Deus Ex:

Synopsis: Ion Storm's first-person RPG gave the player power. Not just in the form of deadly weaponry, which was certainly present, but also over the game itself. In each expansive level multiple routes to the end were available. With hacking skills you could take control of security bots to wipe out enemy patrols, or if concentrated more on raw firepower, you could blast your way to the end instead. With an intriguing science fiction storyline, vivid characters, plenty of ways to augment your character skills and armaments, and some really great level design, this game was as entertaining as it was thought-provoking. Ultimately, Deus Ex stands out for accommodating player desires for complex ways to control their gameplay experiences, instead of being forced along a linear path. An unforgettable experience.

Warcraft 2: The Tides of Darkness:

Synopsis: There are a few iconic genre games that are hard to pass over when it comes to a top 25 list. We had to pass some of them over this time around in the hopes of adding newer, sleeker models, but we had too much trouble passing some of them up. One we couldn't overlook was Warcraft II. Not only did it really begin the move to multiplayer over the Internet, but really helped drive the RTS genre home as not only viable, but hugely successful. Besides that, playing Warcraft II today is still pretty enjoyable thanks to stylized cartoon graphics and wonderful, if simple by today's standards, sound. While a bit goofier than your average RTS, the world is still vibrant and units well realized. Who knew that a war between Orcs and Humans, a war that had raged through countless pieces of fiction, would spawn into a gazillion dollar franchise in a completely different genre series. There are so many good memories with this game that all three of us PC editors insisted it be somewhere on the list.


Call of Duty:

Synopsis: World War 2 shooters had been done to death when Infinity Ward honed the genre to razor sharp perfection with Call of Duty. From the initial paratrooper drops in the hours before D-Day to the final struggle for Berlin, gamers were instantly transported to a world that was at once both thrillingly cinematic and eerily real. The game's realistic AI and squad based combat makes you feel more like part of an actual unit rather than a one-man killing machine. Add in some of the best sound design we've seen and Call of Duty is one of the most convincing and exciting simulations of FPS warfare we've ever seen. Better still, the game offers up a wide range of multiplayer battles that are still our first choice when it comes to online action.

World of Warcraft:

Synopsis: You'd have to have been living in a cave on Mars for the last five years not to know about Blizzard's World of Warcraft. The company, widely known as the creators of one of the industry's leading RTS franchises proved that it could crush the competition just as easily in the world of online RPGs. The subscription numbers (and server queues) alone are more than enough evidence of the title's success but if you need further proof, you only have to consider the inviting design, stylish graphics and richly storied, quest filled game world to see why it's inclusion on our list of the best games ever is a foregone conclusion. While it doesn't eliminate the grinding and downtime that are part and parcel of the MMO experience, World of Warcraft hides them better than most games and also offers up enough rewards to keep us questing long after we should have gone to bed

Star Wars TIE Fighter:

Synopsis: Fans of space combat games will always have a soft spot to games like Wing Commander or Elite, but no game before or since has captured the drama and action of the genre as well as TIE Fighter. Benefiting from the lessons learned from the X-Wing game that launched the franchise, TIE Fighter boasted some of the best flight mechanics and mission design ever seen in a space combat game. Long before Knights of the Old Republic gave us a chance to see what it's like to serve the Empire, TIE Fighter presented the opportunity for the player to become the villain. The Collector's Edition went one better by adding improved polygonal graphics and brilliant sound design. There have been a few imitators since this classic game was released, but none have come close to delivering the excitement and joy that we still find running secret missions for the Emperor.

Age of Empires 2: Age of Kings:

Synopsis: When it comes to old-school RTS games, no one did it bigger or better than Ensemble's Age of Kings. Though it lacked the sophisticated tactical action of Starcraft, Age of Kings' rock-paper-scissors combat model and its subtle balancing of a wide range of civilizations makes it one of the most enjoyable RTS games ever. Sure, the historical setting required a bit of similarity among the unit types but the advantages and disadvantages of each civilization were so intriguing that no one side played like any other. Possessing one of the most engaging resource models in any RTS before or since, Age of Kings was just as much about your infrastructure as it was about your armies. The RTS has definitely evolved a lot over the last eight years but Age of Kings still represents the peak of what historical RTS games used to be.

Civilization IV:

Synopsis: One of the Civilization games was absolutely going to be in the top 5 in this list, it was just a matter of which one we chose to occupy the spot. For years, it was largely understood that Civilization II was the best in the series offering up complex strategy in a palatable and even graceful format. Some out there would probably still argue that it's the best of the bunch, but we decided the latest went above and beyond that great title with more improvements than can be counted. From the revamped damage system to the diplomatic improvements and inclusion of religion, Civilization IV provides the most addictive 4X experience on the market. Even worse for those of us incapable of quitting to desktop is the inclusion of a very workable multiplayer solution. Turn-based strategy has never been easy this way, but Firaxis managed to make it easy, make saves work, and make it easily as much fun as the single player if not more so. Civilization IV is a brilliant game

X-COM: UFO Defense:

Synopsis: It may be old as hell and you may have to actually disable DirectDraw to get it to run these days but there's still no PC game that can compete with the mighty X-COM. Conceptually it's one of the finest strategy games to ever appear on any system. Putting the player in charge of a worldwide defense against an alien invasion, the original X-COM combined elements of sophisticated base management, high-tech research, engaging roleplaying, thrilling tactical combat and a tense, terrifying story to create an experience that has yet to be duplicated by any other game. Leading your squads on missions to reclaim crashed UFOs or fighting house to house in an effort to repel alien terror attacks on major cities throughout the world were the highlights of the game but X-COM has plenty of other pleasures in store, from juggling personnel and equipment to keeping the nations of the world happy enough to sustain your budget. Simply put, there's no excuse for strategy fans not to break this one out and play through it again.