Police Quest
  • Sierra, PC Gamer
  • Police Quest

Videogames haven't been in existence long enough to validate "gaming historian" as a real gig, but the moment universities and museums start hiring people to plumb the lineage of Dig Dug, Richard Cobbett deserves tenure.

Of late Mr. Cobbett has been writing a weekly column for PC Gamer dubbed the "Saturday Crapshoot." Essentially, he looks back at an archaic game or series, and vaguely reviews it via modern day gaming metrics. I say "vaguely," because a good part of Cobbett's column is also dedicated to reminiscing on whichever series the game comes from and detailing esoteric historical facts about the title.

I won't claim that Cobbett's work is for general audiences. It's like my beloved Hardcore Gaming 101, with a nice sheen of British wit to help the especially geeky bits go down easier. If the name "Leisure Suit Larry" doesn't ring a bell, odds are solid you'll be totally lost. That said, any of you who grew up playing computer games, and still have a fond nostalgia for the days when "Sierra" was synonymous with "inexplicable death scene," should take a look.