When I started gaming I used to play games such as Mario, Twin Bee, Battle City, Contra and many other similar kinds on a console. I was introduced to computer games with the first version of Prince of Persia. Believe me, that was a hot game in its time. And along with that came Pac-Man which was ported from the console to the PC.
However, if I say that I got addicted to computer games because of a game I played, it would be true and many of you would also agree with me on this. It was a demo I got on a CD for Age of Empires. It only had one stage at that time and I remember playing it for hours and hours together. At first I found that to be real tough and hence categorized it as “wastage of time”.
Soon I learned and mastered the game and it became so fascinating that I have since then liked to play strategy games. I have played various RTS games but I have always liked to collect raw stuff, make my own kingdom and defend it or win other kingdoms. So if you share the same interest as mine then I will underline a few of the games which have been best sellers and are played the most.
The first one as I mentioned above is Age of Empires. It was one of the first few RTS games as this era of gaming was developing. Moving from dark age to stone age and then to bronze age was exciting because the game actually gives you the upgrades for stone collection/wood collection/gold collection and farming accordingly.
And you might not know this but all these inventions actually happened in those eras. The game developers spent time to study it well in advance and worked around the game to make it realistic with the said ages. Age of Empires brought with it a new dimension and started a new genre of gaming.
Next in line is the advanced version of Age of Empires, which is Age of Mythology. This game actually has all of it. No matter how many times you play it you would find it unique the next time around. The graphics and sound quality of the game are excellent. All you need is a good machine and you would like everything in the game. You could play the story line of the game or customize your game by playing a map and choosing your enemy.
Or you could even edit the game situation and then play it by making it difficult for your enemies to survive, and making things easier for yourself. You would be surprised to know that I have played this game more then 100 times and virtually remember what will happen in the next second and what I need to do.
But, if this does not fill your appetite then you should try playing something else. WarCraft III The Frozen Throne should be your choice. The game is about a young prince and his way struggle to fight for justice, how he gets corrupted and joins the dark side to have his revenge. The game would let you play with all the characters and fight against them as well. Some times you would ally with them and maybe in two stages down the line you would fight with them. The game has a storyline of an evil regenerating to life, trying to take over the world. This is usual. However the game binds you with its surprising technique. You will not be able to guess the next level for sure if you have not played it yet. Question for you…. Had Enough???? I hope not because I have something else you may like to keep in your bag of tricks.
Crusaders, yes that is a game I will talk about next. The game is fairly simple. Food, stone, wood, pitch and iron are to be collected. Make sure you use these raw materials to make goods. That will help your people and army to stand stronger on the ground against the enemy. What one has to do is to make sure that the people in your empire are happy. And if they are unhappy they would leave your empire.
The game is about keeping your people happy, trying to stock a good amount of food at all times. If possible a variety would help you more. If you would not tax your people it is a wow thing but in lieu of that you would have to sell stone, iron, wood or any other thing like that for the kingdom to make money. You could share some of this money back to your people if you are making ample of it. It is also to compensate something if you lack some where. The game has many options that you could explore and it is a must play if you like RTS games.
And to top all of it is another favorite of mine, The Settlers: Heritage of Kings. The game is as similar to others but here the game has restricted options for you. Unlike other games where there is a way of unlimited gold coming in and you buying other stuff at the market place, the same is not the case here. The game is again about bandits and the evil warlord. The game will lead you in many tough situations even if you are playing the easiest mode of it.
The above mentioned games are time consuming and addictive. Please play at your own risk! If you want to try one more which actually brings you closer to the modern era where you can use guns, tanks, ships and nukes etc. then you should play Rise of the Nation from Microsoft. You would love the sequence of conquering the world.
Please keep in mind these games do have a few other versions that are similar in play but with a different theme. So as you play your way through you can choose the other games of the similar kinds or from the same family.
- By Anuj Gupta