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This article is divided into the following sections:

[§1.0] Hardware & Software Technologies of 1999

[§2.0] APIs of 1999

[§3.0] Genre Overview of 1999

[§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 1999 PC Games: Awards

Note that all screencaps in this article were manually taken by Lilura1 on Windows 95/98 setups (118 images packed into 9 image-assemblies).

PC Games & Hardware of 1999

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

This is an overview of PC games and hardware that came out in 1999.

Hardware & Software Technologies of 1999 [§1.0]

Chronological listing by release month (the U.S. month of release is appended to each entry):

Microsoft released DirectX 6.1 in Jan. (Direct3D 6.0)
Intel released Pentium III Katmai 450 MHz in Feb.
Microsoft released Internet Explorer 5.0 in Mar.
3Dfx Interactive released Voodoo3 1000 AGP 2x in Mar.
Nvidia released RIVA TNT2 aka NV5 PCI/AGP 4x in Mar. (D3D6, OGL 1.2)
Nvidia released RIVA TNT2 Ultra AGP 4x in Mar.
S3 Graphics released Savage4 AGP 4x in Mar.
Rad Games Tools released Bink Video in Mar. (FMV)
3Dfx Interactive released Voodoo3 2000 PCI/AGP 2x in Apr.
3Dfx Interactive released Voodoo3 3000 PCI/AGP 2x in Apr.
Intel released Pentium III Katmai 550 MHz in May.
Hercules Computer Technology released Dynamite TNT2 Ultra in May (TNT2 Ultra)
Creative Labs released 3D Blaster TNT2 Ultra in May (TNT2 Ultra)
AMD released Athlon M1 K7 500-600 MHz in Jun.
Microsoft released Windows 98SE in Jun.
3Dfx Interactive released Voodoo3 3500 in Jun.
3Dfx Interactive released Velocity 100 AGP 2x in Jul.
Diamond Multimedia Systems released Stealth III in Jul. (S3 Savage4)
Diamond Multimedia Systems released Viper V770 Jul. (RIVA TNT2)
Falcon Northwest released Xentor 32 SE TNT2 Ultra in Aug. (TNT2 Ultra)
ATI Technologies released 3D Rage 128 Pro AGP 4x in Aug. (D3D6, OGL 1.2)
AMD released Athlon M1 K7 650 MHz in Aug.
Intel released Pentium III Katmai 600 MHz B in Sept.
Microsoft released DirectX 7.0 in Sept.
Matrox released Millennium G400 AGP 4x in Sept. (D3D6)
Nvidia released GeForce 256 aka NV10 PCI/AGP 4x in Oct. (D3D7, OGL 1.2.1 T&L)
AMD released Athlon M1 K7 700 MHz in Oct.
Creative Labs released 3D Blaster Annihilator in Oct.
Intel released Pentium III Coppermine 550-733 MHz in Oct.
AMD released Athlon M2 K75 550-750 MHz in Nov.
S3 Graphics released Savage 2000 AGP 4x in Nov. (D3D7, S3 T&L)
Creative Labs released 3D Blaster Annihilator Pro in Dec.
Microsoft released DirectX 7.0a in Dec.
Intel released Pentium III Coppermine 750-800 MHz in Dec.

At this point, I think it is worth noting that playing Quake in 1996 was just as much fun as playing Quake III in 1999; indeed, I would say that it was more amazing because the difference between Quake and Doom was far greater than the difference between Quake III and Quake. And this is true of many ground-breaking games versus their incrementations: colors, resolutions, poly-counts and audio quality, yeah, they go up, but the gameplay -- it remains largely the same.

Quake was great not just because of id Software; it was great because its release coincided with revolutionary hardware becoming stock-standard at the consumer-level; the entire industry was charged; the atmosphere electric for gamers; the perfect storm.

