Must've been Flanker 2.0. Having played Flanker 1.2 and 1.5 for so long I was really looking forward to it... too bad it wasn't all that was expected: still too many errors, too sterile environment, and missions that were for the most part not very much fun.

Currently I'm eagerly awaiting Precision Manuals Boeing 737NGX add-on - even though I know I will need to seriously upgrade the hardware before it will be playable. And FSLabs' A320 (but that is still somewhere on the horizon).

I'd love to say it was Longbow 2, but at that time I had only just got a PC and LB2 came out when I wasn't really looking into PC games all that much, even though I did get it under a year or so after it was actually released.

So I'd probably have to say Half-Life 2, even though I had to wait years to get it - partly due to me deciding to not get into it straight away and partly due to my PC not being good enough to run it.

I would have to say these are the top 3 most anticipated games/sims.

#1) Combat-Helo
#2) DCS: A-10C
#3) DCS: F/A-18C or D.

I know #3 doesn't exist yet, but pleeeeeease.

Hey, at least it had a great manual and remember those nicely done laminated key command cards with the metal ring binder?

- X-Wing (remember walking to the Electronics Boutique store on the Mall every couple of days and annoying the hell out of the clerk asking him when would it come out).

- Longbow 2

- Janes F-15

- Janes F/A-18 (Drove 2 hours to get my hands on this, only to find my PC specs were not up to it. Had to wait two years to run it properly).

Lol! That sounds familiar.Different store over here but for me it was M1 Tank Platoon and Pacific Air War.
Just about every dinner time it was.
'Is it in yet'? 'Is it in yet'?

That's what SHE said.

1) Doom

Back in the summer of '93 I had come across screenshots of this upcoming game from the makers of Wolfenstein 3D. Since I had spent so many hours playing Wolfenstein on an old IBM PS/2 286, I was very excited. But surely it couldn't really look that good? I soon bought a new 486DX in anticipation as I knew the old 286 just wasn't going to cut it (even Wolfenstein was a slideshow on it). When December 10th, 1993 arrived and the first episode of Doom finally became available, I spent most of that day downloading it over a smokin' fast 9600 baud modem. I started it up and felt an initial thrill of a excitement no game as since matched as I ran up those stairs, grabbed that shotgun, and looked out at the mountains of Phobos and then -- crash! After quickly figuring out that I needed to disable the extended memory manager it thereafter ran like a dream. And to answer the question I had asked the previous summer -- yes, it could look that good; in fact, it looked even better.

2) The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge

I was a huge fan of the first three X-Com games. When I found out Julian Gollop (who's Mythos games was responsible for the first and third titles in the series) was working on this sequel (the term "X-Com" was owned by Hasbro and could no longer be used) I began anxiously monitoring progress. Then one day, wham, project cancelled.

3) Master of Orion III

Before there was X-Com, I was a fan of Master of Orion. It had taken up a huge amount of my time and when Master of Orion II added multiplayer support, it took up even more. So many epic games with friends played over the internet! However, there was some room for improvement -- balance issues, sometimes painfully slow tactical combat, etc. But at long last Master of Orion III would be arriving to take everything that worked in MOO II and fix what didn't. Right? Wrong. One of my biggest disappointments ever. I really tried to like the damn thing but it was thoroughly horrible. If only it had simply been buggy! That could have been fixed. No, the entire design was an unsalvageable disaster.

4) Rise of Flight 1.019

Okay, perhaps this doesn't really fit in this list but the 1.019 release is in many ways like a new game (new draw distance, career mode, etc). I had been anticipating it since the career mode overhaul was announced and I'm delighted with what has been delivered (even as a beta - it is better than most final releases).

For me it was Red Baron II, after that it was Janes WW2 Fighters.

You have a dirty mind Sir!

That's what YOU said.

I just saw it. You did say it.

The only game I ever did the "pester the EB guy" bit with was the expansion for H&D2. In the end I had to order it online, back when I pretty much never did and always picked it up at the store. Several weeks later it finally DID show, but only a copy or two. That was back when EB carried PC games, too, talk about blast from the past!!



The Jedi Master

X-Wing for sure

I even bought my first PC (a 486 DX/2 50) for it from my first salary.

Some great memories in this thread. Ah to be 17 again and a PC gaming newbie.

Mine would have to be Panzer General 2. I was on a Mac starting in 94 and I had played Allied General and then Panzer General a ton. When I realized PG2 was going to be only for PC I worked on the wife for months to get the ok to switch and buy a PC. I got my Pentium 2 266 rig and bought the game the same day. I actually just fired up PG2 about a week ago, a lot of mods out there and its still fun!

Jet

Wing Commander III - The Heart of the Tiger
Strike Commander
Falcon 3 and then later F4.
Red Baron 2
Aces of the Pacific
European Air War
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Jane's WW2 Fighters
Mig Alley
B-17 II
Ghost Recon

Jedi, you had a list worth copying!
With a few minor edits...

I guess the MOST anticipated were EAW and WW2F
Both came out within months of each other, right when video cards were getting good.
Good times.

We have a very similar story. I saw an ad for it, I've even still have it cut out somewhere. I knew my rig wasn't going to run it so I set things in motion to get a new setup. Given that it was fueled by the purchase, when I got it I started a "tradition" of naming my rigs after the flightsim that I bought it for. So this was one called Eagle 3. Bought the game and...

it didn't work. I was devastated. Apparently there was some issue with the motherboard and everything but the game worked on it. I had to send the computer away for a replacement which took forever. All I had was the manual for SEIII to keep me occupied. When the rig came back, it worked. And I had that manual almost memorized so it was like I had went through some training program or something. When I started it - I just knew how to operate it. It was a cool experience. But yeah, I sort of ached for that one.

F4
LOMAC

And now...

3W Tomcat and Combat Helo

Command & Conquer for me. Remember playing the demo that came with one of my brothers PC magazines. I couldn't get enough of it. My brother bought the full version for my birthday. Thinking about it now, that would have been a lot money for him back in those days. What a legend!!

LOMAC. I actually built a PC around it.

And then I was so disappointed. It was nothing like my beloved Flanker 2.5...