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With a lot of free time to spare, I have found myself playing older games. Usually, I play games that are intensely optimized for graphics and have enormous open worlds. The games I have taken up again are games that were released prior in 2012 and some from 2005. I would have tried to play some even older games but sadly they don't work on my current computer system. However, in recent months I have played several games I haven't touched in years, in some cases more than a decade. I suppose it was a way to stave off my boredom.
Playing video games is a great way to relieve stress and anxiety, it certainly helps me in that regard, especially when my mood is low from feelings of loneliness. Many of the games I play are mostly open-world but with storylines to keep my brain engaged.
Listed below are the older PC video games that you can play in your spare time.
One such game is Sims 3. It is not too old of a game as it only stopped releasing expansion packs in 2013. The Sims 3 has a lot more features that I enjoy over the newest Sims games. Sims 3 had a large open world for your sims to be a part of and to explore hidden rabbit holes. It had a lot more choices for employment and hobbies. It's also a smaller game Gb-wise to install if you need to install it digitally.
Another game I have been playing a lot of is SimCity Societies, which is a literal combination of The Sims games and SimCity games. In these games, a focus on build style is important as well as what point types the buildings give. It is meant to focus more on the 'fun' side of creating a city. I only recently got the game to reinstall to my modern PC after last getting it to work five years ago.
Another game I have been playing a lot recently that isn't a Sim-style game is State of Decay (the first one). It was a game originally intended to be a multiplayer online game, but the developers decided it would make a better single-player game, and the storyteller in me agrees. It was also designed for the original Xbox but works just fine on the PC. There is an amazing story taking place during this zombie apocalypse survival game.
This game I hadn't played since I was in middle school and I barely got it to work on Windows 10 since it came out in 2005, and still has several graphical glitches but it is playable. This is a game that I played a lot of as a kid, especially when it first came out. Playing as a Greek God with control over how good and bad you are, building up impressive cities, taking over enemy cities by impressiveness or force. It was all quite fun. Reinstalling recently, even with the graphical glitches, I found it so much fun to go through the game back and fight for the people I was a God for.
The first age of empires was one I played because it was something my mother could teach me how to play. I played the second one very little and I absolutely played age of Empires 3 over and over because I love the indigenous and Metis storyline.
The reason I am able to play these games with very few issues on my modern PC is that all three games recently got a remaster to be able to be playable. The first Age of Empires games was released in 1997, 2 was released in 1999 and 3 was released in 2005. The remasters of each game, labeled as Definitive Editions were released in October of 2020.
The first one, I've taken to playing the most because I find it a lot more challenging than when I played it as a child with my mother. The new modernized UI helps with the playability of the game twenty years after its initial release. The game covers the events between the Stone Age and the Classical period, in Europe and Asia.
The second age of empires I have played the least. I didn't play it very much growing up. I have tried to play the definitive edition and enjoyed it more than I did as a kid. It is set in the middle ages; the age of kings and it just never interested me as much it did my siblings.
The third game I loved, especially the campaign which I preferred to the sandbox games in this series. The game portrays the European colonization of the Americas, between approximately 1492 and 1876 AD. I especially appreciated that the developers returned the Indigenous storyline and redid the voice acting with legitimate Indigenous voices. It helps to the history of the founding of North America with accurate voices and portrayals.
There are so many older games, even ones more than a decade old that can be quite fun to revisit or even to play for the first time. They may seem dated, and some certainly are with outdated graphics and some aspects of improper political correctness.
However, I do try to expand my repertoire of games, even if that means going back. I find that just playing them because of the memories they can bring up for me and the fact that I find them fun are reasons enough for me to play them. Everyone has their preferences, and I certainly have mine. One thing to remember is that they were made in a different cultural norm but that they are video games. They are fiction and they are meant to be played for fun.
FilmFanatic_88
4y ago
The satisfaction of building a perfect city in SimCity Societies was unmatched.
Limbaugh_Lines
4y ago
I love that these older games often came complete without needing tons of DLC.
Marcus_Memo
4y ago
Getting Black and White 2 to run was a challenge but totally worth it for the nostalgia.
ThrillerAddict_Mark
4y ago
Age of Empires campaigns were like playable history books. I learned so much.
Sierra_Twinkle
4y ago
Really interesting how many of these games focus on building and creation rather than destruction.
Siegel_Summary
4y ago
State of Decay's base management was so addictive. I lost whole weekends to that game.
Alien_Flicks_Fanatic
4y ago
The community patches for these old games are amazing. Fans keep them alive.
Farhi_Feature
4y ago
These games really show how gameplay innovation doesn't require cutting-edge graphics.
