There are so many great old school, retro games. Here is where we talk about some of our favorites.
Atari recently celebrated their 50 year anniversary. It is hard to believe the 2600 was released over four decades ago. Atari will always be considered a groundbreaking company and an important part of video game history. In addition to being a pioneer in the home console space, Atari was also at the forefront of video game box art as we know it today.
Pigskin 621 A.D. was an arcade football game released by Bally/Midway in 1990. It was much different than modern day football games, both visually and gameplay-wise. Pigskin was more like medieval rugby. Players had to fight their way to the end zone and holding on to the ball was never easy. The game was considered a success and in 1992 landed on the SEGA Genesis as Jerry Glanville’s Pigskin Footbrawl.
Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter game developed by Rare and released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. It was a successor to Goldeneye 007 (released by Rare in 1997). Perfect Dark featured single player campaign and multiplayer game modes. It was considered a commercial success and regarded by many players as one of the greatest games of all-time.
Street Fighter II is a fighting game developed by Capcom in 1991. Initially released as an arcade game, Street Fighter II would soon find its way to all major home consoles (including the SNES and Genesis). Praised for its competitive gameplay and simple control scheme, Street Fighter II is regarded by many as the greatest fighting game of all-time.
Wolfenstein 3D is a first-person shooter game developed by id Software in 1992. The game was originally released for MS-DOS. In 1993 id Software would go on to develop and release DOOM, one of greatest first-person shooter games ever made. While DOOM often receives the accolades (and deservingly so) for propelling the first-person shooter genre forward, the impact of Wolfenstein 3D on gaming a year earlier cannot be denied.
Metal Slug is a run and gun arcade shooter game released in 1996 by Nazca Corporation/SNK. It was also available on the Neo Geo and soon found its way to a bunch of other home gaming consoles. Metal Slug has been widely praised for its unique blend of running and vehicle based gameplay, which lead to a number of sequel titles and game spin-offs. But hands down the most iconic aspect of Metal Slug is the fantastic art.
Rolling Thunder was an arcade game released by Namco in 1986. It was considered a commercial success, frequently found in arcades across North America. The cover/shoot and split-level gameplay heavily influenced the design of the original Shinobi, developed by SEGA in 1987. Rolling Thunder would go on to be released on multiple home gaming systems, including the NES in 1989.
Earthworm Jim is a 2D run-and-gun platformer developed by Shiny Entertainment. The game was released on the Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis in 1994. Earthworm Jim has become something of a cult classic, still loved by many gamers to this day.
River Raid is a vertical scrolling top-down shooter released for the Atari in 1982. The game was designed and programmed by Carol Shaw (one of the first female designers/programmers in the industry). Over a million game cartridges of River Raid were sold. Activision would later port the game to the ColecoVision, Intellivision and the Commodore 64.
There are certain video games that stand the test of time. Punch-Out!! (formerly known as Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!) for the NES is one of those games. Try as they might…no boxing game since has come close to making the impact this game did.