PCWorld's Ten Best PC Games Ever

[violent]

Hoo boy.

Discussions in regards to lists tend to end up in the same way and rarely is that harmony, but who doesn't love them? Today's list comes straight from PCWorld (http://www.pcworld.com/) and it covers the Ten Best PC Games Ever (http://www.pcworld.com/article/158850/ten_best_pc_games_ever.html). Here are a few selections:

#9: Myst

Released: September 24, 1993. Developer: Cyan. Publisher: Brøderbund Software.

It's hard to find a game simulataneously as successful and as misunderstood as Myst. Cyan's landmark adventure is both revered and reviled in different quarters of the gaming industry. As the un-Zork (serious theme, no inventory) and the anti-Doom (serene pace, nobody dies), Myst seriously challenged the gaming status quo of the early 1990s.

This dark-horse title from the forests of Washington represented everything that twitch gamers hated, and everything that hard-core adventure fans resented. Nevertheless, it sold 6 million copies.

#6: Rogue: The Adventure Game

Released: 1984. Developer: A.I. Design. Publisher: A.I. Design.

Originally developed in 1980 for Unix mainframe systems, Rogue eventually found its way to personal computers, including (in 1984) the IBM PC in 1984; the image shown here is from that version of the game. An ASCII-character-cell classic, Rogue not only spawned a genre known as roguelikes, but also mothered the action role-playing game (RPG)--which is slightly ironic, since Rogue is turn-based.

Nearly every dungeon hack-and-slash (for example, Gauntlet and Diablo) and every overhead dungeon crawl RPG (such as Baldur's Gate) ultimately derives from Rogue. And with its randomly generated dungeons, the original is still as much fun to play today as it was in 1980.

#4: SimCity

Released: 1989. Developer: Maxis Software. Publisher: Brøderbund Software.

The first entrant in the long-running Sim series, SimCity made waves as a versatile "software toy" with no preordained goal or purpose other than to accommodate user creation and experimentation. You can play it as long as you want, as many times as you want, and it never gets old. That's because you create the game as you go along.

"SimCity was one of the first games where a few very simple subsystems (crime, property value, traffic, etc.) combined to make an interesting and challenging experience," says Soren Johnson, lead designer of Civilization IV). "Even playing on a black-and-white Mac with a tiny screen, I felt that there truly was a whole city inside my machine--one which relied on my judgment to succeed. I could fit all of the gameplay concepts in my head at once, which encouraged me to experiment frequently to discover how to create the best Sorenopolis."

I know of at least one of those selections that might have your blood boiling already (but you're wrong, Myst was awesome), but the entire article is certainly worth a read. I can't help but think why certain games were omitted but I have to admit, I find it hard to disagree with their top selection.

Take a peek, have a thought and let us know what went wrong or what went right with the list.

[GigaFuzz]

Pet hate: People who link to the last page of a multi-page article. :p

It's okay, I'll let you off, this once.

[violent]

Pet hate: People who link to the last page of a multi-page article. :p

Missed that one. Fixed.

[Hemalin]

Why the hell did they only do one game per page? This is the internet not a magazine with limited space.

He's the list so you don't have to bother clicking ten times.


World of Warcraft
Doom
Civilization
SimCity
M.U.L.E.
Rogue: The Adventure Game
Starcraft
The Sims
Myst
Trade Wars 2002

[violent]

Why the hell did they only do one game per page? This is the internet not a magazine with limited space.

Give them a break. It's not like they forgot to put Diablo in there or something. Oh.

[Goronmon]

This seems to be a cross between a list of the most popular PC games (or in the case of series, the original) and a list of the best PC games of the 80's.

[Wasson_]

I would have thought Wing Commander would have made an appearance. It sparked a dominating genre that lasted though the whole of the 90s.

[violent]

Xwing vs. Tie-Fighter is nowhere yo be found either.

[Grifter]

No Magic Carpet, Diablo, Populous, Syndicate or Wing Commander? PC World is just full of fail this year.

Thanks for the article Violent and I dig your new avatar.

[violent]

No Magic Carpet, Diablo, Populous, Syndicate or Wing Commander? PC World is just full of fail this year.

Thanks for the article Violent and I dig your new avatar.

