Wow.. I don't even remember what my first PC game was. There were so many games that I used to play on the PC way back when. I first started playing games on the Commodore 64 computer, back in 1983. The neighbor was my dad's friend, and he constantly hooked us up with tons of free games. My dad just had to buy the blank floppy disks... the old, big, flat, black, thin, floppy disks. The kind that you could flip over and use the other side. We literally had several hundred games on that. Just tons and tons of games. We had some "master" games, that you'd buy at the store. But we also had tons of "blank" disks that our neighbor would cram like 5 to 10 games per side on. Then he'd type the name of the games onto a sticker and then put a label on them, so we knew what games were on what disk, and what side of the disk. So yeah, I had tons and tons of pc games, growing up. I was 2 years old when I first started playing on it. So I can't remember exactly what I played on it. This was a couple of years before the NES came out. But I don't remember the names of some of the games that I played in the early years. They were mostly little kiddy games.
However, here are a few that I can remember, off of the top of my head...
Aliens
Batman: The Caped Crusader
Commando
Altered Beast
Q*Bert
The Great Giana Sisters
Ikari Warriors
Rambo: First Blood part 2
Moon Patrol
Popeye
Defender
Kung-Fu Master
California Games
Karate Champ
Karateka
The Hulk
Ghostbusters
Gauntlet
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
Transformers
Frogger
Dino Eggs
Ducks Ahoy
Choplifter
Congo Bongo
Pac-Land
Buster Bros
Paperboy
Pitfall
Who Dares Win 2
Summer Games
Winter Games
Test Drive
Space Harrier 1 and 2
Skyfox 1 and 2
Raid on Bungeling Bay
Skate or Die
Road Blasters
Load Runner
Rygar
Spy vs Spy
Spy Hunter
Star Fox (not the Nintendo game)
etc.etc..
I had a ton of Commodore 64 games. Way too many to list. Also, I can't remember the names of some of them, tho I can picture the gameplay in my head.
That said, all of these games came out before Doom. Which I played on the newer computer that I got, in the early 90's. Even Wolfenstein 3D came out before Doom. There were some other games on that computer that I played too.
But yeah, as for what game got me into PC game.. gee.. I couldn't say. I've been PC gaming for so long.. since around 1983, that I can't possibly remember which game I played first. I had so many games to choose from, and played them all on a regular basis, that I don't know what came out before what, or what I played first, or anything like that. So I can't say for sure. But I can say that I have been playing PC games for longer than the NES has been around. So there's that.
If I had to pick one that was "special" or that I remember the most.. it would probably have to be
Aliens..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YKq1b9CzToE
or Batman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2EhPUvEx7DE
I was addicted to the music in both. In Aliens, I remember restarting the game just to hear the opening song again. That, or I wouldn't press anything, and just let it run. Good times. My favorite level, by far, was the second level, where you had to maneuver the marines through the maze of platforms, and get them back safely to the vehicle. I played it so much that I had the whole map memorized. I could immediately cycle through the characters starting screen, perhaps move them a screen or two, and know exactly where I was, and the exact path I would need to take to get them "home" safely. Of course, there were several paths that got you back to base. And I knew all of the different directions. A lot of the area's looked alike, but you get used to what screens should be next to what screens. Like I said, I got really, really good at it.
I liked the first level too, mainly for the music. It was a flight sim, where you had to fly through the rings. If you miss ONE ring, you lost. And what made it hard was that sometimes, during some turns, the controls were such that you had to pull hard in one direction, and then immediately pull back hard in the other direction. And if you missed it by a fraction of an inch, boom, you lost. You had to have your timing down right on some turns.
Like I said tho, I loved the second level. In the video, it's right around the 6:15 mark. What I liked about it, was that it was suspenseful. I mean, I was like 5 years old when this game came out. And sometimes you would have several guys "flash red", meaning that the aliens were attacking them. You could switch back and forth between your men at any time. But only the guy you were controlling would move. Everybody else is just standing still. In the video, if you see a platform that looks like it's over nothing, that's the "normal" area. If you see the places with all of the different shapes and designs around the path, that was considered "the nest", and alien attacks were more frequent in the nest than in the normal areas. In the normal areas, the aliens could only come from the same direction as the paths, just like you. However, in the "nest" areas, they could come from any direction. If you had two marines meet up with each other, and be on the same screen, they are automatically "safe", as long as they are on the same screen together. So they don't need to be back at "base" to be safe. They won't ever get attacked, as long as they stay together. However, you can only move one at a time. So when you move one to the next screen, both could potentially get attacked at the same time. It does happen. Also, the longer you take to beat the level, the faster and more frequent the alien attacks come. So the quicker you beat it, the better. If and alien happens to get one of your men, you have a limited amount of time to get another marine onto the same screen. If you can make it to the same screen, you'll scare them off and save your fellow marine. If you don't make it in time, you character dies. When your guy gets caught, the flashing red screen stays a solid red. Solid green means that they've made it back to home base.
