EGA IBM PC Games
EGA stands for Enhanced Graphics Adapter. EGA was released by IBM in 1984. As it pertains to IBM PC games, EGA features 16 on-screen colors drawn from a palette range of 64 colors. Thus, even the best EGA games look stark and stippled in comparison to Amiga graphics, which display in 32+ colors from a palette range of 4096. EGA display memory ranges from 64-256 kbytes.
However, the main problem with EGA games is not the color palette range but rather the fact that they generally don't scroll smoothly or feature smooth sprite-shifting. Therefore, in practice, and with some exceptions to be sure, Amiga games and even Commodore 64 games were better. That said, there were still some great EGA games released for IBM PC and compatibles. In addition, in some cases the EGA version of a computer game is the best version. Moreover, a few of the greatest computer games ever made are EGA games (not every computer game needs to scroll or shift sprites on a per-pixel basis).
I append "Best on EGA" to the relevant entries. I also append "IBM original" and "IBM exclusive" to the relevant entries.
16-color VGA games are not the same as 16-color EGA games. On top of the broader palette range, VGA has much faster drawspeed and more display memory for faster and more complex line-draw and flood-fill algorithms. Conversely, not all EGA games exploit EGA's on-screen colors or range of colors. For example, some may have CGA title screens, but they are still EGA games; title screens are meaningless.
This is a chronological list of IBM PC games that were coded to display in EGA as opposed to 4-color CGA and 256-color VGA 320x200.
1984
The Ancient Art of War IBM PC 1984
Dave & Barry Murry of Evryware Entertainment coded The Ancient Art of War for IBM PC in 1984. The Ancient Art of War is one of the first real-time strategy games. AAoW requires an EGA video controller with 128 kbytes of vRAM.
Best on EGA.
1985
Silent Service IBM PC 1985
Randall Don Masteller of MicroProse coded Silent Service for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1985. Silent Service displays in 16-color EGA 320x200.
Cyrus IBM PC 1985
Intelligent Chess Software Ltd. developed Cyrus for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1985. Cyrus displays in 16-color EGA 640x350/400 (it uses more than 350 v-pixels).
Best on EGA.
1986
Ikari Warriors IBM PC 1986
SNK's Ikari Warriors run and gun coinop of 1986 was converted to IBM PC Booter by Quicksilver Software. Ikari Warriors runs in 320x200 EGA graphics mode, but its vertically-scrolling playing field is only 208x132px, and its audio consists of naught but bleeps and blurps.
That said, this is a great port of the Ikari Warriors coinop in that it employs screen-draw tricks and compression techniques in order to maintain a colorful scrolling viewport, 8-way firing and two firing modes (gun / grenade) on a mere i808x with 256 kbytes of RAM.
The port features keyboard control or 2-button joystick input.
1987
Jet IBM PC 1987
Best on EGA.
Defender of the Crown IBM PC 1987
Cinemaware converted their Amiga version of Defender of the Crown to IBM PC EGA in 1987.
Amiga version of 1986:
Gunship IBM PC 1987
Sid Meier's Pirates IBM PC 1987
Randall Don Masteller of MicroProse coded Sid Meier's Pirates for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1987. Pirates displays in 16-color EGA 320x200.
Test Drive & Test Drive 2 IBM PC 1987 / 1989
Distinctive Software's Test Drive and Test Drive 2 are EGA games; Test Drive 3 of 1990 is VGA.
Uridium IBM PC 1988
Converted by John Friedman & Joe Hellesen in 1988 to i808x CGA/EGA from Andrew Braybrook of Graftgold's 1987 Commodore 64 original, the Defender-like Uridium was the first super-scroller on IBM PC.
Requiring 384 kbytes RAM, Uridium runs from a 126 kbyte executable. See that Uridium logo below? It's a full-screen scroller. :)
Uridium was the first IBM PC game to feature fast and smooth screen-scrolling. Uridium is a super-scroller.
Xenon IBM PC 1988
The Bitmap Brothers' Xenon of 1988 was one of the first great vertically-scrolling shoot 'em ups on MS-DOS / IBM PC. Xenon ran on i808x microprocessors and 384 kbytes RAM in MS-DOS 2.0, and displayed in 16-color EGA at 320x200px. However, it clearly does not take advantage of the EGA palette range.
Xenon's executable taps into about 300 kbytes of data files.
And yes, that is a CGA titlescreen and EGA in-game graphics.
In Xenon players battle the Xenites by ground and by air over four sectors consisting of four zones each. The player can seemlessly transform their battletank into a fighter jet, and vice versa.
Xenon Weapons System acquired via Power Pills:
- Cannon, Twin-cannons, Homing Missile, Laser, Side Lasers, Side Cannons
- Armor, Fuel, Zapper, Movement Rate, Weapon Range, Rotating Balls (max 3)
Virus IBM PC 1988
Firebird Software's Virus of 1988 is a port of David Braben's original Zarch of 1987 on the Acorn Archimedes.
