Stockholm 2020-11-21
Recently I was watching several YouTube videos about games for the Microsoft DOS operative system. Watching the videos felt very nostalgic because I recognised many games that I used to play mostly during the end of 1990s and the beginning of 2000s. The first time I came in contact with computers and PC-gaming was in 1996-97. The war in Bosnia just ended, and my parents were among the first ones in the town of Teslic to use the computer operating on DOS and to send emails. My parents also played games sometimes as Ultimate Cards.
Via Freegameempire
Here are some examples of games that I used to play during 1996-2001.
Theme Hospital – this game I remember as exciting because it was about being in charge of a hospital with a lot of demands for observation and multitasking. It was a manager and leadership simulation game. The game demanded skills regarding usage of money and funding in relation to patients and equipment.
Aladdin – For me, this game was exciting because it directly reminded of the Aladdin movie and showed as via Cartoon Network that was popular at the moment, during the 1990s. Also, the game felt very entertaining and adventurous, with several funny moments as with the flying carpet.
Desert Strike – To be honest, I only played this game only for a couple of days when I was visiting my cousins in Belgrade. Anyway, I still remember the game because it was my first “helicopter-game”. At that time, I was not aware of the connection between the game and the first Gulf war.
Dyna Blaster – This game was similar to more famous Bomberman and its versions. What was interesting here was the more mathematical type of gaming regarding time and place calculation, in order to complete a level before the clock stopped ticking.
Dangerous Dave – One funny thing is that I never completed this game because I always got stuck or lost all lives after 5-6 levels. Despite that, the game is short with only 10 levels, and when playing on a speedrun, one can finish the whole game in 15-20 minutes. Anyway, what I enjoyed here was the graphics as concerning different times and walls, and also the sounds. Another special feature that I admired was the ability to ride a jetpack.
Mario Brothers VGA – I mostly remember this game because it was a Super Mario game. I played it several times before switching to other games as playing via SEGA and Play Station One. It was interesting to play a Mario game also via computer, but the feeling of playing it via game consols was much better.
Night Raid – One interesting thing with Night Raid is that I have played similar ones as during the 2000s via websites as Miniclip.com. Night Raid was one of those first “defence” games where you as a player had to focus on defence. The only aspect of the facility the player could control was the gun-turret itself.
Jimmy White’s Whirlwind Snooker – This is one of the games I used to play as the most. Partly because this game was my father’s favourite during the 1990s and children do as their parents do. One main reason why I admired this game was that it demanded skills like patience, precision and aiming before hitting the ball.
SimCity – Last but not least, SimCity was one of my absolute favourites. I had it on a floppy disk and could play it for hours. Since there was no time limit regarding levels, one could play the game on an infinite basis. That was one of the reasons my parents tried to prevent me from playing to often. Another funny feature was that one could activate the destruction of the city by, for example, activating earthquake and Godzila attacks.
Thanks for reading. Keep on gaming, and keep on retro gaming.