Of course, there are indeed hardware advances that objectively improve certain game-types. Just to give one example that I hope will be easy to take onboard: 640x480 could be called God's resolution; 256-from-4096 colors, the palette of the Gods. That display mode coupled with the hardware mouse cursor -- it really made a big difference to many PC game-types, especially those that relied on displaying lots of stats and dialogue on-screen simultaneously. IBM had that going back to 1984, and PC games were employing such by 1994. But after that revolution, revert to incrementation: color-depth goes up, resolution goes up -- but the game-type didn't get better; the gameplay didn't get better.

That 1997 PC of mine was playing the latest games last year without issues, but this year the new games are running like slideshows. What happened? Simple: the resolution, color-depth and poly-count of the games went up; they are intertwined. Now I need a faster CPU, more RAM, a bigger hard disk drive, and a better video card; indeed, I may need a new mobo, a new box, a new monitor: a new PC. And yet the new games themselves were usually no better than the old ones -- but needed twice the power and memory to run. Rinse repeat.

Upgrading PCs can be fun (especially when you DIY), keeping apace with the latest and greatest games can be fun as well, but eventually it gets old. And gamers get older and wiser. At that point the veil is pierced and the older gamers stay with the old and ignore the new -- because the new is deemed by them to be naught but replay.

APIs of 1999 [§2.0]

The most popular PC-game operating system of 1999 was Windows 98 with DirectX 6.1-7.0.

In 1999, and as it pertains to PC games and APIs, Microsoft's Direct3D (origin in RenderMorphics' Reality Lab of 1992) gained some serious ground against 3Dfx Glide (1995) and SGI OpenGL (1992).

Nvidia's RIVA TNT chipset of Mar. of 1999 supported both D3D 6.0 and OGL 1.2 APIs, but it could not drive 3Dfx Glide games: a big disadvantage in 1999 since many older 3D games were not only Glide-only, but also still actively played. Thus, RIVA TNT was "future-proof" on the API-level (in retrospect), but it could not be "past-compliant" since Glide was 3Dfx's proprietary API.

That said, serious gamers had primary and secondary video cards slotted; that is, RIVA TNT2 in one slot, Voodoo2 in the other. But this had been true since the advent of 3D-only chipsets such as Voodoo1 (because you needed 2D acceleration for 2D games and GUIs).

Naturally, Microsoft-backed games were instrumental in pushing Direct3D to the forefront. D3D and the industry-standard OpenGL were the future of 3D APIs, not Glide or other chipset-specific APIs. On the other hand, API standarization leads to lack of individuation.

PC Game Genre Overview of 1999 [§3.0]

The PC-game catalogue of 1999 is highlighted by two masterpieces:

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri of Feb. by Firaxis (4X TBS)
Jagged Alliance 2 of Jul. by Sir-Tech (cRPG, TBT)

In addition, two big MMORPGs would attempt to dethrone Ultima Online of 1997: Verant's EverQuest of Mar. and Turbine's Asheron's Call of Nov.; both of which would officially endure for almost two decades.

EverQuest and Asheron's Call aside, the PC-game catalogue of 1999 did not originate much in the way of super-franchises; instead, preexisting franchises were incremented via sequels, and some great standalone games came out that would never get sequels but would in retrospect become cult classics.

Genre-wise, RTS was strongest in 1999, followed by FPS and flight, sports and racing sims.

RTS & RTT PC Games 1999 [§3.1]

