18 classic PC games you still can't get digitally | PC Gamer - longshatepon
18 standard PC games you still backside't get digitally
One of the cracking strengths of PC gaming is a back catalog that spans decades. Companies like Nintendo emulate aged games on their modern consoles, but that can't compare to the thousands and thousands of games you can hunt from the history of the PC. But not every banger that's always dropped on DOS or Windows is so easy to find. Extraordinary of the uncomparable greats still aren't available digitally even now, and your only legal way to play them is to hunt for a boxed replicate on Ebay and Hope it plays well with neo Windows.
The list of those missing classics is growing shorter due to stores like GOG and developers the likes of Nightdive dredging up as many relics from the muck of abandonware as they can. Just the list is still longer than it should be, so we asked Nightdive what the betting odds are that the games below can get the appendage re-releases they deserve.
Present are 18 of the games we most want to see available again, ideally with support for higher resolutions and smooth compatibility with today's PCs.
No One Lives Forever
Among the most infamous rights fiascos in PC play history, you'd be forgiven for thinking this classic spy shooter is really cursed. The dirty tale is long and complex and full of legal technicalities, but the gist of it is that there's no clear answer to the question of who holds the rights to re-let go of it, and all effort to untangle that knot has so far unsuccessful.
NOLF's petit mal epilepsy is especially felt as it's wide regarded Eastern Samoa one of the best PC games ever. It's made our own lists more than once. But today's jr. players likely harbor't affected it and may never have heard of it. Nightdive tried to get the rights to it years past with no success, but it seems like in that respect whitethorn still be around hope for the hereafter.
Nightdive's accept: "NOLF is somewhat unique therein multiple parties need to agree in order for this game to see the candent of solar day. Recent mergers have actually made this state of affairs somewhat easier. And Nightdive scarcely South Korean won't give up!"
Freelancer
When Freelancer came kayoed in 2003, it felt like something truly unscheduled. You could tent-fly around in your personal spaceship in a fully 3D galaxy. You could visit hubs on planetary surfaces. You could perk up contracts. You could don dogfights. You could wear a leather jacket. IT sort of felt like a Han Solo Simulator. And while development issues kept it from arrival its full potential, the space games that have follow (including creator Chris Roberts' actual project Star Citizen) owe IT a fair bit.
As of the writing of this article, a physical imitate of the disc is going to discharge you about $90 in box. That's non quite as much As you power invite out your own planet in Star Citizen, but it is pretty soak up for a 17-year-old stake. With plenty of options for self-guided space exploration these years, from Elite: Dangerous to No more Man's Sky, the genre is doing well. Only there's still nothing quite like Freelancer.
Nightdive's take: "I believe this is closely-held by Microsoft! It's our go for to matchless Clarence Shepard Day Jr. work out on Freelancer as healed as Reddish Skies!"
3D Film maker
Other unique artifact of the mid-90s, 3D Movie Maker was split up game and set out vitality program. The large library of pre-recorded, coiled animations and simple controls made it very easy for users of any science level to wee-wee what were, at the time, pretty elaborate 3D short films. You could eventide import your own recorded dialogue, though that tended to fill up hard drive blank space fast in 3DMM's heyday.
Now that we have Germ Film maker and dedicated machinima tools in many monumental budget games, it's stonelike to see where the ecological niche would be for something like 3D Movie Maker today. But the user friendliness and power to screen your creations in a virtual theater, complete with a concession stand and a wacky (somewhat alarming, to make up honest) usher is an experience uploading a video to Steam or YouTube bu can't replicate.
The Movies
Continuing our cinematic theme, Lionhead's The Movies is another silver block out-adjacent cult hit that isn't available on digital stores—at least not anymore. Information technology actually was available on Steamer for a time, but was delisted old age ago. This one was definitely more of a tycoon game than an existent animation program. You had some see over the sword-shaped short films your studio anaesthetise, but they were all assembled from a list of pre-primed scenes.
Still, living the dream of a Hollywood White House is something no one other has tried to put into game form since. And since this production is already way ended budget, information technology might comprise a pain to chase after down a physical replicate.
MechWarrior 2
We're stale for choice with mech games these days. We've got MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, we've got MechWarrior Online. If you're more into the tactical side of things, Harebrained Schemes' Battletech lets you command an smooth lance. We've even got mecha visual novels like Extreme Meatpunks Forever. And even MechWarrior 2, a foundational entry and a lot of people's first mech feel, still isn't available digitally.
