This article is divided into the following sections:
[§1.0] Hardware & Software Technologies of 1998
[§2.0] Windows 95/98
[§3.0] Genre Overview of 1998
[§3.1] RTS & RTT Games
[§3.2] Wargames & TBS Games
[§3.3] FPS Games
[§3.4] Adventure Games
[§3.5] cRPGs
[§3.6] Sports PC Games
[§3.7] Racing Games
[§3.8] Flight & Armor Sims
[§3.9] Arcade-action & Action-adventure Games
[§4.0] Best 1998 PC Games: Awards
Note that all screencaps in this article were manually taken by Lilura1 on Windows 95/98 setups (140 images packed into 10 image-assemblies).
PC Games & Hardware of 1998
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| Half-life |
This is an overview of PC games and hardware that came out in 1998.
Hardware & Software Technologies of 1998 [§1.0]
.webp "Orchid Technology Righteous 3D II Feb. 1998 (Voodoo2)")
Chronological listing by release month (the U.S. month of release is appended to each entry):
- Quantum Corporation released Fireball SE 8.4 gig hard disk drive in Jan. (5,400 RPM)
- 3Dfx Interactive released Voodoo2 PCI in Feb.
- 3Dfx released SLI Scalable Link Interface in Feb. (Voodoo2)
- Creative Labs released 3D Blaster Voodoo2 in Feb. (Voodoo2)
- Orchid Technology released Righteous 3D II in Feb. (Voodoo2)
- Microsoft released DirectX 5.2 in Feb.
- Nvidia released RIVA 128ZX PCI/AGP 2x in Feb.
- ATI Technologies released 3D Rage Pro AGP 2x in Feb.
- OpenGL ARB released OpenGL 1.2 in Mar.
- Diamond Multimedia Systems released Monster 3D II in Mar. (Voodoo2)
- Intel released Pentium II 400 MHz ("Deschutes") in Apr.
- Intel AGP 2.0 (Accelerated Graphics Port 2.0) in May
- Seagate released Cheetah 18 Ultra2 Wide SCSI 18.2 gig hard disk drive in May (10,000 RPM)
- Yamaha released Waveforce 192XG PCI in May
- AOpen released PA2000 in May (Voodoo2)
- Microsoft released Windows 98 in Jun. (FAT32, USB, AGP, DVD)
- Number Nine Visual Technology released Revolution IV in Dec. (T2R4)
- Quantum3D released Obsidian2 S-12 in Jun. (Voodoo2)
- 3Dfx Interactive released Voodoo Banshee PCI/AGP in Jun.
- Canopus released Pure3D II in Jul. (Voodoo2)
- Matrox Graphics released Millennium G200 in Jul. (MGA-G200)
- Microsoft released DirectX 6.0 in Jul. (Direct3D 6.0: SLI, bump-mapping, multi-texturing, stencil buffers, texture compression, anisotropic filtering)
- Diamond Multimedia Systems released Monster Sound M80 & MX200 in Jul.
- Nvidia released RIVA TNT aka NV4 PCI/AGP 2x in Aug.
- ASUS released AGP-V3400 in Aug. (RIVA TNT)
- ATI Technologies released Rage 128 in Aug. (D3D6)
- STB Systems released Velocity 4400 in Aug. (RIVA TNT)
- Creative Labs released Sound Blaster Live! PCI in Aug.
- Apple released the iMac G3 in Aug. (233-333 MHz G3, ATI Rage)
- Diamond Multimedia Systems released Viper V550 in Sept. (RIVA TNT)
- Creative Labs released 3D Blaster Banshee in Sept. (Voodoo Banshee)
- Creative Labs 3D Blaster RIVA TNT in Sept. (RIVA TNT)
- S3 Graphics released Savage3D AGP 2x in Sept.
- Hercules Computer Technology released Terminator BEAST in Sept. (Savage3D)
- OpenGL ARB released OpenGL 1.2.1 in Oct.
