good job of capitalising on the original’s world building & feels somewhat like an upgrade on the original & it is well written, it just wasn’t quite as impressive as the original. That’s obviously subjective & it is a great game, it just didn’t wow me the way the first game did. Daggerfall is installed on my main gaming PC right now & the world is spectacular but I didn’t play it in the day because of the bugs on launch, so I didn’t play it until years later. Still it is such a compelling game, even if the combat is compleat arse. Never got in to the Zork series because the first (2?) game was a text adventure. I may have missed out on the graphical games? One of my crowning achievements in gaming is (no joke) playing right through Broken Sward 1 on a Game Boy Micro. I couldn’t do that now as my eyesight isn’t that good… I wonder why?… 😄 What a fantastically written, beautiful looking & great playing game. Better played on a bigger display than the Game Boy Micro’s though. I have tried to play Mechwarrior 2, I have separate Glide & PowerVR copies but it’s just not my thing. Lara croft’s creator, Toby Gard based her on his sister… yikes! As spectacular as it was to be completely honest by half way through Tomb Raider I was bored with it & only finished it because my ex & her sister wanted to see every cut scene. I played through it on PS 1 where it was a very big deal in it’s day. Yes Wing Commander IV is the pinnacle of the series. There I said it, come at me Prophecy fans. You’re absolutely right about Decent II. That’s all I need to say. What a list! Even the games I didn’t comment on because they’re not my thing were fantastic if they’re your thing. It was a fantastic year for gaming & made for a fun video, thanks!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

See, I kinda get you. Cause while I was more open to different racers back then, these days I only like arcade racers. I've no skill, time, or a steering wheel for simulations to fully enjoy them. Quake RTX is pretty fun too. It actually looks a lot like the original with an addition to the most modern graphical tech that we have available. Duke Nukem 3D on the 3DS, I would actually like to see that. Live that is, I know videos are probably everywhere. I'd risk saying that Screamer 2 looks good enough to be played today. Without any issues whatsoever. Discworld games are full of British humour, and you gotta love them for that. I mean, it's not very often we get to experience it in gaming. Oh man, Wing Commander vs Archimedean Dynasty. That's a tough one. I'd go for Privateer. Or even better Frontier, but yeah, between the two, it's tough to pick one. And yes, I'm answering out of order. xD I get what you mean, and I agree about Tex Murphy. I too think that Pandora is objectively better, but made much less of an impact on me than Under a Killing Moon did. Moon was groundbreaking, Pandora was more and better of the same. Yeah, I abandoned Zork for the very same reasons. Parsers are a nightmare! Yep, you could risk saying that Broken Sword series followed up on what LucasArts did, after LucasArts stopped doing what it did best. The first Tomb Raider was gigantic on everything it came out on. It changed everything. And then each next was less and less impactful until the release of the first of the recent trilogy that is. That one's genius!

[@nicholsliwilson]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames actually Duke Nukem’s a bit of a disappointment in that it doesn’t run in 3D, even though PRBoom (Doom) does, neither does Quake 3DS & Quake 2 3DS for that matter? That being said though it runs great & is a blast to play dual stick on ‘New 3DS XL.’ Funnily enough the Quakes run great but are let down by the small screen, 3D or not, as you can’t see the enemy half the time simply because they’re too small in the distance. They’re there on screen, they’re just too tiny.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@nicholsliwilson Maybe Duke and Quakes were a bit too much for the 3D effect, or maybe they tried it, and it didn't look as good as they wanted it to. Or maybe they just wanted to cash-in on quick and rough ports. We'll never know. Well, it may be explained somewhere on the net, but I'm happy just accepting it as it is, without any further look into it. xD

[@geofftottenperthcoys9944]

I only bought Toonstruck last week!

[@volo870]

Awesome game! Works with ScummVM too.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Oh, you'll have a lot of fun! :)

[@vojtechvanek1686]

Ja: deadly games has special place in my heart due to decent tactical combat and well-encorporated rpg elements. Many hours during high school summer break

[@vojtechvanek1686]

Everyone loved Ivan but his salary went up with his level that he gained rather quickly

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

But he ended up pretty great if i remember correctly.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Oh, yeah, it's easily one of the best DOS tactical games.

[@vojtechvanek1686]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames that's true but eventually he was surpassed by likes of Magnus or Scully after he gained 2-3 levels.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@vojtechvanek1686 True true.