Jan.: Black Moon Chronicles by Cryo Interactive (RTT)
Feb.: SimCity 3000 by Maxis (C-B) (Win/NT 4.0), Railroad Tycoon II: The Second Century by PopTop Software (C-B), Railroad Tycoon II: Conquer 3 Continents by PopTop Software
Mar.: Army Men II by 3DO Company (RTT), Jane's Fleet Command by Sonalysts (RTT), RollerCoaster Tycoon by Chris Sawyer Productions (C-B), Warzone 2100 by Pumpkin Studios
Apr.: The Settlers III: Mission CD by Blue Byte (C-B)
May: Alien Nations by Neo Software, Machines: Wired for War by Charybdis
Jun.: Dungeon Keeper II by Bullfrog Productions, Total Annihilation: Kingdoms by Cavedog Entertainment
Jul.: Braveheart by Red Lemon Studio, Rage of Mages II: Necromancer by Nival Interactive
Aug.: Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun by Westwood Studios, Force 21 by Red Storm Entertainment
Sept.: Age of Empires II: Age of Kings by Ensemble Studios, Cutthroats: Terror on the High Seas by Hothouse Creations, Homeworld by Relic Entertainment, MechCommander: Desperate Measures by FASA Interactive, Railroad Tycoon II: Gold Edition by PopTop Software
Oct.: Army Men: Toys in Space by 3DO Company (RTT), Settlers III: Quest of the Amazons by Blue Byte (C-B), Seven Kingdoms II: Fryhtan Wars by Enlight Software, Shadow Company: Left for Dead by Sinister Games (RTT), Swarm Assault by Gate 5 Creations
Nov.: Creatures 3 by Creature Labs (life-sim), Horde: Northern Wind by 7th BitLabs, Pharaoh by Impressions Games (C-B), RollerCoaster Tycoon: Added Attractions by Chris Sawyer Productions, Sim Theme Park aka Theme Park World by Bullfrog Productions

RTT = Real-time tactics

C-B = city-builder/misc-builder

In 1999 the RTS genre received a massive boost -- one it did not need -- from a top-line trio consisting of Westwood's Tiberian Sun of Aug. and Relic's Homeworld and Ensemble's Age of Empires II of Sept.

Homeworld was the first successful and high-quality RTS game whose action was depicted fully in real-time 3D. However, since its controls involved cam-wrangling it was slower and more cumbersome to play than its 2D counterparts. That said, it was a good RTS game nonetheless.

If you had played Westwood's Dune 2 back in 1992, you may have burned out on RTS by now and decided that TBS was more your pace. Speaking of which...

Wargames & TBS/TBT Games of 1999 [§3.2]

Jan.: Battleground 9: Chickamauga by TalonSoft, Close Combat III: The Russian Front by Atomic Games, Worms 2: Armageddon by Team 17 (TBT)
Feb.: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri by Firaxis Games
Mar.: Battle of Britain by TalonSoft, Heroes of Might & Magic III: Restoration of Erathia by New World Computing, Imperialism II: Age of Exploration by Frog City Software
Apr.: Civilization: Call to Power by Activision, Malkari by iMagic Labs
May: Star Trek: Next Generation - Birth of the Federation by MicroProse Alameda
Jun.: Fighting Steel by Divide By Zero Software, Operational Art of War II: Modern Battles 1956–2000 by TalonSoft
Jul.: Warhammer 40,000 Rites of War by DreamForge Intertainment
Aug.: Civilization II: Test of Time MicroProse Hunt Valley Studio
Nov.: Age of Wonders by Triumph Studios / Epic MegaGames, Axis & Allies: Iron Blitz by Meyer Glass Interactive
Aug.: Chessmaster 7000 by Mindscape
Sept.: Disciples: Sacred Lands by Strategy First, Gorky 17 aka Odium by Metropolis Software (TBT), Heroes of Might & Magic III: Armageddon's Blade by New World Computing, Panzer General 3D Assault by SSI
Oct.: King of Dragon Pass by A Sharp (Mac/Win), North vs. South: Great American Civil War by Erudite Software
Nov.: 12 O'Clock High: Bombing the Reich by TalonSoft
Dec.: Close Combat IV: Battle of the Bulge by Atomic Games, Sid Meier's Antietam! by Firaxis Games (R-T)
Month of release as yet unknown: Panzer Campaigns: Smolensk '41 by John Tiller Software (TBS)

(TBT = Turn-based Tactics.)

The standout TBS release of 1999 was by far and away Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri of Feb. by Firaxis. The origin of SMAC is Sid Meier's Civilization of 1991, the greatest of all strategy games. Had it not been for the release of Sir-Tech's Jagged Alliance 2 I would have awarded SMAC best game of 1999 without a second thought.

Operational Art of War II was the best wargame of 1999 (the first installment was the best wargame of 1998 as well).

