Executor 2.0 for MS-DOS

Executor 2.0 for DOS is a representative of the strangest class of games — something between a tool and entertainment, where you're not quite sure what you're actually supposed to do. Legend has it that someone released this thing in the nineties without an accompanying manual, and honestly, you can tell.

It's some kind of sandbox or environment editor where you manipulate objects, particles, and physical elements. There's no goal, no story, no levels — just an empty world that you push your cursor around in and try to create something, destroy something, or simply see what it does. In 1996, this was a radically boring concept. Even Civi Builder or Lego Creator had some kind of vision.

The controls are basic — you click, drag, change parameters. The graphics are functional at best, boring at worst. The animations pretend to have physics, but they lack intuitiveness. There's no joy in playing with pixels when you don't know why or what for. It fascinates you for a while — kind of like watching a simulator — then you realize you've got nothing to actually do with it.

Executor 2.0 is remembered mainly because it existed at a time when it seemed like computers could do anything. It was an illusion — games need purpose, a goal, at least some kind of direction. This program is more of a curiosity, an experiment that didn't pan out. It's not outright bad, just pointless.

Play it today? Only if you're interested in the history of games that shouldn't have been released at all, or if you're testing DOSBox and need something to run. As entertainment it isn't. Nor as education. It's more like digital junk that has that strange smell of old things with no substance.