Good pc games 1999

Maxis' SimCity from Electronic Arts was the second best-selling game of the year, while the increasingly popular Millionaire took third, despite only going on sale in late November ' Age of Empires II from Microsoft took fourth, while a couple of favorites, Blizzard's Starcraft and Valve's Half-Life, were the fifth and sixth top sellers in , respectively.

Also of interest is a separate PC Data report, also filed today. In it, PC Data names the top 30 software publishers of based on revenues earned, and over a third of the companies listed were game publishers. Platform: Dreamcast. This is a tale of souls and swords, transcending the world and all its history, told for all eternity The greatest weapons-based fighter returns, this time on Sega Dreamcast.

Soul Calibur unleashes incredible graphics, fantastic fighters, and combos so amazing they'll make your head spin! Metascore: User Score: 8. Platform: PlayStation. The world's most advanced racing game returns with thunderous new features.

User Score: 9. Platform: PC. Deported to a harsh desert world, exiles have struggled for three thousand years to regain the stars. Now it's up to you to guide them home through a brutal empire bent on annihilation. Homeworld boasts amazing ship graphics and gorgeous deep-space vistas, a unique command and navigation interface and white-knuckle real-time strategy.

Like System Shock 1, there will be persistent levels i. Unlike most other first person shooters, the purpose of System Shock was not to kill everything in sight; nor was it a "find the key to move onto the next level" game. The plot was always present, but not so confining as in traditional shooters - there was almost always more than one task to accomplish.

Levels were realistically designed and had logical reasons behind them. It is the principle of System Shock 2 to continue this game design. Skate as legendary Tony Hawk, or as one of nine top pros. Work your way up the ranks by landing suicidal tricks in brutal competitions to become the highest-ranked skate champ.

The game keeps the epic scope of Age of Empires' game play while evolving the combat and economic features. The stakes are high. On the one hand, fame, fortune, glory; on the other hand, death. Prove your skill in the arenas of the future, leading your team of computer-controlled "bots" to victory in the Grand Tournament, or compete with the best of the best via LAN or the Internet in seat-of-your-pants battles.

While Unreal Tournament offers the finest in classic "Deathmatch" play, right out of the box you can compete in Team Deathmatch or Capture the Flag. Control strategic points on the map to rack up your score in Domination, or test your skills in Assault, as one team defends its base from the other.

Each game type comes with its own special maps and rules, for never-ending variety and challenge. Add gameplay mutators such as Jump Match or InstaGib, and Unreal Tournament will keep your wits honed to a razor edge. Legendary designer Sid Meier presents the next evolution in strategy games, with the most addictive, compelling gameplay yet. Explore the alien planet that is your new home and uncover its myriad mysteries. Discover over 75 extraordinary technologies.

Build over 60 base upgrades and large-scale secret projects for your empire. Conquer your enemies with a war machine that you design from over 32, possible unit types. Tomorrow is D-Day. Tonight you land behind enemy lines. The tide of the way is in your hands. You are an elite Special Forces agent sent to execute covert operations, search and rescue missions, and commando raids.

The year is Thirty-two years have passed since the Great War. As Terrans and Vasudans struggle to rebuild their civilizations, civil war erupts in the Polaris system. A rogue Terran admiral declares war against the Vasudans, threatening the stability of the Alliance. Without warning, the Shivans return, and Terrans and Vasudans face annihilation at the hands of their Great War nemesis. A month and a half have passed since the mansion lab incident and now the secrets come back to haunt you in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

Join Jill Valentine in her attempt to escape a nightmarish city in ruins. Around every corner lurk hordes of flesh-eating zombies, hideous mutants, and a relentless new nemesis. You'll soon rely on cunning and brute force to stay alive. The Resident Evil series has taken a horrifying turn, unveiling new layers in the Umbrella Corporation's devious activities. Welcome to Sigil, the "City of Doors", a place with gates that lead anywhere in existence, provided you have the proper key.

It is a neutral ground and watering hole for races across the multiverse, all under the watchful shadow of the Lady of Pain, the enigmatic ruler of the city. It is a place where the word is mightier than the sword, where thought defines reality, where belief has the power to reshape worlds and change the laws of physics.

