Spring Break
No need to pirate these free classics
Seven online video games that are free and legal
John Bailey
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Focus
Sir Henry Morgan, Welsh privateer and one of the most feared pirates of the Spanish main, was hanging up his hat.
"But why?" asked Thomas Modyford, who thought Morgan was quite a good pirate.
"It's too much effort these days. The new DRM on Spore is just the beginning. Game companies won't let us use the things we own, and gamers won't pay for the things they take." He shook his head. "It's become so bloody."
"But you've got so many channels!" pled Modyford. "Of all people, Morgan, you must be able to pirate free software! You'll see me ruined."
"Why should I? Don't you realize how many classic games there are, labeled freeware or shareware by their publishers?" Morgan enabled DOS emulation and shoved his laptop across the table. "See for yourself."
Jazz Jackrabbit
Where: www.dosgames.com
Developer: Epic Megagames
Genre: Side-scrolling action
Video game mascots in the early '90s weren't very difficult to come up with. Pick a color, pick a woodland animal, mix vigorously and you're done. Regardless, Jazz, the lime green star of this classic platformer, had a few things going for him: he was a jackrabbit (so going fast actually made sense) and he had a gun, which meant he could probably kill Mario. Though the game included multiple weapons, plenty of breakable secret passages and lots of flashy neon colors, it never broke into the market the way Sonic and Mario did-probably because the average 7-year old found a Nintendo a lot easier to use than a DOS prompt.
Elite
Where: www.dosgames.com
Developer: Acornsoft
Genre: Space trading
Acornsoft's seminal space trading title is the oldest game on the list, but also one of the most ambitious. Hundreds of worlds, "revolutionary" (at the time) graphics and open-ended gameplay model made Elite the yardstick by which subsequent space trading games were measured. Ambitious, too, in its production: an enormous launch party was thrown when the game was released, and it was packaged with an original science fiction novel. Considering that not all games today even ship with manuals, this is pretty impressive. You won't get the book but you can still get the game for free, along with its sequel.
"But why?" asked Thomas Modyford, who thought Morgan was quite a good pirate.
"It's too much effort these days. The new DRM on Spore is just the beginning. Game companies won't let us use the things we own, and gamers won't pay for the things they take." He shook his head. "It's become so bloody."
"But you've got so many channels!" pled Modyford. "Of all people, Morgan, you must be able to pirate free software! You'll see me ruined."
"Why should I? Don't you realize how many classic games there are, labeled freeware or shareware by their publishers?" Morgan enabled DOS emulation and shoved his laptop across the table. "See for yourself."
Jazz Jackrabbit
Where: www.dosgames.com
Developer: Epic Megagames
Genre: Side-scrolling action
Video game mascots in the early '90s weren't very difficult to come up with. Pick a color, pick a woodland animal, mix vigorously and you're done. Regardless, Jazz, the lime green star of this classic platformer, had a few things going for him: he was a jackrabbit (so going fast actually made sense) and he had a gun, which meant he could probably kill Mario. Though the game included multiple weapons, plenty of breakable secret passages and lots of flashy neon colors, it never broke into the market the way Sonic and Mario did-probably because the average 7-year old found a Nintendo a lot easier to use than a DOS prompt.
Elite
Where: www.dosgames.com
Developer: Acornsoft
Genre: Space trading
Acornsoft's seminal space trading title is the oldest game on the list, but also one of the most ambitious. Hundreds of worlds, "revolutionary" (at the time) graphics and open-ended gameplay model made Elite the yardstick by which subsequent space trading games were measured. Ambitious, too, in its production: an enormous launch party was thrown when the game was released, and it was packaged with an original science fiction novel. Considering that not all games today even ship with manuals, this is pretty impressive. You won't get the book but you can still get the game for free, along with its sequel.
Be the first to comment on this story