Half-Life is a 1998 first-person shooter (FPS) game developed by Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Studios for Microsoft Windows. It was Valve's debut product and the first game in the Half-Life series. The player assumes the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist who must escape the Black Mesa Research Facility after it is invaded by aliens following a disastrous scientific experiment. The gameplay consists of combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving.
Rise of Nations is a real-time strategy video game developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios in May 2003. Designed as a fusion of concepts from turn-based strategy games with the real-time strategy genre, the game's development was led by Brian Reynolds, who founded Big Huge Games following his involvement in the development of the turn-based strategy games Civilization II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. In contrast to previous historical real-time strategy games, Rise of Nations is based on the entirety of history, taking place from the ancient era to the modern age, and features eighteen civilizations, playable across eight ages of world history. The game features several innovations on the real-time strategy genre, introducing novel features such as territory and attrition influenced by the turn-based strategy genre.
Darkstone: Evil Reigns is an action role-playing video game developed by Delphine Software International for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. In 2014, the French publisher Anuman Interactive launched a remake available on iPad, iPhone and Android, with the cooperation of the original game's author Paul Cuisset.
Dungeon Siege is an action role-playing game developed by Gas Powered Games and published by Microsoft in April 2002, for Microsoft Windows, and the following year by Destineer for Mac OS X. Set in the pseudo-medieval kingdom of Ehb, the high fantasy game follows a young farmer and her companions as they journey to defeat an invading force. Initially only seeking to warn the nearby town of the invasion of a race of creatures named the Krug, the farmer and the companions that join her along the way are soon swept up in finding a way to defeat another race called the Seck, resurgent after being trapped for 300 years. Unlike other role-playing video games of the time, the world of Dungeon Siege does not have levels but is a single, continuous area without loading screens that the player journeys through, fighting hordes of enemies. Also, rather than setting character classes and manually controlling all of the characters in the group, the player controls their overall tactics and weapons and magic usage, which direct their character growth.
Kingpin: Life of Crime is a first-person shooter developed by Xatrix Entertainment and published by Interplay Entertainment in June 1999. The game begins with the player character wounded and beaten up by associates of the crime boss The Kingpin, and the story follows his thirst for revenge. Released shortly after the Columbine High School massacre, the game attracted controversy due to the overall timing of its release; thus, it was not sold by various retailers in the US, despite receiving generally positive reviews from critics. The game was also ported to Linux.
Dungeon Keeper is a strategy video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and released by Electronic Arts in June 1997 for MS-DOS and Windows 95. In Dungeon Keeper, the player builds and manages a dungeon, protecting it from invading 'hero' characters intent on stealing accumulated treasures, killing monsters and ultimately the player's demise. The ultimate goal is to conquer the world by destroying the heroic forces and rival dungeon keepers in each realm. A character known as the Avatar appears as the final hero. Dungeon Keeper uses Creative Technology's SoundFont technology to enhance its atmosphere. Multiplayer with up to four players is supported using a modem, or over a local network.
Dungeon Keeper 2 is a strategy game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for Microsoft Windows. The sequel to Dungeon Keeper, the player takes the role of a 'dungeon keeper', building and defending an underground dungeon from the would-be heroes that invade it, as well as from other keepers. In the campaign mode, the player is charged with recovering the portal gems from each area in order to open a portal to the surface. The player can also construct a dungeon without strict objectives, and multiplayer is supported over a network.
Sentinel Returns is a video game developed by Hookstone, produced by No-Name Games and published by Sony in 1998, for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. It is the sequel to The Sentinel by Geoff Crammond and features 651 levels, a multiplayer mode and a soundtrack composed by John Carpenter and arranged by Gary McKill.
Sacrifice is a real-time strategy video game published by Interplay Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows platform. Developed by Shiny Entertainment, the game features elements of action and other genres. Players control wizards who fight each other with spells and summoned creatures. The game was ported to Mac OS 9.2 in 2001.
Wing Commander: Prophecy is the fifth installment in the Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator franchise of computer games. The game was originally released in 1997 for Windows, produced by Origin Systems and distributed by Electronic Arts, and in 2003, a GBA conversion was produced by Italy-based Raylight Studios and distributed by Destination Software.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a Star Trek PC simulation game developed and published by Interplay in 1997. The game simulates the life of a typical Starfleet cadet, with the player learning the basics of flying a starship and engaging in roleplaying with a crew of cadets, with the eventual goal of becoming captain of their own ship. The game included full motion video featuring William Shatner, Walter Koenig, and George Takei reprising their roles from the original television series and movies, and a multiplayer simulation mode allowing for up to 32 players.
Blaze & Blade: Eternal Quest, also known as simply Blaze & Blade, is a multiplayer action role-playing game developed by T&E Soft for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It is the first in the series, and the only one released outside Japan.
Longbow 2 is the sequel to Jane's AH-64D Longbow from Jane's Combat Simulations. The game was developed by Origin Systems with executive producer Andy Hollis on board, and released by Electronic Arts on November 13, 1997.
Diablo is an action role-playing video game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment in January 1997, and is the first installment in the video game series of the same name.
Lego Rock Raiders is a video game developed by Data Design Interactive and published by Lego Media for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. It is based on the Lego theme of the same name. The Windows version was released in 1999, while a differently built game for PlayStation was released in 2000.
Spec Ops: Rangers Lead The Way is a tactical shooter video game developed by Zombie Studios and published by Ripcord Games exclusively for Windows. Players take control of United States Army Rangers; the game's subtitle is the Ranger motto. It is the first game in the Spec Ops series.
Supreme Snowboarding is a snowboarding video game created by Housemarque for Microsoft Windows with a Game Boy Color version by Software Creations in 1999. It was one of the first snowboarding games for Windows to take full advantage of 3D graphics cards that were becoming the norm in the late 1990s. Over 1.5 million units were sold worldwide, allowing Supreme Snowboarding to become the first hit title in Finnish game development. The game received positive critical reception, as well as acclaim for having one of the best visuals of its time, though its lack of content and replay value was sometimes criticized.
David Allen is a video game designer and entrepreneur who is most recently known as the creator of Alganon, a fantasy based MMORPG developed by Quest Online, a company he co-founded in 2006.
FireTeam is a 1998 video game developed by Multitude, Inc. for Windows.
Links LS 2000 is a golf video game developed by Access Software and published by Microsoft. It is part of the Links series and was released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows, and in 2000 for Macintosh. It was followed by Links 2001.
