Classic Games On Steam You'll Love Playing Again

As you may have noticed while reading this article on your tablet, we're living in the future. One of the major advantages of living in the future is that we can now often seamlessly emulate the technology of bygone decades, and nowhere is this more true than in the world of gaming. In particular, Valve Corporation are – as ever – making it extremely easy for you to part with your money by re-releasing a variety of classic retro titles through Steam. To make things even better, these old friends now often have updated online functionality, allowing you to play with a variety of friends and people from all over the world from the comfort of your own sofa. Quite a few of these games are now available in glorious HD, too, so to get the most out of the experience, 

we suggest you follow the following easy steps:

1. Connect laptop to internet

2. Connect laptop toTV

3. Sit back and enjoy the show.

There is no higher or nobler purpose than using your 72-inch LCD to play games that came out fifteen years ago! They’re better than ever.

1. Worms: Armageddon

Chances are that if you were a child in the 1990s (and didn't spend that childhood in a cave), you will have at least some experience of the Worms games. This demented series of comedic strategy games has found a new lease of life on Steam, and is essentially unchanged from its original state. Ideal for co-op play, many will testify that this game will keep you occupied for hours, and can make an excellent team building exercise for your company if you have a limited budget. As silly as it is, and as dated as the 2D interface may seem in the modern age, there's nothing quite so satisfying as launching a successful French Sheep Strike against Dave from Accounting. Worms: Armageddon is currently available for Windows only.

2. Age of Empires 2 HD

As well as being many peoples' first introduction to the top-down strategy genre, Age of Empires was the game that launched the careers of many a young military historian, thanks to its surprisingly accurate depictions of the great military campaigns of history and its focus on the tactical use of different units for different situations. The high point of the series, Age of Empires II, will be released on Steam to much fanfare and rejoicing on April 9, 2013. Even if you have never played this game before, it's well worth your while to try it – it has a streamlined and highly efficient interface, as well as an addictive set of core mechanics. And, the visceral joy of successfully destroying an enemy settlement may very well be unparalleled in gameplay. Although some aspects of the game's overly-simplified approach to warfare elicit gentle mockery on the internet to this day, this is only testament to the enduring place of the game in popular memory. Seriously, don't pass this one up.

3. Duke Nukem 3D Megaton Edition

Although some younger gamers may be unwilling to entertain the notion of a Duke Nukem game that's actually good, the nostalgic twenty-somethings amongst you will remember this one fondly. Released in those distant, halcyon days when Duke Nukem games didn't have twelve-year development cycles, this gloriously inappropriate, irreverent and frankly astoundingly dumb first person shooter is no doubt still a guilty pleasure for many. This updated edition preserves the original game, along with three additional expansion packs, and promises regular feature updates including a Steamworks enabled online multiplayer, new achievements, and integration of additional expansion packs. Unlike other titles on this list, this one is also available for Mac OSX.

4. Various LucasArts titles

A thousand years ago in the mid 1990s, LucasArts was king of the adventure game scene. This genre was the go-to point for gamers looking for complex stories, interesting characters, and a  sometimes baffling sequence of puzzles and brainteasers that could keep some of us frustrated and angry for hours in the days before online walkthroughs. You can relive that frustration now with the LucasArts Adventure Pack, which has been out for a few years now, but still deserves mention for the unique, quirky nature of the games it includes. Each of these titles (The Dig, Loom, and two Indiana Jones titles) deserves to be played, and the price point is so low that you really do have nothing to lose, even if  – for some of you reading this – these games are actually older than you.