70. Civilization II (Microprose, 1996)
The first Civilization game was a pretty novel concept - basically an alternate history where you pick a civilization and take the role of their leader, guiding their technological advance, fending off or conquering your foes, and hoping to stand the rest of time. Civ 2 made some substantial improvements by adding more units and a bit more depth to battles (no longer just an all-or-nothing coin toss), as well as networked play for up to 8 players. You win by either conquering all other civilizations, winning the space race by successfully launching a rocket to Alpha Centauri, or just having the highest score at the end of 6000 years. The Multiplayer Gold Edition adds in numerous new scenarios (including a dinosaur world and a Jules Verne inspired setting), and there's an open-source game heavily modeled after it called "Freeciv" that allows for massive online play with dozens of other players and games that can last for months.
69. Commander Keen in Goodbye Galaxy! (id Software, 1991)
The fifth and sixth parts of the Commander Keen series (though labeled as 4 and 5... it's complicated) were a big leap forward for not just platformers on the PC, but for the series itself. Smooth-scrolling, fluid platforming action was almost unheard of in DOS games at the time (compare this to say, Duke Nukem 1 or the Mega Man DOS games - BIG difference!), and the level of graphical detail was sublime and imaginative, looking like a cartoon on your computer. Many of Keen's trademark elements return - the stun gun, the pogo stick and tons of collectibles - but the smoother controls and new capabilities like climbing up poles, unlocking rooms with keycards and mantling up ledges made its gameplay both more fun and more complex than previous entries. He may not be as well-known as Sonic or Mario, but Keen was the closest thing the PC platform had for a good, long while.
68. Abuse (Crack dot Com, 1996)
A run-and-gun shooter that plays like one part Contra, one part Doom and one part Smash TV, Abuse was like nothing else on PC at the time. Basically a 2D platformer with 360-degree movement and aiming via the mouse, the game took advantage by having enemies be fast and ruthless and come at you from every angle, quickly overwhelming you if you weren't careful. Of course, it also took cues from games like Doom with multiple hidden secrets and powerups to find in each stage and even a few alternate pathways to discover. Its source code has also been released, allowing it to get ports to multiple platforms, so there's no excuse to not check out Abuse.
67. King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (Sierra On-Line, 1992)
I'll readily admit I'm not the biggest fan of Sierra's adventure titles, especially King's Quest - yes they played a major role in popularizing the genre and evolving it from its crude text-based origins, but the
illogical puzzles, easy softlocks and constant cheap deaths tended to make them sources of frustration more than fun. King's Quest VI was cowritten by Jane Jensen and took the series to new heights with its intelligent dialog, smartly-designed puzzles, a high-quality presentation that included full voice acting (with professional actors, no less), and visuals that were both imaginative and showed a surprising amount of realism. It also had a whole extended story and even an alternate ending if you paid close attention. It's just a high-quality adventure title that's easily the best in the King's Quest series, and maybe even the entire Sierra library.
66. The Dig (LucasArts, 1995)
Another adventure title from the legendary LucasArts, though unlike most, The Dig doesn't have a lot in the way of the company's quirky humor, opting to tell a more somber, serious and high-concept science fiction story. Starring a team of scientists unexpectedly whisked away to an alien world devoid of intelligent life but full of advanced technology, they set out to uncover exactly what led it to its current state and discover a way home. The Dig was also a very high-end production for its time, having surprisingly well-known actors voicing the main characters and some incredible atmospheric music by Michael Land.
65. The Curse of Monkey Island (LucasArts, 1997)
The Monkey Island series is a beloved classic among adventure game fans; following the exploits of the bumbling wannabe-pirate Guybrush Threepwood, he seeks to win the affections of Elaine Marley and frequently clashes with his nemesis, the evil undead pirate LeChuck. Curse took the series in a bold new direction with a fresh visual style, plenty of animated cutscenes and perfectly cast voiceover complementing the humor throughout. The scenarios are as absurd as ever - this time with Guybrush trying to reverse a voodoo curse he's unintentionally afflicted Elaine with - and that of course lends itself to plenty of laughs. The interface was newly reworked too, using a simpler "verb coin" with three general commands instead of the array of commands from earlier SCUMM games. The puzzles definitely didn't suffer for it, though - you're still in for a challenge, especially in "Mega Monkey" mode.
64. Loom (LucasArts, 1990)
Another excellent point-and-click adventure from LucasArts, Loom takes the player on a trip through a wonderfully-realized dark fantasy world full of striking visuals, dense lore and an unforgettable cast of characters. Some surprisingly unique mechanics, too, as you don't really follow the usual pick-up-an-item-and-use-it-elsewhere format seen in most games of this type. Instead, you utilize Bobbin's distaff and play magical 'drafts' with a variety of effects; turning straw into gold, opening things, dyeing objects, and so forth, and often you can play them backwards to get the opposite effect (though some are palindromic and thus cannot be used this way). Some inspired voiceover and detailed VGA visuals (for the later versions) completed the package and made it a delightful experience.
63. SimTower/Yoot Tower (OpenBook/OPeNBooK9003, 1994/1998)
Despite the name, SimTower technically isn't part of the Maxis software toy line. Rather, it was developed by Yutaka "Yoot" Saito, released in Japan as "The Tower" and published by Maxis in the rest of the world using their Sim brand. It was an easy mistake to make though, considering you can pretty accurately describe it as "SimCity crammed into a single building". You build an ever-expanding tower, provide it amenities like condos, apartment buildings, fast food chains, offices, retail outlets, movie theaters and so forth, keep them all connected via stairs and elevators, and try to keep your revenue in the black, which largely entails keeping tenant stress at manageable levels. Tenants complain about noise, lengthy trips to their dwellings and unclean rooms (and may move out if they're not fixed) and various disasters can strike at random, like fires or terrorists planting bombs and demanding a hefty ransom. The sequel, localized by Sega as "Yoot Tower", is more of the same, though with new amenities to build and several scenarios with distinct goals, like a tourist resort at Kegon Falls and a Hawaiian hotel. A number of expansions were released in Japan centered on new locations like the Statue of Liberty and Kyoto Station which likewise have their own amenities and sets of goals to meet, but sadly none of these ever got brought over. An unfortunately never-patched bug in the Windows version also causes the program to crash whenever you load a save for the Kegon Falls scenario, and it also doesn't look quite as nice as its Mac counterpart, so play the Mac version of Yoot Tower if at all possible.
62. Freedom Planet 2 (Galaxytrail, 2022)
Freedom Planet was an excellent homage to Sega Genesis era action titles, drawing particular influence from games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Rocket Knight Adventures. That remains largely true for the sequel, though it now sports a more detailed visual style and a greater focus on platforming action, puzzle solving and boss battles. In addition, there is fourth playable character in Neera Li, who focuses on melee attacks and can also unleash a variety of powerful ice-themed attacks. It also features some of the most gorgeous 2D spritework, animation and music you'll see in a modern title, which is no bad thing to me!
61. Shadowgate (Zojoi, 2014)
An updated remake of the classic point-and-click adventure game from the 1980s, Shadowgate's 2014 iteration was downright inspired. The game's narrative was significantly expanded over its predecessor, new puzzles and obstacles were added, and elements of the original were changed up a lot, meaning that the old solutions to puzzles no longer work (and, in fact, will frequently result in your death). The game also features multiple difficulty levels that further shuffle puzzles and clues as well as lend some replay value to a genre largely lacking in it. And of course, the remixed music and updated visuals effectively portray a grim atmosphere that only makes the game's story even more compelling. Bring on the remake of Beyond Shadowgate!