Thank you sir. I was deliberating for a while last night and amidst a cloud of indecision, it became obvious.

Also, no Day of the Tentacle.

[Voodoo]

PC World is nearly disconnected, if not completely, with PC Gaming. BTW, as Grifter had mentioned to me earlier, I believe we found the topic of the next podcast. :)

[Tron]

No Half-Life 1 or 2?

At least they got Doom in there.

[Chris_D]

Where's my Baldurs Gate 2 or Star Control 2! :(

[cp#]

That is not a solid list.

[Telefrog]

Trade Wars 2002? Pfft. That came out in 1990. I'd say a bigger influence on the genre was Elite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_(video_game)) which came out in 1984 and is remembered by more players.

[violent]

That is not a solid list.

I don't think there would ever be a solid list. Unless it was a list of the top 1000 games and was written by Jesus.

[Wackman3000]

Clearly I am from the new generation of PC gamer because there's a few games on that list I have never, ever heard of. Granted I only started PC gaming when BF2 dropped.

FORGIVE MY IGNORANCE! ;)

Seems like an interesting list. Looks as though they tried to cover most genres of PC gaming from the ones I do recognize.

[tacitus]

Why WOW? They seem to be listing the original Archetypes until WOW. Diablo was probably left off because it would be to surreal to have WOW, Diablo and Starcraft. Its sort of ludicrous - would I ever play Doom again (no...), but would I ever play half-life (anything) again? (yea...) When you list the 10 best its sort of a no-win situation.

[violent]

Why WOW? They seem to be listing the original Archetypes until WOW. Diablo was probably left off because it would be to surreal to have WOW, Diablo and Starcraft. Its sort of ludicrous - would I ever play Doom again (no...), but would I ever play half-life (anything) again? (yea...) When you list the 10 best its sort of a no-win situation.

WoW is synonymous with addiction. I think that is one hell of an endorsement.

[johnperkins21]

Why the hell did they only do one game per page? This is the internet not a magazine with limited space.

Page views for their advertisers.

[OrangePulp]

You just can't condense PC gaming into a top 10, and they fail for trying. Too many genres, too many excellent games over the last 20 years.

[The Iron Weasel]

World of Warcraft? Are you fucking kidding me?

[Voodoo]

Ahem...
PktBJ6HpNJQ
...such a great game.

[DangerousDaze]

That's a sorry-ass list of games. You'd think they'd pick original games that epitomised PC gaming rather than UNIX ports like Nethack.

/edit - And where the hell is Neocron?! :)

[Disgustipated]

This list fucking sucks. No Baldur's Gate 2 or Deus Ex = FAIL.

[Voodoo]

That's a sorry-ass list of games. You'd think they'd pick original games that epitomised PC gaming rather than UNIX ports like Nethack.

/edit - And where the hell is Neocron?! :)
Probably sitting next to Ultima VII, having a slice of pizza.

[crazyD]

Myst belongs on my top 10 crappiest PC games ever list. This list is an embarrassment, then again, it is missing Grim Fandango, the greatest game of all time, regardless of platform.

[Telefrog]

Myst belongs on my top 10 crappiest PC games ever list. This list is an embarrassment, then again, it is missing Grim Fandango, the greatest game of all time, regardless of platform.

I'll go with it. I'd never put into my personal best based on the gameplay, but no one can argue with its influence on the industry. That game sold DVD drives back when they were $300-$500 bucks a pop!

[crazyD]

I'll go with it. I'd never put into my personal best based on the gameplay, but no one can argue with its influence on the industry. That game sold DVD drives back when they were $300-$500 bucks a pop!

Flash. The game looked pretty, but was a mess under the surface. The game was sold entirely on having pretty graphics.

[Telefrog]

Flash. The game looked pretty, but was a mess under the surface. The game was sold entirely on having pretty graphics.

Hey, I said I'd never put in my personal best. :p

[violent]

Myst was phenomenal. You people are crazy.

Also, Sins of the Fathers?

[Philonious]

No LucasArts or Origin..? They tried too hard to have old school cred.

[crazyD]

Myst was phenomenal. You people are crazy.

Also, Sins of the Fathers?

