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Classic Blizzard games available for download
If you've ever attended BlizzCon, you've likely noticed that the classic games section, where they set up some of Blizzard's early efforts for fans to play, is a rather popular destination. Popular enough that I've personally given up on trying to get in there, because I'm not a good "line-standing" person. Luckily for me, and others like me, Blizzard has made two of their early games available for free download on Battle.net. The Lost Vikings and Rock N' Roll Racing are two of Blizzard's most classic classics, published in 1992 and 1993 respectively, when Blizzard Entertainment was still known as Silicon and Synapse. If, as I did, you missed out on them when they were current, now is your chance to experience all their pixelated glory. Unfortunately, they are only available for Windows operating system, so if you're a Mac user, you may be out of luck. To find the new downloads, click on the "Games & Codes" option in your Battle.net account, then click "Download Game Clients" from the drop-down menu. The Lost Vikings and Rock N' Roll Racing can be found under the "Classic Games" section. Thanks to reader SparkysShocker for bringing this to our attention!
Blizzard classic Blackthorne now available for free download
Have you ever heard of Blackthorne? Originally released in 1994 for the SNES, this classic platformer was the one of the first titles to be released under the name Blizzard Entertainment. And now, it appears as though the game can be had for free. Head to your Battle.net account, and hit the Download Game Clients page, under the Games & Codes tab. At the bottom is a new section titled Classic Games, and Blackthorne can be downloaded for Windows absolutely free. So what is Blackthorne? Long ago on the planet Tuul, the people of the world were divided into two kingdoms -- the good Androth, and the not-so-good Ka'dra'suul. To make a long story short, the Ka'dra'suul were eventually transformed into monsters, and one of them decided to seize power and try to take over Androth. Enter Kyle -- the son of King Vlaros, ruler of Androth. King Vlaros decides to send Kyle to Earth in order to save his life. Twenty years later, Kyle is all grown up, a military mercenary, and discovers his unusual heritage through a series of strange dreams. And then Kyle happily returns to Tuul to kick some butt and save his people while working his way through a series of typical platform levels and puzzles and blowing away his enemies with a giant pump-action shotgun. Look, it may not be the most elegant of stories, but it was a really fun SNES title back in the day. The free download version has not been updated, and lives on in its raw pixel and MIDI glory, just in time for a bit of Halloween nostalgia. If you've ever wanted to get your hands on this title, go grab the free download and immerse yourself in the 90's for a few hours. I'll be over here, playing my childhood and keeping an eye out just in case Lost Vikings happens to pop up, too.
