So, you’ve heard all about this retro-gaming thing; you’re intrigued but a little scared. We understand. The world of oldschool games can be a confusing one for those of you who missed out on the golden age of gaming, so we’ve picked a few of our favourites, all of which are available through Good Old Games, to give you a sort of retro-gaming primer. No, these games won’t require that you break out your dad’s copy of DOS; we’re not that cruel. We understand that just going back two years is tough for some people. These games are all around ten years old; meaning they’ll have that oldschool charm while still managing to look good after all these years. Best of all, GOG’s games have been carefully tweaked to run in both Windows XP and Vista!

Jagged Alliance 2
Genre: Tactical strategy | Released: 1999 | Developer: Sir-Tech Software

Jagged Alliance 2 is a squad-based tactical strategy game with more than its fair share of RPG elements. Think Commandos meets Dawn of War 2‘s single-player campaign. You’ll get to create your own custom character, team up with dozens of highly-individual (and sometimes completely bonkers) mercenaries and fight your way through a huge game world in your well-paid quest to free Arulco from the clutches of an evil dictator. It’s packed full of realistic weaponry, a good dose of inappropriate humour, and bucketloads of deep, tactical combat situations. Do you assault the military weapons plant at night, under the cover of dark, but risk the loss of long-range effectiveness? Or do you go in at the crack of dawn; guns blazing, grenades flying, and civilian casualties a minor inconvenience? JA2 gives you loads of choice, not just in how you choose to handle the combat, but in your preparation as well: mercenaries can undergo training, locals can be hired to guard key locations, and even a few silver mines can be commandeered for the greater good.

Fallout 2
Genre: Role-playing game | Released: 1998 | Developer: Black Isle Studios

Touted by many as the best RPG of our times, Fallout 2 takes players into the dark future of post-apocalyptic USA. If you’re a fan of deep, intricate RPGs that offer players real choice between good and evil, as well as the thick grey line between, and can handle a generous helping of dark humour, Fallout 2 is the game for you. Its combat system might not quite be everyone’s cup of tea, being turn-based, but the level of control the system offers is almost unparalleled. Dialogue and story is a major focus of the game, seeing players thrust in the middle of conflicts between numerous factions, or secretively playing both sides. Political intrigue, weapons dealing, slavery, crude language, drug addiction, and loads of violence are the order of the day. Definitely not one for the faint of heart, but guaranteed to please anyone with half a brain in their head and a love for true role-playing games.

Duke Nukem 3D
Genre: FPS | Released: 1996 | Developer: 3D Realms Entertainment

Let’s face it, every FPS fan needs to play Duke Nukem 3D at some point in their lives. Quite simply, because it only costs $5.99 and is a mere 27MB download. If that’s not good enough for you, fine – here’s a little something to whet your appetite: Duke gets to shoot up alien pig cops with twin rocket launchers, rip the head off and shit down the throat of a massive alien, miniaturise bad guys with a shrink ray and step on them, pay strippers money to flash him, and travel to an alien spaceship to shoot up some extra-terrestrial fools with a freeze-ray. There’s also a jetpack. Sure, it’s not the most cerebral of games, but it doesn’t matter because it’s damn funny and a mindless thrill ride from beginning to end. When you’re done with the vanilla game, multiplayer madness and a ton of mods to spruce things up (including a rather snazzy high-res pack (pictured right)) should keep you killing long into the night.