Old school bargain bin computer gaming

[Guest Tomato Can]

My computer is getting on in years, and I'm always a little short on cash, so I've decided to start picking up old games for $5-10 a pop.  I'm talking about games, probably around 5 years old, that will run well on a low/mid level Pentium II with a fairly crummy video card (ATI Rage Pro).  I am primarily looking for action/adventure games, but I'll take any or all suggestions (except RTS games, I hate 'em).  So far my list consists of:

 

Interstate '76

Last Express

Dark Earth

Broken Sword II

Zork Grand Inquisitor

 

If you've got any suggestions or comments on the above games, hook me up with the knowledge!

[Guest areacode212]

I've never played any of those, but Interstate '76 got some pretty good reviews back in the day. How about Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (which I pimp fairly regularly around here)? It's a Civilization-style TBS game, which goes for around $10 in bargain bins.

 

I've also seen Thief Gold in some bargain bins.

[Guest Bruin]

You just can't go wrong with the orignal Quake.. :-D Theres also the various Sim games. The original Diablo is still fun to play. Half-Life, while not all that old, runs on anything except for a cardboard box with an electric plug. Those are just a few, as areacode said, Alpha Centauri is a great game for dirt cheap. But you don't like RTS games, so nevermind.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I have to throw in my two cents in and make a nod at the old Sims games. I think you should also consider getting some emulators and stuff, there's thousands of ROMs out there.

[Guest razazteca]

Carmageddon & Splat Pack expansion pack, is a great car game.  "Pit your wits and wheels against 25 maniac drivers over 36 formidable race circuits  in your quest to become the King of Carnage and the Prince of Pile-up!" cd cover.  You have 3 choices for every race, finish the race by going through all check points, kill all town folk, or destroy the other cars.

 

Descent is a First Person Shooter, but this time your a mercerany going from mission to mission through mines destroying enemy robots with your ship.  This game has 360 degrees of fluid 3d control, you can fly upside backwards in retreat.

[Guest areacode212]

I just got Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time for $6. It's a UT-engine fantasy game that got some decent reviews when it came out.

[Guest Tomato Can]

I just got Interstate '76 Gold off of eBay, and I think I'm also gonna replay some of my older but cooler games like Quake II and Grim Fandango.  Too bad the traditional adventure game is pretty much dead.  Grim Fandango and Longest Journey are the only 2 good ones to come out in the last 3 years.

[Guest]

fallout, thats all you need

 

--Rob

[Guest Tomato Can]

I've already played Fallout.  I'm not big into RPGs, but it was still quite cool.  The only other RPGs I've played are Final Fantasy 7 and Planescape: Torment.  If a game has a cool and/or deep enough plot, I can forgive nearly any other faults.

[Guest]

You can pick up Totally Unreal (Unreal Tournament Game of the Year Edition and Unreal + the Nali mission pack) for about $15 -20 bucks at Best Buy, Target etc.   Also their is Serious Sam and Caesar III is pretty good.

[Guest The Man in Blak]

My Recommdendations:

 

Jedi Knight

Quake II (I think a mid-level pentium could handle it)

Simcity 2000

Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition

Thief: The Dark Project - Gold Edition

System Shock 2

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

X-Com Collector's Edition (has all three X-Com games reprogrammed for Win95)

High Heat Baseball 2001

Madden 2000

NBA Live 2000

NHL 2000

Worms Armageddon

Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear

 

I think that covers a lot of the different genres.  I tried to pick games that weren't as 3D-intensive (like Unreal) given your video card and processor.  You might also want to look out for 16-bit (SNES, Genesis) emulators or lower.  Hope this helps.