Myst was a collection of random, unrelated puzzles, shoehorned into a game with a half assed plot. It was an adventure game without the things that make adventure games great. It was slow and tedious. I can't stand Myst, and am positive that it would have sold for shit if it weren't for those flashy graphics.

[violent]

Myst was a collection of random, unrelated puzzles, shoehorned into a game with a half assed plot. It was an adventure game without the things that make adventure games great. It was slow and tedious. I can't stand Myst, and am positive that it would have sold for shit if it weren't for those flashy graphics.

You should see the notebook I have. I spent a summer playing through the first 3 Myst games without the use of any faq. My notes prove that there was logic in the puzzles. Some were merely trial and error but most were actually based on something. And the story? You need to understand the story before you call it shit. Maybe the first Myst doesn't get deep enough into the grand story but by the time you're on the 3rd or 4th, it's fantastic.

[ClannerDelta]

My list of best Mac games.

Oregon Trail.

[Tron]

My list of best Mac games.

Oregon Trail.

I laughed!

[MagGnome]

Interesting list. Only a few of my favorites are on there, but all of the choices make sense.

My list would look very different, but then again I'm sure we'd all have different ideas for what should be in the top ten.

[Deadend]

The list seems like it was compiled by a bitter old man complaining about the Good Ole Days. At least the writer gives good enough reasons for his choices, but you can tell that he played alot of games on his PC when he was a teen, stopped for awhile, came back due to Myst, then did Starcraft and now that he is in his late 40s is playing WoW.

Or I could be totally wrong on that, but I sense a pattern.

[total]

This list is fail. Oh and Myst blows.

[Spectre-7]

I'll go with it. I'd never put into my personal best based on the gameplay, but no one can argue with its influence on the industry. That game sold DVD drives back when they were $300-$500 bucks a pop!

I know it was a long ass time ago, but I believe they were called CD-ROMs back then. ;)

[Ancalagon]

List blows.

Also, I think.... it seems like it lacks direction. I mean, first it starts off as a best ever list, then it becomes a most influential list, then an important milestone list (still missing out on half life 1 though). It doesnt know what it wants to be, no wonder it sucks.

I'd probably rather make a list of classic devs and what they are/were responsible for. Westwood, Origin, LucasArts, Maxis, Bullfrog, 3D Realms, Apogee, etc etc. And then you can list what each company was responsible for. Cos, for me, it wasnt like there was one game that blew me away, or even 10. Rather, it was that, when I saw a title made by Bullfrog, I knew to look at it carefully, cos it could be awesome (Syndicate, Theme Park, etc etc).

[jpublic]

I reads like someone wanking about how old school they are.

[MagGnome]

I miss Bullfrog. :(

I find it rather offensive that they don't have a single title on this list.

[TheKeck]

I know of at least one of those selections that might have your blood boiling already (but you're wrong, Myst was awesome),

Myst was phenomenal. You people are crazy.
Hey, I'M not crazy, Myst was awesome.

Myst was a collection of random, unrelated puzzles, shoehorned into a game with a half assed plot. It was an adventure game without the things that make adventure games great. It was slow and tedious. I can't stand Myst, and am positive that it would have sold for shit if it weren't for those flashy graphics.
That just... like... your opinion man. Honestly, I really don't get this random unrelated puzzles thing. (I've heard it before.) I didn't feel that way at all. The puzzles all seemed integrated and natural to me. I remember going to the game store for my birthday one year and the guy recommended a game called Milo because it was "a lot like Myst". But IT was just a bunch of random puzzles cobbled together with no story. And all I could think was, "this sucks because it's NOTHING LIKE Myst. Myst's puzzles are a part of the world! They make sense! I feel like I have a purpose in playing. Milo is just a collection of puzzle games". Bah.

And the story was awesome. I really felt like I was exploring a mystery that had a good payoff in the end.

[Tron]

Games like Myst and Rebel Assault were only notable because they came out on CD. The game itself sucked and there's a reason why Doom and Wolfenstein will define that era more than Myst ever will.

[TheKeck]

Games like Myst and Rebel Assault were only notable because they came out on CD. The game itself sucked
No, you suck. :p

[MagGnome]

No, you suck. :p

No, you both suck. :p

JK

MYST was great back in its heyday. I have many fond memories of that game, as well as the excellent novels.