- Wicked3D released Vengeance in Nov. (Voodoo Banshee)
- Diamond Multimedia Systems released Monster Fusion in Nov. (Voodoo Banshee)
- Diamond Multimedia Systems released Monster Sound MX300 in Nov.
- Phase 5 Digital Products released the CyberStorm MKIII for Amiga in Dec.
The above enumeration makes plain the dominance of 3Dfx and Nvidia in the 3D chipset market of 1998; respectively, Voodoo2 and RIVA.
For much of 1997 4 megs of onboard vRAM was standard, with 8 megs basically needed by late-97. However, in 1998 12 megs was standard and 32 megs was available on some video cards by late-98.
Game developers and 3D hardware manufacturers of 1998 pushed 800x600 as the standard resolution harder than their 1997 counterparts did, but most PC gamers were still playing the vast majority of games at 640x480 in 1998. Even FPS games were often driven at only 640x480, with higher-end systems driving them at 1024x768 or over and above 1600x1200. However, a few PC games of 1998 would not even begin their installation procedure unless the desktop resolution was set to 800x600.
They wanted to increase the number of on-screen pixels (screen resolution) in order to showcase the increase in color-depth (number of on-screen colors), geometric complexity (number of polygons) and texture-mapping detail.
In PC DOS gaming square-pixel 640x480 had been the hires standard since 1994; 640x400 since 1989; 640x350 since 1985. I mention this because hires screen modes are often falsely attributed to the Windows era; indeed, much of that which is attributed to the Windows era actually originated in the DOS era; my 1995 article proved that.
cRPG History outlines the negative impact that higher fidelities (>640x480) had on hand-drawn 2D graphics. However, the main point made there is that per-pixel graphicians were bored or overwhelmed by the pixel-counts and color-depths of higher fidelities as well as by the super-scaling of art assets: thus, the preference for pre-rendered 2D that sped-up workflow but came at the cost of visual soul.
Because no 3D game or pre-rendered 2D game can match hand-drawn 2D graphics in terms of soul. When every pixel is hand-placed, when every color is carefully chosen, when every action is animated one frame at a time -- that is, when the drawing process is largely unautomated -- the artistry of the individual graphician shines through more brightly than it does in 3D.
Even though 2D visuals are often abstractions of realistic representations, whose backdrops and animations were nonetheless more life-like or natural; whose expressed the Ideas more profoundly -- Pixar's 3D films or Disney's 2D cel-painted films of the Golden Age?
Windows 98 [§2.0]
The most popular PC-game operating system of 1998 was Windows 95 with DirectX 5.2, but Windows 98 was released in Jun. and DirectX 6.0 was released in Jul., thereby locking in Microsoft's dominance for the foreseeable future.
Whereas Windows 95 officially required Intel 386DX 33 MHz CPU, 4 megs of RAM and 50 megs of free hard disk space (Intel 486DX2 66 MHz and 8 megs recommended), Windows 98 officially required 486DX2 66 MHz, 16 megs of RAM and 175 megs of free hard disk space (Pentium and 24 megs recommended).
It did not matter all that much that the data/memory footprint of Windows 98 was greater than that of 95 because hardware was scaling and cheapening more or less in proportion to the bloat.
Enthusiast-level gamers of 1998 had Pentium II 450 MHz CPUs, 256 megs of PC-100 SDRAM and several gigs of free hard disk drive space. Thus, what do Windows 98 requirements matter to them.
On the flip-side, if you only had a system that met Windows 98 requirements you would almost certainly notice in-game performance hits upon "upgrading" to 98 from 95; in the vast majority of cases physical memory had run out and the hard disk drive was working over-time to compensate via virtual memory.
Anyway, the average gamer felt no pressing need to upgrade from 95 to 98 since (to give an extreme example) even DirectX 8.0a of Jan. of 2001 could be installed on an updated 95 installation; that is: Windows Desktop Upgrade of Internet Explorer 4.0 of Sept. of 1997 or Windows 95 OSR2.5 of Nov. of 1997 (cf. 1997 footnote 1).