Cast down to the material world, the mysterious entity 'Raziel' seeks vengeance for betrayal by his master: Kain. Cursed to stalk the dark realms of Nosgoth, he must slay his undead brethren; only then can he absorb their souls for the energy he craves. Moving between the spectral and material plane, Raziel must negotiate puzzles, overcome traps and defy blood-chilling enemies to reach his goal - the final battle with Kain! Platform: Nintendo Forget buying expensive golf gear--Mario brings the game to you.

Mario Golf features four complete hole courses, 11 golfers, and precise play control. Create your own golfer and build up his or her experience and skill levels by competing in various tournaments and head-to-head matches. The more you play, the stronger and more accurate your golfer becomes. There are many different modes of play in Mario Golf, including a wide variety of minigames designed to challenge even the most level-headed swingers.

Enter a massive 3-D action adventure of amazing beauty and challenge. The pirate terror has enslaved the world and only Rayman's speed, agility, and magical powers can save all. Race and battle across 45 intricately designed areas - rainforests, jungles, narrow canyon passes, even into the mighty pirate ship itself. A boisterous band of baboons carry out a daring zoo escape.

It's ape anarchy and it's up to you to stop the chimps before they make chumps out of the human race! Use both analog sticks to operate great gadgets including a Tank, a Remote Control Car, a Stun Club, and a Time Net in your quest to hunt down over apes! While it may not be an original concept, the game is truly greater than the sum of its many parts. Rool has kidnapped the Kongs! Can Donkey Kong rescue his friends, reclaim the Golden Bananas and save his homeland from certain doom?

Float through the air using Tiny's Ponytail Twirl. Even rocket to the sky with Diddy's Jetbarrel! The next chapter in Final Fantasy takes the series to the next level. Final Fantasy VIII combines an epic storyline with dynamic role-playing elements, breathtaking music, and well-defined characters.

The adventure begins when you leave the road behind! Smashing, bashing fun! Crash and dash! Ultra-fast nitro blast! Go anywhere - choose your own routes, find surprises at every turn!

Do anything - grab big-time air, engage in four-car mayhem! User Score: 7. The world's fastest PlayStation racer returns This is the ultimate anti-gravity racing experience by which all others are judged Jess McDonell. When I was younger, I started to absolutely love roller coasters.

There was a Six Flags near where I grew up, so my friends and I would go there every week to hang out over the summer. Roller Coaster Tycoon coincidentally released around the same time, and it became one of the few sim games I absolutely fell in love with. While I didn't quite understand the mechanics at first, it was surprisingly fun managing a budget while trying to build up a theme park from scratch, or sometimes saving a theme park that was losing money depending on the mission.

But while that was all fun to do, when I finally discovered how to properly make roller coasters, the game was suddenly taken to an all new height. I would excitedly build together different dream coasters and show them off to friends, trying my best to create cool themes for them and customize them to be something extraordinary -- a true attraction someone would come to my virtual park for!

Within the roller coaster customization, players had to manage the G-Forces to ensure riders would actually enjoy the ride and flock to it. And of course, it's also fun to be the devil. I can't say how many virtual theme park denizens I murdered by forcing them them to ride and fly off incomplete tracks, or how many instantly vomited from the insane G-Forces I put them through.

I may have also built a roller coaster track that went to peak height, plummeted straight down, then shot off a ramp -- don't worry, it flew into a pond so everyone survived… until they all drowned. Why can't anyone swim in this game?! Dave Klein. Super Smash Bros. Next thing you know, an all-out brawl happens, and that's when I knew I had to have it. Fast forward to Christmas that year: My parents bought my brother and me an N64 accompanied by a copy of Super Smash Bros. We couldn't believe that we got to beat each other up as our favorite Nintendo characters, and we ended up staying up all night trying out each character and playing the fun mini-games, like Target Practice.

For such a novelty of an idea, the gameplay was surprisingly more precise than I think anyone expected. This could've easily been a throwaway game with shoddy mechanics, but Nintendo went all out with it. The game was accessible for beginners but had enough depth so competitive players could take it another level. From quick damage-building combos to intense ledge guarding battles, the game was much more than it appeared to be on the surface. While Super Smash Bros. The series has evolved significantly over the years.

Melee introduced a much faster speed and became the most popular competitive version of the game. Brawl introduced new characters, including some no one could have ever imagined, like Snake.

The Wii U and 3DS versions somehow expanded the roster even further and enhanced the gameplay to another level and thankfully got rid of the annoying tripping mechanic from Brawl.

