November 30th, 1999
It’s the dawn of a new millennium. With Y2K fast approaching, the news is doom and gloom and makes us wonder, “Will my Pentium III PC explode into a fireball at the stroke of midnight?” But what can we do, really? We’ve already backed up everything to our trusty CD-RWs and Iomega Zip disks. As we all nervously await the new year, let’s ask a different question: Has there ever been a better time to be a PC Gamer?
First off: ISDN AND CABLE BROADBAND INTERNET! Game changer. Fire up Team Fortress and Q3Test without the ear piercing dial up modem waking up the parents or the dog, and you’re in a fast-paced world, fragging your online friends and noobs. We’re getting 512 KILOBYTES PER SECOND; downloading 650MB in less than 3 hours!
And then, wow…NEW GAMES. Descent 3, SimCity 3000, Heroes of Might and Magic III, Gabriel Knight 3, SWAT 3, Homeworld, Aliens Versus Predator, Alpha Centauri, plus sequels to Dungeon Keeper and Freespace - the list goes on. And who knows if Counter-Strike Beta is a passing fad, but we’re already hooked on this new shooter! We might need to double the day to 48 hours so we can get in enough Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun and Rollercoaster Tycoon.