[@volo870]

Quake and Duke3D both natively support mouselook. No need to suffer through those with tank controls.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I run them from RetroExo, and it never even crossed my mind to touch the mouse. xD

[@MrYossarianuk]

Quake was so good (especially the QuakeGL version) - I never really liked Doom but loved Quake

[@volo870]

Nah, QuakeGL has a weird overlit look. Software render FTW!

[@poppers7317]

It's the exact opposite for me.

[@volo870]

@@poppers7317 Me too a Doom guy, but running vanilla Doom is weird and finiky (novert, manual configs, DHackEd patches, limits). Quake is still awesome as it was in 1996!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I like them both, but both for different reasons. ;)

[@cherylrodgers6331]

Good job 💖😗

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thank you! You're very kind! :)

[@rayceeya8659]

So many hours on the Master of Orion games. One and two are the best. The third was kind of a mess and the new remake just isn't the same. I always find myself going back to the first two.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I think I liked second the most. Though first was great for its time too. Didn't play others, but most people agree with you, from what I've been told. :)

[@rayceeya8659]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames The first one had a sort of elegant simplicity to it. You only get one planet per solar system. The tech tree is more linear and there are no random Anteran attacks. Sometimes I want a nice simple game. The second one expanded on the first and still maintained the balance. You get planetary systems. The space battles were way better. Autobattle eliminated so much tedium. None of that rubber-banding you get in the Civ series, you can totally out science your opponents and having the auto button was so nice. The third one was kind of a mess. They went too far. They did have automated colony management at that point though but the AI for it wasn't great. You end up spending way too much time micromanaging your planets.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@rayceeya8659 I think most of those 4X games tend to suffer from over abundance of micromanagement when your empire grows to a certain size, and it begins being tiresome and more like work, rather than fun. I think Spore, the original from Peter Molyneux dealt nicely with the problem, even if it itself was a game in an entirely different genre. But the mechanics were universal and would translate well. Meaning, that every time within the game, when you've reached a certain developmental or size milestone, the gameplay mechanics would switch to focus more on the big picture and leave the underlying micro stuff automated. It would then keep adding new things to that macro, so that it would eventually become micro too. But by then, you'd be moving to another development level and had it switch again. It would be cool to see something like that. The idea's not without its faults either, cause assuming that the PC would do as good of a work managing everything you did by hand before is most of the time wishful thinking. xD

[@rayceeya8659]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames I hear you. I usually get to about X number 2 or 3 and then want to start over again.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@rayceeya8659 YES. THAT.

[@zeusapollo6504]

No list like this can be complete without Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars which is exactly like vanilla Heroes of Might & Magic 3, the sequel in 1999 did not take any high risks in game design, so this game in 1996 really made a huge impact on the gaming world as there was nothing like it at the time and in 1995 part 1 was very crude and basic and not remotely as polished as The Succession Wars was and its only expansion PoL is outsourced nonsense with no game design features + fan fiction stories + bad low quality midi OST. It simply shouldn't exist. Civilzation II is missing, too, and its a rather big deal as it directly inspired Master of Orion II's colony management, both dev teams worked under Microprose and Civ 2 was realeased many months before MoO 2. I remember, both games were sold in a bundle at some point during the late 90ies by microprose.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I've planned for HOMM2 to be featured in an episode for 1997 as it's when Price of Loyalty released and I consider *this* to be the full version. And Civ2 is Windows game only. :)

[@zeusapollo6504]

​@@OldAndNewVideoGames Civ 2 was written for windows 3.1., however, Win 3.1 at the time had to be run from a DOS command, so it could not even load on its own unlike Win95, that still included DOS, like every Windows up to Win ME in 2000.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@zeusapollo6504 True, but you could not run Civ2 in DOS. Not that it makes any difference, we can run most of these games today, at least DOS ones, early Windows is not impossible but tends to be tricky, especially for the 16bit stuff. xD

[@iansrven3023]

Would love a nightdive studios remake of Duke 3d

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

It would be interesting, but what are the chances?

[@rastko81]

Great list! Any reason why Civ2, Diablo and HOMM 2 didn’t make it?

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Yes, there is. Reason that is. Civ 2 and Diablo are Windows games, and the list is for DOS only. :) And HOMM2 is, or rather will be in the similar video for 1997, along with its expansion Price of Loyalty as a package. So, it's coming. :)

[@BurstingVeins1]

I love the old settlers games, it was so disappointing when they turned the series into a basic RTS and more realistic aesthetic. Settlers is basically just Stronghold or Warcraft 3 now. I would love to see a newer Settlers game, but in the older style and preferably cartoony and silly.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

You know, I tried getting in so many of them. In fact, I probably have most of them on one platform or another, but after 2 Gold, they just never seemed as fun.

