Replay: The History of Video Games

by Donovan, Tristan

  The Path (2009, Tale of Tales, PC: Windows, Belgium): A creepy and avant-garde take on Little Red Riding Hood.

  Resident Evil had numerous sequels and offshoots, including the acrobatic action of Devil May Cry (2001, Capcom, Hideki Kamiya, PlayStation 2, Japan), but the most significant was Resident Evil 4 (2005, Capcom, Shinji Mikami, Gamecube, Japan), which realigned the horror genre by dumping shuffling zombies of old in favour of fast-moving horrors. Followed by:

  Gears of War (2006, Microsoft Game Studios, Epic Games, Xbox 360, USA): Steroid-enhanced action with tense gun battles from behind coer and a lead character who conveys a feeling of brute force. Not horror, but Resident Evil 4 was an important influence.

  Dead Space (2008, Electronic Arts, EA Redwood Shores, PlayStation 3, USA): Terrifying sci-fi horror with exceptional audio.

  Left 4 Dead (2008, Valve, Certain Affinity, Xbox 360, USA): Desperate ‘flee the zombies’ co-operative action.

  Finally, the natural disaster ‘horror’ games:

  Disaster Report / S.O.S.: The Final Escape (2002, Irem, PlayStation 2, Japan): Earthquake survival adventure in the mould of ’70s disaster movies.

  Disaster: Day of Crisis (2008, Nintendo, Monolith Soft, Wii, Japan): Multiple disasters and terrorists to boot, lots of side games divert from the main adventure.

  Music games

  A protracted birth with isolated dabbles until the mid-1990s:

  Moondust (1983, Creative Software, Jaron Lanier, Commodore 64, USA): Experimental sonic adventure. Also see the Lanier’s previous video game oddity: Alien Garden (1982, Epyx, Bernie DeKoven & Jaron Lanier, Atari 800, USA).

  Synthétia (1984, Vifi-Nathan, Michel Galvin, Thomson TO7, France): A music creation toy where players use the TO7’s in-built light pen to draw sound waves.

  Dance Aerobics (1987, Bandai, Human Entertainment, NES, Japan): Early dancing game that used Bandai’s Power Pad controller.

  Hostages: Rescue Mission (1988, Infogrames, Atari ST, France): Anti-terrorist action featuring early example of music that responds to player actions.

  First Samurai (1991, Image Works, Vivid Image, Amiga, UK): Each swoop and hit of the players’ sword adds to the musical accompaniment.

  ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (1993, Sega, Johnson Voorsanger Productions, Megadrive, USA): Hip-hop loving aliens and a mingame where players must dance to the rhythm.

  The vibrant PaRappa the Rapper (1996, Sony Computer Entertainment, NanaOn-Sha, PlayStation, Japan) and DJing cool of Beatmania (1997, Konami, Yuichiro Sagawa, Coin-op, Japan) established music games as a genre.

  Japan dominated initially:

  Dance Dance Revolution (1998, Konami, Coin-op, Japan): Booty-shaking megahit.

  Guitar Freaks (1999, Konami, Coin-op, Japan): Introduced the guitar controller.

  Samba de Amigo (1999, Sega, Sonic Team, Coin-op [Dreamcast], Japan): Latin-flavoured maraca shaking.

  Space Channel 5 (1999, Sega, United Game Artists, Dreamcast, Japan): Camp sci-fi chic starring Michael Jackson.

  Vib-Ribbon (1999, Sony Computer Entertainment, NanaOn-Sha, PlayStation, Japan): A platform game that generated levels based on the content of audio CDs inserted into the PlayStation. Followed by the Japanese calligraphy rapping game Mojib-Ribbon (2003, Sony Computer Entertainment, NanaOn-Sha, PlayStation 2, Japan).

  Mad Maestro (2001, Sony Computer Entertainment, Desert Planning, PlayStation 2, Japan): Classical music madness.

  Gitaroo Man (2001, Koei, iNiS, PlayStation 2, Japan): Ebullient guitar solo battles with your foes.

  The US finally caught up thanks to Harmonix’s work:

  Frequency (2001, Sony Computer Entertainment, Harmonix Music Systems, PlayStation 2, USA): Too arty for mass appeal but well worth tracking down.

  Karaoke Revolution (2003, Konami, Harmonix Music Systems, PlayStation 2, USA): Added vocals to the music game mix, paving the way for the sing-a-long party extravaganza that is SingStar (2004, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Studio London, PlayStation 2 [PlayStation 3], UK).

  Guitar Hero (2006, Red Octane, Harmonix Music Systems, PlayStation 2, USA): Wedded the music game to the air guitar dreaming of western rock fans.

  Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (2007, Activision, Neversoft, PlayStation 3, USA): Improved on the original with the addition of downloadable tracks to buy and cameos from rock guitar gods such as Slash from Guns ‘n’ Roses and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello.

  Rock Band (2007, MTV Games, Harmonix Music Systems, Xbox 360, USA): The singing, guitar-playing and drum-beating strands of music games united at last.

  Not to be forgotten:

  Digital Praise (2008, Digital Praise, PC: Windows, USA): Christian rock joins the guitar-controller party

  DJ Hero (2009, Activision, FreeStyleGames, PlayStation 3, UK): Guitar Hero for the turntable set. The more freeform play of DJ: Decks & FX (2004, Sony Computer Entertainment, Relentless Software, PlayStation 2, UK) got there first.

  Wii Music (2008, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto & Kazumi Totaka, Wii, Japan): Miyamoto’s attempt to make playing music simple. Uses the Wii controller to mimic dozens of instruments.

  Simulations

  Non-combat flight simulations:

  Flight Simulator (1980, SubLogic, Bruce Artwick & Stu Moment, Apple II, USA): Brought virtual aviation to the home computer. The ever-improving series, later rebranded as Microsoft Flight Simulator, concentrated on civil aviation. Microsoft Flight Simulator X (2006, Microsoft Game Studios, PC: Windows, USA) offers incredible detail and very good tutorials making it ideal for those unfamiliar with the genre.

  Pilotwings (1990, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto & Tadashi Sugiyama, Super NES, Japan): Not a sim, but great aeronautical fun all the same.

  Stunt Island (1992, Disney Interactive, The Assembly Line, PC: MS-DOS, UK): Perfond film aerial stunts. The video recording options foreshadow the rise of machinima.

  Microsoft Space Simulator (1994, Microsoft, Bruce Artwick Organization, PC: MS-DOS, USA): Getting on a bit now but its realism carries it.

  Google Earth Flight Simulator (2005, Google, PC: Windows, USA): Not the most realistic but it does integrate the maps of the Google Earth allowing you to fly anywhere in the world.

  Orbiter (2006, Martin Schweiger, PC: Windows, UK): Free, super-accurate space travel simulation.

  X-Plane 9 (2008, Laminar Research, PC: Windows, USA): Microsoft Flight Simulator’s biggest rival. The professional version is certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration as a pilot training tool.

  Combat flight simulations:

  Red Baron II (1997, Sierra, Dynamix, PC: Windows, USA): Sterling First World War fighter plane battles that developed a strong modder community.

  European Air War (1998, Microsoft, PC: Windows, USA): Microsoft take a break from civilian flight sims to serve up this Western Front air combat classic.

  IL-2 Sturmovik (2001, 1C Company, 1C: Maddox Games, PC: Windows, Russia): The often neglected Eastern Front of the Second World War gets the attention it deserves with this thrilling flight sim.

  Comanche 4 (2001, NovaLogic, PC: Windows, USA): The first choice for those seeking helicopter gunship action.

  Falcon 4.0: Allied Force (2005, Graphsim Entertainment, Lead Pursuit, PC: Windows, USA): Update of the 1998 modern fighter jet sim that added many of the mods created by the original’s fans as well as improved physics.

  Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (2006, Namco Bandai, Namco Project Aces, Xbox 360, Japan): Fast-paced aerial action, more shoot ’em up than sim.

  Train simulations:

  Southern Belle (1985, Hewson, Mike Male & Bob Hillyer, BBC Micro, UK): Early 1900s steam engine driving sim. Take the Southern Belle from London Victoria to Brighton.

  Densha de Go! (1996, Taito, Coin-op, Japan): Modern day train driving that replicates the commuter lines of Japan, starting with the quiet rural lines before heading to the urban crush of the rush hour.

  Microsoft Train Simulator (2001, Microsoft, Kuju Entertainment, PC: Windows, UK): D
oes for trains what the Microsoft Flight Simulator series did for flight sims. Microsoft later abandoned the train sim genre leaving a gap that Trainz Simulator 2009 (2008, Auran, PC: Windows, Australia) has sought to fill.

  Other simulations:

  Silent Service II (1990, Microprose, PC: MS-DOS, USA): Highly accurate submarine simulator.

  Search & Rescue 4: Coastal Heroes (2003, Just Flight, InterActive Vision, PC: Windows, Denmark): Coast guard heroism.

  Rigs of Rod (2003, Pierre-Michel Ricordel, PC: Windows, France): Open-source vehicle simulation software that began as a off-road truck sim but has evolved into one of the most accurate and detailed simulators around.

  Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific (2007, Ubisoft, Ubisoft Romania, PC: Windows, Romania): Submarine game that emphasises ‘action’ over simulation.

