DOWNLOAD GAMES NOW!

(This Web page is enhanced with Netscape 1.1 and HTML 3.0 tags! Not using Netscape to browse the Web? Try it and see what you've been missing!)

This page contains links to downloadable shareware, freeware, and demoware games. Some of the links connect to great games, downloadable immediately, while others connect to great game collections. In addition, I have included links to sites containing utilities, patches, add-ons and other useful, game-related things. I update this page regularly, so stop by often!

Link Categories

Outstanding Games Available for Download

Great Sites from Which to Download Games

Macintosh Games

Miscellaneous Useful and Fun Stuff

Add Your Favorite Games-Related Links to DGN!

COMPRESSED FILES

Most downloadable games for IBM-compatibles are stored in .ZIP format to save disk space and download time. To learn how to "unzip" .ZIP files, see Miscellaneous, below.

BUSY SERVERS

Most of the servers that contain downloadable games are very busy. Sooner or later, you will not get through to a site because of this. If that happens, just keep trying and you will eventually get through. These servers are very busy at night and on weekends. They are less busy during the day on weekdays. Please don't send me e-mail saying, "I can't download such and such." Remember, I do not maintain these servers, I just link to them!

"EXTERNAL VIEWER" PROBLEM

Here is a weird problem some Netscape users have encountered. Does Netscape say "configure external viewer" or fill your screen with garbage characters when you click on a link to a file and try to download it? Here is a simple solution. Just hold down the shift key and then click on the link to the file. This allows you to manually save the file to your disk. If you are a Mac user, you can do the same thing by holding down the mouse button.

MAC GAMES

Most Mac games appear to be stored in .HQX and/or .CPT format. For more information on how to decode these types of files, check out the alt.pictures.binary Utilities Archive. Please don't send me e-mail asking for technical support on Mac issues as my Mac experience is limited to occasionally playing with the Mac Plus I have in my closet. I couldn't help you even if you sent me e-mail! A much better source for help would be a Mac-specific newsgroup, such as "comp.sys.mac.misc".

Outstanding Games Available for Download

Scorched Earth (scrch123.exe, 196K).

One of my favorite computer games is a VGA "tank versus tank" game for DOS called "Scorched Earth" (or "Scorch" for short). Create a directory called "Scorch" and copy scrch123.exe into the new directory. Run scrch123.exe, a self-extracting, compressed file, to extract the Scorch program files.

Scorched Earth version 1.5 (scorch15.zip, 690K). This new version of Scorch is now available via anonymous FTP from ftp.itis.com.

Inner Space (approx. 1.3 megs).

A great Windows "arcade" game and so much more. Your computer has been taken over by viruses and you must pilot your inner space cruiser to save your system. But it is more than just combat, it is adventure and strategy, too. This is a deep, fun, easy-to-learn game that has lots of replayability. The game can be customized to your play style. You can even custom build your own ships. What's more, even though it has great graphics and sound, it is not a disk or memory hog. Try it! I.S. was written by the creators of the original After Dark screen saver for Windows.

Commander Keen in "Goobye Galaxy" (4keen.zip, 633K).

Guide the pre-teen hero, Commander Keen, in his battles against slugs, bouncing mushrooms, and rock creatures. A classic arcade-style game for DOS. Great!

World Empire III (_9empwin.zip, 459K).

If you always wanted more sophistication and realism in RISK, here it is! A maddeningly addictive game that will keep you up until 3 A.M.! This is version 2.0 for Windows 3.1. Voted best shareware strategy game by Computer Gaming World. From your friends at Viable Software Alternatives.

By the way, you will need the Visual Basic driver vbrun300.dll if you don't already have it. Download vbrun3.zip (229K), unzip it, and then copy vbrun300.dll into your C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.

Doom (doom19s.zip, 2.4 megabytes).

The phenomenally popular, 3-D, shoot-em-up and walk-through-the-gore game. This is shareware version 1.9 - the final shareware version. Couldn't get through to the above server? Try these alternate sites: Oregon State University and Sunet. Also check out the DoomGate under Miscellaneous, below.

Dark Forces (dforces1.zip, 3.3 megs).

A Doom-like 3-D game set in the Star Wars universe. You are a rebel spy on a mission to infiltrate an Imperial base filled with killable white-armored storm troopers and other baddies. Superb graphics and smooth scrolling blaster-wielding action! My favorite sound bite from the game: "Die rebel scum!" A playable demo by Lucas Arts. Note: This game requires 8 megabytes of RAM.

Couldn't get Dark Forces from the above site? Try this alternate site in Korea. Want cheats and tips for playing Dark Forces? See the Dark Forces Home Page under Miscellaneous, below.

Rise of the Triad (1rott13.zip, 3.7 megabytes).

Pick a character, cock your weapon, and move out! Play it over a network. Includes violence adjustment (just in case you get queasy). A superb 3-D game from Apogee. Check out the unofficial Apogee web page under Download Sites, below.

Master of Magic (momdemo.exe, 1.4 megabytes).