FPS & Tactical Shooters of 1999 [§3.3]

Jan.: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Eagle Watch by Red Storm Entertainment (T-S)
Feb.: SiN: Wages of Sin by 2015 Inc., Turok 2: Seeds of Evil by Sculptured Software
Apr.: Half-Life: Team Fortress Classic by Valve
Mar.: South Park by Iguana Entertainment
May: Aliens Versus Predator by Rebellion Developments, Unreal Mission Pack I: Return to Na Pali by Legend Entertainment
Jun.: Heavy Gear II by Activision (Mecha), Kingpin: Life of Crime by Xatrix Entertainment
Jul.: Quake 2 by Logicware (Mac OS)
Aug.: Blood II: Chosen - Nightmare Levels by Monolith Productions
Sept.: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 2: Rogue Spear by Red Storm Entertainment (T-S)
Nov.: Codename Eagle by Refraction Games, Delta Force 2 by NovaLogic, Half-Life: Opposing Force by Gearbox Software, Spec Ops II: Green Berets by Zombie Studios (T-S), SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle by Sierra Northwest (T-S), Unreal Tournament by Epic Games Digital Dreams, Wheel of Time by Legend Entertainment
Dec.: Quake III: Arena by id Software (id Tech 3 engine), Spec Ops II: Operation Bravo by Studios (T-S)

Legend Entertainment, who were famous for developing graphics adventure games from 1990-1998, would only release FPS games from 1999 onwards, beginning with Wheel of Time of Nov.

id Software's Quake III of Dec. was a disappointment because it was multiplayer-only. One of the reasons why Quake III was celebrated was because it featured strafe-jumping and rocket-jumping, yet the original Quake of 1996 featured strafe-jumping, rocket-jumping, circle-strafing, strafe-running, wall-hugging, zig-zagging and slope-jumping...

Adventure Games of 1999 [§3.4]

Feb.: Biosys by Jumpstart Solutions Interactive
Mar.: Amerzone: Explorer's Legacy by Microïds
Jun.: Discworld Noir by Perfect Entertainment
Oct.: Dracula: Resurrection by Index+, Faust aka Seven Games of the Soul by Arxel Tribe, Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy by Trecision / Team17 (U.S.A.)
Nov.: Atlantis II: Beyond Atlantis by Cryo Interactive, Crystal Key by Earthlight Productions, Forgotten: It Begins by Ransom Interactive, Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned by Sierra Studios, Longest Journey by Funcom, Nancy Drew 2: Stay Tuned for Danger by Her Interactive

Somewhat surprisingly the traditional adventure game was the weakest genre of 1999 (Fallout of 1997 had superseded adventure games) whereas the action-adventure genre stepped up a gear. For example, LucasArts' Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine of Nov. was an action-adventure game not a traditional Indiana Jones adventure game. Moreover, it was 3D not 2D.

To its detriment Gabriel Knight also switched to 3D in 1999, but it is still the best adventure game out of this wretched pack.

cf. History of Graphics Adventure Games.

cRPGs of 1999 [§3.5]

Mar.: EverQuest by Verant Interactive 989 Studios (MMORPG)
Apr.: UnReal World by Enormous Elk
May: Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast by BioWare
Jun.: Lands of Lore III by Westwood Studios, Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor by New World Computing
Jul.: Darkstone: Evil Reigns by Delphine Software (aRPG), Jagged Alliance 2 by Sir-Tech Canada (cRPG, TBT)
Aug.: Dark Ages by Nexon (MMORPG), Konung: Legend of the North by 1C (RUS), System Shock 2 by Looking Glass Studios (aRPG)
Sept.: Silver by Infogrames UK Spiral House (aRPG)
Oct.: Might and Magic: Millennium Edition by 3DO Company (5-game compilation)
Nov.: Asheron's Call by Turbine Entertainment Software (MMORPG), Septerra Core by Valkyrie Studios, Ultima IX: Ascension by Origin Systems
Dec.: Crusaders of Might and Magic by 3DO Company (aRPG), Planescape: Torment by Black Isle Studios, Revenant by Cinematix Studios (aRPG)

The two most important cRPG releases of 1999 were Sir-Tech's Jagged Alliance 2 of Jul. and Black Isle's Planescape: Torment of Dec. BioWare's Tales of the Sword Coast add-in expansion for Baldur's Gate was also notable due to the inclusion of Durlag's Tower.

