I have to admit that the ease of Steam has led me to spend a little more gaming time with my PC. I really enjoyed the Potato Sack promotion for Portal 2, and that led me to buy a few games I would not have found otherwise — but I also found some older Activision games that I didn’t even realize were available on the service. If you’re looking for a sub-$20 bargain from PC olden days, I think I found a few.
Don't worry -- Ned is not the name of the bear.
GUN
Neversoft‘s love letter to the Wild West (ably ported to the PC by a young Beenox) definitely looks like a game from 2005, but you know what that means — your PC can run it with all the visual settings maxed out. And with the success of Red Dead Redemption, maybe it’s worth another look. At the time I remember referring to it as “Grand Theft Pinto” because of the non-linear missions and horseback travel sections. In the first ten minutes, you get to hunt elk, shoot cannons, and murder the marauders attacking your riverboat. From there it’s a tale of honor and revenge with horse racing, shootouts, scalping, hookers with hearts of gold, and all the trappings you’d expect from the olde-tyme setting. Plus, you get to cheat at poker. It’s here on Steam for $20.
This one also came out for Xbox Live Arcade
Aces of the Galaxy
You want old-school developer cred? Artech created the Colecovision port of River Raid way back in 1983 (around the same time they created the Sierra classic BC’s Quest for Tires) and more than 25 years and many unusual releases later (Read and Learn Bible for PC! MotoCross for the 32X!), they’re still making games. This one’s a fast-paced arcade shmup that is either side- nor vertical-scrolling — it’s more of a 3rd person chase-cam shooter. On first play I found it all a little overwhelming — there’s a lot on the screen. Then again, that’s just more stuff to have fun destroying…and I did have fun destroying it. It’s here on Steam for $10.
The graphics do get better as the series progresses. Not much, but...
Space Quest Collection
Oh, Roger Wilco — you poor bastard. Thrust into the role of hero after pirates kill everyone on his spaceship, the lowly janitor must save the universe not once but a half-dozen times in this collection of six text/point-and-click adventures from Sierra’s heyday. Silly plots, silly characters, silly names, thinly veiled references to famous space operas…this is prime classic PC stuff, before gaming started to take itself too seriously. (Did I mention that the fourth installment features Roger escaping The Sequel Police?) So beloved is Space Quest that it has its own wiki. Best of all, chapters 4 and 6 feature the golden throat of Gary Owens. If you’re under 50 you know him from Laugh-In; if you’re under 40, you remember him as the Blue Falcon (nee Dynomutt); if you’re under 30, you remember him as Ren & Stimpy’s Powdered Toast Man. It’s here on Steam for $20 (for all six games).
I'm guessing you can figure this out without a tutorial.
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures Deluxe
That’s a long name for what’s basically a casual game — but it’s also a great match for your laptop, since the specs are reasonable (Pentium 700 anyone?) and it’s hard to argue with the pick-up-and play distraction of minature golf. A slightly cartoony presentation, a simple control scheme, and an included level editor make it a bit of a guilty pleasure. It’s here on Steam for $10.
Oh, and for what it’s worth, this totally happened while I was working on this article.
I'm lucky only when it totally does not matter.
