Gaming
Games
10 Games Malaysians used to play in cyber cafes
Taking a look back at the nostalgic games Malaysians used to play back in the days.
With so many consoles now available, PC gaming is now something of the past. But who can forget grinding for MMORPGs or casually playing first-person shooters? Or screaming and shouting across rows of people in the cafe? With that in mind, we walked down memory lane to bring you a list of 10 games Malaysians used to play in cyber cafes.
10. Maple Story
With the game hitting their thirteenth anniversary this year, there is no doubt that most gamers today were hardcore Maplers back then. It was the time when we had to break our mouses by spam clicking to get into extremely crowded party quests and spamming the chat with @@@@ symbols in free markets to get our items sold. And don’t forget the popular ones that were actively slacking in channel 20, with their buddy list always overloaded! Looking back, it was all worth, from buying @cash top up cards to spending them on Gachapon tickets and double experience coupons to “chiong”. PS: Who remembers MrYaNdAo, JessBunny and Osiris?
Training pianists since the 2000s
© O2Jam
9. O2Jam
This was the hit game that turned us all into the Beethovens of PC keyboards. With a huge list of soundtracks and different levels available, we believed that practice could make us perfect. We can all proudly say that we’ve nailed at least one song with this intense practice. V3, Electro Fantasy and Bride in Dream will forever be stuck in the back of our heads and with that, we can easily say that there is no doubt that this game has the best soundtracks ever composed.
Cyber café’s top pick
© Counter Strike
8. Counter Strike: Source / Condition Zero
FPS games were always on the top of the list when it came to competitive multiplayer games. Although there weren’t many choices back then, it was the joy and excitement of playing with a group of friends that made it all memorable. Even the flaws of the game gave us joy. Just try to recall the time when you were unable to create a server, or when a friend’s server could not be found. Good times.
The best strategy game of all time
© C&C: RA2
7. Red Alert
Allied Forces or the Soviet Union, which were you? Either way, this strategy packed game was on top of the list for many of the gamers back then. The joys of the game ultimately involved annihilating enemies with a huge fleet of tanks or troops – or if you wanted, guard dogs or bears. And then there was the super-weapon that decided the fate of our enemies - with a nuclear bomb being able to wipe out an entire area of an enemy’s base.
The ultimate game of coordination
© SDO
6. SDO: Super Dancer Online
It was all Avril Lavigne, Paramore and DBSK in the late millennia. With that, SDO was the iconic dancing game with the best variety of songs regardless of genre and nationality. Whether KPop, JPop or Cantopop, the game had it all. It was heaven for us music lovers who had no need to download songs through LimeWire as we could just listen while playing the game.
Casual yet fun
© Miniclip
5. Web based flash games
Flash games were the only games that did not need to be installed before it could be played. With the snail-like operating system that we had a decade ago, most of us learned to appreciate flash games as they were simple and easy to play. Websites such as Miniclip, Koongregate and Club Penguin were hits back then, especially for those who were in school attending ICT classes. Playing stickman fights or even tower defense was how we killed time.
The legendary Warcraft III
© Warcraft III
4. Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne (Dota Allstars)
Still remember how it was before Dota 2 was out? Garena LAN Client was all we needed to enjoy a 45-minute Dota game. The decision of whether to join gold membership was always a hard choice as there were only 225 players allowed in a room, and most of the active rooms were always full. Other than that, players may Alt-Q-Q anytime they wished, resulting in game imbalancing and frustrating gameplay. It was the worst when we’d give it our all, and we knew - we just knew that we were owning the opposition and then BAM, they leave the game! Everything you worked for gone in an instant... Argh! The frustration was real.
Another top MMORPG on the list
© Runescape
3. Runescape
This web based MMORPG was a hit back then, with players from all across the world struggling to become rich in the game. As the game allows you to fish, cook and craft goods, it was the ultimate experience for us back then; or you may say it was the first era of open world games. It was all fun until our account was hacked, then it was mayhem. Oh, sweet memories, both good and bad!
Top FPS in cyber cafes
© SuddenAttackSEA
2. Sudden Attack
As Counter Strike was only a popular LAN game way back when, and we were unable to connect to the official server without purchasing the original copy of the game, most gamers were unable to play online. With the introduction of SA, the population of online FPS gamers then grew in Malaysia. Soon, we began comparing our K/D ratio among our friends, and even the ranks that appeared on our profile beside our IGN.
The game that encourages shopping!
© Pet Society
1. Facebook-based Games
Still remember the time when Facebook was used mostly for games such as Pet Society, Restaurant City or Friends for Sale? It was back then when game requests popped up so frequently that you had to block and remove some of your friends. Despite all of that, Facebook games are still a big part of us because we all share the long ago struggle of logging in everyday, consecutively, just for rewards.
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