Depending on how old you are you might remember your first foray into computer gaming as Zork, or perhaps Colossal Adventure. For many of us, the start was a bit later with games like Wolfenstein 3D or SimCity.
As long as you started playing computer games before 3D effects and the likes went mainstream with 3D accelerated video cards, you might find something to satisfy your nostalgia on one of the many abandonware game sites littering the internet.
One of the best ones, as far as I am concerned, isAbandonia with its easily searchable index of games of yesteryear, many of which can be downloaded for free.
Since we live in the age of quad- or hex-core CPUs running 64-bit operating systems, running games designed for a 16-bit 286 running at 6 MHz can be a bit of a challenge. Luckily there is a solution, just head over to DOSBox to get yourself a nice little MS-DOS emulator capable of running most of your favourite old-time games in a window right on your Mac, Windows or Linux PC.
If the command line scares you, there are many front-ends available to help you set up your game through easy to use wizards.
Have fun, and please share your gaming memories with us.
Image by Tor Lillqvist
