Recently we had some great news in the world of retro gaming – System Shock 2 finally made its way onto gog.com. So after many years in the wilderness, you can once again buy a copy of the classic scifi-horror themed shooter-rpg hybrid.

This did however inspire me to ponder, other games that are yet to make an appearance on digital distribution. The list of available oldies is ever growing, but there are still a few conspicuous absences left. Here are a few suggestions (note, I’m talking games we’re unable to buy anywhere, not just on gog).

System Shock
Okay I admit this was something of a niche interest. I intended this list to be more games more objectively in need of recognition, as opposed to my personal favourites.

However, as I just mentioned we do now have the sequel. Also Shock is still the second most requested game on gog (after Grim Fandango), so there’s clearly demand. The Thinking Man’s Doom, as it was called, was in several regards far ahead of the standard shooters of the day. So I hope we can one day see it available to modern audiences. (probably with the mouselook mod installed).

Lemmings
The fiendishly frustrating-yet addictive strategy-puzzler. We all remember lemmings, surely? Has to be one of the most popular games of the early 90s. I’m sure this would sell quite readily. What’s more, apart from desire to see it on gog, this strikes me as something that should be sold for tablets. The controls are suited to touchscreen. Also, ipad is the perfect platform for grabbing the attention of those who are only casual gamers but do recall Lemmings from their childhoods.

Sadly, since original publishers Psygnosis were owned by Sony, the only release we’ve had in the past decade was for PSP, in 2006.

Most of the Lucasarts Back Catalogue
By far the most glaring omission. What’s going on here? A few years ago they created special editions of the first two Monkey Islands, and a scattering of other oldies like Loom got Steam releases too. Since then, nothing. We’re still waiting for some of the very greatest point-and-click adventures, like Day of the Tentacle or Sam and Max. Not to mention, outside of adventuring, the X-wing series.

Those are the most obvious picks to me, but feel free to chip in with any suggestions you feel are priorities!