[mightbe]

No Magic Carpet, Diablo, Populous, Syndicate or Wing Commander? PC World is just full of fail
Not to mention X-COM, Master of Magic, X-Wing/TIE Fighter games, Fallout, and piles of others.

My Modified List:


1. X-COM (Repping Strategy)

Probably the most flawless integration of contrasting gameplay styles, Deserves Civ/CivII/Alpha Centauri's spot

2. WoW (Repping online multiplayer)

The only game I've played nearly as much as X-COM.

3. Starcraft (RTIS, baby)

A near perfect game in every aspect.

4. SimCity (Sort of the "genera unto itself" candidate)

Platform defining.

5. TIE Fighter (Flight Sim)

Sub XvT, or X-wing; any of them deserves #5. Also pushes Wing Commander off the list, IMO.

6. Fallout (RPG)

Best RPG on the platform, Planescape: Torment would be fine as well. BG 1/2 didn't have the same magic for me though.

7. Dungeon Keeper (Bullfrog. Yes I know they're not a genera)

We need a Bullfrog game and I'm going with my favorite. Magic Carpet or Syndicate would also fit.

8. Doom II (Shareware/FPS)

A game that defined a generation of gamers. I think without this we never see Half-life and its ilk. So it takes their spot.

9. Day of the Tentacle (Adventure)

Mother fucker you DON'T do a PC top ten list without and adventure game. Monkey Island/7th Guest/Myst/Sam & Max all compete for this but I think DoTT come out on top.

10. Deus Ex (Wildcard/Casual Game - See EDIT)

Although you could argue that the Doom pick earlier creates an overlap, you can't argue with the significance of this title.

As for Trade Wars, if we're putting up a BBS game, fucking LORD > all.

EDIT: On second thought, I'd probably trade out #10 for a nice casual game that spread like wildfire to other platforms. Bejeweled anyone?

[mightbe]

To chime in on the Myst debate:
I think it was a great title and well worthy of being mentioned in the top adventure games of all time. I'm sure it comes down to personal preference, but well designed humor and character development makes a bunch of titles in the same genera pull ahead of Myst.

[crazyD]

9. Day of the Tentacle
Mother fucker you DON'T do a PC top ten list without and adventure game. Monkey Island/7th Guest/Myst/Sam & Max all compete for this but I think DoTT come out on top.

You are missing Grim Fandango, the greatest adventure game ever made!

[mightbe]

You are missing Grim Fandango, the greatest adventure game ever made!

I know, I almost put it as well. Full Throttle needs to be on there too.

But is there a glaring category that I missed?

I think with a platform as diverse as PC, we really need to try and get an ambassador from each of the gaming nations to rep for their tribe.

[Mike Kelehan]

Myst was phenomenal. You people are crazy.

Also, Sins of the Fathers?

You just summed up why I hate Myst. The puzzles had precious little logic to them, and the story connecting them was poor. Better adventure games, like Sins of the Fathers, had logical puzzles that tied together with the narrative.

[mightbe]

I miss Bullfrog. :(

I find it rather offensive that they don't have a single title on this list.

Bitch, they get their own category.

And there's not enough love for High Octane, imo.

[mightbe]

You just summed up why I hate Myst. The puzzles had precious little logic to them, and the story connecting them was poor. Better adventure games, like Sins of the Fathers, had logical puzzles that tied together with the narrative.

We could definitely use a sierra game up in here. SotF and KQ5 are both awesome candidates.

[DangerousDaze]

I'm a big fan of the Dreamfall adventures, personally.

[violent]

You just summed up why I hate Myst. The puzzles had precious little logic to them, and the story connecting them was poor. Better adventure games, like Sins of the Fathers, had logical puzzles that tied together with the narrative.

I mentioned earlier though about my Myst notebook with all the notes I took and a lot of the puzzles did in fact have connection to other parts of the game. Thing was, you really had to be patient with the game.

Of course, nowadays the game looks like garbage because of all the strides we've made in gaming but that aside, the game is still good.

I'm a big fan of the Dreamfall adventures, personally.