Sidewinder IBM PC 1988
James McBride of Synergistic Software coded Sidewinder for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1988.
Sidewinder displays in 16-color EGA 320x200. And while its playfield may seem small at 248x200, it also scrolls horizontally to a degree, not just vertically, which means Sidewinder actually features more effective screenspace than most other v-shooters.
Lombard RAC Rally IBM PC 1988
Red Rat Software released Lombard RAC Rally for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1988.
Falcon AT IBM PC 1988
Requiring an i80286 processor and 512 KB RAM, Falcon AT was released for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1988 by Sphere Inc.
F-19 Stealth Fighter IBM PC 1988
Best on "EGA".
Street Fighter 1 IBM PC 1988
James L. Hanson of Capcom Co. Ltd ported Capcom's Street Fighter coinop of 1987 to IBM PC MS-DOS in 1988.
1989
SimCity IBM PC 1989
Daniel Goldman of Maxis Software coded Will Wright's SimCity for IBM PC in 1989. Most notably, SimCity displays in glorious 16-color EGA 640x350 or MCGA monochrome 640x480. This is the EGA version:
Best on EGA.
Stunt Car Racer IBM PC 1989
Geoff Crammond's Stunt Car Racer aka Stunt Track Racer was ported to IBM PC EGA by Tim Ansell of MicroStyle in 1989. 384K RAM req. / MS-DOS 2.1.
Silpheed IBM PC 1989: Destroy Battleship Gloire & the Xacalites
Silpheed is a 1989 vector-based shoot 'em up converted from the 1986 PC-8801 original by Game Arts Co., Ltd. A rare gem in the MS-DOS shooter catalogue, Silpheed employs vector graphics from a fixed 3rd-person perspective, with movement-conveyance via a starfield.
Silpheed Weapons System (Pick-ups):
- Weapons: Forward Beam, Phalanx Beam, V-beam, Laser Cannon, Auto-aiming
- Items: Weapon Power Up, Speed Up, Automatic Fire, Set Barrier, Asteroid Belt, Destroy, Shield Advance, Invincible, Bonus Score, All Repair
DeathTrack IBM PC 1989
Developed by Dynamix in 1989, the hybrid shooter-racer DeathTrack is one of the most technically advanced and well-presented MS-DOS games of the late-80s. DeathTrack is one of the first big and fully thugged out arcade-action games on the PC.
Rendered similarly to the original MechWarrior of 1989 (which is a simulation), DeathTrack features 3D polygonal graphics for its tracks, supercars and other objects. Indeed, aside from its scrolling horizon DeathTrack is a fully 3D shooter-racer.
When running DeathTrack in 16-color EGA 320x200 an i80x86 with 512 kbytes of RAM is recommended. HDD storage required: 720 kbytes.
IBM PC original. IBM exclusive.
Robocop IBM PC 1989
Data East's RoboCop coinop of 1988 was ported to IBM PC by FACS Entertainment Software Inc. in 1989. The RoboCop movie came out in 1987.
Alien Syndrome IBM PC 1989
HSP of SEGA Enterprises Ltd. ported Sega's Alien Syndrome coinop of 1987 to IBM PC MS-DOS in 1989. The port is coded well and displayed in EGA graphics mode. Audio-visuals by Tahir Rashid.
Cabal IBM PC 1989
Wesley Hildebrandt of Interactive Designs ported TAD Corporation's Cabal coinop of 1988 to IBM PC in 1989. Cabal is a 3rd-person, fixed-screen run and gun game that displays in 16-color EGA. Graphics by Jennie Lee, music by Scott Etherton.
Sky Shark IBM PC 1989: P-90 Flying Fortress
Sky Shark of 1989 is an interesting shoot 'em up in terms of presentation and controls. For example, Sky Shark features joystick, keyboard and mouse control. In addition, it features a scripted tutorial with animations. And the scrolling is smooth enough. However, the MS-DOS port is nowhere near Taito's 1987 coinop.
Requiring 512 kbytes of RAM to run, Sky Shark runs in 16-color EGA graphics mode.
Sky Shark Weapons System (P-90): 1-7 Shots, Bomb, 1-up, Yellow Formation.
TANK: The M1 Abrams Tank Simulation IBM PC 1989
Sphere Inc. coded TANK: The M1 Abrams Tank Simulation for IBM PC in 1989. This is another highly advanced tank simulator. In fact, TANK has the most advanced 3D engine out of the lot.
Best on EGA.
Abrams Battle Tank IBM PC 1989
Dynamix coded Abrams Battle Tank for IBM PC in 1989. Abrams Battle Tank was popular in the late-80s, but ABT is more of an arcade-sim than M1. Still, ABT is quite a lot of fun even though it isn't as realistic as M1. If you just want to jump in and get blasting, this is the tank-sim for you.
