I know what's got you down. "Oh, it's nothing," I hear you lament. "I just want to play 2002 real-time tactics superhero RPG Freedom Force, but I don't have access to the PC Gamer character skins exclusive to the June 2002 demo disc!" I think I speak for everyone when I say we have all been there: but the antidote to your woes is a mere mouse click away.
Okay, maybe you aren't after that specifically. But there's plenty of PC gaming history to peruse on the Internet Archive, and if you yearn for the age of promotional demo discs, you'll be pleased to learn there are hundreds documented on the site. These discs weren't always just previews—they often included extra oddities or even exclusive bonuses you couldn't find in the full game.
Take the Quake-O-Rama disc from PC Gamer's Oct. 1997 issue. Not only is it full of Quake maps, but it also includes the first speedrun demo file from Quake done Quick. Go for something more recent and you'll find things like this March 2008 disc, which includes a full episode of Telltale's Sam & Max, and is excited enough about a Duke Nukem Forever trailer to open with "OMG!"
If that's too new-school, maybe you'll want to play the first episode of Apogee's shareware platformer Hocus Pocus on a 1994 floppy disk. The further back you go, the more likely you are to encounter FMV bits starring the old Coconut Monkey mascot—who we believe is currently in the custody of senior editor Wes Fenlon—so delve into these files at your own risk.
You can find 758 entries with all sorts of insights into the magazine's past in the archive's cover disc collection, created by Jason Scott and a number of other contributors. PC games might not come in big, fancy boxes anymore, and Freedom Force might be an archaic novelty, but what's the harm in a trip down memory lane?