Note that Planescape: Torment is of both Baldur's Gate and Fallout lineage; Baldur's Gate in terms of engine, Fallout in terms of reactivity. While not as significant as either PS:T remains a high-point of the genre.

aRPG-wise, System Shock 2 of Aug. by Looking Glass Studios -- driven by the Dark Engine of Thief of 1997 -- set itself up as sequel to System Shock of 1994, which was actually a first-person shooter. However, Ion Storm's Deus Ex arguably outdid SS2 by Jun. of the following year. Still, SS2 is one of the best 3D aRPGs ever made; indeed, in my estimation SS2 is second only to DEx.

MMORPG-wise, Verant's EverQuest of Mar. was the second major MMORPG to be released after Ultima Online of 1997. EverQuest received a whopping 25 expansions from 2000-2018. Turbine's Microsoft-backed Asheron's Call of Nov. was the third major MMORPG; it spanned 1999-2017.

One can only imagine the number of cRPGs that weren't made due to the popularity of MMORPGs...

So, what were cRPG fans looking forward to in 1999? Well, Icewind Dale, Diablo 2, Deus Ex, Baldur's Gate 2 and Neverwinter Nights had all been announced by their developers. And there was the possibility of a third Fallout game coming in the future. There was actually never a better time to be a cRPG fan than 1999 in terms of what had come out in the past few years (Diablo), what had just come out in 1999, and what would soon come out. Indeed, 1999 was one of the best years to be a PC gamer.

Sports PC Games of 1999 [§3.6]

Note that motorsport games are covered in the next section.

Mar.: Championship Manager 3 by Sports Interactive, Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge by Hypnos Entertainment, Triple Play 2000 by EA Canada
Apr.: High Heat Baseball 2000 by Team .366, Microsoft Baseball 2000 by WizBang! Software Productions, NBA Inside Drive by High Voltage Software
May: LINKS Extreme by Access Software, Out of the Park Baseball 99 by OotP Developments (DOS/Win)
Jun.: Actua Pool by Gremlin Interactive / Mirage Ltd, PGA Championship Golf 1999 Edition by Headgate Studios
Aug.: 3D Ultra Cool Pool by Dynamix, Madden NFL 2000 by EA Tiburon, Microsoft Football 2000 aka Microsoft International Soccer 2000 by Rage Software, Premier Manager: Ninety Nine by Dinamic Multimedia
Sept.: NHL 2000 by EA Canada
Oct.: Backyard Football by Humongous Entertainment, F.A. Premier League Football Manager 2000 aka FIFA Soccer Manager 2000 by EA UK, FIFA 2000: Major League Soccer by EA Canada, LINKS LS 2000 by Access Software, NBA Live 2000 by EA Canada
Dec.: Championship Manager: Season 99/00 by Sports Interactive
Release month as yet unknown: Brian Lara Cricket '99 aka Shane Warne Cricket '99 by Codemasters

In 1999 EA Canada repeated their 1998 franchise superfecta by developing FIFA 2000, NBA Live 2000, NHL 2000 and Triple Play 2000. Also, EA Tiburon took over development of the Madden NFL mega-franchise from Stormfront with 1999's Madden NFL 2000.

Championship Manager 3 was the first CM game to appear on Windows. Originated by Intelek on the ST/Amiga in 1992, Sports Interactive moved CM to DOS with CM2 of 1995 and then to Windows with CM3 of 1999; after which, Sports Interactive's Football Manager took over and spanned 2004-2026.

Not to be outdone, in 1999 Out of the Park Baseball would trigger a 26-game series that spanned 1999-2025.

Note also Dinamic's Premier Manager 99 of Aug. Along with Championship Manager the Premier Manager franchise also originated on ST/Amiga in 1992 (it was invented by Realms of Fantasy). The PM franchise spanned 1992-2012, but not all releases were PC-first or even available on PC.

cf. English Football Games.