[@Teddyfunhouse]

You should try settlers 2 10th aniversary edition, it is just like two, but modern. Its great :)

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@Teddyfunhouse You know, I'm like 70% sure that I have it...

[@HolyPire]

Ah DukeNukem 3d.... the Settlers2

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Classics, right? :)

[@pantyukovk]

спасибо, что радуете стареющих мужчин своими видео

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Browser translate never fails... And you're welcome and thanks for watching! :)

[@truenetgmx]

The funny thing I play more games from this list than current releases - why? Steamdeck! :D It runs better old dos and windows games than current windows 11 machines

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I just love the Steam Deck. I've no oldies on it just yet, but it's such a neat little system that fits in a backpack and can play so many games. I'm thinking of getting a 2TB MicroSD at some point and putting RetroExo on it for Steam Deck. Testing it out on my main PC, and it's a marvel!

[@arkgaharandan5881]

does Archimedean dynasty use mouse or i have to use a controller?

[@poppers7317]

A joystick was the way to go.

[@arkgaharandan5881]

@@poppers7317 yes but does it have mouse?

[@poppers7317]

@@arkgaharandan5881 you can play it with a mouse. It's not X-Wing vs Tie Fighter.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Yep, should work with a mouse. And no, I did not use it in the footage. xD

[@AntipaladinPedigri]

Mech: hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my sweet ragtime gaaaal...! 🎵

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

:)

[@mattm7798]

They were still doing DOS games after Windows 95? Hmmm, didn't know that.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

I'd say that around 1998 there was a cut-off for decent titles, and only indies and conversions where released still. :)

[@mattm7798]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames So if it was a DOS game, did you have to run it from the command line or could Win95 run it too?

[@wojciechdavidjacyk5708]

Take me back

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

:)

[@vrekman256]

21:00 so your father was an "op qa" guy. Kudos.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

:)

[@pelimies1818]

DMR of Panzer General 2 broke my CD-stations.. twice. So I had to pirate Fantasy General and stop buying SSI games. Who won? Nobody, except the seller of CD-stations..

[@volo870]

What is a CD-station?

[@pelimies1818]

It means drive, but in my country computer drives are called stations (asema).. Levykeasema kovalevyasema kiintolevyasema dvd-asema.. cd-asema

[@volo870]

@@pelimies1818 Thank you. Knowing of different computer jargons is fascinating. There was no standard or tradition for naming things.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

OMG! LOL! I think you've paid enough with those drives for the game, you deserved one for free. :)

[@Zeziliath]

Shit, no time to watch it now. But its the first thing I’ll do when I have the time! Have a like already anyways, the DOS series is one of my favourites on youtube, I KNOW this video will be great 🔥

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thanks! :) Hopefully it will deliver. The next one should be out between Wednesday and Friday. Hard to tell now as it depends how much time I'll get to work on it. :) But there's gonna be a different new video tomorrow...

[@Zeziliath]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames i’m very curious!!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@Zeziliath Thanks, but I don't have high hopes for it, I'm very conscious of it in fact, and fear that it will start and end with very low views. We'll see though. There's only a few games in it, but they're very special ones at least.

[@Zeziliath]

@@OldAndNewVideoGamesi have my fingers crossed for you!

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

@@Zeziliath Thanks! :)

[@Alex-Koval]

Great video! Greetings from Ukraine.😉

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Thanks! And I hope that you're safe and hanging on! :)

[@user-rd3bv7qu3i]

No,thank you, sir 🙏

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

:D

[@poppers7317]

Is this a Hungarian accent?

[@gumdeo]

Polish.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

That.

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Broken Polish.

[@tyfyh622]

terrible. another worthless list of "games i played as a child"

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Hey, are you OK?

[@Daveforever]

Settlers II is my pick

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Settlers 2 is my fave in the whole series. Well, the gold version of it, but *it*. :)

[@splonskurwysynu190]

Hiehiehie, nie tak łatwo pozbyć się polskiego akcentu gagatku ;D. Ale za to content masz przedni, daje synka i powodzenia ❤️

[@OldAndNewVideoGames]

Dzięki! Ale wolę suba od synka. ;)

[@splonskurwysynu190]

@@OldAndNewVideoGames och, szczegół ;D. Jasne, że sub ale autokorekta wie swoje