Best PC Games of All Time
Everyone has their favorite list of PC games that they can never forget; the gameplay which draws one in and keeps the player engrossed till the very end; the gameplay that makes one forget the hours swiftly going by.
Here is my best of all time list in no particular order: (Feel free to agree or disagree)
1) Starcraft
This has got to be the magnum opus from Blizzard. The definitive real time strategy game that defines the genre. The units, the balance between the sides, the infinite chess like gameplay, the nail-biting tension and the inspiring sounds and music all made this the best PC game ever.
2) XCOM: UFO Defense
The graphics this game may seem archaic to say the least, but that quality actually helps the gamer fill the missing parts with his imagination. In that aspect the game feels like a good book where the author supplies the words but the reader creates his own vision. The game had wonderful gameplay where every soldier could be customized and where every time you lost a soldier it actually meant something. The battles with the aliens were spooky and I have actually jumped out of my seat when I was playing in the middle of the night. The hundreds of clones that aped this gameplay never got it right. The better visuals actually doing more damage than what the developers intended.
3) Master of Orion 2
4x games require enormous amounts of micromanagement and can sometimes be very frustrating to play. But Master of Orion 2 by far manages to avoid some of these problems by wrapping some of the drudgery by putting a human face on the AI you play against, whether it be the Klackons or the Psilons. The end result is a fun, engaging, challenging game that provides hours of gameplay and a solid feeling of achievement at the end of the day.
4) Grand Prix 2 (GP2)
Geoff Crammond’s series of F1 games is now legendary. But this F1 driving simulation game stands as one of the best car racing games ever. The AI is brilliant, the driving fun and challenging and the customization options incredible for the time. No other racing game as come close.
5) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
No other game does it better telling a story and no other game offered the ability to be the hero in the epic story you were part of. An incredible game with story that would have done any book proud, it was far better than the storylines in the new Star Wars movies. This was the definitive role playing game as the immersion was complete. The fate of the Jedi (and the universe) did rest on your shoulders.
6) SimCity
SimCity stands by its own, something that transcends genre and any kind of categorization. One can lose years in a Simcity game with a fanatical push to pack more and more people in to that 256×256 map and still keep them happy enough to keep you as the mayor.
7) Flight Simulator 2004
What is the point of a game with no objective? Where all you have to do is hop into a virtual plane, take off and fly from point A to point B, and you can’t even shoot at someone during that time? You got to be kidding right? No. This game with no objectives blurs the distinction between the virtual and the real world. The thrill of doing a perfect ILS landing of a Boeing 747-400 on Boston’s Logan airport is beyond compare. Hey you can even fly a real plane from the training you get with the glide slopes, VORs, NDBs, GPS and vector headings. If you ever wanted to be a pilot but couldn’t do it, this is the closest you will get to.