MS-DOS Games

[QueenCobra]

I watched a funny old video of Vinny from Vinesauce playing some MS-DOS games and I was wondering…did anyone play those growing up? (i.e. the bad ones like Gateworld, Depth Dwellers, The Fortress of Dr. Radiaki etc.) I was too young for them.

 

[Flicky]

I don't know about bad ones, but I did play a couple of them growing up! Jazz Jackrabbit was one of my favourites. Still disappointed they cancelled the third game, it looked great.

 

[Belle T]

I played so many DOS games as a child with so many that I can instantly recall key moments of, but will probably never be able to unearth because I only ever played them at school and never got the name of them. Most of those were edutainment titles, mind you, but despite searching through various databases of different DOS games, I couldn't find many of them. Here are some non-edutainment ones that I definitely remember playing, though that's mostly because they have since been re-released for modern computers.

• SimCity
• Commander Keen (though I don't think I played the entire series; just whichever one a friend happened to own)
• Sam and Max Hit the Road
• Flight of the Amazon Queen
• Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure
• Crystal Caves
• At least one Leisure Suit Larry game (obviously I was much older; I didn't play these as a small child lol)

There are probably countless more that I can't remember off the top of my head. Many of these probably require having grown up in a certain era to properly appreciate. For example, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure suffers from absolutely abysmal framerate drops and the level design is a mess, not to mention the characters feel like they were designed by out of touch school teachers. But it's almost charming because it tries so hard but doesn't quite live up to the heights of Super Mario Bros. or Sonic the Hedgehog. And of course, for many households, this was the closest you could get to something like Mario or Sonic if you couldn't afford a console. Also, the opening theme is literally just Tush by ZZ Top... because plagiarism.

 

[Bui]

I played a lot of DOS games back in the day, but while I remember bits and pieces about many of them, the only ones I actually remember the names of are Space Quest and Commander Keen 4. I actually recently found an old box set of all 6 Space Quest games that I had bought years ago but never got to play since my old computer died shortly after installing them and I never got around to reinstalling them. Commander Keen 4 was one I remembered for years but had forgotten the name of, and I couldn't remember enough details to find it again. I had pretty much given up on trying to find it until I was randomly recommended some compilation videos on YouTube showcasing a few seconds of gameplay from a large collection of DOS games, which included a clip of Commander Keen 4. I have since downloaded the game and have had a lot of fun reliving some of my old memories of the game. Plus, now that I actually know what I'm doing I might be able to complete it too!

 

[QueenCobra]

I played a lot of DOS games back in the day, but while I remember bits and pieces about many of them, the only ones I actually remember the names of are Space Quest and Commander Keen 4. I actually recently found an old box set of all 6 Space Quest games that I had bought years ago but never got to play since my old computer died shortly after installing them and I never got around to reinstalling them. Commander Keen 4 was one I remembered for years but had forgotten the name of, and I couldn't remember enough details to find it again. I had pretty much given up on trying to find it until I was randomly recommended some compilation videos on YouTube showcasing a few seconds of gameplay from a large collection of DOS games, which included a clip of Commander Keen 4. I have since downloaded the game and have had a lot of fun reliving some of my old memories of the game. Plus, now that I actually know what I'm doing I might be able to complete it too!

I saw that there’s a DOS games website so you can play various games…maybe I should give it a try.
And it’s always good to rediscover a game from your childhood!