Golf-wise, in 1999 Access Software released their fourth successive LINKS LS (LLS 2000) and Adrenalin released the fourth expansion for EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise of 1998, via Monterey Courses. Note that Access Software had developed the best golf sims in the world in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992 and 1996-99 (Leader Board, WC Leader Board and LINKS).

Codemaster's Brian Lara Cricket '99 for Windows is the sequel to Audiogenic's Brian Lara Cricket '96 of 1996 for DOS. Those two were the finest cricket sims of the 90s.

Racing Games of 1999 [§3.7]

Feb.: NASCAR Revolution by Stormfront Studios
Mar.: Rollcage by Attention to Detail, Superbike World Championship by Milestone, Test Drive Le Mans by Eutechnyx, TOCA 2: Touring Car Challenge by Codemasters
Apr.: Boss Rally by Boss Game Studios, Sports Car GT by Image Space Inc.
May: Midtown Madness by Angel Studios, NASCAR Road Racing by FarSight Studios, NIRA Intense Import Drag Racing by Bethesda Softworks
Jun.: Need for Speed: High Stakes by EA Seattle, Sega Rally 2 aka Sega Rally Championship by Sega AM3 / Sega PC, V-Rally: Multiplayer Championship Edition by Eden Studios
Jul.: Castrol Honda Superbike 2000 by Interactive Entertainment
Aug.: Re-Volt by Acclaim Studios London
Sept.: Grand Prix World by MicroProse UK, NASCAR Racing 3 by Papyrus Design Group
Oct.: AMA Superbike by Motorsims, Driver: You Are the Wheelman by Reflections Interactive, GP 500 by Melbourne House, NASCAR Revolution SE by Stormfront Studios, Test Drive Off-Road 3 aka 4X4 World Trophy by Infogrames NA
Nov.: 3D Ultra Radio Control Racers by Dynamix, Interstate '82 by Activision, Rally Championship 2000 aka Mobil 1 Rally Championship by Magnetic Fields / Creative Asylum, NASCAR Legends by Papyrus Design Group, Test Drive 6 by Pitbull Syndicate
Dec.: Formula 1 99 by Studio 33

Leaving Driver and Need for Speed in its wake, Image Space's Sports Car GT is the pick of this line-up: its sophisticated racing engine would power SimBin's GTR - FIA GT Racing Game of 2005 and GTR 2 - FIA GT Racing Game of 2006.

Notable as well are the four superbike sims of 1999: Milestone's Superbike World Championship of Mar., Interactive's Castrol Honda Superbike 2000 of Jul., Motorsims' AMA Superbike of Oct., and Melbourne House's GP 500 of Oct. Of these, my pick is CHS2000 (sequel to CHSWC of 1998).

Three Test Drive releases was too much for me in 1999. I preferred playing Test Drive of 1987 on the C64.

Flight & Armor Sims of 1999 [§3.8]

Jan.: WarBirds II by Interactive Creations of Grapevine
Feb.: F/A-18E Super Hornet by Digital Integration
Mar.: Fighter Squadron: Screamin' Demons Over Europe by Parsoft Interactive, Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance by Totally Games, Starsiege by Dynamix (Mecha)
May: F-22 Lightning 3 by NovaLogic
Jun.: MechWarrior 3 by Zipper Interactive (Mecha)
Jul.: Curse You! Red Baron by Dynamix, Descent 3 by Outrage Entertainment, MiG Alley by Rowan Software
Aug.: Star Trek: Starfleet Command by 14° East / Quicksilver Software
Sept.: Armored Fist 3 by NovaLogic, Flanker 2.0 by Eagle Dynamics, Flight Unlimited III by Looking Glass Studios
FreeSpace 2 by Volition, JetFighter III Classic by Mission Studios Corporation
Oct.: Jane's USAF: United States Air Force by Pixel Multimedia, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 (7.0) by Microsoft, Panzer Elite by Wings Simulation
Dec.: Descent 3: Mercenary by Outrage Entertainment, MechWarrior 3: Pirate's Moon by Zipper Interactive

The most important flight sim releases of 1999 were Volition's FreeSpace 2 of Sept., the grognard-level Flanker 2.0 of Sept., and Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2000 of Oct.

