It seems like anywhere you turn in the world of computer games,
you run into a sequel of some sort: Quake III, WarCraft II, Heroes
III, Myth II - the list goes on and on. Sequels are only slightly
less predictable than the changing of the seasons, because if a
company has built a good name with a successful game, many people
will already be interested in a sequel simply because they connect
it with a game they like.
So, what about sequels? Are they an issue worth discussing? I
would say that overall, the concept of updating good games is
definitely something which I favor. For owners of newer computers,
it is an opportunity to re-immerse yourself in a game which feels
familiar, yet has new aspects. However, the owner of an older, yet
still usable, computer (such as one of the later 68K Macs or the
early Power Macs) may only be able to run these new games slowly -
or not at all. If you are using an older Mac and want to find some
good games but don't know where to look, think of the new games
which you would like to be able to play, and see if you can figure
out some older games which may have been predecessors to the new
game. Games which end with a number are best bets for prequels,
although definitely not the only place to look. I will name some
examples which come to mind. If you think of others which I may
have overlooked, I would be glad to hear of them.
CURRENT GAME: Heroes of Might and Magic III (Strategy, requires
603/180).
OLDER VERSIONS: Heroes (1) and Heroes II were both produced for the
Mac. I have played Heroes II enough to know that it is quite a
game. I have not ever played the original Heroes of Might and
Magic, but it should be good as well.* Heroes II requires 68040 or
greater, and I believe that the original Heroes will run on a
68030. Heroes II is still available from various retailers. Heroes
(1) is harder to find, although I think that it is a part of at
least one still-sold bundle.
CURRENT GAME: Civilization: Call to Power (Strategy, requires
603/150) (Another current game, Alpha Centauri, is similar in
concept).
OLDER VERSIONS: Civilization and Civilization II were both hits for
the Mac. Civilization should run on any Mac Plus or higher with 4
megs of RAM, while Civilization II requires a 68030. I recommend a
fast '030 or and '040 for Civ II. Civilization II Gold Edition,
which includes network play, will run on any Power Mac. Another
similar game is Colonization, which was published between
Civilization and Civilization II.
CURRENT GAME: Starcraft (real-time strategy, requires
PowerPC)
OLDER VERSIONS: WarCraft and WarCraft II are pretty well-known
ancestors of Starcraft, and definitely worthy of mention. WarCraft
runs on '030s, WarCraft II is said to require an '040 although I
have seen it run on some '030s. WarCraft II is one of the best LAN
games for the pre-Power Mac user.
CURRENT GAME: Quake III (first-person shooter, requires G3). The
name Quake has become ubiquitous in the gaming world.
OLDER VERSIONS: Quake (original) runs on any Power Mac, Quake II is
happiest with a PowerPC 604 or fast 603. Both have good networking
capabilities. There are plenty of other games with similar premises
which will run on 68K machines, such as the Doom series and
Wolfenstein.
CURRENT GAME: King's Quest: Mask of Eternity (adventure, not
available for Mac)
OLDER VERSIONS: The latest installment of the King's Quest series
is not available for the Mac, but several earlier quests are. Most
of them have very low system requirements.
CURRENT GAME: Carmageddon II (driving, requires a fast 604 or
G3)
OLDER VERSION: The original Carmageddon isn't quite as high-res as
II, but has the same wild style of game play. Requires a PowerPC at
80 MHz. A bit hefty for an "older version", but still worthy of
mention.
Well, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Have some fun with
these older games. Just remember, don't get so hooked on a single
series that in 2025, you eagerly await the arrival of WarCraft XIX.
