6 Famous Video Games of 1983

Due to the game crash of 1983 and the disappointment and loss of trust from gamers, video game producers had to come up with some really spectacular products. In order to make up for what happened when the market was saturated with terrible games, huge improvements were made with most new releases; producers managed to make them appear smoother and also implemented new gameplay elements.

The year 1983 was a good one as some of the biggest classic cult games were released. With the release of the Adam home computer by Coleco and the Aqarius by Mattel Electronics, more and more companies wanted to offer clients this new form of entertainment. However, some failed due to design errors while others due to the fact that they weren’t reaching enough users. However, games for arcade and PCs were still made and the gameplay was better and better.

1. Mario Bros.

Nintendo definitely made a hit when they published the arcade game Mario Bros. and who isn't familiar with this amazing release?  If you are a gamer, you know you’ve played it at one point of your life, or at least you played some version of it.

Mario Bros. is the original arcade game that got so popular it became a franchise. The game was developed by Shigeru Miyamoto and features an Italian-American plumber named Mario who has to defeat various creatures that come from the sewers of New York. The game also features his brother Luigi as a playable character.

How do you play it ?

The gameplay focuses on killing the pests in the sewers of New York by using simple controls. The two brothers investigate the sewers and the player needs to defeat all the enemies in each game phase to go to the next. They win points by defeating multiple enemies and can also play bonus rounds to get even more points. Mario Bros.  is known for having an interesting way of killing enemies - they are kicked over after they have been flipped on their back.

How do you win?

As the game progresses, the difficulty is increased; for example fireballs may bounce around the screen and players have to go from phase to phase and get the highest score they can.

Why was it so popular?

Well, it was popular because it had an interesting character and the gameplay was very entertaining, engaging and colorful. Also,
the game was  released on PC later, in a time where PC games were not very interesting. Soon, it became one of the most famous video games, with lots of sequels and more enhancements.

Can I still play it?

You can play Super Mario Bros., the game released for PC here.

2. Dragon's Lair

Dragon’s Lair was another awesome Arcade game that was released on laserdisk and it was extremely popular shortly after its release. It is considered to be a historical game and it is on display at Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..

How do you play it ?

The story is pretty straightforward: you are a knight and you have to rescue a princess. Princess Daphne was locked in a tower by an evil wizard so it’s your quest to rescue her. You battle monsters but since this game was on a laserdisc and contained mostly animated cutscenes, the player had to execute the action by selecting a direction or pressing the sword button with correct timing. So instead of controlling their movements, the player controlled the reflexes with videos playing for correct or incorrect choices.

How do you win?

Well, you had to make sure that you choose the correct movements and you had good reflexes. This made some players extremely frustrated and since the internet didn’t exist to provide walkthroughs, they had to rely on trial and error until they got it right.

Why was it so popular?

Although some critics considered that the gameplay of Dragon’s Lair was “woody” and made it boring and frustrating, others praised the game for its amazing graphics.

Can I still play it?

The game is available for mobile but you can also play it here.

3. Intellivision World Series Baseball

The Intellivision World Series Baseball was a baseball game and the first video game to use multiple camera

angles and also featured play-by-play announcers. The cool thing about this game was also the fact that you were allowed to save during the game.

How do you play it?

The game was played by two players, the first player made a series of movements and then the game switched to the second player who had to do the same thing according to the first player's movements.

How do you win?

Well, obviously, you have to make your team win.

Why was it so popular?

Well, the game used multiple angles which made it much more dynamic; also, you were able to save games, which was another great thing back in the day.

Interesting fact (from the website ):

This may have been the first integrated video game - Eddie had designed the animated players to be black or white depending on the real players they were based on. When the names were changed to those of the programmers, he left the skin colors as they were. At least one programmer, though, came to Eddie and asked for "his" skin color to be changed, not wanting to be black in the game.

Can I still play it?

Well you can download it from here. 

Here is a video of it:

4. Ultima III: Exodus

We’ve talked about Ultima, but Ultima III brought a new type of gameplay we are so familiar with today.