Naturally, Zipper's MechWarrior 3 of Jun. was the go-to armor sim of 1999; indeed, it was one of the biggest game releases of 1999 as well as one of the best PC games of 1999. Zipper also released MechWarrior 3: Pirate's Moon in Dec.

Other sim franchises to receive third installments in 1999 include Descent, F-22, X-Wing, Armored Fist and Flight Unlimited.

Arcade Games of 1999 [§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.

Feb.: Eliminator by Magenta Software, Resident Evil 2 by Capcom
Mar.: Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 by Rockstar Canada (DOS/Win), Gruntz by Monolith Productions, Recoil by Zipper Interactive
May: Star Wars: Episode I: Phantom Menace by Big Ape Productions
Jun.: Animaniacs: Gigantic Adventure by EAI Interactive, Disney's Tarzan by Eurocom, Outcast by Appeal, Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 by Rockstar Canada (DOS/Win)
Jul.: Field & Stream: Trophy Bass 3D by Dynamix, T-Zer0 by TraumaZero Team (Amiga) (SHMUP)
Aug.: 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown by Dynamix, Drakan: Order of the Flame by Surreal Software, Shadow Man by Acclaim Studios Teesside
Sept.: Cabela's Big Game Hunter III by Elsinore Multimedia, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver by Crystal Dynamics, Prince of Persia 3D by Mindscape, Sinistar: Unleashed by GameFX Technology
Oct.: BHunter by InterActive Vision, Grand Theft Auto 2 by DMA Design, Nocturne by Terminal Reality, Rayman 2: Great Escape by Ubi Pictures, Tyrian 2000 by Eclipse (DOS/Win) (SHMUP)
Nov.: Bug's Life by Traveller's Tales, Omikron: Nomad Soul by Quantic Dream, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine by LucasArts, Tomb Raider IV: Last Revelation by Core Design, Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue by Traveller's Tales
Dec.: Battlezone II: Combat Commander by Pandemic Studios, Urban Chaos by Mucky Foot Productions

A fourth Tomb Raider game? Meh, I'd rather replay 2D Flashback.

Grand Theft Auto fans got an expansion in Mar. and another in Jun. before getting GTA2 in Oct. To this day, GTA2 remains the best GTA game by far.

Best 1999 PC Games: Awards [§4.0]

Sir-Tech's Jagged Alliance 2 wins best game of 1999 by a country mile. Jagged Alliance 2 also wins best TBT game, best cRPG, best 2D graphics, best sound effects and best user interface. Indeed, Jagged Alliance 2 is one of the best games ever made; no game is better. Fallout won best game of 1997 and Baldur's Gate won best game of 1998. Well, Jagged Alliance 2 wipes the floor with both of them.

Best TBS game of 1999: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Best FPS of 1999: System Shock 2
Best aRPG of 1999: System Shock 2
Best Adventure Game of 1999: Gabriel Knight 3
Best Action-adventure game of 1999: Grand Theft Auto 2
Best Flight Sim of 1999: FreeSpace 2
Best Armor Sim of 1999: MechWarrior 3
Best RTS game of 1999: Age of Empires II
Best wargame of 1999: Operational Art of War II
Best MMORPG of 1999: EverQuest
Best 2D shooter of 1999: T-Zer0 (Amiga)
Best Racing sim of 1999: Sports Car GT
Best Sports sim of 1999: LINKS LS 2000
Best writing of 1999: Planescape: Torment
Best 3D game of 1999: MechWarrior 3

And so concludes the Decade of the 1990s (1990-1999): the greatest decade in PC-gaming history.

cf.

PC Games 1987	PC Games 1991	PC Games 1995
PC Games 1988	PC Games 1992	PC Games 1996
PC Games 1989	PC Games 1993	PC Games 1997
PC Games 1990	PC Games 1994	PC Games 1998

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PC Games 1999