  Ship Simulator 2008 (2007, Lighthouse Interactive, VSTEP, PC: Windows, Netherlands): Seasickness inducing journeys across the waves.

  Strategy and management

  The earliest strategy games stuck rigidly to the format of tabletop war games. Chris Crawford, however, broke the mould:

  Tanktics: Computer Game of Armored Combat on the Eastern Front (1978, Chris Crawford, PET, USA): Primitive text-only strategy but introduced the use of fog of war.

  Eastern Front 1941 (1981, Atari Program Exchange, Chris Crawford, Atari 800, USA): Turn-based decisions with real-time following of orders. The real-time/turn-based hybrid approach resurfaced in the exceptional Combat Mission II: Barbarossa to Berlin (2002, CDV, Battlefront.com, PC: Windows, USA)

  Excalibur (1983, Atari Program Exchange, Chris Crawford, Larry Summers & Valerie Atkinson, Atari 800, USA): Arthurian war game designed to encourage diplomacy over conflict, an approach Crawford expanded on with:

  Balance of Power (1985, Mindscape, Chris Crawford, Macintosh, USA): Cold War geopolitics where diplomatic manoeuvring rather than military action is the name of the game.

  Other political sims:

  President Elect (1981, SSI, Nelson Hernandez, Apple II, USA): US presidential election campaign simulator.

  Hidden Agenda (1988, Springboard, Trans Fiction Systems, Macintosh, USA): Text-based simulation of running a post-revolution Central American state.

  Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator (1990, Virgin Interactive, David Eastman, Amiga, UK): Diplomacy focused game where you play the new Israeli prime minister.

  Floor 13 (1992, Virgin Games, David Eastman, PC: MS-DOS, UK): Take charge of a sinister secret police force in early 1990s Britain. Your job: to torture, assassinate and smear opponents of Her Majesty’s Government.

  Republic: The Revolution (2003, Eidos Interactive, Elixir Studios, PC: Windows, UK): Post-communism revolutionary politics sim in a fictional ex-Soviet state. The designers’ grand vision got the better of it, but the result was still a fascinating, if flawed, attempt.

  Germany’s business and kingdom management sims eschewed combat for planning, creating a sub-genre that owes a significant debt to German board games.

  Kaiser (1984, Ariolasoft, Dirk Beyelstein, Atari 800, West Germany): Simple kingdom management game.

  Hanse (1986, Ariolasoft, Ralf Glau & Bernd Westphal, Commodore 64, West Germany): Middle Ages trading sim set around the ports of the Baltic Sea.

  Ports of Call (1987, Aegis International, Internatial Software Development, Amiga [iPhone], West Germany): Much-loved maritime trading business sim.

  Pizza Tycoon / Pizza Connection (1994, Software 2000, Cybernetic Corporation, Amiga, Germany): Run your own pizza parlour managing everything from overheads to pizza topping choices.

  Die Fugger II (1996, Sunflowers, PC: MS-DOS, Germany): Political and business intrigue in medieval Germany.

  The Guild 2 (2006, JoWooD, 4Head Studios, PC: Windows, Germany): Die Fugger’s spiritual successor.

  Catan (2007, Big Huge Games, Xbox 360, USA): Video game version of classic German board game The Settlers of Catan.

  Non-German management sims:

  The Oregon Trail (1971, Don Rawitsch, Paul Dillenberger & Bill Heinemann, unknown mainframe [iPhone], USA): Classic educational game that expertly tells the story of the Wild West pioneers. Another education game worth seeking out is the logic puzzle title Rocky’s Boots (1982, The Learning Company, Warren Robinett & Leslie Grimm, Apple II, USA)

  Railroad Tycoon (1990, Microprose, Sid Meier, PC: MS-DOS, USA): Railroad empire building in the early days of steam trains. Sid Meier revisited the series with Sid Meier’s Railroads! (2006, 2K Games, Firaxis, PC: Windows, USA).

  Transport Tycoon (1994, Microprose, Chris Sawyer, PC: MS-DOS, UK): The artificial intelligence is showing its age, but this transport empire-building game is still one of the finest business games ever made.

  Theme Park (1994, Electronic Arts, Bullfrog, PC: MS-DOS, UK): Peter Molyneux’s slapstick take on running a funfair. Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 (2004, Atari Interactive, Frontier Developments, PC: Windows, UK) is its spiritual successor.

  Dungeon Keeper (1997, Electronic Arts, Bullfrog, PC: Windows, UK): Molyneux turns the RPG on its head. Build dungeons to stop marauding ‘heroes’ from stealing your treasure.

  The Movies (2005, Activision, Lionhead Studios, PC: Windows, UK): Machinima-inspired business sim where you double as Hollywood studio mogul and film director.

  Chocolatier (2007, PlayFirst, Big Splash Games, PC: Windows [iPhone], USA): Chocolate tycoon.

  Monopoly (2008, Electronic Arts, EA Bright Light Studio, Wii, UK): An excellent video game version of the iconic property tycoon board game.

  Dani Bunten Berry’s M.U.L.E. (1983, Electronic Arts, Ozark Softscape, Atari 800, USA) was a delicate balancing act of player competition and inter-dependence that is justifiably regarded as one of the all-time best-designed games. Desperately needs a modern remake. Dani Bunten Berry’s premature death from lung cancer in 1997 robbed video gaming of one of its brightest talents just as the online technology her work aspired to use came of age. Her sterling legacy:

  Wheeler Dealers (1978, Speakeasy Software, Dan Bunten, Apple II, USA): Pioneered the auction battles of M.U.L.E.

  Cartel$ & Cutthroat$ (1981, SSI, Dan Bunten, Apple II, USA): Early business sim for up to eight players.

  The Seven Cities of Gold (1984, Electronic Arts, Ozark Softscape, Commodore 64, USA): Single-player game of exploration in the New World. Inspired the high seas adventuring of Sid Meier’s Pirates! (1987, Microprose, Sid Meier, Commodore 64 [Amiga], USA).

  Heart of Africa (1985, Electronic Arts, Ozark Softscape, Commodore 64, USA): Beneath the now primitive visuals lurks an expansive and deep game of exploring the wilderness. The sun blindness that blurs out the screen if you spend too long in the desert and the mixed-up joystick controls that result from delirium due to a lack of water foreshadowed the insanity effects of Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem.

  Modem Wars (1988, Electronic Arts, Ozark Softscape, Commodore 64, USA): Early online real-time strategy.

  The action-oriented, real-time strategy model pioneered in Modem Wars and the likes of Herzog Zwei (1989, TechnoSoft, Megadrive, Japan) came of age in Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty / Dune II: Battle for Arrakis (1992, Virgin Interactive, Westwood Associates, PC: MS-DOS, USA). After that real-time strategy ruled the roost:

  Cannon Fodder (1993, Virgin Interactive, Sensible Software, Amiga, UK): Humorous point-and-click strategy action.

  StarCraft (1998, Blizzard Entertainment, Chris Metzen & James Phinney, PC: Windows, USA): Refined real-time strategy that conquered South Korea.

  Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (1998, Eidos Interactive, Pyro Studios, PC: Windows, Spain): Real-time strategy game focused on managing a small group of commandos.

  Shogun: Total War (2000, Electronic Arts, Creative Assembly, PC: Windows, UK): The start of Creative Assembly’s bold strategy series that is based around epic real-time battles involving hundreds of troops. The series has continued to improve with each addition, see Empire: Total War (2009, Sega, Creative Assembly, PC: Windows, UK).

&
nbsp; Conflict Zone: Modern War Strategy (2001, Ubisoft, MASA Group, PC: Windows, France): So-so real-time strategy game, but the need to win the media propaganda battle as well as the actual conflict made it stand out.

  Pikmin (2001, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto & Masamichi Abe, Gamecube, Japan): Shigeru Miyamoto’s bonsai real-time strategy game.

  The Settlers IV (2001, Blue Byte, PC: Windows, Germany): Accessible real-time strategy game that avoids micromanagement of your troops. Also offers a conflict-free mode for those just wanting to build their kingdoms in peace.

  Cossacks: European Wars (2001, CDV, GSC Game World, PC: Windows, Ukraine): Intricate strategy based on Eastern European history.

  WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002, Blizzard Entertainment, Rob Pardo, PC: Windows, USA): Excellent fantasy themed strategy action. Its mods led to the tower defense genre, where the goal is to defend your bases, be they towers or something else, from marauding hordes. Ramparts (1990, Atari Games, John Salwitz, Coin-op, USA) could be describeds the first tower defense game but it took two free Flash games to establish it as a distinct branch of gaming, namely: Desktop Tower Defense (2007, Kongregate, Paul Preece, Online: Flash, UK) and Flash Element TD (2007, David Scott, Online: Flash, UK). Other tower defense highlights: Plants vs. Zombies (2009, PopCap Games, George Fan, PC: Windows, USA): Vibrant crossover hit; Bailout Wars (2009, Gameloft, iPhone, France): A tower defense reaction to the 2008 credit crunch. Stop the bankers from raiding the coffers of the White House.

  Perimeter (2004, 1C Company, K-D Lab, PC: Windows, Russia): Terraforming and unit evolution mark this out as an innovator.

  Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (2007, Electronic Arts, EA Los Angeles, PC: Windows, USA): Sci-fi edged strategy.

  In terms of popularity turn-based strategy has lost out to its action-oriented cousin, but its more cerebral pace has still produced many great moments: