... according to RPS:
QuotePostscript
What about those X-COM and XCOM rankings, eh? What about the lack of any Command & Conquer whatsoever? What about King of Dragon Pass squeaking into the top five. There's plenty to debate and discuss, and the RPS hivemind doesn't always agree with itself. Something to do with misaligned nodes and a cup of tea that we spilled on the mainframe.
Even if you disagree with the specific rankings – and it'd be peculiar if you didn't disagree with at least one of them – hopefully you'll find this a useful compilation of the best that strategy gaming has to offer. Diverse in playstyle, difficulty, mechanics and setting, it might well be the richest genre in all of Gamesdom, and this list is as much a celebration of that as an attempt to make games fight one another. If you're wondering about Honourable Mentions, check the "What else should I be playing" entries for each game. There's plenty more to discover.
The complete list is below – but first, some observations:
The Developers
Sid Meier's name appears in the title of more games than any other developer, but that's true in general – not just on this list. Brian Reynolds was lead designer on two games on the list, however, Rise of Nations and second-placed Alpha Centauri. Firaxis are the best-placed developer, having been responsible for the two top games as well as twelfth-placed XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Paradox have two games in the top twenty, as do MicroProse despite having effectively closed in 2002.
Wargames?
You have to travel all the way down to 31 on the list to find a game that isn't about violent conflict, either directly or indirectly. However, there are several games that don't involve any combat at all, including Rollercoaster Tycoon, which allows you to build fatal funfair rides instead of building armies. Eight of the games have the word 'war' in their title.
FREE
Neptune's Pride, Dwarf Fortress, Championship Manager 01/02, M.U.L.E. and Battle for Wesnoth can all be played for free.
Setting
13 are historical, 13 are fantasy, 16 are sci-fi and 8 are (approximately) modern day.
The Complete List
1 Civilization IV
2 Alpha Centauri
3 Crusader Kings II
4 Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
5 King of Dragon Pass
6 UFO: Enemy Unknown
7 Total War: Shogun 2
8 Endless Legend
9 Homeworld
10 Jagged Alliance II
11 Europa Universalis IV
12 XCOM: Enemy Unknown
13 Distant Worlds: Universe
14 Dominions IV
15 Solium Infernum
16 Master of Orion II
17 Neptune's Pride
18 Company of Heroes
19 Panzer Corps
20 Men of War
21 StarCraft II
22 Unity of Command
23 DEFCON
24 Galactic Civilzations 2
25 AI War
26 Dwarf Fortress
27 Gary Grigsby's War in the East
28 Rise of Nations
29 Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War
30 Wargame: AirLand Battle
31 Championship Manager: Season 01/02
32 Startopia
33 SimCity 4
34 Warcraft III
35 Age of Wonders II
36 Tropico IV
37 M.U.L.E.
38 Frozen Synapse
39 Heroes of Might and Magic III
40 Combat Mission: Battle For Normandy
41 Myth
42 Ground Control
43 The Settlers II
44 Battle for Wesnoth
45 R.U.S.E.
46 Warlords II
47 Master of Magic
48 Stronghold
49 Rollercoaster Tycoon
50 Transport Tycoon
Article start: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/04/24/best-strategy-games/
Panzer Corps 19th, a mere graphic update of Panzer General (1)? Open General is way more interesting and varied. Even Panzer General II or III (3d ) would have been better choices.
A list that contains StarCraft II, but not StarCraft I? The latter was the defining game of the RTS genre for a decade.
Quote from: Zanza on April 27, 2015, 03:29:37 AM
A list that contains StarCraft II, but not StarCraft I? The latter was the defining game of the RTS genre for a decade.
[Devil's Advocate]But is it the better game?[/Devil's Advocate]
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on April 27, 2015, 03:22:43 AM
Panzer Corps 19th, a mere graphic update of Panzer General (1)? Open General is way more interesting and varied. Even Panzer General II or III (3d ) would have been better choices.
Have you actually played it? :yeahright:
Quote from: Tamas on April 27, 2015, 03:42:36 AM
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on April 27, 2015, 03:22:43 AM
Panzer Corps 19th, a mere graphic update of Panzer General (1)? Open General is way more interesting and varied. Even Panzer General II or III (3d ) would have been better choices.
Have you actually played it? :yeahright:
Much more than you have played Open General or Panzer General II.
Quote from: Tamas on April 27, 2015, 03:42:36 AM
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on April 27, 2015, 03:22:43 AM
Panzer Corps 19th, a mere graphic update of Panzer General (1)? Open General is way more interesting and varied. Even Panzer General II or III (3d ) would have been better choices.
Have you actually played it? :yeahright:
I've played it, and calling Panzer Corps just a graphic update doesn't do it justice. Still, he's right that Open General and PzG II are better.
I'm really surprised that Jagged Alliance II made the top ten. Pleased, but surprised. It was much more of a niche game, I thought. I still play it today, when i get the itch.
Quote from: Zanza on April 27, 2015, 03:29:37 AM
A list that contains StarCraft II, but not StarCraft I? The latter was the defining game of the RTS genre for a decade.
I'm guessing they have a one per series rule due to Civ 4 at the top and no other civs.
So, what does EU 4 have that EU 2 didn't?
Dominions IV is 14 and the game is tries unsuccessfully to replace, Master of Magic, is 47? Bull.
The list is retarded. I'm shocked by the quality of internet lists these days.
No EU II? I mean, we'd hardly be having these disputes without it.
And Tropico is a strategy game now? Jeebus.
There's much wrong with that list, but I'd be hard pushed to jot down 50 strategy games that actually were good, so fair play to RPS for trying.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on April 27, 2015, 07:12:07 AM
Quote from: Zanza on April 27, 2015, 03:29:37 AM
A list that contains StarCraft II, but not StarCraft I? The latter was the defining game of the RTS genre for a decade.
I'm guessing they have a one per series rule due to Civ 4 at the top and no other civs.
Probably. Never played SC2, so I can't tell whether it is better than SC1. Played a lot of SC1 though.
Quote
So, what does EU 4 have that EU 2 didn't?
Better UI and better mechanics.
Age of Wonders 2 over Age of Wonders? :yeahright:
On that other note, hands down I'd say EUIV is superior to EU2, even though I've spent way more time playing EU2.
Quote from: grumbler on April 27, 2015, 06:49:47 AM
I'm really surprised that Jagged Alliance II made the top ten. Pleased, but surprised. It was much more of a niche game, I thought. I still play it today, when i get the itch.
I wish they had a version of the 1.13 patch that wasn't about 517 different models of 9mm handguns, and 35 different types of 9mm ammunition.
Quote from: Syt on April 27, 2015, 03:40:31 AM
Quote from: Zanza on April 27, 2015, 03:29:37 AM
A list that contains StarCraft II, but not StarCraft I? The latter was the defining game of the RTS genre for a decade.
[Devil's Advocate]But is it the better game?[/Devil's Advocate]
Yeah, it's the ages-old debate between "absolute" quality vs historic significance. Best movies of all time lists are full with flicks that probably would be ignored if released nowadays; but on the other hand modern movies wouldn't exist without those.
I personally think there's a case for a game that defines a genre like Starcraft 1 did, versus great games that ultimately are just at the end of a line of incremental improvements, and which themselves will be improved upon in a few years.
Crap list, no Tic Tac Toe.
Quote from: grumbler on April 27, 2015, 07:20:33 AM
Dominions IV is 14 and the game is tries unsuccessfully to replace, Master of Magic, is 47? Bull.
I don't understand your use of replace in this context. How/where would Dom 4 replace MoM?
I don't think I ever played MoM but in looking at it I don't see much similarity other than they are both turn based games with a fantasy setting. From what I can tell MoM is a single player only Civilization clone in a fantasy setting.
I haven't played enough of the games on the list to pass much judgement but it is nice to see some small niche games I like (Dom4, Solium Infernum, Dwarf Fortress) ranked so high.
Apparently this makes me weird, but I just can't get into Endless Legend. It is a game I should like but I just can't get interested in it for some reason.
Quote from: garbon on April 27, 2015, 01:44:18 PM
On that other note, hands down I'd say EUIV is superior to EU2, even though I've spent way more time playing EU2.
OTOH (how many hands does that make now?), I'd argue that EUIII is better than either its predecessor or its successor.
I'd also argue that Civ II, not Civ IV, is the best of its series (counting Alpha Centauri as not part of the Civ series), though I think mine is a minority opinion in this case.
War in the East probably should be higher up the list. Master of Orion II and Heroes of Might and Magic should be higher up as well (though I'm not sure whether HoMM III or IV was the best in that series). Master of Magic should be much, much higher, somewhere in the top 10 at least. Colonization should be on the list, probably in the top half. And there should be more straight wargames listed (The Operational Art of War, anyone? Maybe something from Talonsoft's Battleground series? Etc.).
Quote from: sbr on April 27, 2015, 06:58:52 PM
I don't think I ever played MoM but in looking at it I don't see much similarity other than they are both turn based games with a fantasy setting. From what I can tell MoM is a single player only Civilization clone in a fantasy setting.
A better description would be it's a fantasy version of Master of Orion.
Quote from: celedhring on April 27, 2015, 03:37:43 PM
Quote from: Syt on April 27, 2015, 03:40:31 AM
Quote from: Zanza on April 27, 2015, 03:29:37 AM
A list that contains StarCraft II, but not StarCraft I? The latter was the defining game of the RTS genre for a decade.
[Devil's Advocate]But is it the better game?[/Devil's Advocate]
Yeah, it's the ages-old debate between "absolute" quality vs historic significance. Best movies of all time lists are full with flicks that probably would be ignored if released nowadays; but on the other hand modern movies wouldn't exist without those.
I personally think there's a case for a game that defines a genre like Starcraft 1 did, versus great games that ultimately are just at the end of a line of incremental improvements, and which themselves will be improved upon in a few years.
Agreed. I think it comes down to the intent of the list - best games to buy/play now vs. most influential games. I took this to be the former.
Bit surprised that there isn't any Westwood games (Dune or Command and Conquer), Populous, Steel Panthers, or Harpoon.
It's weird that in the list they have on #35 Age of Wonders II, but in the article itself it's AoWIII.
Quote from: dps on April 27, 2015, 07:50:53 PM
Quote from: garbon on April 27, 2015, 01:44:18 PM
On that other note, hands down I'd say EUIV is superior to EU2, even though I've spent way more time playing EU2.
OTOH (how many hands does that make now?), I'd argue that EUIII is better than either its predecessor or its successor.
Oh I wouldn't. I'd put it at distant 3rd.
The list is retarded indeed. Also, with series like EU, CK or Civilization I think they should just put the entire series as an entry. For example, imho, Civilization 5 with expansions is a better game than Civilization 4 was.
Eh, they should put either the best or most influencing game in a series. Otherwise you'd clutter it up with remakes of the same game. For instance, for the Civ games I'd put Civ 2, which was easily my favorite. Also no Sid Meier's Gettysburg?
No Dungeon Keeper!?
A little depressing that a lot of these games are old. Are there no great new strategy games?
I'm surprised that Startopia made the list. That's only slightly more fun than the snoozefest that was Republic: The Revolution.
I've never played it, but it seems to have an ardent fan base.
Startopia pia was fun when I had a tooth pulled and I was on some awesome painkillers.
Quote from: Monoriu on April 28, 2015, 08:20:28 AM
A little depressing that a lot of these games are old. Are there no great new strategy games?
No.
I haven't bought a new strategy game since Rome, and the last non-Paradox strategy game I got was, gee, I don't know, HoMMV? Unless you count sports games as strategy games, which the list apparently does, but that's retarded.
I think Civ 5 is a massively underrated game. With the latest expansion packs, it's always good for a nailbiter, if you pick the right difficulty level.
Quote from: DGuller on April 27, 2015, 03:28:30 PM
Quote from: grumbler on April 27, 2015, 06:49:47 AM
I'm really surprised that Jagged Alliance II made the top ten. Pleased, but surprised. It was much more of a niche game, I thought. I still play it today, when i get the itch.
I wish they had a version of the 1.13 patch that wasn't about 517 different models of 9mm handguns, and 35 different types of 9mm ammunition.
I have toyed with the idea of making a variant that seriously tones down the amount of added crap, since I have the same issue with it.
Quote from: dps on April 27, 2015, 07:50:53 PM
Quote from: sbr on April 27, 2015, 06:58:52 PM
I don't think I ever played MoM but in looking at it I don't see much similarity other than they are both turn based games with a fantasy setting. From what I can tell MoM is a single player only Civilization clone in a fantasy setting.
A better description would be it's a fantasy version of Master of Orion.
Never played MoO either. I think I have it in my GoG library but haven't spend any serious time with it.
Quote from: sbr on April 28, 2015, 05:59:08 PM
Quote from: dps on April 27, 2015, 07:50:53 PM
Quote from: sbr on April 27, 2015, 06:58:52 PM
I don't think I ever played MoM but in looking at it I don't see much similarity other than they are both turn based games with a fantasy setting. From what I can tell MoM is a single player only Civilization clone in a fantasy setting.
A better description would be it's a fantasy version of Master of Orion.
Never played MoO either. I think I have it in my GoG library but haven't spend any serious time with it.
I wasted way too many hours on that game back in the day.
The list is missing Command HQ.
Quote from: sbr on April 28, 2015, 05:59:08 PM
Quote from: dps on April 27, 2015, 07:50:53 PM
Quote from: sbr on April 27, 2015, 06:58:52 PM
I don't think I ever played MoM but in looking at it I don't see much similarity other than they are both turn based games with a fantasy setting. From what I can tell MoM is a single player only Civilization clone in a fantasy setting.
A better description would be it's a fantasy version of Master of Orion.
Never played MoO either. I think I have it in my GoG library but haven't spend any serious time with it.
I bought MoO a few months ago on GoG. The game still plays great, well worth a play-through.
Quote from: Barrister on April 28, 2015, 10:18:15 PM
Quote from: sbr on April 28, 2015, 05:59:08 PM
Quote from: dps on April 27, 2015, 07:50:53 PM
Quote from: sbr on April 27, 2015, 06:58:52 PM
I don't think I ever played MoM but in looking at it I don't see much similarity other than they are both turn based games with a fantasy setting. From what I can tell MoM is a single player only Civilization clone in a fantasy setting.
A better description would be it's a fantasy version of Master of Orion.
Never played MoO either. I think I have it in my GoG library but haven't spend any serious time with it.
I bought MoO a few months ago on GoG. The game still plays great, well worth a play-through.
Yeah, I agree. There are some aspects of MoO that I like better than MoOII, but overall I think the second game was better. And then MoOIII killed the series--'bout the only good thing I would have to say about it was that it came in a really great looking box.
Well, no, that's not true. There were some great
ideas that went into MoOIII, but they were very poorly implemented. And even if they had been implemented better, they might have been better as ideas than as actual game features.
Quote from: dps on April 28, 2015, 11:35:00 PM
Yeah, I agree. There are some aspects of MoO that I like better than MoOII, but overall I think the second game was better. And then MoOIII killed the series--'bout the only good thing I would have to say about it was that it came in a really great looking box.
Well, no, that's not true. There were some great ideas that went into MoOIII, but they were very poorly implemented. And even if they had been implemented better, they might have been better as ideas than as actual game features.
I agree with all these sentiments. I actually bought the CD release of MOO and the Windows release of MOO2, then re-bought them both last week from GOG so I could get the DOS version of MOO2. If anyone only has the 1999 Windows release of MOO2 I would suggest buying the GOG package since the DOS version received semi-official and fan-made updates that the Windows version doesn't have. Additionally, the Windows version doesn't work on 7+ without shutting down Explorer while you are playing; DOSBox works perfectly.
Quote from: grumbler on April 27, 2015, 06:49:47 AM
I'm really surprised that Jagged Alliance II made the top ten. Pleased, but surprised. It was much more of a niche game, I thought. I still play it today, when i get the itch.
I don't quite remember what the latest reiteration is, but it actually wasn't shit.
I'd put CK II and EU IV on the list. Along with Combat Mission: Afrika Corps. Blowing up tankettes was never more fun. There are some games that are really narrow in their scope that I like, like "Dead State".