I want to play this badly. I hear nothing but amazing things about it. My problem is that once the initial dream sequence ends and the protagonist is in her apartment and she starts talking to the other woman, this is what I picture:

mcMpJlYynBw

[mightbe]

Good stuff, but tbh it's not top 10 material in my book.

[TheKeck]

We could definitely use a sierra game up in here. SotF and KQ5 are both awesome candidates.
I was partial to KQ6 myself. :)

[BigJonno]

Maybe the first Myst doesn't get deep enough into the grand story but by the time you're on the 3rd or 4th, it's fantastic.

Re-read that sentence. That's not a good thing, it's like the complete opposite of good.

Anyway, no BG2, (greatest game ever) no sale.

[MagGnome]

Bitch, they get their own category.

And there's not enough love for High Octane, imo.

EA drove Dungeon Keeper into the ground. :(

It's still one of my all-time favorites.


I'm a big fan of the Dreamfall adventures, personally.

You mean The Longest Journey? Dreamfall was the sequel. Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine. :o Great game though!

[violent]

Re-read that sentence. That's not a good thing, it's like the complete opposite of good.

I don't think the story in Myst was bad, only that it gets better. But I can't expect everyone to enjoy that story now can I? Just like I doubt anyone will change my mind about enjoying it.

[BigJonno]

Honestly, I've never played a Myst game in my life. It's just that "the story gets really good in the third or fourth game" is right up there with "it gets fun after level thirty or so" and "once you've read the first five books, the series is awesome!"

;)

[violent]

Honestly, I've never played a Myst game in my life. It's just that "the story gets really good in the third or fourth game" is right up there with "it gets fun after level thirty or so" and "once you've read the first five books, the series is awesome!"

;)

I know what you mean. Thing is though that in the first Myst, it's about talking to the two brothers in the prison worlds. They try and convince you to let them out and not the other so by the end, you have to make a choice as to who to let out. In the third story, you get to visit the two prison worlds and see how they lived. Explains why they seemed so crazy when they were begging you to let them out.

It comes together rather nicely.

[Johan]

I haven't played every supposedly significant PC game, but the ones that I have spent the most time with, and gotten the most enjoyment out of, were:

Baldur's Gate (2 was best).
Neverwinter Nights
Oblivion (currently at 90+ hours and going strong)
Civilization II

So, I'm a fan of PC RPGs for the most part, excluding Civ naturally.

[MagGnome]

Have you ever played Gothic 2 Johan? The game got a lot of flack for the so-so controls, but I really enjoyed it. The combat is tough at first, since you are very weak at the start of the game, but later on you get stronger and the whole world opens up. I had a great time just running around and exploring everything, and the story is actually pretty interesting once you get going. It has flaws to be sure, but it's one of my favorite PC RPGs.

[Dukefrukem]

i had a feeling number 1 would be WoW....

[tacitus]

Oblivion (currently at 90+ hours and going strong)

Its funny if my top-10 was based on time-consumed - Oblivion would probably be #1 followed by Diablo 2 as #2.

[Chris_D]

Its funny if my top-10 was based on time-consumed - Oblivion would probably be #1 followed by Diablo 2 as #2.

Hmmm, interesting point. Mine would be something like:

1. Warcraft 2 (1000+ hours)
2. Guild Wars (over 500)
3. Starwars Galaxies (a good few hundred)
4. Soldier of Fortune 2
5. Baldurs Gate 2
6. Quake 1 Team Fortress
7. Starcraft

It gets fuzzy after that..

[boratika]

Its funny if my top-10 was based on time-consumed - Oblivion would probably be #1 followed by Diablo 2 as #2.

I know my top would be Starcraft followed by Team Fortress 2. Don't know what else would be up there. I could envisage a future where Mount and Blade ranks high on that list.

[Khrymsyn]

The only name that really sticks out at me on that list is WoW...

WoW the #1 greatest game of all times? After they apparently tried hard to keep thier "Street cred" and remembering great older games like Rogue, and highlight big impact games like Myst (whether or not you love the game is another story)... to put WoW at #1? Where's the love for the 2 games that created that Genre, which WoW wouldn't have existed without? Ultima Online and Evercrack. Evercrack was WoW before video games became "acceptable", and likely would never have been released had not UO shown the MMO genre as marketable.