Strategy gaming at its finest. You are a powerful wizard controlling different fantasy races as you battle for world domination on two planes of existence! If you loved Civilization and Master of Orion, you will love Master of Magic, which combines the best elements of both games. From MicroProse Games. Note that this file is a self-extracting. Create a new directory, copy the file into that directory, and run the file to extract the installation files.

Note: You must have 3 megabytes of available expanded memory and 585K of available conventional (DOS) memory to play this game. Yeah, I know that the little error message that pops up says that you only need 1024K of expanded memory, but it's wrong. Read the "readme.now" file that comes with the installation files. To create 3 megabytes of expanded memory, make sure you have the following line in your config.sys file:

          device=c:\dos\emm386.exe RAM 3072

Don't know how much conventional and expanded memory are available? Use the

          mem /c /p

command from the DOS prompt. If you don't have enough conventional memory available, consult your DOS manual for help on how to increase available conventional memory.

Or, better yet, just run the demo from Windows 95 and forget about all of the above memory hassles!

See Miscellaneous, below, for links to the MicroProse Home Page and the Spectrum Holobyte/MicroProse Home Page.

Great Sites From Which to Download Games

• Pacific Hi-Tech Games Collection. Lots of games to download for PC's, Macs, and even Linux. What's even better, this page includes multiple lists broken out into categories. Also includes "top" picks, game descriptions and reviews, and file sizes. The best I have encountered so far!

• Games on the Internet. A fine collection of links to hundreds of games with a "top 25" list, game descriptions, and more. All text web page loads fast. If this site is busy or not working, or if you are accessing the page from Europe, try the mirror site in England.

• The Direct Download web page maintained by Games Domain is great! It includes an on-line search tool, complete game descriptions and file sizes and multiple sources from which you can download, just in case one is busy or down! Also, check out the Games Domain under Miscellaneous, below.

• Happy Puppy's Games Onramp. This web page specializes in links to new and "hit" games. Excellent, detailed game descriptions and multiple download sites. Another great site from which to download games!

• The Game List. This page includes links to dozens of games. This page is all text and loads fast. On the downside, the list contains only the names of the games (in alphabetical order) and file sizes - there are no game descriptions. Therefore, you need to know what you are looking for.

• Apogee games. Download your favorite Apogee games here. Note, this server is "unofficial" and is not run by Apogee.

• Gamelink. A large collection of downloadable games arranged alphabetically. For each game in the list you get the name of the game, its file size, and a category (like "arcade," or "3-D," etcetera). A great alternate site.

• Windows 95 Puzzle Games. Check out these two demo puzzle games by Starhill Productions.

• GT Interactive Software. This company is making some awesome virtual reality and 3D games. Check out the great demos available for downloading.

• Macintosh Games Collection at Games Domain. Hey, all of you Mac users, this way to downloadable games!

• Unzipping .ZIP Files

  Provided below are links to programs that will extract the stored files from a .ZIP file. The process of extracting files from a .ZIP file is called "unzipping". Extracted files are then ready to setup or run. Remember, most games that you download from the Internet are provided in compressed ".ZIP" format to save download time. You must "unzip" the .ZIP file in order to get at the program and/or its setup files.

  If you are not an experienced DOS user, I suggest you use Winzip, instead of PKunzip.

  • Winzip (approx. 320K). A great file compression/decompression program for Windows that handles .ZIP files and other types. Winzip comes in a Windows 3.x version and a Windows 95 version. Download the self-extracting, self-installing file and run it by double clicking on it from the Program Manager (Windows 3.x) or the Explorer (Windows 95). Winzip installs itself!

  • PKunzip - Program and Guide. Read this quick and dirty guide to the PKunzip file decompression utility. The guide includes a link to pkunzip.exe so that you may download it. You can learn how to use PKunzip from Windows 3.x or you can learn how to use it from the DOS prompt.

    PKunzip is a DOS program and does not require Windows to run. Unfortunately, this means that you need to be fairly DOS literate to use it. In addition, unlike Winzip, PKunzip decompresses only .ZIP files, not other types (such as .ARJ and .LZH). If you prefer, you may download the entire pkz204g.exe package (approx. 200K), which includes PKunzip and PKzip, the file compression utility. Pkz204g.exe is a self-extracting file. Create a new directory for it, move it to the new directory, and then run the file to extract the program files.

    PKunzip was written by Phil Katz, the creator of the .ZIP format.

  • ZIPExplorer. Another .ZIP utility for Windows 95. According to the author, David Plummer, ZIPExplorer is an extension to the Windows 95 operating system that allows you to do inside .ZIP archives everything you can do with normal files. Worth a look.

• DoomGate. For all you Doom fans out there, the ultimate Doom-oriented WWW site.

• Games Domain. Lots of great links to game-related stuff!

• Dark Forces Home Page. Connect to this site for all sorts of utilities, chatter, add-on's, etc., for Dark Forces.

• On-line Gaming at ConXtion. Many visitors asked me for a link to on-line, over-the-net gaming. Here it is!

MicroProse Home Page.

Get the latest upgrades, hints, demos, and accessories for you favorite MicroProse games.

Spectrum Holobyte/MicroProse Home Page.

Get the latest upgrades, hints, demos, and accessories for you favorite Spectrum Holobyte/MicroProse games.

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