WholeBodyHealth
4y ago
Older games often had better cheat codes too. Remember motherlode in Sims 3?
Trendy-Muse
4y ago
I actually learned city planning concepts from playing SimCity Societies as a kid.
GlitchMasterX
4y ago
Nothing beats the satisfaction of finally getting an old game to run on modern hardware.
Kurtz_Commentary
4y ago
The article makes me want to dig out my old PC games. If only I still had a DVD drive!
SoulAligned
4y ago
Completely agree about Age of Empires 3's indigenous storyline. The remaster really did it justice.
EleanorColeman
4y ago
The sound design in these older games was often incredible despite technical limitations.
Aesthetic_Styles_09
4y ago
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by modern open world games. These older titles feel more manageable.
RomanticVibes_2024
4y ago
SimCity Societies was underrated. The social engineering aspect was really unique.
HealthyInside_Out_90
4y ago
Anyone else spend hours just watching their creature in Black and White 2 interact with villagers?
Sweat_And_Success_42
4y ago
I appreciate how Age of Empires Definitive Edition maintained the core gameplay while updating the visuals.
UrbanShadowX
4y ago
The Sims 3 create-a-style tool was amazing. I still can't believe they removed it in Sims 4.
Trendy_Essentials
4y ago
My kids love playing these older games with me. They don't care about the dated graphics at all.
ElowenH
4y ago
State of Decay's single-player focus definitely worked in its favor. Not every game needs multiplayer.
HyperSpaceX
4y ago
Trying to get old games running on new systems can be frustrating but it's usually worth the effort.
InfinityHacker
4y ago
The article missed mentioning how modding communities keep these old games fresh and interesting.
Salma99
4y ago
Playing these games is like a history lesson in game development. Really shows how far we've come.
SoulmateVibes
4y ago
I've noticed older games often have better storylines because they couldn't rely on fancy graphics.
Maggie-Quinn
4y ago
Modern games could learn a lot from how these classics balanced complexity with accessibility.
Emma_Grace
4y ago
These games really bring back memories. I spent countless hours on Age of Empires campaigns.
MadisonMorris
4y ago
Not sure I agree about skipping Sims 4. The build mode improvements alone make it worth playing.
BalancedBeing
4y ago
The way Black and White 2 let you choose between being good or evil was really innovative for its time.
Couture-Crush-19
4y ago
I've tried getting back into older games but the dated controls often frustrate me too much.
Rucker_Report
4y ago
SimCity Societies was such an interesting spin on the city-builder genre. Wish they'd make more games like that.
Luxe_Closet
4y ago
You're right that these games need to be viewed in their cultural context, but they're still incredibly fun.
SacredSelfCare
4y ago
Age of Empires definitely taught me more about history than my actual history classes did.
Vegan_Glow_22
4y ago
The open world in Sims 3 was revolutionary but it caused so many performance issues on my old laptop.
NetflixTop10Guru
4y ago
My computer struggles with newer games so I've been rediscovering older titles too. Currently hooked on the original State of Decay.
Livia_Crystal
4y ago
Totally agree about Sims 3 having better features. The color wheel for customization was amazing!
Blockbuster_Freak
4y ago
I miss when games weren't so focused on amazing graphics and just concentrated on being fun to play.
Nathan_2000
4y ago
The Indigenous representation in Age of Empires 3 Definitive Edition shows how remasters can improve on the original.
GratitudeMindset
4y ago
Never tried Black and White 2 but those graphical glitches mentioned in the article worry me. Any workarounds?
FlicksAndChill
4y ago
I actually prefer older games sometimes. They feel more focused and complete compared to modern games with endless DLC.
Eliza-Nash
4y ago
The graphics might be dated but the gameplay in these classics often holds up surprisingly well.
SylvieX
4y ago
Playing Age of Empires with your mom sounds amazing! My dad and I bonded over Age of Mythology instead.
Alexander-Jay
4y ago
Interesting article! I've been wanting to try some older games myself. Does anyone know if SimCity Societies runs well on Windows 11?
Lenora_Dawn
4y ago
I disagree about Sims 3 being better. The loading screens in Sims 4 are worth it for the improved performance and animations.
GravityRiderX
4y ago
State of Decay was such an underrated gem. The resource management and permadeath mechanics made every decision feel meaningful.
Kendra_Stephens
4y ago
Anyone else remember playing Black and White 2 back in the day? The creature AI was way ahead of its time.
Tessa_Light
5y ago
I love revisiting old games too! The Sims 3 really was the peak of the series. The open world feature made it feel so much more immersive than Sims 4.
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