The Ten Greatest PC Games Ever

Released: 1990. Developer: Martech Software. Publisher: Martech Software.

For a surprising number of people, Trade Wars 2002 (TW2002) is the greatest PC game they've never heard of. This epic text-based space strategy game hails from a somewhat secret world of Bulletin Board System doors--early online games played on dial-up BBSs, which peaked in the 1980s and 1990s. Of the thousands of BBS door games programmed over the years, none has had the staying power of Trade Wars 2002. Long after the BBS era, the turn-based trading game continues to thrive thanks to Trade Wars Game Server, which hosts stand-alone games of TW2002 over the Internet.

To gauge the influence of Trade Wars, you need look no further than the popular massively multiplayer online game Eve Online, which many observers describe as a modern 3D version of Trade Wars. Another link to latter-day glory: Drew Markham, one of TW2002's ANSI artists, later directed Id Software's Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

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