Majesty Gold HD
Majesty is a beloved childhood game of mine. Which I originally received as the pack in during Kellog’s Nutrigrain’s video game pack around 2001 or 2002.
The game is a hybird RTS / Godsim originally released in 2000 with it’s main innovation being the independent charather AI.
The player can directly control the construction of buildings, as normal for the genre, but all of the “heros” move on their own and cannot be given orders. Instead, they all have behaviour patterns based on their class, which lets them simulate a personality. Warriors like to hunt monsters, Rangers like to explore, and Monks like to act as hotel inspectors, wandering from inn to inn.
– Real player with 64.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Classic Medieval Games.
Majesty Gold HD is an unusual game with an unusual history.
While it’s billed as a Fantasy Kingdom Sim, Majesty has most of the trappings of a conventional RTS. However, it does stray from RTS convention in one major aspect and that was enough for its developer, Cyberlore Studios, to have considerable difficulty finding a publisher even during the great RTS glut of the 90s.
To fully appreciate Majesty, you need to talk about RTSes in general. Now, the term Real-Time Strategy itself is a little generic – Crusader Kings II, for instance, is real-time and it is a strategy game but no one would confuse it for an RTS. When gamers use the term, they’re referring to very specific types of games – games like Blizzard’s Warcraft II and Westwood’s Command & Conquer, the two titles released in 1995 that inspired the RTS glut.
– Real player with 9.9 hrs in game
SimCity™ 4 Deluxe Edition
Ever thought you could make a better city? Pah, I could be a better Mayor; well now you can! SimCity 4 is just that and offers this opportunity and lets you sit in the chair titled “mayor”. I’ve definitely clocked up more hours in the days I installed this on ME and XP.
SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition is another one of those games that has been created by EA… EA? Not again you say - except this time.. EA has really created a game and has polished it up to its standards. SC4 is one of the older prequels to ‘Societies’ and the 2013 SimCity relaunch; released after Sim City 3000, it showed off superb graphic capabilities at the time and invented new ways to enjoy building a simulated city, where you play as the city’s major, managing the: finances, housing stock, roads, ports, resident satisfaction, transit, and employment.
– Real player with 567.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Classic Sandbox Games.
Ah, SimCity 4, the best, in my opinion, of all of the SimCity games. The graphics are dated, being that this was released around fifteen years ago, but don’t let that deter you. Play times depend on how much you enjoy city building games. I myself have spent 2-4 hours today playing it.
The U-Drive-It mode is pretty cool, as it lets you drive through your transportation system with a variety of vehicles, but can get annoying over time with the other cars.
The regions are a nice addition, as you can have cities depend on each other, plus some of the regions come in the shape of several real-life cities, albeit with no structures. In the same vein, importing and exporting cities & regions are useful. If you have a sprawling metropolis and want to share it with the world, you can! Have a police state with stations on every corner? You now can show it to your friends and family!
– Real player with 325.6 hrs in game
Evil Genius
Underrated, Under-The-Radar Game of the Decade - Just the way an Evil Genius would like it.
Imagine to my surprise when Rebellion revealed that, after so many years, Evil Genius is getting a sequel! Who woulda thought? Let’s just say that this news snuck up on me like the sneaky under-the-radar original ended up on store shelves.
For an impulse buy in boxed form when it first came out 16 years ago, this game has received more playtime than any other game in my possession that I also impulse-bought. It is clever, hilarious, and surprisingly challenging.
– Real player with 88.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Classic Stylized Games.
An old favorite of mine. I distinctly remember just seeing this on an EB Games shelf when I was 14. I loved the box art at first glance and upon further inspection, I discovered that this game involved the building of a secret island lair, from which countless dastardly schemes could be unleashed upon the world. “Perfect,” said young Myself. The only reason I really remember this experience was because the oldest woman I have ever seen working at a video game store tried to get me to show her some form of ID because it was rated Teen. I told her I was fourteen years old and I didn’t know of any kids my age who had IDs who weren’t sheltered because I didn’t know any of these kids because they were sheltered and sat at home playing games about learning and stuff and living life like an inspirational poster, only to dream secretly at night of escape and perhaps even breasts or penises or whatever body parts they learned to like.
– Real player with 88.0 hrs in game