Lastly, Ultimate truly is the ultimate version, featuring the most expansive roster yet as well as a return to a faster pace. While each subsequent game in the series has improved upon the original in one way or another, the N64 one was the first, and for that it will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Gajan Kulasingham. I've enjoyed fighting games as a casual competitor for the last 25 years, and Street Fighter III: Third Strike has remained a personal favorite ever since I discovered it in I knew of the game thanks to magazines, but still images and brief descriptions couldn't prepare me for the feeling of actually playing it.

Characters move with surprising fluidity, with detailed animations bringing their oddball quirks to life--even idle animations like Q's subtle twitches and Elena's flamboyant capoeira flourishes go a long way to communicate their personalities. Of course, the range of fighting styles is the big selling point. Players weaned on Street Fighter II or any of the Alpha games could easily pick up and play the game--as I was more or less able to at the time--but new fighters like the shriveled Oro and the versatile Ibuki signposted exciting new paths of study ripe for exploration.

The parry system in the game was mostly the same as it was in previous iterations of Street Fighter III, albeit with some small changes for high-level players, but it was totally new to me. It's the crux of one of the competitive fighting game community's most memorable fights, the so called ' Evo Moment 37 ', where now-famous Daigo Umehara parried 15 hits in a row during Chun Li's super attack, defeating his opponent in the final round with only a sliver of his own health remaining in the end.

Even if you don't understand or love fighting games, it's a sight to behold. Third Strike is the version of Street Fighter III that receives the most love today, and thankfully, it continues to be ported to new consoles, hitting almost every system launched since the Dreamcast. It may be 20 years old, but still stands as one of the best fighting games around, as far as I'm concerned.

Peter Brown. Working Designs is no longer around, but in its heyday it was an exciting publisher to follow if you had a taste for Japanese games, especially RPGs. Led by its outspoken leader, Vic Ireland, WD had a reputation for taking unlikely candidates for English localization and sprucing them up both in-game and with elaborate packaging and special editions.

Think foil packaging, fancy pack-ins like hefty medallions, small hardcover artbooks, and cloth maps. These things are commonplace in special editions today, but they were exceedingly rare in the '90s. Yes, I was partially taken in by the accoutrements, but Silver Star Story was also a game that, at the time, felt like the fulfillment of a dream years in the making.

The first game debuted in on Sega CD, an expensive Sega Genesis add-on that was far beyond my double-digit purchasing power.

I watched it from afar during my formative years as a console RPG fan, marveling at its bright anime visuals and the animated, voiced cutscenes. When the game was enhanced for its PlayStation release, all of those aspects were redone and elevated to be even more impressive. When I finally had the chance to embark on the heroic adventure, I was thrilled to find that the new version actually lived up to my wildest assumptions of the original Sega CD release.

Silver Star Story is a cultural touchstone for folks like me. It's not an amazing game, but it was impressive at the time, and its technical and artistic qualities helped keep the flame of 2D gaming alive at a time when publishers seemed dead set on burying pixels in favor of primitive 3D graphics. Ape Escape is one of those intriguing gems in gaming history that many look back at fondly--and for good reason.

It was set a part in its ways, offering a control style using the PS1's new at the time DualShock Analog controller that was quite unlike any of its contemporaries.

But as a child, I didn't know anything about this. It was certainly Ape Escape's charm that won my heart and not its technical innovations. My eyes lit up upon seeing the game's cover art at my local BlockBuster. I was instantly captivated by its spiky-haired protagonist and the army of adorable helmet-wearing apes on the cover.

I regrettably chose to rent another game that day, but I would eventually get my hands on Ape Escape the following Christmas. Ape Escape was probably the most demanding game I ever played as a kid. The aforementioned DualShock's analog controls were a lot to wrap my head around, putting my fine motor skills to the test.

One stick controlled movement while the other controlled the direction in which you swung its weapons and gadgets. Compared to the more traditional platformers I was used to, Ape Escape's offered a level of difficulty I had yet to experience.

But this was a challenge I was more than willing to overcome, as I couldn't help but be enamored by the game's varied collection of stages, platforming challenges, and stealth action. The time-travelling premise was a joy that kept me set on progressing no matter the trial or tribulation. To this day Ape Escape continues to be one of my all-time favorites.

The game still retains a lot of the charm that infatuated me all those years ago. Not to mention I'll always remember its part in helping me grasp complex control schemes as a child. If you haven't played this one already, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. Matt Espineli. Of all the mods that came from Half-Life, Counter-Strike is without a doubt the most prominent. The multiplayer-only FPS spawned a competitive scene like no other shooter, and continues going strong with the latest iteration in Global Offensive.

