5: Doom - 1993
Why: It started everything, in terms of what we now know as FPS gaming. Whereas Wolfenstein 3D built upon it's predecessors (Catacomb series, Hovertank) and created a good out-of-the-box experience, Doom did that AND created THE first easily moddable game. With the advent of DeHacked, and with the release of the source code, the plethora of limit removing source ports such as Boom, DosDOOM, EDGE, Doom Legacy and ZDoom, Doom became one of the first widely modded games, and still enjoies a very active community.
4: The Commander Keen Series - 1990 / 1991
Why: Holy crap! It's like a good NES side scroller.... ON MY PC!
This game destroyed many hours of my youth. It's fun level design, smooth framerate, responsive controls and well-done artwork makes this somethign I would reccoment to anyone wanting to get into classic PC gaming.
Also, Dopefish.
3: Duke Nukem/Duke Nukem II - 1991 / 1993
Why: Before Duke's BUILD engine blockbuster, Duke Nukem was a series of really fun side-scrolling shooters. while the first game was a bit basic, both games are fun, fast, have responsive controls and the artwork, as with Commander Keen, is really well done.
Duke Nukem II is a superior game to the first though, IMO. Fully digitized sound effects, an awesome soundtrack by Bobby Prince (Doom/Wolfenstein 3D) and a nice little arsenal of weapons made this another evil time sink back when I was little.
2: Rise of the Triad - 1995
Why: Released the year after Doom II: Hell On Earth, Rise of the Triad was the last game to use TED (Tile EDitor), the engine that powered the Commander Keen games and Wolfenstein 3D. Originally planned as a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D, ROTT became.... something else. Like any good B-movie, the plot is irrelevant; only you and your arsenal matter. Oh, and flying body parts. This was one of the first games to really have the modern interpretation of gibs, as exploding someone in ROTT disassembles them into tiny bits that fly about. The level design is as nonsensical as the rest of the game, but the levels never suck because of it. Overall, it's worth a shot.
1: ZZT - 1991
Why: Oh. My. God. I used to play this game as much as I play TF2, and that's a lot. This game is also a part of the history of modding, with it's mod tools BUILT IN! You could create whatever the heck you wanted, as logn as you knew how to do the scripting.
Why: It started everything, in terms of what we now know as FPS gaming. Whereas Wolfenstein 3D built upon it's predecessors (Catacomb series, Hovertank) and created a good out-of-the-box experience, Doom did that AND created THE first easily moddable game. With the advent of DeHacked, and with the release of the source code, the plethora of limit removing source ports such as Boom, DosDOOM, EDGE, Doom Legacy and ZDoom, Doom became one of the first widely modded games, and still enjoies a very active community.
4: The Commander Keen Series - 1990 / 1991
Why: Holy crap! It's like a good NES side scroller.... ON MY PC!
This game destroyed many hours of my youth. It's fun level design, smooth framerate, responsive controls and well-done artwork makes this somethign I would reccoment to anyone wanting to get into classic PC gaming.
Also, Dopefish.
3: Duke Nukem/Duke Nukem II - 1991 / 1993
Why: Before Duke's BUILD engine blockbuster, Duke Nukem was a series of really fun side-scrolling shooters. while the first game was a bit basic, both games are fun, fast, have responsive controls and the artwork, as with Commander Keen, is really well done.
Duke Nukem II is a superior game to the first though, IMO. Fully digitized sound effects, an awesome soundtrack by Bobby Prince (Doom/Wolfenstein 3D) and a nice little arsenal of weapons made this another evil time sink back when I was little.
2: Rise of the Triad - 1995
Why: Released the year after Doom II: Hell On Earth, Rise of the Triad was the last game to use TED (Tile EDitor), the engine that powered the Commander Keen games and Wolfenstein 3D. Originally planned as a sequel to Wolfenstein 3D, ROTT became.... something else. Like any good B-movie, the plot is irrelevant; only you and your arsenal matter. Oh, and flying body parts. This was one of the first games to really have the modern interpretation of gibs, as exploding someone in ROTT disassembles them into tiny bits that fly about. The level design is as nonsensical as the rest of the game, but the levels never suck because of it. Overall, it's worth a shot.
1: ZZT - 1991
Why: Oh. My. God. I used to play this game as much as I play TF2, and that's a lot. This game is also a part of the history of modding, with it's mod tools BUILT IN! You could create whatever the heck you wanted, as logn as you knew how to do the scripting.
