Telengard for IBM-Compatibles, by Avalon Hill.  The classic RPG is the only DOS game from 1982 that still occupies space on my hard drive. The fact that it only takes up 206K helps.

The Gaming PCs page explains why GOTCHA doesn't consider old Intel-based PC hardware game-worthy in a historical sense.  So why is there a page devoted to Intel-based PC games?  1) Because there were still many classic DOS games in the 80's...even if they were also done (and done better) on other platforms.   2) Because circa 1991 (the tail end of the Golden Age of PC Gaming), Intel machines became a viable gaming platform.  Since 1991 (and even more so, since 1996 with the acceptance of Windows 95 in the game development community) the Intel-based (more accurately, Windows-based) PC has become the only PC gaming choice.  No other PC platform can compare to the technology, variety, and sheer number of games available on the modern Windows-based machine.

Some of the better classic games include: Avalon Hill's Telengard, Infocom's Text adventures, the Wizardry series, the Ultima  series, classics from Electronic Arts, Sierra and SSI...I could go on and on.  Especially interesting for collectors are the IBM PC Jr. games, many of which came in cartridge format.  The problem with early Intel boxes is that they were vastly inferior to their contemporaries (like the Amiga, Atari ST, Apple and even the C-64) for gaming.  Primitive CGA (4-color) and EGA (16-color) graphic standards hindered the DOS-based games.  Most titles found on the Intel boxes were also produced for other platforms with higher production values.  However, the early 1990's brought VGA (256-color) graphics and well-supported sound cards to DOS Games, ending their inferiority to other systems.  A nice aspect of collecting older Intel games is that you can still play them directly on your modern Windows machine (usually with the help of blood and chicken bones).  It's like having a free classic game emulator built into your shiny new PC.  Below is a list of all Intel-based games new and old in the GOTCHA Museum.  Games that have historical merit also appear on the list of Other Collectibles.

Hardware Resources:

The Machine Room's IBM Pages: PC, PC Jr.

Cartridge rarity lists:

http://lonestar.texas.net/~btomlin/ftp/lists/pcjr.bdt

http://www.io.com/~vga2000/vgadkslc/vga-pcjr.lst

The Museum

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Last modified: February 19, 2004

Copyright 1998 - 2004 Hugh Falk International Interactive Enterprises Industries Incorporated Limited Etceteras.  All rights reserved.