Upgrading to Windows 98 was largely incidental: moving up from a Seagate 3.2 gig hard disk drive to a 6.4 gig one? Might as well install Windows 98 on it. That will give you support for FAT32, USB, AGP and DVD, afterall.
PC Game Genre Overview of 1998 [§3.0]
The PC-game catalogue of 1998 spawned several super-franchises that would endure for two to three decades via sequels and/or engine-reapplication; namely, Half-life, Unreal, StarCraft and Rainbow Six.
1998 was just as bent on scaling, pseudo-individualizing, and pushing 3D chipsets as 1997 was; indeed, moreso. Nonetheless, as was the case in the previous year exceptional games were released for most genre. The strongest PC genre of 1998 was FPS; the weakest, arcade-action.
In the 1997 article I appended (DOS) and (Win) to each entry. Now, an unappended entry indicates a Windows game release by default since almost all games of 1998 are for Windows 95/98, not DOS. If a game is appended with NT 4.0, it is also available for Windows 95/98.
RTT & RTS PC Games 1998 [§3.1]
Note how the RTS genre continued to expand in 1998:
- Jan.: Dark Colony: Council Wars by Alternative Reality Technologies
- Feb.: Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds by Rage Software
- Mar.: Dark Reign: Rise of the Shadowhand by Auran Development, Star Wars: Rebellion by Coolhand Interactive (DX5), StarCraft by Blizzard Entertainment
- Apr.: Anno 1602: Creation of a New World by Max Design, Army Men by 3DO Company (RTT), Rage of Mages by Nival Interactive, Total Annihilation: Core Contingency by Cavedog Entertainment
- May: Armor Command by Ronin Entertainment, Extreme Tactics by Media Station
- Jun.: Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines by Pyro Studios (RTT), Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3 by Ion Storm / 7th Level, M.A.X. 2: Mechanized Assault & Exploration by Interplay Productions (RTS/TBS), MechCommander by FASA Interactive (RTT), Stratosphere: Conquest of the Skies by Kodiak Interactive, Total Annihilation: Battle Tactics by Cavedog Entertainment, Seven Kingdoms: Ancient Adversaries by Enlight Software
- Jul.: Police Quest: SWAT 2 by Yosemite Entertainment (RTT)
- Aug.: Creatures 2 by Creature Labs (life-sim), WarGames by Interactive Studios
- Sept.: Caesar III by Impressions Games (C-B), Dune 2000 by Intelligent Games
- Oct.: Age of Empires: Rise of Rome by Ensemble Studios, Enemy Infestation by Micro Forté (RTT), KKND2: Krossfire by Beam Software (U.S.A.), Knights and Merchants: Shattered Kingdom by Joymania Entertainment (U.S.A.)
- Nov.: Future Cop: LAPD by EA Redwood Shores ("MOBA", TBS), Populous 3: The Beginning by Bullfrog Productions, Railroad Tycoon II by PopTop Software (C-B), Settlers III by Blue Byte (C-B)
- Dec.: Gangsters: Organized Crime by Eidos Interactive, Myth II: Soulblighter by Bungie, Rival Realms by Activ Pub Studios, StarCraft: Brood War by Blizzard Entertainment
- Release month as yet unknown: Earth 2140: Mission Pack 1 and Earth 2140: Mission Pack 2 - Final Conflict by Reality Pump Studios, Syndicate+ by R-Comp Interactive (Acorn A5000 / RISC PC / Arm3)
RTT = Real-time tactics
C-B = city-builder/misc-builder
StarCraft was a huge release for the genre in itself, but RTS gamers of 1998 also got one expansion each for StarCraft, Age of Empires, Dark Reign and Dark Colony as well as two expansions each for Earth 2140 and Total Annihilation. Plus, they got a sequel to KKnD.
If gamers didn't burn out on RTS games in 1997, they probably would have in 1998. I personally burned out at Brood War.
