A Trip Down Memory Lane Episode 1

Before you could just double click on a desktop item, long ago you had to type out a few commands in an entirely text-based system, to play the game you wanted to. Many kids these days think this is a myth, and don't know what the hell your talking about when you reference "change directory". This was DOS; the glory that was, before Microsoft had you looking through their windows. While others grew up on Atari or the NES, I grew up on the PC, more specifically DOS. My earliest childhood memories were that of playing long hours fighting robots in Duke Nukem, or living in fear of the Vorticons that would jump randomly at me in Commander Keen. If your suffering from having a very slow computer, or even just bored to death with silly games like Crisis, DOS games might be the answer for you. Theres thousands of games out there you don't even know about that are easily obtainable; a lot of them are even 100% free(legally)! Also, a lot of them have shareware episodes, which was a popular thing back in the day, where they released the first "episode" of the game for free to try, while the rest of the episodes were purchasable. Sure they may not have mind blowing graphics for this day and age, but if you don't have ADD, then why not download DOSBOX and try out a few? Which ones of these 'thousands' you say should you try? Well this is where I come in. I'll help you figure out the essential games to play, and which ones to avoid! Theres tons of great DOS games out there, all I ask is you give 'em a chance!
Play These!
Commander Keen Episodes 1-3 Genre: Platform Developer: ID Released in 1990, these are some of my favourite games. While the second trilogy vastly improves on the gameplay and graphics, this first set of Keen games is still great. You play as Keen, a boy genious out to save the world. It's a simple platform game that doesnt take much to get into. You collect a pogo stick and gun early on to help you progress through various levels over a hub world to get to the end. Some parts can be insanely frustrating and difficult(the last level was the bane of my existence), but thanks to having the ability to save your game, this doesn't really matter. Theres even a shocking ending! Check this one out, it's definately one of the best.
Bio Menace Genre: Action/Platform Developer: Apogee Like Metroid and Kid Icarus, Keen and Bio Menace are sister games; they use the same engine. It predated Duke Nukem II by a few months, and is a decent game in its own right. The protagonists name is Snake Logan, as if there weren't enough heroes in gaming named Snake. Mutants take over the city and you're sent to stop them. There are keys all over the place used to open doors to either closets filled with goodies, or new areas. There are TONS of secrets, bonuses and easter eggs in this game. You can even find a secret area where you can meet the developers! The amount of extras in this game is a huge plus in it. You'll want to go back and find all the hidden areas! The best part of all this though is this, the game is free! Check it out!
So go out there and give em a try, it won't hurt you! You never know, it might take you away from Modern Warefare 2 for a bit! And remember, REAL gamers cover all their bases; you can't truly call yourself a gamer until you've played some DOS games. Don't be a noob.