Greatest. Games. Ever.
We bought an xbox last summer, mostly so we could play Rock Band online with friends and download instant movies from Netflix. Matt & I have also played some of the best computer games on the market today. As amazing as these are, they just can't compare to in nostalgia value to a few of my favorite early '80s dos or basic-based computer games. Anybody else remember these?
CIA Adventure. I'm not finding any version of this classic (though I think I have the source file somewhere - it's a basic program that's really easy to understand). This game is purely text. You essentially control a blind guide, who is trying to infiltrate a large building. The guide understands only basic commands like "go west" or "press button." With my dad's ingenuity and programming knowledge, we cracked this game and found out that you didn't have to type the entire phrase: "dro but" was good enough for "drop button." My dad, brother & I played this game until we figured out all the little steps necessary to get the gem, foil the bad guys, and win the game!
The Trucking Game (Trucking USA, maybe?) Another text-based game where you used basic commands to control a truck going across the country. You had to choose your cargo (oranges, mail, or something else, I think), and could then choose how fast to go (risking speeding tickets), when to gas up (for which price) , etc. I liked the version we had, which somebody hacked. If we entered my dad's name at the start, we were given a free set of tires for our truck. In late elementary school, my gifted class was able to play an updated version of this game (in color!) at recess. That game was mostly the same, with the ability to pick up hitch-hikers. We quickly learned that you must never pick up hitch-hikers: when you did, they'd shoot you. Fun lesson, that.
Castle Adventure. This was a mid-generation game, with text-based commands but also some rudimentary graphics (the graphics are mostly just combination of text and special characters). The basic scenario is that you're in a castle and have to collect treasures, kill monsters, and find your way out. This is the game that's responsible for my inability to pronounce the word "ogre" correctly for at least 15 years of my life (not like that word comes up often in daily life). Unfortunately, I can't find a version of Castle to play online, but with the help of a dos-simulator (where you can manually tweak the speed the game plays at) I was able to play the original dos-based Castle game tonight. You simply must check it out here. The quality of the graphics will amaze you!
Burger Time. This was a later-generation game from some of my other favorites, meaning (mostly) that it had graphics. Happily, I found a version you can play online. So, yes, you too can walk over buns, lettuce, and meat and make your own burgers before the evil hot dogs and fried eggs get you!
None of these games compares in complexity to even just one second of playing Rock Band online with friends, of course. But, I like them. :)
Do you remember any other classic '80s computer games?
CIA Adventure. I'm not finding any version of this classic (though I think I have the source file somewhere - it's a basic program that's really easy to understand). This game is purely text. You essentially control a blind guide, who is trying to infiltrate a large building. The guide understands only basic commands like "go west" or "press button." With my dad's ingenuity and programming knowledge, we cracked this game and found out that you didn't have to type the entire phrase: "dro but" was good enough for "drop button." My dad, brother & I played this game until we figured out all the little steps necessary to get the gem, foil the bad guys, and win the game!
The Trucking Game (Trucking USA, maybe?) Another text-based game where you used basic commands to control a truck going across the country. You had to choose your cargo (oranges, mail, or something else, I think), and could then choose how fast to go (risking speeding tickets), when to gas up (for which price) , etc. I liked the version we had, which somebody hacked. If we entered my dad's name at the start, we were given a free set of tires for our truck. In late elementary school, my gifted class was able to play an updated version of this game (in color!) at recess. That game was mostly the same, with the ability to pick up hitch-hikers. We quickly learned that you must never pick up hitch-hikers: when you did, they'd shoot you. Fun lesson, that.
Castle Adventure. This was a mid-generation game, with text-based commands but also some rudimentary graphics (the graphics are mostly just combination of text and special characters). The basic scenario is that you're in a castle and have to collect treasures, kill monsters, and find your way out. This is the game that's responsible for my inability to pronounce the word "ogre" correctly for at least 15 years of my life (not like that word comes up often in daily life). Unfortunately, I can't find a version of Castle to play online, but with the help of a dos-simulator (where you can manually tweak the speed the game plays at) I was able to play the original dos-based Castle game tonight. You simply must check it out here. The quality of the graphics will amaze you!
Burger Time. This was a later-generation game from some of my other favorites, meaning (mostly) that it had graphics. Happily, I found a version you can play online. So, yes, you too can walk over buns, lettuce, and meat and make your own burgers before the evil hot dogs and fried eggs get you!
None of these games compares in complexity to even just one second of playing Rock Band online with friends, of course. But, I like them. :)
Do you remember any other classic '80s computer games?
posted by Becky Laswell at
8:10 PM
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