Owning a PC has long been the place for players to get a true fix of gaming, and there was arguably no better time for the home computer than the 2000s. It was a period before the real boom in console gaming technology. The sheer variety of PC games was unrivalled, and as many households already had a PC in them, the ease of accessibility was there too.
There’s been a real growth in the interest in retro gaming over the past few years, so let’s take a nostalgic look back at some of the titles which some would say defined a generation.
The Sims
SimCity, The Settlers and games of that ilk had been successful pre the turn of the century, giving players the ability to build villages, and thriving communities for their people. But the release of The Sims in early 2000 saw things head in a different direction. It gave you the chance to shape the lives of a family of people, arguably being the gaming equivalent of The Truman Show. You gave your little characters home comforts, watched them head off in the car to work, return home, meet a partner, even have a child. Ignore them and they’d turn into a couch potato, and in turn they’d ignore your direction. It’s engrossing, addictive and if you consider the game is still thriving. It shows just how much of an impact it’s had on PC gaming.
Counter-Strike
The game which is now more known as a staple of competitive esport, first appeared in homes as a mod created from the engine of the huge, Half-Life. Before being ported into a full blown title by developers, Valve in 2000. It wasn’t long before gamers across the world were hooked, and critics loved it too. Although the game which pitted teams of terrorists against counter-terrorists, in a race to defuse a bomb, rescue a hostage or simply assassinate the enemy, was a hit, some countries banned it, citing a threat to social order. Counter-Strike is one of the most influential games of a generation, and it’s arguably the reason why first-person shooters are as popular as they are today.
Stacked with Daniel Negreanu
In the 2000s poker was unavoidable, it was on TV, in the media and on the silver screen too. So, it was no surprise to see a game released by one of the most prominent players in the game. Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu is recognized as one of the all-time great poker players, and this game hit the shelves at more or less the peak of his powers. The game featured a career mode which you played in graphical representations of local halls, to big lavish tournaments. That’s where successful players could face Kid Poker and other pro players of the era. Having a poker game being endorsed by a pro was huge, and you certainly didn’t get any bigger than Kid Poker at the time.
Chessmaster
The board game, that’s said to be played by hundreds of millions around the world, was arguably destined to be huge when it was brought to the home computer. That certainly proved to be the case too. Chessmaster was one of the earliest games brought to PC and became an instant hit. Such was its success, following its introduction in 1986 through to the late 2000s, there were over 20 versions made for almost every gaming platform out there. However, it was the 2007 edition which was aimed squarely at PC gamers, Grandmaster, that was named as the best of the bunch and it’s still revered to this day.
World of Warcraft
This is arguably THE game for the PC which has made the biggest impact since appearing in 2004. WoW as it’s now affectionately known, was the 7th game released in the already popular Warcraft franchise. Warcraft had established itself as the offline fantasy real time strategy game for PC gamers. But when WoW was released, it went crazy. The demand to play the subscription based, Massively Multiplayer Online game was such, that it had 12 million subscribers at the peak of its popularity. There are reports that almost 5 million are still regularly playing the game, and we’re now 17 years following its initial release. That tells you just how good of a game it is.
We hope you enjoyed our look back at some of the best, and most influential titles of PC gaming from the 2000s. It’s a platform which has since evolved so much, but the quality of these games still stands the test of time. They’re all true icons of a memorable era.