There were no new Command & Conquer games in 1998 because Westwood Studios were busy developing Tiberian Sun of 1999. Still, Command & Conquer of 1995-97 was heavily played in 1998. Indeed, Westwood released Command & Conquer: Worldwide Warfare five-release compilation on 7x CD-ROM in 1998.
In 1998 Bullfrog's Populous shifted to fully-3D via Populous 3 whereas The Settlers went from hand-drawn to pre-rendered graphics via Settlers III. Populous had not received a sequel in eight years, Railroad Tycoon in nine. Thus, both were a welcome blast from the past in 1998.
Wargames & TBS/TBT Games of 1998 [§3.2]
- Feb.: Semper Fi by Stanley Associates
- Mar.: Aide de Camp 2 by Scott Hamilton, Great Battles of Caesar by Erudite Software
- Apr.: Incubation: The Wilderness Missions by Blue Byte (TBT)
- May: Soldiers at War by Random Games (TBT)
- Jun.: CyberStorm 2: Corporate Wars aka MissionForce 2 by Dynamix (TB, RT), Norm Koger's Operational Art of War I 1939–1955 by TalonSoft
- Aug.: Chessmaster 6000 by Mindscape, Warlords III: Darklords Rising by Strategic Studies Group
- Sept.: Panzer General: People's General by SSI
- Oct.: Axis & Allies by Meyer Glass Interactive, 101: Airborne Invasion of Normandy by Interactive Simulations
- Nov.: Lego Chess by Krisalis Software, Tom Clancy's ruthless.com by Red Storm Entertainment, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate by Random Games (TBT), West Front by TalonSoft
- Dec.: Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition by MicroProse Software, Great Battles Collector's Edition by Erudite Software, Svea Rike II by Target Games
(TBT = Turn-based Tactics.)
The picks of that pack are Target's Svea Rike II , Erudite's Caesar and TalonSoft's Operational Art of War. S. Hamilton's Aide de Camp 2 is an grognard-level universal boardgame (and wargame) conversion and PBEM assistance utility whose origin is Aide de Camp of 1993 on DOS.
That is of course no surprise since everything in Windows gaming comes from DOS -- everything except the normie. The normie was a new addition to PC gaming; they feared DOS due to CLI but embraced Windows due to GUI.
FPS & Tactical Shooters of 1998 [§3.3]
- Feb.: Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Mysteries of the Sith by LucasArts (DX5)
- Apr.: Spec Ops: Rangers Lead the Way by Zombie Studios (T-S, 3rd-person)
- May: Quake 2: Reckoning by Xatrix Entertainment (Mission Pack 1), Unreal by Epic MegaGames (DX5)
- Jun.: Quake by clickBOOM/PXL (Amiga)
- Jul.: NAM by TNT Team (DOS)
- Aug.: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six by Red Storm Entertainment (T-S)
- Sept.: Quake 2: Ground Zero by Rogue Entertainment (Mission Pack 2)
- Oct.: Blood II: Chosen by Monolith Productions, Delta Force by NovaLogic, Quake: The Offering by id Software (DOS/Win), Shogo: Mobile Armor Division by Monolith Productions, Star Trek: Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard by MicroProse
- Nov.: Half-Life by Valve, Heretic II by Raven Software, SiN by Ritual Entertainment
- Dec.: Thief: Dark Project by Looking Glass Studios, Starsiege Tribes by Dynamix
- Release month as yet unknown: Doom+ by R-Comp Interactive (Acorn StrongArm 4 / Arm3 RISC PC)
T-S = tactical shooter.
The FPS catalogue of 1998 is strong; the strongest PC genre of 1998 in terms of quality. Not only did FPS gamers get two Quake 2 Mission Packs and The Offering Quake compilation, but they also got Half-life, Unreal and Thief.
GoldSrc Half-life by Valve would lead to GoldSrc Team Fortress, Opposing Force and Blue Shift of 1999-2001 as well as Src1 Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike and Troika's VtMB of 2004 followed by Garry's Mod of 2006 and Valve's Portal of 2007 and Left 4 Dead of 2008.
