The Grogheads Hot Tub Time Machine

[Phantom]

I actively play Tanks & Age of Rifles. They're my handy "filler" games if I have 30 mins to 2 hours to kill - both very intuitive yet reasonably deep, so can be picked up & played even after a long absence. Same with Carriers at War - pretty much the same as the new Matrix incarnation but with crude graphics.
If I want a little more of a challenge with an old game I also play the V for Victory series - this was well advanced for its time, with quite subtle combat mechanics, day & night turns, separate artillery & air components that you could give over to the AI, morale/fatigue, plus different move, attack & defence postures - this was the first wargame I played that felt it had a good enough level of detail to qualify as a simulation rather than just a game.
Would also agree with Aguille's choice of Waterloo & Austerlitz - later games, but pre-cursors to Scourge of War & Second Manassas.

[Queeg]

Imperialism 2

Still actively playing this one.  And the graphics hold up fairly well.  Only the animations of the units in battle suck.

+1 great game, still on HD...still played

Imperialism 2 has been on every PC I've owned since it came out.  I think it still ranks among the top historical strategy games ever made.

The game is challenging in the sense that you never can do everything you want to do; you are constantly faced with conflicting decisions.  I have all these great New World colonies I want to develop - but I need to develop my Old World infrastructure and labor force to a make the resources I need to develop my colonies - but I need New World resources to make my labor force happy and efficient - but I need some of that same labor force to train into soldiers to protect my colonies - or, better yet, to conquer other territories that could make even more great New World colonies I want to develop.  You are constantly short of something and having to adjust priorities.

But - and here's the difference from so many modern games - you always know exactly what you need to do to fix whatever problem you're trying to fix.  It's the doing of it, among all the other conflicting priorities, that presents the challenge - but you're never never left to wonder how the game works.  And the feedback is clear and immediately useful - if I need 1 coal, then I figure out how to adjust things to get 1 coal, and I get 1 coal. 

Compare to virtually every Paradox game, where the formula is more like invest in this one thing that gives a .05% increase in this other thing that has a .05% impact on this third thing that has an .05% influence on the production of coal.  When I browse the Paradox forums, I'm always amazed at the high percentage of posts that are just people trying to figure out the most basic rules of the game - often for games that have been out for many years.  Yes, the Paradox games (and other modern games) are complex, but it's too often complexity through obscurity.   

Imperialism 2 excels at being, first and foremost, a game.     

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Defending the Reich from HPS Sims, War in the Pacific: AE from Matrix,  and PT Boats: Knights of the Sea from Akella.

[Anguille]

Ok, guys...but are you still playing them today and do they hold up? That is really what I'm looking to talk about in is thread. Really old games that may no longer be sold at retail or supported on modern systems, but are worth seeking out and running through dosbox because no matter how dated they may look, they are just that good. This isn't just another nostalgia thread. We have so many great memories of old games and have been disappointed so often when revisiting them when released on Gog or steam. However, some of them are so good that they are still worth playing today and do not disappoint from how we remember them.

If you actively play any of these games, which ones and what makes them worth going through the trouble to run so many decades after their day?

One game i mentionned that stands out for me is Civil War 2: Generals. The game has a huge number of battles and campaigns. To me, this is still the best game on the Civil War ever done. Music is great and you even have the nights during two days of battles. An amazing game.

Also Caesar II is the only city-builder with a province map and a complete battle engine. The city builder part got old but it's still an impressive game. No other game has been as well a city-buidler and a strategy game.

[Jarhead0331]

I've been playing Heavy Gear 2 over the last few days. It was difficult to get running well, but not to the point where I considered throwing in the towel.

The game is still fantastic and just as awesome as I remember it. Of course, the graphics aren't as good as they once were, but the tactical combat is exceptional. Gears that can kneel, and go prone, a wide variety of weapons to choose from and terrains that matter, including zero-g! Decent squad AI, fire support, active and passive sensors, stealth mechanics, low light environments, etc. The list goes on and on.

They just don't make them like this anymore, but this is one of those titles that is so good, that its worth running today.

[Rayfer]

Not many at all for me.  Yet once a year I reload and play Might and Magic 6: Mandate from Heaven, one of my all-time favorite RPG's.

[smittyohio]

The first Warlords, pretty much all Ocean's work, HotRod and HotRod 2 and the Commander Keen games were absolute favorites of mine.
As well as the 'Strike' series on the Sega Megadrive (Desert Strike, Jungle Strike, Urban Strike, etc)

And Walls of Rome was a game I put in tons of hours!

Oh man, Warlords III Dark Lords Rising.   A total pain in the butt to install, but when it works it is oh so good.

[Toonces]

I downloaded Carriers at War Complete, Bravo Romeo Delta, and M1 Tank Platoon 2.  I couldn't get M1 to run.

CAWC looks pretty good.  Yeah, the graphics are rough but there are a lot of interesting scenarios and it looks like it might be a bit more interesting than the Matrix CAW which for some reason has never quite grabbed me.

Haven't tried Bravo, yet, but I know you're a fan JH.  It sounds interesting; I'm curious if I can get over the graphics.

[Jarhead0331]

Haven't tried Bravo, yet, but I know you're a fan JH.  It sounds interesting; I'm curious if I can get over the graphics.

I'm intrigued by it. Never played anything like it before. Try to learn it and run through at least 2 or 3 full games before casting any judgment.

[SirAndrewD]

I never, ever "won" a game of Bravo Romeo Delta.

[Jarhead0331]

I never, ever "won" a game of Bravo Romeo Delta.

I legit "won" once.

[ComradeP]

I have a certain nostalgic fondness for Centurion: Defender of Rome, but it's not a great game by today's standards. It's been a while since I played it.

The oldest non-console game that I've played recently is Laser Chess, I think. High entertainment value for a while, but I've only played it twice in the last decade or so.

As well as the 'Strike' series on the Sega Megadrive (Desert Strike, Jungle Strike, Urban Strike, etc)

Once every few years I take a "*something* Strike" game for a spin. Casual gaming, but it's not on rails like most arcade shooters. The games with multiple vehicles/aircraft also offer some variety in gameplay.

One game i mentionned that stands out for me is Civil War 2: Generals. The game has a huge number of battles and campaigns. To me, this is still the best game on the Civil War ever done. Music is great and you even have the nights during two days of battles. An amazing game.

Though I like the game, quite a bit actually, the limitations of the campaign in particular slap you in the face after a while: you can equip units with different firearms and strength carries over to a certain extent, but you end up killing the same enemy units over and over as losses are not dynamic. It's fun to play, but the AI isn't particularly clever and it's usually not that difficult to rout the AI army completely.

[Sir Slash]

Some part of me would love to go back and play, 'Battles of Napoleon' by SSI from back in the Day. But I know it's too far back in the Time Machine Hot Tub for me to really enjoy. I would be like Fat Thor seeing his younger, prettier self in Endgame. 

[Jarhead0331]

Some part of me would love to go back and play, 'Battles of Napoleon' by SSI from back in the Day. But I know it's too far back in the Time Machine Hot Tub for me to really enjoy. I would be like Fat Thor seeing his younger, prettier self in Endgame. 

https://www.myabandonware.com/game/battles-of-napoleon-lo

[Sir Slash]

1991!  :o  I thought it was earlier than that. I loved that game-- one of the best tactical treatments of Napoleonic warfare ever.  :dreamer: