Early video games might not look like much to today’s youngsters, but people in their 30s look upon the classics with nostalgia. You can recapture that feeling by playing some of your favorite classics directly on your browser. As long as you have a computer and an Internet connection, you’re ready to play!
Oregon Trail
In Oregon Trail, players follow the historic route from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon. Along the way, players have to hunt for food, battle diseases like dysentery, and decide whether they can ford rivers safely.
Making it to Oregon essentially means that you win, but it feels a lot better to reach the end without losing any family members.
The funny thing about Oregon Trail is how quickly adults can play it compared to children. If you used to sit in front of a screen and play it for hours, you’ll be shocked when you fly through the game in a matter of minutes. Still, it’s a fun walk down memory lane.
Tetris
Tetris is one of the most addictive, frustrating games that you’ll ever play. Created by a Russian computer programmer in 1984, it became a popular home computer game in the United States.
Tetris has a simple concept: stack various shapes to create horizontal lines. The more lines you stack at once, the more points you earn. That simplicity explains the addictiveness of the game.
The frustration comes from Tetris’s unrelenting escalation. The game doesn’t really have an end. It just gets harder as you progress. The pieces fall more quickly, stacking in odd arrangements that eventually lead to your ruin by reaching the top of the screen.
Given the game’s simplicity, it was easy for website designers to create their own versions. Today, you can find it all over the Internet.
Pac-Man
Pac-Man is the ultimate classic. If you grew up in the ’80s, then you probably played this game at home and in arcades. There are even a handful of the original arcade systems in good working order. When you find one, you drop in a quarter and direct your little yellow man through a maze of dots while evading troublesome ghosts.
But you don’t have to pump quarters into a machine to play Pac-Man. These days, inexpensive Internet bundles can give you access to Pac-Man for less than you would have spent in the ’80s.
Like Tetris, Pac-Man doesn’t really have an end. Things just get faster and more complicated until you succumb to the ghosts. It’s all about the high score. No one really wins.
Donkey Kong
In this classic video game, you control an early version of Mario as you attempt to evade barrels tossed by a large gorilla. The objective: bypass Donkey Kong, the gorilla, and save the damsel in distress. I hear that Donkey Kong is making a comeback thanks to Si Robertson from Duck Dynasty with one of his many favorite sayings “Hey Jack It’s On Like Donkey Kong”.
Like many classic games, this one is easy for website designers to recreate. You can find several versions online. Many of them are true to the original’s storyline.
What other retro games do you like to play in your Internet browser? Are there any games that you can’t find online?
I grew up in the 70’s when video arcades were a kid’s big entertainment. I played Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and Tetris. I’ve nver heard of Oregon Trail. I would love to see Asteroids and Pong again — those were my first two games. Coral Gables Realtor
I remember playing donkey kong and pacman some ages ago (I just feel so old saying that). Those were really fun games! But now graphic games are getting more popular leaving them behind.
Isaac,
I feel the same. My favorite games were those two – Pacman and Donkey Kong.
ohh man i had no idea you could play oregan trail! I used to play that in school all the time! Might have to spend some free time on this..
What about THOUSANDS of these ones on a single website ?
The real thing, not half-baked Flash remakes.
It’s happening at Game Oldies : http://game-oldies.com