In addition to Unreal Tournament of 1999 Epic MegaGames' Unreal Engine would most notably power Ion Storm's Deus Ex of 2000, EA's Clive Barker's Undying of 2001 and the first two Harry Potter games by KnowWonder (2001-02). The Unreal Engine is now in its fifth iteration (2022), with a sixth in development as of 2026.
Also, Red Storm's Rainbow Six brought tactical shooters to the mainstream and triggered a six-game series (1998-2008), nine Ghost Recon releases (2001-19) and six Splinter Cell releases (2002-13); most of them developed by Ubi Soft and subdivisions thereof.
Looking Glass Studios' Thief is a first-person stealth game that I am quite fond of; indeed it is one of my fave stealth games. Thief's Dark Engine most notably powered System Shock 2 of 1999 and Thief 2: Metal Age of 2000 (two more King-tier games).
Adventure Games of 1998 [§3.4]
- Feb.: Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time by Presto Studios (Mac/Win), Tex Murphy: Overseer by Access Software, Black Dahlia by Take-Two Interactive
- Apr.: Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy by Tribal Dreams, Sanitarium by DreamForge Intertainment (DX5)
- May: Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time DVD-ROM by Presto Studios (Mac OS)
- Jun.: X-Files Game by HyperBole Studios
- Jul.: Hopkins FBI by MP Entertainment
- Sept.: Amazon Trail 3rd Edition Rainforest Adventures by MECC, Enemy Zero by Sega PC, Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time DVD-ROM by Presto Studios (Win), Lightbringer: The Next Giant Leap for Mankind aka Cydonia: Mars - The First Manned Mission by Aneiva Interactive, Morpheus by Soap Bubble Productions
- Oct.: Grim Fandango by LucasArts, Ring: Legend of the Nibelungen by Arxel Tribe
- Nov.: John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles Adventure in Terror by Legend Entertainment, King's Quest VIII: Mask of Eternity by Sierra Studios, Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill by HeR Interactive
- Release month as yet unknown: Ankh: The Tales of Mystery by Artex Software (Acorn Archimedes)
HeR Interactive's first Nancy Drew game spawned a 34-game series that would endure for 26 years.
Sadly, Blackstone Chronicles of Nov. turned out to be Legend Entertainment's final adventure game (1990-98); instead, they would develop FPS games from 1999-2003.
In addition, Access Software released their 5th and final Tex Murphy adventure game (origin in Mean Streets of 1989 on DOS), LucasArts released their 12th (origin in Maniac Mansion of 1987 on C64), and Legend Entertainment released their 13th (origin in Spellcasting 101 of 1990 on DOS).
Also, playing Black Isle's Planescape: Torment in 1999 evoked DreamForge's Sanitarium of 1998.
King's Quest VIII: Mask of Eternity was Sierra's 8th and final King's Quest game; it was also the first fully 3D King's Quest game. And the final King's Quest game. Thus did the era of Sierra scribble-slop spam finally came to an end -- one that I applauded.
In terms of distribution media Take Two's Black Dahlia was distributed on 8x CD-ROM and X-Files was distributed on 7x CD-ROM whereas Journeyman Project 3 was distributed on 4x CD-ROM or 1x DVD-ROM (Mac/Win). Note that DVD-ROM was released in the U.S. in March of 1997.
Note also that Sierra On-Line's Phantasmagoria of 1995 on DOS was distributed on 7x CD-ROM. Thus, multi-CD cinematized games were nothing new at all.
cRPGs of 1998 [§3.5]
- Jan.: Descent to Undermountain by Interplay
- Feb.: Exile: Blades of Exile by Spiderweb Software
- Apr.: Dink Smallwood by Robinson Technologies, Might and Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven by New World Computing
- Jun.: Final Fantasy VII by Eidos Interactive
- Sept.: Hexplore by Heliovisions Productions
- Oct.: Fallout 2 by Black Isle Studios, Ultima Online: The Second Age by Origin Systems
- Nov.: Return to Krondor by PyroTechnix, Nethergate by Spiderweb Software (Mac)
- Dec.: Baldur's Gate by BioWare, Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire by Yosemite Entertainment
The two most important cRPG releases of 1998 were BioWare's Baldur's Gate and Black Isle's Fallout 2; in fact, they are two of the best cRPGs ever made. With a full install size of 2.3 gigs Baldur's Gate is also the biggest non-FMV game of 1998 that could be installed to hard disk drive.
My writings on both Fallout and Baldur's Gate have been read for over a decade, so I don't need to say too much more on them here. Thus, I direct readers to Baldur's Gate in History and Fallout in History for their respective technical and mechanical merits, which far surpass other cRPGs of the decade.
The release of Fallout of 1997 and Fallout 2 and Baldur's Gate of 1998 set the foundation for the real cRPG (most pre-Fallout cRPGs are not actually true cRPGs). The cRPG genre had been the weakest classic PC genre throughout the 80s and early 90s (e.g., SSI's AD&D slop spam), but Diablo, Fallout and Baldur's Gate changed that for several years before the cRPG dropped back to being the worst classic PC genre by reason of the demise of Troika in Sept. of 2005 (Troika being of Fallout pedigree).
Final Fantasy VII was the first Final Fantasy game to be released on PC. VIII was released for PC in 2000, but many more would be released and remade in the 2010s and 2020s.
Note that Dink Smallwood screen-scrolling is what I call "flip-screen, catch-up" scrolling, which was pretty pathetic for 1997 when one considers what the Amiga was doing in 1987 via Faery Tale Adventure.
Sports PC Games of 1998 [§3.6]
- Feb.: F.A. Premier League Football Manager 99 aka FIFA Soccer Manager 99 by EA UK
- Mar.: Triple Play 99 by EA Canada
- Apr.: Golf Pro: Featuring Gary Player by Empire Interactive, HardBall 6 by MindSpan, High Heat Baseball 1999 by Team .366
- May: Actua Golf 2 aka Fox Sports Golf '99 by Gremlin Interactive, Actua Soccer 2 aka Fox Sports Soccer '99 by Gremlin Interactive, Jack Nicklaus Online Golf Tour by Hypnos Entertainment
- Jun.: Adidas Power Soccer 98 by Shen Technologies
- Jul.: 3D Ultra MiniGolf Deluxe by Dynamix, Game, Net & Match! by Media Games, Microsoft Baseball 3D 1998 Edition by Microsoft & WizBang! Software
- Aug.: Peter Jacobsen's Golden Tee 3D Golf by Incredible Technologies
- Sept.: Madden NFL 99 by Stormfront Studios, NCAA Football 99 by EA Tiburon, NHL 99 by EA Canada
- Aug.: Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf by Adrenalin Entertainment
- Sept.: Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling by Adrenaline Entertainment, NFL GameDay 99 by Red Zone Interactive
- Oct.: Backyard Soccer by Humongous Entertainment, Front Office Football by Solecismic Software, LINKS LS 1999 by Access Software
- Nov.: NBA Live 99 by EA Canada, Sierra Sports: Skiing 1999 Edition by Sierra On-Line
- Dec.: FIFA 99 by EA Canada
In 1998 EA Canada hit its stride by developing FIFA 99, NBA Live 99, NHL 99 and Triple Play 99; in other words, four of the five biggest sports-game franchises in the world (Madden NFL being the other). EA Canada would go on to develop a FIFA game for PC each and every year for the next 24 years.
The LINKS golf franchise having been immoveably established since 1990, Adrenalin's Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf was nonetheless one of the most important sports game releases of 1998; it spawned a 14-game series that would endure for as many years. Adrenalin also released three add-ons for it in 1998: Tournament Courses, TPC Courses and Vegas Courses. That alone exhausted even the most dedicated golf-sim fan. Even so, LINKS LS retained its crown as the best golf-sim franchise on PC.