[mightbe]

I totally see it being in the top 10, even if I don't agree with #1 for it. The quality of WoW releases has been stellar and they continue to be quick to fix the problems that expanding the game presents.

I think it earns its spot simply because they got it right. And likely will continue to for the next 3-5 years.

The only reason I could see a different MMO or classic RPG edging it out is because we cannot yet evaluate WoW postmortem. And that will be the true test of its legacy.

[crazyD]

WoW is standard Blizzard. Polished as hell, but nothing really new. I definitely do not think it belongs anywhere on this list.

[ClannerDelta]

Its funny if my top-10 was based on time-consumed - Oblivion would probably be #1 followed by Diablo 2 as #2.

Woah. EverQuest would be my #1 then. I'd play that game every night during the summer months for... 4? years. Though Diablo 2 would be a close second.

[Xydarc]

My Top Ten would be:

1. Civ II
2. Warlords II
3. King's Quest III
4. Baldur's Gate 2
5. Wing Commander
6. Diablo II
7. WarCraft III
8. The Magic Candle
9. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
10. The Curse of Monkey Island

[Tron]

Mine would include: (in no order)

Half-Life
Half-Life 2
Wolfenstein
Doom
Tie-fighter
Dune
Unreal
Command and Conquer
Starcraft

(Yes I am a huge FPS fan)

[violent]

Mine would include: (in no order)

Half-Life
Half-Life 2
Wolfenstein
Doom
Tie-fighter
Dune
Unreal
Command and Conquer
Starcraft

(Yes I am a huge FPS fan)

I noticed you neglected to include Diablo in that list. Do you simply hate games?

[crazyD]

Diablo wouldn't be on mine. I don't hate games, just boring dungeon crawlers. Even well polished boring dungeon crawlers.

[Xydarc]

The more time I put into Mass Effect, the more I'm wondering if it should go into my list.

[Tron]

I noticed you neglected to include Diablo in that list. Do you simply hate games?

Never played it. :cool:

[Wombat]

They seem to be going for games which are important firsts, or landmarks in a particular genre, e.g. Doom wasn't the first FPS, but it really got the genre launched. Saying that, they missed ordinary RPG's completely. Without Wizardry, or an Ultima, the list has an enormous hole.

[crazyD]

They seem to be going for games which are important firsts, or landmarks in a particular genre, e.g. Doom wasn't the first FPS, but it really got the genre launched. Saying that, they missed ordinary RPG's completely. Without Wizardry, or an Ultima, the list has an enormous hole.

If that's the case, then WOW really doesn't fit.

[MagGnome]

My top ten, in no particular order:

Grim Fandango
The Longest Journey
Dungeon Keeper
SimCity
Age of Wonders (probably the 2nd one)
Sins of a Solar Empire
Half-Life
Gothic 2
Civilization III or Alpha Centauri
Warcraft II

There are several others that I thought about throwing in there, but those are my 10 all-time favorites off the top of my head.

[Tron]

My top ten, in no particular order:

Grim Fandango
The Longest Journey
Dungeon Keeper
SimCity
Age of Wonders (probably the 2nd one)
Sins of a Solar Empire
Half-Life
Gothic 2
Civilization III or Alpha Centauri
Warcraft II

There are several others that I thought about throwing in there, but those are my 10 all-time favorites off the top of my head.

I see you like the simulator games. I was thinking of buying Civ 4 on steam. I've never played any of them. Did you like that one? I see you lsited Civ 3.

[violent]

Never played it. :cool:

Not sure if I should pity you or envy you. I sure as hell wish I could play it again for the first time.

[MagGnome]

I see you like the simulator games. I was thinking of buying Civ 4 on steam. I've never played any of them. Did you like that one? I see you lsited Civ 3.

I love simulation/God/building games.

I just bought Civilization IV and the expansions during the last Steam sale, but I haven't gotten around to playing it yet. I've heard nothing but good things though. I have way too many strategy games on my plate right now, so I'm holding off on Civ IV until I can give it the time it deserves.

[Xydarc]

Civ IV is the best Civ game since Civ II.

[DylonCorp]

Freespace 2 Open. Freespace 2 Open. Freespace 2 Open. Freespace 2 Open!!!1