It English hawthorn be precisely because we have so many another other slipway to scratch the MechWarrior itch that Activision hasn't successful it a priority to ensure the entire back catalogue is gettable. But it's unmoving a part of the history of the serial and PC gaming, and information technology would be nice to embody able to give it a reel today for nostalgia's sake, or to witnesser how the series evolved.
Nightdive's take: "An employee at GOG once bet Pine Tree State a $500 bottle of whiskey that I couldn't unravel the rights to the MechWarrior series and net ball's just tell I haven't come to claim that bet. My current understanding is that the rights are split 'tween a number of publishers."
Dune 2
1992's Dune 2 is possibly the original literal-sentence scheme game, at least in terms of how we define the genre today. IT created a template that Warcraft, Command & Conquer, and dozens of other games would closely follow. Especially with the Sand dune universe doing big numbers pool at the ticket office in 2021, it's odd that you can't track down a integer replicate of this piece of music of PC gambling history.
There is an unofficial recreation of Sand dune 2 available for mobile, and a winnow-made clone for PC and Linux called Dune Legacy. The original code is nowhere to be found happening any of the major, whole number stores, however. Maybe this guy can point U.S. in the compensate direction.
Nightdive's lease: "When Westwood was acquired by EA the Dune license went with information technology and additional titles were created that took or s liberties with the source material. Word is that the Herbert Landed estate wasn't too pleased with this and the license along with any chance of a remaster or re-relinquish of the classic RTS series were unredeemed. (You'd motive Spice in order to navigate that minefield.)"
Black & White
Saint Peter Molyneux, though known in the unlikely 15 days for organism off-center, saying weird things, and provocative us to break into some kind of magic trick cube, at one point pioneered what we all the same call the God Game. Black & White was one of the most bizarre and marvelous milestones of the genre, atomic number 3 you got to rule over your worshippers with the help of a giant, profoundly unsettling anthropomorphic animal.
EA stillness has authorised WWW pages for Black & White and its sequel, but you North Korean won't find out them for sale happening Origin. Or anywhere, for that matter, differently maybe Ebay or a hot find at a service department cut-rate sale. Molyneux went on to produce Godus, which exists in the same genre and is readily available, but it just doesn't let you get up to the same kind of oddball chaos his earlier stabs at the concept did.
Nightdive's train: "We enquired a few times about B&W and were never able to get a clear answer from EA as to what the afoot status was. IT's my optimum guess that Peter Molyneux would take up to be involved with some rhenium-let go or remastering."
The Oregon Trail
If you went to school in the US any metre in the last 40 years, there's a estimable chance you played some reading of The Oregon Trail. The historically-inspired resource direction sim was sold as an educational cartesian product, and charged you with getting a coaster wagon complete of people and farce from Independence, MO to Oregon in the mid-1800s. Hopefully without dying of dysentery.
In that location have been a smattering of versions released on PC, virtually recently 2001's 5th Edition. Simply no of them are available digitally in an official capability, if you prat believe it. To add revilement to injury, there have been no less than nine Oregon Trail games released since 2001 (and we've hierarchical all of them), but no connected the PC. At least as a consolation prize, you terminate catch The Organ Trail on Steam, a pastiche that uses the graphics and mechanics of the classical Orchard apple tree Cardinal version to tell a zombie Apocalypse survival story.
Nightdive's pick out: "We had whatsoever initial conversations with the rights owners about bringing back wholly the 'Trail' titles, just there didn't seem to be comfortable interest at the clock time to move the conversation forward."
Battlefield 1942
The World War 2 shooter that started same of the genre's biggest franchises is, sadly, missing in action now, too. What's even worse is that it actually was ready on Origin—gratis, even!—at one point, but has since been delisted.
The reason seems to be that the multiplayer service, run through GameSpy, was shut down in 2013. This means EA would have to amount in the lead with about new netcode for you to flatbottom be able to play BF1942 with your friends. If you have an original phonograph recording, there are more or less lover-ready-made workarounds come out there that backside re-enable the multiplayer. Merely formalised support seems unlikely, when Origin would probably rather betray you the newest Battlefield.
The Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle-earth
Another ring missing from Line's digit is the Battle for Heart-earth series, a dua of surprisingly good licenced Lord of the Rings RTSes. The issue hither is that Warner Bros, makers of the Shadow of Mordor/Shadow of War games, currently appreciation the computer game rights to Lord of the Rings. To rhenium-departure these classics digitally, EA would have to deal with them and the Tolkien people, WHO can be prickly at times.
But hey, with a new-sprung Middle-earth-centric streaming series along the horizon, maybe thither will be some renewed interest in bringing these armies back from the dead. It would be a shame to see the only game that permit you send out Tom Bombadil to spinning saltation kick your enemies fade in the crypts of abandonware.
Civilization and Civ 2
The first deuce entries in Sid Meier's legendary Culture series have still ne'er gotten a victorian digital release. And it's non trying to see why. With Civ 4, 5, and 6 maintaining their own active communities to this day, you simply induce a mess of modern slipway to get your Civ fix.
Still, in a series nearly the march of human history, it would be gracious to be able to easily go back and see where all these contemporary wonders started from. IT may not comprise at the pinch of Firaxis' to-make out lean, with Civ 6 swathe up development and Civ 7 belik in some large-hearted of planning stage at the least. But the past has a way of leaving its mark on us.
Aliens Versus Piranha 2
We've had some great and much dire games about being a space marine shooting aliens in Holocene epoch times. But even the cream of the crop would have a woody time standing adequate Aliens Versus Predator 2. It had excellent asymmetrical multiplayer in front that was even actually a thing, and extensive single-player campaigns for the aliens, predators, and humans.
The most recent time I tried to birl up my old Compact disc read-only memory, I found that the online profession had seen ameliorate days. Without official developer substantiate, hackers had au fon taken. It's the kind of thing you just have to microwave from distance. It's the only way to be sure. But if someone were to get this frenzied deathmatch on Steamer or GOG with around up-to-date netcode and anti-cheat measures, I know I'd be in the pipe, five-by-five.
Nightdive's take: "Another incredible shooter past Monolith that at the fourth dimension was a licensed Fox property published aside Sierra, which is immediately Activision. Walt Disney owns the rights to the Strange franchise simply I believe something would need to be worked out with Activision before we could see AvP2 return."
Silent J. J. Hill 2 and 3
Both of these horror classics got physical PC releases, but have never been purchasable digitally. GOG currently has Mute Hill 4, which is not exactly the most comfortably-regarded in the franchise, simply not the acclaimed second or ordinal games.
Normally I'd say not to hold your breath, Konami being Konami, just they did prove us mistaken and give the go-leading for the original Metal Cogwheel Solid to be oversubscribed digitally since the last time we compiled this list. So maybe if we ask really nicely and atone for the crimes of our old by way of surrealist horror dreamscapes, we'll happen some download codes inhumed in a bag of viscera on our front porch next Halloween.
Nightdive's take: "Afterward the poor response of the HD collection liberate I wouldn't be surprised if Konami were a trifle gun shy to revisit these games, but I believe enough time has passed that another advance remastering these titles is warranted. With the success of the Occupier Evil Remakes I'd fathom a guess that a quasi treatment for Silent Hill was on the postpone."
Need for Speed Underground 1 and 2
There are several Needs for Speed available on Steam and Origin these days, but the Underground subseries, two luminary fan favorites, are not among them. Focus along tuner cars and illegal street racing, they came outer of the similar era as the original The Fast and the Angered and had a thumping soundtrack, on with deep, but not too fiddly, car customization.
If you the likes of spinning rims, there are still physical copies of these floating around reasonable like a good deal of the games on this list. But information technology would be great to see them get some kind of digital release, evening if thither is no shortage of excellent racing games to pick from these days.
SimAnt
Back when Maxis was devising "Sim" everything, they had some shoo-in hits like SimCity and some more unsung efforts same SimAnt. Putting you in appoint of a growing insect settlement, navigating the minuscule world and its many dangers and opportunities e'er felt like a self-generated fit for the musical genre.
And you know what? It really bugs me that I can't find oneself IT digitally. Do you see what I did there? With the bug joke? What? What's that face for? Well you know what, I'm not sorry. I mean, I'm sorry I butt't download SimAnt on Steam, but I'm non gloomy for the indulgent insect wit.
Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/18-classic-pc-games-you-still-cant-get-digitally/
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