Racing Games of 1998 [§3.7]
- Feb.: Interstate '76 Nitro Pack by Activision, Sega Touring Car Championship by Sega PC (DX5)
- Mar.: Burnout: Championship Drag Racing by MediaTech West (DOS), Castrol HONDA SuperBike World Champions by Intense Simulations Entertainment & Interactive Entertainment, Redline Racer aka Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing by Criterion Games, VR Sports: Powerboat Racing by Promethean Designs
- Apr.: Hard Truck: Road to Victory by SoftLab-NSK
- May: Monster Truck Madness 2 by Terminal Reality
- Jun.: Crime Killer by ExtremeFX Pixelogic, Formula 1 97 by Bizarre Creations
- Aug.: Motocross Madness by Rainbow Studios
- Sept.: Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit by EA Seattle (DX5)
- Oct.: Colin McRae Rally by Codemasters, Grand Prix Legends by Papyrus Design Group
- Nov.: Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now by Stainless Games, DethKarz by Beam Software, Speed Busters: American Highways by Ubi Soft Montreal, Test Drive 5 by Pitbull Syndicate, Test Drive Off-Road 2 aka Test Drive 4X4 by Pitbull Syndicate, Viper Racing by Monster Games
- Dec.: Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Driver by Semi Logic Entertainments, NASCAR Racing 1999 Edition by Papyrus Design Group, Powerslide by Ratbag Games
Papyrus Design Group's Grand Prix Legends is the standout racing sim of 1998; it is a crowning achievement that rivals Crammond's masterpiece, F1GP. Also released in Oct., Colin McRae Rally developed into a seven-game series that spanned 1998-2009.
The two Test Drive releases by Pitbull have their origin in Distinctive Software's Test Drive of 1987.
VR Sports: Powerboat Racing supported a 4-way split-screen display for multi-player: a rarity on the network-capable PC.
Flight & Armor Sims of 1998 [§3.8]
- Mar.: iPanzer '44 by Charybdis Enterprises, Jane's F-15 by EA Baltimore (DX5), M1 Tank Platoon II by MicroProse Software
- Apr.: MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat - Titanium Trilogy by Activision Studios
- May: Panzer Commander by Ultimation (DX5)
- Jun.: Descent FreeSpace - The Great War by Volition (Win/NT 4.0)
- Jul.: JetFighter: Full Burn by Mission Studios Corporation
- Aug.: iF/A-18E Carrier Strike Fighter by Interactive Magic
- Sept.: Jane's IAF Israeli Air Force by Pixel Multimedia (DX5)
- Oct.: Enemy Engaged: Apache vs Havoc by Razorworks, Descent: FreeSpace - Silent Threat by Volition, Red Baron 3-D by Dynamix
- Nov.: European Air War by MicroProse, Jane's World War II Fighters by Electronic Arts (DX5), Sierra Pro Pilot '99 by Dynamix
- Dec.: F-16 Aggressor by General Simulations, F-22 Total Air War by Digital Image Design, Falcon 4.0 by MicroProse Alameda, Luftwaffe Commander: WWII Combat Flight Simulator by Eagle Interactive
- Release month as yet unknown: Descent by R-Comp Interactive (Acorn StrongArm / Arm710 RISC PC)
Flight sim-wise, Falcon 4.0 did not excite me as much as Falcon 3.0 of 1991 did (never again could a flight sim impress that much), but the Jane's label graced us with three top-tier releases and Volition's Descent FreeSpace was king-tier; its origin in Descent of 1995 -- but it is conceptually far superior to Descent.
Note also the sequel to M1 Tank Platoon of 1989: our third blast from the past for 1998.
Arcade Games of 1998 [§3.9]
By arcade games, I am referring to traditional arcade-action games aka coinop-style games (such as shooters, platformers and versus fighters) as well as to general action-adventure games. Racing games and FPS games are covered above, in their own sections.
- Jan.: DemonStar by Mountain King Studios (2D SHMUP)
- Feb.: Star Trek Pinball by Interplay Entertainment
- Mar.: Battlezone by Activision, Die by the Sword by Treyarch, Swarm by Reflexive Entertainment 1998 (2D SHMUP)
- Apr.: Battle Arena Toshinden 2 by Kinesoft, Cabela's Big Game Hunter by Elsinore Multimedia, Forsaken by Probe Entertainment (DX5)
- May: Jazz Jackrabbit 2 by Epic MegaGames (2D platformer)
- Jun.: Ian Livingstone's Deathtrap Dungeon by Asylum Studios (3D platformer)
- Jul.: Heart of Darkness by Amazing Studio (Win, DX5, NT 4.0 SP3) (2D cinematic platformer)
- Aug.: Get Medieval by Monolith Productions (DX5) (2D SHMUP)
- Nov.: Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard by Bethesda Softworks (3D hack n slash), Oddworld 2: Abe's Exoddus by Digital Dialect (2D platformer), Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft by Core Design (3D platformer)
- Sept.: Cabela's Big Game Hunter II by Elsinore Multimedia, Die by the Sword: Limb from Limb by Treyarch (3D hack n slash), House of the Dead by Tantalus Interactive, Return Fire 2 by Silent Software
- Oct.: Deer Hunter II: Hunt Continues by Sunstorm Interactive, Lode Runner 2 by Presage Software (Mac/Win) (platformer), Montezuma's Return! by Utopia Technologies (U.S.A.), Trespasser by DreamWorks Interactive
- Nov.: Lego Creator by Superscape, Lego Loco by Intelligent Games
- Dec.: 3D Ultra NASCAR Pinball by Dynamix, Asghan: The Dragon Slayer by Silmarils (3D hack n slash), DX-Ball 2 by Longbow Games (block-breaker), Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D by Factor 5 / LucasArts
- Release month as yet unknown: Abuse by Crack Dot Com (Amiga), Abuse by R-Comp Interactive (Acorn Arm710 / StrongArm RISC PC), Axia by Dungeon Dwellers Design (DOS) (SHMUP), Final Impact by Brainbug Productions (DOS)
In addition, Reflexive's Swarm of Mar. was a polished Asteroids-like with smooth mouse control, pre-rendered graphics and professional presentation.
Also, Deathtrap Dungeon of Jun. is a Tomb Raider-like whereas Die by the Sword of Mar. (which received the Limb for Limb expansion in Sept.) and Asghan: Dragon Slayer of Dec. are of the 3D hack n slash genre.
Note Factor 5's Rogue Squadron 3D; such a far cry from 2D Turrican of 1990.
Note Factor 5's Rogue Squadron 3D; such a far cry from 2D Turrican of 1990.
Bethesda's Redguard XnGine engine did things for which Bethesda's Morrowind NetImmerse engine is falsely celebrated a full four years before. Moreover, Redguard does not lag during exploration because its engine was not dumbed down for the Xbox.
Just another reason Morrowind is overrated.
Best 1998 PC Games: Awards [§4.0]
BioWare's Baldur's Gate is the best PC game of 1998. Baldur's Gate wins best cRPG, best 2D game and best user interface of 1998. For more on the merits of Baldur's Gate please consult Baldur's Gate in History.
- Best FPS of 1998: Unreal
- Best Tactical Shooter of 1998: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
- Best Adventure Game of 1998: John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles
- Best Flight Sim of 1998: Descent: FreeSpace - The Great War
- Best RTS game of 1998: StarCraft
- Best RTT game of 1998: MechCommander
- Best wargame of 1998: Operational Art of War
- Best MMORPG of 1998: Ultima Online: The Second Age
- Best Stealth game of 1998: Thief: Dark Project
- Most atmospheric game of 1998: Thief: Dark Project
- Best sound-effects employment of 1998: Thief: Dark Project
- Best 2D shooter of 1998: Get Medieval
- Best Racing sim of 1998: Grand Prix Legends
- Best Sports sim of 1998: LINKS LS 1999
- Best Platformer of 1998: Tomb Raider III
- Best 3D graphics of 1998: Unreal
- Best 2D graphics of 1998: StarCraft
- Best soundtrack of 1998: StarCraft
- Best 3D game of 1998: Unreal