There were so many improvements to this game that made it extremely cool. For example, it had amazing graphics for its type and it was the first RPG to feature animated characters. Also, you were allowed to play with 4 characters at once, rather than just one, so you had a party - a term so familiar today. Other interesting features: separate battle screen where you had to use tactics in order to kill your opponents, you were able to avoid opponents on the map and you had 11 classes to choose from ( Fighter, Paladin, Cleric, Wizard, Ranger, Thief, Barbarian, Lark, Illusionist, Druid, and Alchemist) with 5 races each.

The game is set on earth and it is set in Sosaria where the player has to destroy Exodus, a creation of Minax and Mondain.

How do you play it ?

The game was just like a rudimentary RPG and you had different stats that needed to be added to your character in order to use certain skills (intelligence was required by spells, strength by melee, etc). The party had to explore the map and kill monsters in dungeons or outside.

 Food was another important element in the game as it was helping the party gain energy to walk around the world. There were certain commands that the player used and made the game even more interesting (such as steal or bribe). The player was able to choose many methods of walking, for example on foot, horseback or by using a boat.

How do you win?

Each character had to be leveled to 25 in order to beat the game. Once you obtained the necessary experience, you had to talk to “Lord British” to level up. Also the player had to get all marks and all prayer cards.

Why was it so popular?

The game had a nice 3D appearance and that made it stand out among other games in that time. Also, there were chests, traps and other things that made the game very satisfying.

Can I still play it?

You can buy it on GoG, they sell an Ultima pack.

Or you can play a version of the game here.

Here is a video of the game:

5. M.U.L.E.

Not many people heard of M.U.L.E. but it was the first multiplayer video game, created by Ozark Softscape.

It was published by Electronic Arts and it is a game that incorporates aspects that simulate economics. The game is set on planet Irata.

How do you play it ?

The game can be compared with a basic version of StarCraft. The main purpose is to gather resources, grow and survive.

How do you win?

Players get to choose their race, which brings advantages or disadvantages, but in order to win they have to cooperate with other players but also compete with each other. The central point of the game is the acquisition and use of M.U.L.E. (Multiple Use Labor Element) . Players can scheme and trade with each other. There are also certain random events that happen such as other creatures attacking, sunspot activity, theft from space pirates and meteorites falling.

Why was it so popular?

It was new, dynamic and it was a multiplayer game. Also, it contained interesting elements and players were able to use multiple strategies to win it.

Interesting fact: The game was considered lost until 2012 when an original disk was found.

Can I still play it?

You can enjoy this amazing game and learn more about it here.

6. Pinball Construction Set

Pinball Construction Set was one of the first games that featured the first example of the "builder" (or "construction set") computer and video game genre. It was first released for Apple II and Atari 800 but later ported on other platforms because it became very popular.

How do you play it ?

Users constructed their own virtual pinball machine by dropping controls on a table. They used various elements such as: bumpers, flippers, spinners, etc. Certain attributes such as gravity and the physics model were easily modifiable. The cool thing about the game was the fact that users got to save their tables and trade them with others.

How do you win?

You were supposed to create the coolest table, it was a creation game.

Why was it so popular?

It was very popular because it introduced a new concept: making your own game. Also it featured an easy gameplay which made it sell over 300,000 copies.

Can I still play it?

You can find out more about the game and Pinball games here.

You can download the game here. 

You can see a video of the game here:

3 Famous Games From 1981 (II)

If you liked my article about the greatest games form 1980, you will surely love these cute games from 1981. Yeah, they probably seem like terrible games for somebody playing Skyrim, but let’s not forget the history of PC games and how this amazing fantasy world started.  The game industry became better and better over the years, so you will love to see how games have changed from one year to another. 1981 was a good year, not as prolific as 1980, but still had some important games. Here are some of the most popular:

1 - Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness

This is the first game from the series of RPGs called Ultima. It was a major hit and definitely the start of a new era in RPGs. Basically you were a hero set to save the world from an evil wizard (yes, not very original).