If you don't know your way around, it can all look the same, and you can get lost easily. Luckily for me, I played it enough to know my way around. And getting around was fun, as I loved the alien sounds, and the sounds of the gunfire. Also, I have the "click, click, click" of the walking ingrained in my head too. In fact, even today, my dad, who used to sit and play the game with us (we watched the movie when it first came out, so naturally, the game came next. Even at that age, for us). Anyways, even my dad, to this day, when he see's me or my brother play a game today, always refers to this game, and says, "man, they've come along way from 'click, click, click'", as he moves his fingers in a walking motion. He remembers this game well. That's his favorite reference when comparing modern games to older games.
I never liked levels 3 or 4. Level 3 there was absolutely no way to save everybody. The aliens that were coming were always random, and they always screwed you by making multiple aliens fast enough to get past you while you deal with another one. It was ridiculously. hard. If you didn't pass the 2nd level with a "perfect" 4 out of 4, you were going to have a tough time getting passed level 3. At the bottom of the screen, on the left side, you'll see a door with a squiggly line forming in it. That's supposed to be when they are trying to cut open a door while the aliens attack. So you have to defend your marines, while waiting for them to finish cutting through. If the last person dies, you lose. Game over. In the video, he almost got a game over. It was close. And he went in with a perfect. That level is not easy. The next level, level 4, can be just as bad. He made it look easy, but the "aliens" are random. It's supposed to be when you are maneuvering through the air ducts in the movie, after they attack the base. But you are just a zippo lighter going through tunnel maze. I never cared for that level. It was easier than level 3, by far, but sometimes still tough, as aliens could just randomly spawn all around you, and converge on you, leaving you no where to go. Each Alien takes away a flame. There was only one in the video, but they encircle the zippo, and each hit takes a flame away, until there is no more.
The next level was my second favorite level. Level 5. The difference between level's 2 and 5 is that level 2, there are 4 marines in a particular maze. The maze is always the same, however, the starting positions for all 4 marines is always different. Sometimes they are in the very next screen over from each other. Other times they are as far away from you as you can be. In Level 5, it's a completely different "map", that has the same look and feel. However, in level 2, it was all about survival. In level 5, you are Ripley, and you have to try and find Newt. The path is always the same, so once we found her, we got used to trying it over and over again, until we had the exact path memorized. You could get lost if you don't know your way around. We did, a lot. But we soon had it memorized, just like level 2. However, they also give you flares, which you can drop, and then use that to help you find your way back. But the biggest difference, besides the flare, is that not only is there now a time limit (there was an unlimited amount of time in level 2), but now you could run out of ammo (you had unlimited ammo in level 2). Once you ran out of ammo, you could only walk. You couldn't attack. And if time runs out, you die, as the place blows up. So this level was tough at first. Especially when we didn't know where we were going, and had to constantly fend off aliens. Sometimes, getting past the queen was tough, as she can be fast some times, and block you. Once she gets you, it's game over. But this was another level we would replay over and over again.
Finally, there was the last level. That level wasn't hard at all. Just keep the queen away from you, is all. Keep sideswiping her until you bring her health down, and then grab her and release her. Fairly easy. Level 3 was thee hardest level. That was the deciding level of that game. Levels 1, 2, and 5 were my top 3 favorites. 2 being my favorite, followed by 5, because it's similar, but harder, and then 1, because it's different than the rest, and has good music too.
So yeah, if I had to narrow it down to just one game, I'd probably say this game. I have more memories of play this game than any other PC game. Even tho I had been playing PC games for a few years before this game was even released. So it wasn't my first, but it is the one that I remember the most. So there's that. Enjoy the video's. The two that I posted had the music that I listened to the most. I never beat the Batman game. I never fully knew what to do. I kind of just aimlessly wandered around until I died. But I did it because I enjoyed the music. Good times. Enjoy.
