CREDIT: MAXIS SOFTWARE
The goal of SimAnt is to destroy rival colonies and drive humans out of their homes.

The games industry was once even more fleeting and unpredictable 20 years ago than it is today. Companies started up and collapsed as quickly as mum’s perennials, pushing out a game or two before quietly biting the dust. But what ever became of the few unknown pieces of entertainment so heartfully worked on that got lost in the abyss of video game releases?

Abandonware is a title given to these lost children of gaming. Games that have copyrights, which have been – for a lack of a better word – abandoned or left un-renewed by a folded company whose assets had no interested buyers. There are several titles falling under the abandonware term that still pack the entertaining punch they carried when they first populated store shelves and shareware usenet boards.

These games can be found on sites like Abandonia and Abandonwaredos are 100 per cent free-to-play and easy to plop onto your hard drive. After acquiring DOSbox or the D-Fend Reloaded graphical frontend for DOSbox, you’re all set for an afternoon of exploring strange, old, forgotten games from a time long past.

Some choice titles include:

Quarantine (1994)

This game deserves a lot of credit. It is like Doom, Carmageddon, Grand Theft Auto III and Crazy Taxi into one massive, blood-splattered post-apocalyptic package. Set in the near future in a city shut off from the rest of the world, you must – as one of many cabbies driving around – fend yourself from madmen and vandals as you try to make fare.

SimAnt (1991)

Part of the ‘90s Sim craze started by Sim City in 1989 was some of the stranger, more off-beat titles that revolved around simulation situations most people wouldn’t even give second thought to. SimAnt is a great, fun example of this. Taking control of an ant colony, the ultimate goal of this Sim game is to decimate rival ant colonies and eventually drive people out of their homes through sheer infestation. Fun for those who can stomach the idea.

Jazz Jackrabbit (1994)

Epic Games – yes, Unreal Tournament and Gears of War Epic Games – released, under the title Epic MegaGames, this little cult hit for DOS back in the mid- ‘90s. It’s just pure, adrenaline-rush 2D platforming – using both the keyboard and mouse, strangely.

Abuse (1996)

Set in the distant, dystopian future of 2010, Abuse is a dark, creepy run-and-gun 2D action game with a seriously awesome art style and even better gameplay. There’s just a ton of levels to explore, as you – an escapee from a prison colony – have to fight hordes of mutants for survival.