Best on EGA.
Steel Thunder: American Battle Tank Simulation IBM PC 1989
Steel Thunder: American Battle Tank Simulation (Loughry, Accolade, 1988) is another good tank-sim from the late-80s, but its viewport is exceedingly small and its graphics are sprite-scaled rather than 3D flat-shaded.
Best on EGA.
Sherman M4 IBM PC 1989
Sherman M4 (Loriciel, 1989) employed flat-shaded geometry with 2D backgrounds:
Best on EGA.
Outrun IBM PC 1989
Unlimited Software Inc. released Outrun for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1989. This is a terrible arcade conversion.
Vette IBM PC 1989
Vette was developed by Sphere Inc. for IBM PC in 1989. Vette suggests GTA long before GTA.
IBM PC original. IBM exclusive.
Suzuki's RM250 Motocross IBM PC 1989
Suzuki's RM250 Motocross was coded by Piotr Lukaszuk of Dynamix for IBM PC in 1989.
IBM PC original. IBM exclusive.
MechWarrior IBM PC 1989
Dynamix released MechWarrior in 1989 for IBM PC MS-DOS.
IBM PC original. IBM exclusive.
1990
The Secret of Monkey Island IBM PC 1990
LucasFilm released The Secret of Monkey Island in Oct. 1990 for IBM PC MS-DOS. The original version of SoMI displayed in 16-color EGA 320x200. SoMI was coded by Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and David Grossman.
SoMI is notable for its writing and beautiful graphics and animation. The dialogue is well-written; at times, very funny. And the soundtrack is unforgettable as well. This game has a ton of soul.
While you don't need to be a rocket scientist to beat SoMI, some of the puzzles will call upon your ability to think logically.
SoMI features sprite-scaling and screen-scrolling. However, the scrolling is not smooth.
BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge IBM PC 1990
Westwood Associates released BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1990.
Blood Money IBM PC 1990: A Maelstrom of Sheer Destruction
Tim Ansell of Creative Assembly ported DMA Design's Blood Money to IBM PC in 1990, but neither scrolling nor sprite-shifting are smooth. Still, it's a solid conversion of what amounts to a pretty crappy shooter of Atari ST-origin.
Super Contra IBM PC 1990
Eric Freytag of Distinctive Software Inc. ported Konami's Super Contra coinop of 1988 to IBM PC in 1990. Super Contra is displayed in 16-color EGA 320x200. Choppy scrolling. Graphics by DSI Art Team.
Celica GT Rally IBM PC 1990
Gremlin Graphics released Celica GT Rally for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1990.
Railroad Tycoon IBM PC 1990
1991
Catacomb 3-D IBM PC 1991
Catacomb 3-D was released by id Software in 1991. Catacombs 3-D is notable for being the first texture-mapped computer game released.
Duke Nukem IBM PC 1991
Apogee Software's Duke Nukem was coded by Todd Replogle for IBM PC in 1991. Duke Nukem is a side-on run and gun game that scrolls both hoziontally and vertically in 8x8 blocks (as opposed to smooth per-pixel scrolling). Suffice it to say that the scrolling was awful, even in 1991 (the Amiga was hosting shooters with 50 FPS per-pixel scrolling in 1987; the C64 in 1985).
However, Duke Nukem was excellently presented and pretty playable in 1991. Movement modes include firing, jumping and swinging from platforms. There are also teleporters, a grappling hook and conveyor belts.
Duke Nukem's 1 meg of graphics displays in 16-color EGA 320x200. Duke Nukem also features a dual-scrolling playfield and 360° sprite rotation.
Duke Nukem was originally spelled Duke Nukum.
IBM PC original. IBM exclusive.
Llamatron 2112 IBM PC 1991
Llamatron 2112 was ported to 808x in 1992 from the original ST/Amiga versions of 1991. Supporting 2 joysticks for Robotron-style action, Llamatron is one of the best fixed-screen shoot 'em ups ever coded.
Forgotten Worlds IBM PC 1991
Arc Developments ported Capcom's Forgotten Worlds coinop of 1988 to IBM PC in 1991. Forgotten Worlds displays in EGA 320x200 graphics mode.
1992
1993
Major Stryker IBM PC 1993
Major Stryker by Apogee Software is a vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up that displays in EGA 320x200 and requires 640 kbytes RAM. Major Stryker features good controls, three layers of parallax scrolling, digitized sounds effects and cinematization.
Major Stryker programmed by Allen Blum.
IBM PC original. IBM exclusive.
1994
1995
Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom IBM PC 1995
Pop Software's Galaga-likes Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom and Return of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom were released as Shareware in 1995. Both games feature big and colorful sprites that move smoothly around the viewport in waves.
IBM PC original. IBM exclusive.
For more info on CGA, EGA and VGA please refer to:
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