How do you play it ?

Well it doesn’t have the best setting in the world, but we’re ok with that as long as the story made sense. But the story is also a little bit weird when you think about the fact that one merchant was selling aircars and space shuttles. Anyway, who are we to judge a fantasy medieval science fiction game? So you find yourself in the world of Sosaria, trying to kill the Mondain, the evil sorcerer who is about to destroy the world. You can explore, fight with monsters and beasts, buy different things from the market, etc.

How do you win?

Well, the object of the game is to destroy the gem that keeps Mondain immortal. But before you do that, you will have to search for a time machine that will allow you to go back in time and kill the evil sorcerer.

Why was it so popular?

What was amazing about this game was the fact that the character was very customizable (for that time) and you got to choose your class (however, this was not a new thing, it also happened in the game Rogue from 1980) .

Can I still play it?

I found a few downloadable versions on the internet but didn’t manage to make them work. Here’s an online version and a YouTube video to give you an idea about how the game looked if you are not in the mood to play.

2 - Ms. Pac-Man

Yes, weird name because her name is Man, but at least they made a game for girls too. You are probably wondering why I’m adding this game to the best 1981 games. Well, it looks exactly like Pac-Man but what made it different was the fact that it addressed a female audience.

How do you play it?

Well, it’s basically the same as Pac-Man the original game: you eat dots, get points, eat ghosts, advance to the next level. However, there were a few changes such as different mazes and different changing colors. The ghosts movement pattern changes and players can no longer use the same strategy they used with the original Pac-Man. There are also different sound effects and music.

How do you win?

You eat all the dots and advance to the next level until you reach level 255. Unfortunately, 256^th level seems to be unplayable.

Why was it so popular?

Ms. Pac-Man was part of Pac-Man and the programmers released it as an improved Pac-Man and it was also featured in an animated series as the wife of Mr. Pac-Man.

Can I still play it?

Yep. 

3 - Castle Wolfenstein

Castle Wolfenstein was a great game that marked the beginning of a new era in first-person shooters. The game is set in WWII so you get to be a part of history.  

How do you play it ?

The game begins with you getting a gun and some bullets from your dead cellmate and start killing the guards. You will have to explore the castle, impersonate Nazi soldiers, attack guards with grenades or guns, eat, drink wine, etc.

How do you win?

The object of the game is to find Top Secret plans and escape alive.

Why was it so popular?

It was pretty unique for its time. You got to steal Nazi clothes and impersonate soldiers or you could just threaten them to give you all they had. It also had an achievement system which gave you a military rank.

Can I still play it?

You can play it here.

5 Famous Video Games From 1980 (I)

There is something fascinating about old games, especially those from the 80s, when programmers needed to focus more on the storyline to keep the player interested, rather than cool graphics and effects. Those games were beautifully crafted and despite being extremely frustrating sometimes, they were fun to play. For all of you who feel a bit nostalgic, here are the best games from 1980.

1-Pac-Man

Who doesn’t remember Pac Man? Even if you haven’t played this game, you definitely know it. It was released in May 22 in Japan. The dot eating man will definitely remain a pop culture icon of the 1980s.

How do you play it ?

You control Pac-Man and your mission is to eat all the dots from the screen. When the dots are eaten, you advance to the next level. But you will need to be careful about the enemies that come to get you. If they touch Pac-Man, he loses one life. Pac-Man will also be able to eat his enemy if he manages to eat the power pellets which are the bigger dots on the sides.

How do you win?

The game never ends and as long as you keep one life you can play it forever, but there are different bugs that might interfere with this and some say that it restarts at level 1 after level 255^th.

Why was it so popular?

Well, first of all it managed to influence a lot of games and introduced the video game industry to power-ups (items that give you power for an amount of time), cut-scenes that featured comical sketches with Pac-Man, and it was also the first type of stealth game (a form of game where the player avoids enemies instead of fighting them).

