DOS Strategy / Simulation
Elite (1984) is a space trading video game. It's open-ended game model, and revolutionary 3D graphics led to it being ported to virtually every contemporary home computer system, and earned it a place as a classic and a genre maker in gaming history. The game's title derives from one of the player's goals of raising their combat rating to the exalted heights of "Elite".
688 Attack Sub (1989) is an interesting early subsim and certainly a classic in the genre. Most of the systems you would expect such as sonar and periscope are featured and nicely presented in VGA. The game offers ten missions for both the Soviet and American side in a Cold War scenario, that grows progressively hotter. Be sure to download the manual, although the game is well laid-out and can be controlled completely with the mouse.
Mechwarrior (1989) is an abandoned vehicle simulation game (BattleMech) set in the BattleTech universe. Within the game, the players take control of a single BattleMech and combat other BattleMechs, tanks, infantry, and more, from within the cockpit of their machine. The visuals throughout Mechwarrior are expertly drawn, and the sim's filled vectors move along at a fair pace. Mechwarrior will not only appeal to fans of the board game, but also deserves a look from gamers entirely new to the BattleTech universe.
Populous: The Promised Lands (1989), a video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts, is regarded by many as the first "God game" which involves the player taking on the role of a deity and leading followers into battle against opposing deities. Populous is a great marriage of war-game strategy, resource management, and pure originality. With over four million copies sold, it is one of the best-selling PC games of all time. You may need a manual, and there is a hint leaflet available.
Red Baron (1990) is a flight simulator that puts you in the pilot's seat of actual World War I fighter aircraft. This game features 28 different aircraft from both the Allied and the German sides. Start a career as a pilot and rise through the ranks to become the most feared ace in the skies, participate in a variety of single missions including simple fighter sweeps, balloon-busting, zeppelin hunting, or take on an actual WWI ace in one-on-one combat. Download the ZIP-file, copy the extracted directory "Redbaron/SIERRA/REDBARON" as "REDBARON" in your DOSbox games folder and start it with BARON.COM
Elite Plus (1991) is an excellent VGA update of the classic Elite, and is now commonly regarded as the best version. It's open-ended game model and revolutionary 3D graphics earned it a place as a genre maker in gaming history. It provides special missions, excellent sounds, smooth animation and intensive combat. Inputs for keyboard or mouse are all supported, and can be customized by the player.
Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? (Deluxe Edition) (1991) is an educational detective-simulation game that will lead you traveling all across the globe in search for the legendary femme fatale Carmen Sandiego. Travel to various places such as (but not limited to) Kathmandu, Dar-es-Salaam, Baghdad, Manila, Lima, Port Moresby, Singapore, New Delhi, and Tokyo. The game contains hundreds of clues, attractive graphics and cartoons, and fun gameplay that will glue you to the screen for hours on end if you have even a slight interest in geography.
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991) is a staying power as one of the most dominant and recognizable PC franchises in history. The game is based on building and managing a civilization from its early stages to its modern era, while competing against other civilizations for resources, territory, and technological advancements. The player takes on the role of a leader of a civilization and guides its development through various eras of history. The gameplay involves exploration, diplomacy, trade, research, and warfare. Sid Meier's Civilization has become one of the most successful and critically acclaimed video game series of all time.
Dune (1992) is a neat adventure/strategy hybrid with enough strategy elements to keep things interesting: you must allocate your followers (the native Fremen) to various jobs, maximize spice production, and ultimately fight the Harkonnen with armies. Also features beautiful VGA graphics depicting passages of time. Easily one of the most graphically stunning games ever made, and one of the most unique. Start it with a bat-file containing:@echo off
logo
duneprg GER VGA EMS 386 SDB2207
und Sie haben das Spiel in Deutsch mit Musik. Und hier noch das Manual.
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (1992) is an RTS game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive in 1992. It bases on David Lynch's 1984 movie Dune, an eponymous adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction novel. Even though it is not the first game in this genre, it sure is a milestone which introduced the format of modern real-time strategy games. Due to its success, it became an inspiration for Command & Conquer, the Warcraft series and other games as well.
SimCity (1993) is about building and maintaining a city. You have control over all buildings and all public functions, but can only indirectly influence your citizens. There are no specific goals to achieve in SimCity, but there is something satisfying about a well-run city humming along. The graphics were good for its day, and the game has a very nice user interface. SimCity isn’t just a simulation game. It is a video game that requires skill, patience and a lot of understanding. Still a fantastic DOS game to play.
Aces of the Deep (1994) is an impressive World War II u-boat simulator, very well the most rigorously researched PC submarine simulation ever. It includes a rich variety of ships, aircraft and submarines, whose appearance in the game coincides with their historical appearance on the battlefield. The tactics and weapons used are also historically based. However, the overall realism can be adjusted from "Ace" to easy. Here's the manual.An Expansion Disk was published in 1995. It adds new missions, areas and a special submarine prototype.