the 16 best games of the MS-DOS era: play now in the browser for free

Years ago The Internet Archive is a prodigious resource when access to content that has disappeared over time in the network of networks, and in this work has also had a special place game. Thanks to its combination with the DOS Box emulator and the latest versions of browsers, a very special branch of this content was presented at the beginning of the year.

It is neither more nor less than the possibility of running in our browser any of the 2,400 games that the catalog available for those responsible for this project has. Many options and much nostalgia that has forced us to make an attempt to select some of the most outstanding. These are for us – here logically the tastes can vary – the 16 best games of the MS-DOS era that we can enjoy directly and free in the browser thanks to this service.

Gauntlet (Atari, 1988)

This cooperative game was a success in arcade games of the 80s and had a version on various platforms. And one of them was the PC, in which we could also enjoy this recreation of the world of “Dragons and Dungeons” and choose any of the four characters -each one with its advantages and disadvantages- to try to go as far as possible. In this catalog is also its sequel .

play | Gauntlet

Civilization (MicroProse, 1991)

Absolute legend of strategy games that broke molds and that incorporated previous ideas that hatched in this mythical title and brought it massively to all PC users. The mechanics are known: we started with an ancient civilization and we tried to achieve global and even interplanetary conquest : as we manage to discover technologies and defeat our enemies – or allying ourselves with them, something equally crucial – we will be able to advance in a game that is an absolute classic.

play | Civilization

Loom (Lucasfilm Games, 1990)

Lucasfilm made it clear how far he could go with the unforgettable ‘Loom’. In it we take the role of Bobbin Threadbare, who is subjected to a series of tragic events that will take him on a journey in which he visits the different Guilds with different cultures, rules and magical powers. To overcome them, it has a magic wand with which you can change the physical properties of objects, and for this you must play certain notes, something that adds another special touch to a fantastic graphic adventure.

play | Loom

Arkanoid II – Revenge of Doh (Taito, 1989)

The first version is not available in this catalog, but it is this sequel that reinforced the legendary original concept of a game in which, as in many concepts of the time, graphics were almost secondary . The level of addiction offered by that simple concept was astonishing, and like other chosen ones on this list, Arkanoid had versions for virtually all platforms that existed at the time of its launch.

play | Arkanoid II – Revenge of Doh

SimCity (Maxis, 1989)

A classic that has had a sad ending recently with the closure of the studio by EA but that was a milestone for the time. The creation of an absolutely great Will Wright takes shape again in our browsers and does it with that glorious 2D perspective so striking and so typical of those years.

play | SimCity

Scorched Earth (Wendell Hicken, 1991)

You are going to allow me the whim of including one of those games that I spent more hours than I should have been playing with my classmates -in the UPM IF Calculation Center it was a classic-), because Scorched Earth was a prodigy of that magic in which simplicity did not prevent one from wanting to play again and again. The trajectory calculation that was the basis of this unique tank battle was not new, but it was the one that popularized a genre that would later become a fundamental pillar of many other later successes such as Worms.

play | Scorched Earth

Golden Ax (SEGA, 1990)

There are classics and there are classics among the classics. Golden Ax is one of them, and after getting many of us to leave the pay on Sundays in the arcade games, it also triumphed on all the platforms it appeared on. This arcade put us in the role of one of the three different characters – a warrior woman included, curious for the time – and forced us to take on all the enemies that came before us.

play | Golden Ax

Prince of Persia (Broderbund, 1990)

It was one of the games that really stood out as much for its gameplay as for its graphics or its music. In Prince of Persia the physics of the character seemed more real than ever – his weight and inertia were key in movement and when it came to avoiding obstacles – and that gave an added value to a game that in fact would end up inspiring sequels as much in video games as adaptations – not very lucky – to the cinema.

play | Prince of persia

Wolfenstein 3D (id Software, 1992)

It was not the first game by id Software and its great creators, but it was the seed of what would later become a revolution in the video game industry. The First-Person-Shooters (FPS) owe much to this true myth of the video game industry that, yes, things not allowed now indispensable as the lateral displacement. But that gives it even more charm, don’t you think?

play | Wolfenstein 3D

Lemmings 3 – All New World of Lemmings (Psygnosis, 1994)

As with the Arkanoid, the original video game is not available in the catalog, nor is its second part, but this third part that confirmed the success of its predecessors and also maintained that fun concept of the tribes to divide the friendly and sacrificed ( Or safricables?) Lemmings in one of them. Of the twelve available in the second installment, however, they were left with three because each of them had 30 levels with different enemies and additional ways to make lemmings increasingly versatile.

play | Lemmings 2 – The Tribes

Street Fighter II (Capcom, 1992)

This is one of the few titles that continue to be played today (although specifically, it is its sequel Street Fighter II Turbo, released in 1994), something that demonstrates the degree of perfection that this fighting game achieved in its day. Even without that striking 3D perspective from the later fighting games or a more limited catalog of characters and movements, each in his style became a little legend in himself. A must on the list, of course.

To play | Street Fighter II

Leisure Suit Larry (Sierra On-Line, 1987)

Larry Lafter was the particular Alfredo Landa of the video games of the late 80s. An irreverent game for the time and that even had sexual content – he gave you a test at the beginning to verify that you were of an appropriate age. The adventures of this peculiar gigolo – with a relatively recent 25th-anniversary edition – conquered a lot of players on various platforms, and in fact, they liked it so much that they had six more installments directly and other related ones that have even reached our times.

To play | Leisure Suit Larry

Dune 2 – The Building of a Dinasty (Westwood Studios, 1992)

Frank Herbert’s novels inspired movies and, of course, video games. In this catalog we have the second installment of Dune, a strategy video game with a simple development – Westwood Studios did it very well – but very addictively that was reinforced in the second installment and in which we could again choose between the different houses ( Atreides, Harkonnen and Ordos) to compete for the conquest of the planet Arrakis and, of course, for control of the spice. Beware of worms, yes.

To play | Dune 2

Aladdin (Virgin, 1994)

Virgin’s game is based on the 1992 Disney animated film and is an ode to platforms in which the adaptation of the Disney characters was finally a success . The video game was as much fun for the little ones as we were by then a little older, and although the control with keys is a small challenge – blessed console controls – it is a fun and charming game.

To play | Aladdin

Doom II: Hell on Earth (id Software, 1994)

The ambition after the launch of an absolutely revolutionary Doom went further in this installment – the first is not available – and its creators went from using (successfully, for the record) the shareware model to move to a commercial model in which the game It arrived directly at the stores. Although on a technical level there were no major changes, it did take advantage of the evolution of the hardware to offer a game engine with more levels much more intricate and large. More Doom than ever, go.

To play | Doom II: Hell on Earth

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (LucasArts, 1989)

The Lucasfilm Games games marked a before and after in the graphic adventure segment – now sadly forgotten – and one of its great successes was the adaptation of the third installment of the adventures of Indiana Jones. As in the rest of the installments of the games of this producer, fidelity to the story was accompanied by very special humor and those fun puzzles that made it almost impossible not to stay glued to the screen until they were solved. If you want you can also enjoy another great Lucasfilm classic in this segment, Maniac Mansion. We will not, however, have access to those original methods against copies.

To play | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

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