The following Top 100 contains the best full price PC games in the world for 1996. The list includes commercial retail games and registered shareware games. Games released late in the year will have less votes.
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Internet PC Games Charts: Commercial Top 100 1996 Top 100
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Pos Title Developer/Publisher(s) Cat ID Points
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1 Command & Conquer/Covert Ops. Westwood/Virgin WG [1729] 24263
2 Civilization 2 {W} MicroProse ST [1879] 23415
3 Warcraft 2/add-on: Tides of Darkness Blizzard WG [1817] 23112
4 Duke Nukem 3D {reg} 3D Realms/FormGen SH [1923] 11530
5 Galactic Civilizations 2 {O} Stardock ST [1828] 9322
6 Civilization/CivNet MicroProse ST [1002] 8784
7 Doom 2: Hell on Earth Id/GT/Virgin SH [1502] 7681
8 Quake {reg} Id/GT SH [1999] 7481
9 Wing Commander 4 Origin/Electronic Arts AC/SI [1867] 7084
10 Master of Orion SimTex/MicroProse ST [1344] 7014
11 Master of Magic SimTex/MicroProse ST [1501] 6583
12 MechWarrior 2/add-ons: The Clans Activision AC [1697] 6502
13 Descent {reg} Parallax/Interplay SH [1565] 6324
14 Descent 2 Parallax/Interplay SH [1891] 6242
15 Heroes of Might and Magic New World ST [1737] 5948
16 Dark Forces LucasArts/Virgin SH [1585] 4574
17 U.F.O./X-Com: Enemy Unknown Mythos/MicroProse ST [1437] 4420
18 Need for Speed Distinctive/Electronic Arts RA [1738] 4276
19 SimCity 2000 Maxis/Mindscape ST [1399] 4260
20 Dune 2: Building of a Dynasty Westwood/Virgin ST [1110] 4207
21 Stars! 2 {W} {reg} Star Crossed ST [1786] 4106
22 Panzer General SSI/Mindscape WG [1522] 3904
23 Steel Panthers SSI/Mindscape WG [1757] 3805
24 Warcraft: Orcs and Humans Blizzard/Interplay WG [1528] 3731
25 Galactic Civilizations/Shipyards {O} Stardock ST [1508] 3606
26 Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within Sierra AD [1832] 3594
27 X-COM 2: Terror f.t. Deep Mythos/MicroProse ST [1600] 3574
28 Colonization MicroProse ST [1496] 3542
29 Hexen: Beyond Heretic Raven/Id/GT SH [1775] 3517
30 Fifa Soccer 96 EA Sports/Electronic Arts SP [1787] 3473
31 Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger Origin AC/SI [1562] 3365
32 World Circuit Racing/F1: Grand Prix 2 MicroProse RA [1857] 3337
33 VGA Planets {reg} Tim Wisseman ST [1131] 3045
34 Avarice: Preview {O} CSS/Stardock AD [1837] 2935
35 Doom/Ultimate Doom {reg} Id SH [1386] 2879
36 The Dig LucasArts AD [1798] 2868
37 Tie Fighter/add-on LucasArts/Virgin AC/SI [1473] 2738
38 11th Hour: Be Afraid of the Dark Trilobyte/Virgin AD [1809] 2715
39 Worms/Reinforcements Team 17/Ocean AC/PU [1784] 2653
40 Crusader: No Remorse Origin/Electronic Arts AC [1741] 2627
41 NHL Hockey '96 Electronic Arts SP [1748] 2561
42 Championship Manager 2 Domark SP [1746] 2520
43 Myst {W} Cyan/Broderbund/Electronic Arts AD [1426] 2495
44 Transport Tycoon/deluxe MicroProse ST [1521] 2429
45 Star Emperor {O} Stardock ST [1716] 2409
46 Stonekeep Interplay RP [1779] 2308
47 Full Throttle LucasArts AD [1612] 2271
48 Command & Conquer: Red Alert Westwood/Virgin WG [2101] 2245
49 Capitalism Enlight/Interactive Magic ST [1806] 2228
50 Star Control 2: Ur-Quan Masters Accolade AC/ST [1116] 2222