Interesting fact: when Google changed their homepage into a Pac-Man game, companies across the world experienced slight drops of productivity. Some companies even went as far as banning the Google homepages from their employers’ computers. Apparently, Pac-Man homepage cost companies world-wide about 120 million dollars. 

Can I still play it?

Of course you can, here’s a flash version of the game, I had to pause writing this article for a long time when I discovered this website. 

2-The Prisoner

Early Apple users are probably accustomed with this adventure game. While not so amazing on the graphic side, The Prisoner was definitely something unique with its exciting storyline and pretty hard challenges.

How do you play it?

You control an intelligence agent who has resigned his job; he finds himself abducted and left on an island. Everything and everybody in this game will try to convince the player to reveal a 3 digit number that signifies the reasons for his resign. Once the player reveals the number, the game ends. The object of the game is to escape the prison by exploring different areas and avoiding to be persuaded to reveal the numbers.  

How do you win?

Although the game can take a lot of time because of the vast number of locations to be explored, only a few would actually offer clues on how to escape.  

Why was it so popular?

It was popular because it was a pretty complex adventure game that took a lot of hours and wit to finish. A lot of gaming magazines at the time considered it to be one of the best games due to its unique challenges.

Interesting fact: one of the methods the game uses to make the player give their 3 digit number is by showing an error that resembles a game crash very commonly see in Apple computers. The users would probably investigated the error and while trying to correct it they might have used the command List ###, where ### were numbers. If the user used the numbers given by the game, the game ended.

Can I still play it?

Sure you can, I wasn’t able to figure out how to start it but I managed to play the second one. Apparently the second Prisoner has the same story, only better graphics.

First Prisoner 

Second Prisoner 

3-Rogue

The Rogue computer game was a dungeon crawling video game and an early fantasy role-playing game. Rogue introduced players to dungeon games and influenced a lot of RPGs to come such as Diablo.

How do you play it?

The player explores a number of (unfortunately unmapped) dungeons and fights with monstars.

How do you win?

The goal is to find the Amulet of Yendor at the lowest level and then ascend to the surface.

Why was it so popular?

If you are an RPG fan, you probably realize why this game was so popular and influential; if not, let me put it this way: without Rogue the RPG world of dungeons and caves would have been very different. It also introduced turn based combat in an RPG game, which was very new at that time. It was improved in time and it managed to grow to include all types of features such as potions, scrolls, different types of weapons, etc.

Can I still play it?

Sure you can, here is a link to an online version. I was killed by a snake after 10 seconds of playing.  

4-Zork I

Zork I was pretty special since it was an interactive fiction game and started a trilogy that managed to become famous world-wide.  I loved this game when I was young, it really helped me improve my English and it was almost like an interactive book.

At the beginning, there was a simple introduction:

You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door.

There is a small mailbox here.

After this, the game started.

How do you play it?

You typed commands: look at the mailbox, open mailbox, take leaflet, read leaflet, etc. You are an adventurer who will have to explore this wonderful and fascinating world.

How do you win?

The object of the game is to collect treasures that need to be installed on a trophy case. To do this, the player will have to solve several puzzles.

Why was it so popular?

It was the beginning of adventure games, text based games which were both educational and fun.

Interesting fact: this game can be played in the game (gameception?) Call of Duty: Black Ops by accessing an old computer.

Can I still play it?

Of course you can, here it is. 

5-Space Panic 

Space Panic was an arcade game about, well, space and killing aliens. It is supposed to have been influenced by Heiankyo Alien and it is known as the first platform game. 

How do you play it?

The player is seen from the side as he is trying to kill aliens by digging holes and luring the aliens inside.

How do you win?

You will have to survive a lot of levels that become almost impossible to the end. Did I mention your oxygen during the game is limited?

Why was it so popular?

Well, it was easy to play and fun. Also, the game allowed two players, which was pretty cool for that time.

Can I still play it?

I couldn’t find online sources to play it, but here’s a youtube video of it.