But the reason it's stood the test of time is because of its precise, tactical, and rewarding gameplay. There's such a specific way to play Counter-Strike on any sort of competitive level, and I spent so much time and effort learning the optimal spots to toss grenades, best angles to engage in firefights, how to handle each gun's recoil pattern, and even what gear to buy each round in relation to a match's situation.

Sitting out large portions of rounds from dying early tested my patience, but by the same token, it made kills and wins that much more satisfying. Many of these servers acted as different game modes, like Surf maps that were designed in a way to launch yourself across huge maps by exploiting the movement system against specific geometry; or the original Gungame mod that introduced me to the thrill of racing others to get kills with every weapon possible.

Counter-Strike was whatever its players made of it. There wasn't built-in matchmaking, so the competitive scene thrived from the effort of the playerbase to organize fair matches. Strategies and tactical considerations spawned from an intense level of experimentation and smarts of its players. And all those wild mods found within dedicated servers came from the imagination and execution of those who wanted to make a great game even better.

Valve swooped up the team behind the original mod and brought an official release in And in , Counter-Strike's version 1. But on a personal level, there's no other FPS that has brought me as much triumph and despair simultaneously. Michael Higham. I was instantly won over by the conceit of Driver , which lets you drive anywhere in the game's world. By the time of its release, we already had games like Grand Theft Auto where you could freely explore, but GTA still used the classic top-down perspective.

Driver is a game that looked like the Need for Speed and Gran Turismo games I spent so much time enjoying, but one where the roads you could see off to the side of your current route weren't just there for show--you could actually drive on them as you wished. The novelty of such approximations was deeply appealing to me as a kid growing up in Connecticut who didn't travel much. Hey, the roads are weirdly steep!

That's just like the real San Francisco! That novelty aside, the driving in Driver was slick, and it's still satisfying today, letting you expertly weave in and out of traffic. It hits a sweet spot of feeling realistic without slipping into the extremes of Gran Turismo-style simulations. With separate inputs for acceleration and burnouts, you have a level of control over how your car moves that you still don't in many other games, letting you pull off smooth s and other maneuvers to help you escape the cops.

Driver certainly had its faults, largely on the technical side. It was pushing boundaries, but with the PS1's limited hardware, compromises had to be made. Most striking were the awful draw distances and severe pop-in, but it wasn't until Driver 2 that roads featured curved turns. And interactions with police, your chief concern outside of time limits during missions, are exceedingly simple, as they simply try to smash you to bits.

And yet, while the novelty of exploring an open world in a car is not what it once was, the simplicity of Driver makes it something I still can appreciate today. Technical troubles aside, playing cat and mouse with the police remains entertaining two decades later. While the lineage of modern immersive sims can be traced as far back as Ultima Underworld in , Looking Glass Studios evolved the genre with the System Shock series.

System Shock 2 in particular so closely resembles what we see today in similar games: an FPS-RPG hybrid that lets you spec a character for different abilities as you scour an environment for items and unravel a story full of twists and turns. System Shock 2 was absolutely terrifying and often unpredictable, with deformed humans on the prowl and environmental hazards strewn about the confined space of a desolate space station.

It tapped into a type of horror that I didn't quite get from early Resident Evil and Silent Hill in that it was a first-person experience that instilled a constant state of panic in an environment that you can influence.

Outside of nailing its unnerving atmosphere, the game featured a fairly complex web of RPG elements that let you build a character to a specific play style. Despite these abilities and character progression, I never felt quite powerful enough, which was key to keeping up the tension. Maybe it was a factor of being fairly young when I first played it and that it was still early in my understanding of the complexities of western RPGs, but System Shock 2 turned out to be overwhelming and challenging.

Not only was it an incredibly unique and enrapturing game, it set the tone for some of my favorite games that would soon follow. I still hold the original Deus Ex as one of my favorite games of all time, and BioShock remains in the modern gaming zeitgeist, but I can't help but remember the impact of System Shock 2 and how its DNA lives on in so many other games.

The moment I first saw Soul Reaver is crystallized in my mind. I was leaving a cousin's house and, as I said my goodbyes, he turned on his PlayStation. A few moments later a narration over an intro sequence began, "Kain is deified," a booming voice said. He was mortal once, as were we all.