51 Betrayal at Krondor Dynamix/Sierra RP [1275] 2068
52 Fantasy General SSI/Mindscape WG [1900] 1998
53 Caesar 2 Impressions/Sierra ST [1742] 1912
54 The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall Bethesda/Virgin RP [2032] 1839
55 The Settlers 2/Die Siedler 2 Blue Byte ST [1953] 1811
56 Jagged Alliance Sir-Tech/Mindscape ST [1605] 1739
57 Day of the Tentacle LucasArts/US Gold AD [1268] 1726
58 Monopoly Westwood/Virgin ST [1841] 1720
59 System Shock LookingGlass/Origin/Electronic Arts AC [1438] 1692
60 Ascendancy Logic Factory/Virgin ST [1753] 1608
61 Phantasmagoria Sierra AD [1712] 1581
62 Chaos Overlords {W} New World ST [1937] 1502
63 Anvil of Dawn DreamForge/New World RP [1819] 1495
64 X-Wing/Imperial Purs.,B-Wing LucasArts/US Gold AC/SI [1169] 1458
65 NBA Live 96 EA Sports/Electronic Arts SP [1871] 1417
66 Zork Nemesis Infocom/Activision AD [1906] 1409
67 EF2000/TFX 2 DID/Ocean SI [1797] 1400
68 Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares MicroProse ST [2095] 1337
69 Shivers {W} Sierra AD [1791] 1334
70 Rebel Assault 2: The Hidden Empire LucasArts SH [1795] 1295
71 Z Bitmap Brothers/Renegade/Virgin AC [2017] 1280
72 Indycar Racing 2 Papyrus/Sierra RA [1862] 1271
73 Sam & Max Hit the Road LucasArts/US Gold AD [1379] 1268
74 Ultima Underworld Blue Sky/Origin/Mindscape RP [1009] 1255
75 Screamer Graffiti/Virgin AC [1801] 1207
76 Nascar Racing Papyrus/Virgin RA [1529] 1165
77 Heretic/Shadow of the Serpent Rider {reg} Raven/Id AC [1566] 1159
78 Microlearn Game Pack 2 {O} Microlearn Nordic AC [1764] 1109
79 Heroes of Might & Magic 2 New World ST [2091] 1051
80 Rise of the Triad: Dark War {reg} Apogee SH [1564] 1050
81 Conquest of the New World Quicksilver/Interplay ST [1853] 1022
82 Allied General {W} SSI/Mindscape ST [1829] 1008
83 Under a Killing Moon Access/US Gold AD [1517] 1000
84 Avarice: The Final Saga {O} CSS/Stardock AD [2061] 998
85 Warlords 2/deluxe SSG ST [1284] 997
86 The Settlers/Serf City Blue Byte/SSI ST [1458] 995
87 Star Trek TNG: A Final Unity Spectrum Holobyte AD [1641] 989
88 Advanced Civilization Avalon Hill ST [1803] 985
89 NBA Live 95 Hitmen/Electronic Arts SP [1602] 981
90 Destruction Derby Reflections/Psygnosis RA [1788] 956
91 Links LS Access SP [1997] 946
92 Ind. Jones: Fate of Atlantis LucasArts/US Gold AD [1003] 916
93 7th Guest Trilobyte/Virgin PU [1230] 862
94 Terra Nova: Strike Force C. LookingGlass/Virgin AC [1883] 859
95 Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers Sierra AD [1377] 857
96 3D Ultra Pinball {W} Sierra AC [1754] 847
97 Mortal Kombat 3 Midway/GT AC [1755] 846
98 Magic Carpet 2: The Netherworlds Bullfrog/EA AC [1739] 831
99 Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games Sir-Tech ST [2031] 822
100 CFS Poker {O} CFS Nevada ST [2022] 817
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Lengend
TW : This Week LW : Last Week NW : Number of Weeks HI : Highest Position
^ : Climbing * : Bullet AC : Action AD : Adventure
PU : Puzzle RP : Role-Playing SI : Simulation SP : Sports
ST : Strategy {free} Freeware {demo} Demo Version {share} Shareware
{reg} Registered {W} Windows Only {O} OS/2 Only
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Reprinted with permission by World Charts
