Totally Retro: These DOS Games Thrilled Us

The Incredible Machine

Foto: Sierra Entertainment

Foto: Sierra_Entertainment

Epic Pinball

Of the countless pinball machines of the DOS era, Epic Pinball was my favorite. The first tables “Android”, “Pot of Gold”, “Excalibur” and “Deep Sea” brought a lot of pinball fun. But “Enigma” with its brightly colored and shimmering backgrounds, almost without table contours, regularly drove me crazy when I lost my tact and threw my last ball back into the game too violently and it landed on the pinball mine again. It was then called game over, but that was far from true for real gamblers.

Foto: Epic MegaGames

Photo: MegaGames

X-Wing

“Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away”: For anyone who was addicted to Star Wars in the 70s and 80s, the X-Wing, which came out in 1994, was of course a must. Targeting the Empire’s TIE fighters in the Rebel Alliance’s X-wing was a huge adventure. The task was quite complex. There were a variety of missions, game points had to be collected in order to get medals and promotions. It is better to save the latter in a manually created backup copy – otherwise you would have to start all over again when the power let you down and the Empire pilot had aimed well. The squawking computer sound of the Star Wars music motifs is definitely a laugh today.

Foto: LucasArts Entertainment

Prince of Persia

60 minutes, then the princess, who has been brought into his power by the evil, power-hungry vizier Jaffar, dies. That was the longest 60 minutes of my previous gaming life. Prince of Persia was essentially the first real-time game. Stopping in between, saving the score or just shaking out your hands – that wasn’t it. Anyone who took part had to overcome traps for an hour and take out Jaffar’s palace guards in sword fights. After all, it was about a princess. When she was finally saved, you became the Prince of Persia yourself.

Photo: Broderbund Software

The settlers

In 1994 “The Settlers” came out for DOS. An addictive game. You could tinker around for hours. Where should the next settlement go? What raw materials do I need? Are there enough soldiers to defend your own castle? It was always hair-pulling when the strategy seemed to have been worked out down to the last detail and then the porters ran out and stones could no longer be transported away.

Foto: Blue Byte Software

Donkey Kong

No doubt, the pink gorilla was iconic. Donkey Kong is considered the mother of all platforming games. This game used to be just the thing to switch off for a moment. Even though Donkey Kong sneered and threw steel beams at the player, he somehow found his way over the ladders to free Pauline from the monster’s clutches.