The 2000s were a big leap forward for games when looking at the advances in technology during the decade. Strategy games were no exception and the game genre really took hold in the decade, e-sports became a viable way to make big money and graphics moved from 2D sprites to beautiful 3D models.
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The best strategy games of the 2000s were some big hitters when it came to spawning or continuing treasured franchises and IPs. There is really no doubt of what the great achievements these games were, however, due to a stagnation in the strategy genre in recent years, we’re still playing a lot of them today.
10 Black And White
Black and White was a novel concept that made the player a god with the objective of running a healthy society that respects you. The player doesn’t directly control people on the screen but rather influences them and treats them in different ways to get a reaction. Black and White’s interface was absent of a HUD, and the player would use an animated on-screen hand to do things like throw people and objects, tap on things and perform miracles.
Since you can play as a good god, a bad god, or someone in between, it is considered one of the most open-ended games of the time. Black and White was also held in high regard upon its release in 2001 for its graphics, gameplay and the A.I. system that the player interacted with. It was the 11th best-selling PC game of 2001, which led to an expansion and a sequel. Sadly, however, it isn't available to purchase on any online storefronts due to its messy IP ownership situation.
9 Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War
2004’s Dawn of War did a great job of translating Warhammer 40,000 into a real-time strategy game and sparked a series that would go on to sell millions of copies. Dawn of War was praised for the way it balanced factions and units. It had four different playable armies: Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, The Eldar and Orks.
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The Imperial Guard was also added as a playable race in the expansion, Winter Assault, and the Tau and Necrons were added in Dark Crusade. Basically, if you wanted to experience Warhammer 40K in all its digital glory, this was the way to go, and it still holds up today.
8 Total War Series
Creative Assembly released five Total War games during this decade, hitting different eras along the way, but each managed to form its own fanbase. Because of this, it is impossible to pick just one. The Total War engine combined turn-based strategy and resource management with real-time tactical combat.
After the release of Shogun: Total War in 2000, and Medieval: Total War 2002, Rome: Total War became a landmark game in the series in 2004, providing free map movement and the first 3D map. In 2007, Sega released Empire: Total War, which was set in the 18th century and included military battles, diplomacy, spy games, and managing a country’s economy. While the game was critised for bugs at release, most of those have been resolved in the two decades since.
7 Homeworld 2 And 3
Homeworld was one of the highest-rated video games of 1999. After Sierra Studios released this real-time strategy masterpiece, it followed up with expansions about Kushan exiles and their fight against the Talidan Empire. Homeworld: Catacysm came in 2000 with some tweaks to the core gameplay, and Homeworld 2 was released in 2003.
All three of these games are exceptional, but the two released in the 2000s stand above the rest. The unique three-dimensional aspect of the space battlefield with breathtaking planet and star backgrounds was a hit when they released, and it remains one of the most beloved strategy franchises out there.
6 Starcraft 2
Starcraft and its expansion Brood War was released in 1998 and quickly became the golden standard for real-time strategy games. Blizzard did an amazing job balancing the three races and playstyles of the Terrans, Zerg and Protoss and received almost universal acclaim. Starcraft exploded in popularity and became a mainstay during the 2000s in the professional gaming world.
Despite its popularity, there wasn't a new Starcraft game released until almost a decade later when Starcraft 2 was released just within the decade in 2010. Not only did the first game rule most of the 2000s in the strategy scene after not being released in the decade, but the sequel that was released right at the end of the 2000s ruled the scene for almost another decade - making it impossible not to mention this series.
5 Sid Meier’s Civ 4
Sid Meier’s classic Civilization series continued to power through the 2000s with the release of Civilization 3 in 2001 and Civilization 4 in 2005. While Civ 3 was the first not to be designed by Meier, it was lauded by fans of the series as an almost perfect game ever and won several Game of the Year Awards.
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Civ games focus on taking a primitive civilization and improving it until the modern day via turn-based gameplay. Civ 4 was released in 2005 with 3D graphics as the game engine was built from scratch. Much like Civ 4, it was considered one of the best video games of all time. Either of these games could be placed on this list but Civilization 4 laid the groundwork for so much of what would come next it has to be respected.
4 Warcraft 3
Warcraft 3 was a benchmark game from Blizzard Entertainment that didn’t just wow with its impressive gameplay that features RTS action combined with RPG elements thanks to the addition of hero units, but it changed the gaming industry forever also. Unlike the first two Warcraft games that features just Orcs and Humans, Warcraft 3 had four races by adding Night Elves and the Undead to the tactical mix.
Warcraft 3 sold millions of copies, and while its remaster Warcraft 3: Reforged was a huge disappointment, the game's ultimate legacy was its custom maps. This modding scene spawned a whole new type of game thanks to the Defense of the Ancients mod which basically created the multiplayer online arena genre, also known as MOBAs.
3 Command And Conquer: Red Alert 3
Looking back on it now, it is hard not to find yourself mourning the demise of Westwood Studios. However, that said, Command and Conquer was in full swing during the 2000s. Command and Conquer: Tiberium Sun (released technically at the end of 1999), Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 and Red Alert 3, and Command and Conquer 3 - along with several spinoffs - were all released during this decade.
Between alternate WW2 histories and Tiberium ravaging the Earth, Westwood's RTS classics were a setting we loved to continue to visit. However, special mention has to go to Red Alert 3, if for no other reason than Tim Curry's iconic, over-the-top, live-action performance as
Premier Anatoly Cherdenko.
2 Age Of Empires 3
Age of Empires 2 was considered one of the best of the series, when it was released in 1999 and received its expansion in 2000. Moving the timeline ahead from the original Empire’s Stone Age roots, it focused more on the Middle Ages and as a result, received plenty of critical acclaim. This spawned the spinoff, Age of Mythology which took inspiration from Greek, Norse, and Egyptian Mythology and was also a big hit and won several awards in 2002.
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However, Age of Empires 3 deserves special mention. It was released in 2005 and moved the time periods to advance further ahead from 1492 to 1876 AD. It also won game awards and sold millions of copies as well, along with spawning more expansions as well. It’s very apparent that this series had a vice grip on 2000s strategy gamers.
1 Advance Wars
Released on the Game Boy Advanced in 2001, the turn-based Advance Wars pits two nations, Orange Star and Blue Moon against each other. Considered to be one of the greatest handheld video games of all time, it has complex turn-based mechanics that made Nintendo nervous about releasing it in North America.
The “Wars” series had been around since the 1980s, but really exploded in the 2000s with the release of Advance Wars 2, Advance Wars; Dual Strike, Battalion Wars, Battalion Wars 3, and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. It was the Game Boy Advance release that really showed Nintendo they could bring more Advanced games to their North American markets and we are still extremely happy they did.
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