77 - Doom: The Roguelike (PC)

Aah... ASCII. Beautiful, isn't it? There has been a trend in recent years to turn the Roguelike template towards 'action' games. Castlevania, Aliens, Metroid, and more. This is my favourite though. It's the longest-developed and best supported, and that shows in the solidity of it.

It's very straightforward, which is perfect. You have an array of weapons and armour, ammo and medpacks. Apart from that it's off to work turning demons and ex-humans inside out. Music and sound effects are uncommon for Roguelikes but they're essential here. There are even destructible environments thanks to acid barrels and explosives. Turning an action-packed FPS into a turn-based ASCII game seems like a ridiculous idea at first, but the amazing thing is that it works so brilliantly. Of course it makes it a different beast altogether from its inspiration, but it's every bit as thrilling and intense.