The strategy genre has been a mainstay in the gaming industry for quite some time.Along with boomer shooters(not called that at the time, of course) and CRPGs, strategy titles were a part of that golden age of 90s PC releases that helped to make gaming what it is today.
But many titles in this wave of strategy games that defined the 90s have since been lost to obscurity, not available on any modern platforms. Some strategygames are timeless, but here are a few titles that time forgot.
5Dune 2
Forge A Dynasty On Arrakis
After the monumental success of the two recentDunefilms, and the steady progress of a new open world title (well, the progressmight not be steady, but it’s there), it’s clear that Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi franchise has re-entered the cultural zeitgeist. This is not the first time, however, that video games have taken a stab at the great space-opera epic. There is a long line of seminal strategy games that articulate the mystical, sprawling world of Arrakis.
Among these titles,Dune 2stands out as an incredibly fleshed out strategy title faithful to the concepts in Herbert’s original work. It’s also worth mentioning that this is one of the most influential strategy titles of the 90s, greatly contributing towards theCommand and Conquerfranchise and the various concepts seen at work there.
4Mega-Lo-Mania
A Pioneer In Tech Trees And War
Mega-Lo-Maniamight be an obscure title nowadays, but its contributions to the strategy genre standamong the most influential titles today. PredatingDune 2by a year, this title brought many innovations with it, albeit to a relatively simple board game-esque format where differences in factions really amount to little more than color. Perhaps the most notable of these innovations that can still be found in strategy games today is the technology tree.
Units are essentially unarmed and defenseless in the beginning rounds ofMega-Lo-Maniauntil the player assigns some men to research technology and design blueprints. Once enough of these blueprints have been made, a new host of items and unit types are unlocked. Progressing in the technology tree, the goal of this title is essentially to out-research the opposing AI players and take control of their territory.
3Black And White
A Morality-Focused, Strategic God Game
From the great mind and lofty, lofty ambitions of Lionhead Studio’s Peter Molyneux, comesBlack and White, a morality-focused strategy game that puts the player in a position of a god trying to win over the worship, or at least subservience, from a variety of tribes spread across several isles. Game Rant’s experts have run over the data and are 99% sure that the Japanese visual-novel RPG also titledBlack and Whitehas nothing to do with this one, alas.
It is utterly fascinating for any fans ofthe incredibly uniqueFableseries to look back on this title, which held many seeds that grew into the ideas promised, and the ideas actually delivered upon, in that potent trilogy of games. The Fable-esque charm, binary morality, and depth to gameplay are all present for those who manage to get their hands on this obscure title.
2NATO Commander
A Fascinating Cold War Relic
A fairly intense simulation title as much as it is a strategy game,NATO Commanderputs players in the position of a, well, NATO Commander trying to stop the Warsaw Pact from invading West Germany. The 1983 release of this title on the ATARI places is not only smack-bang in the middle of the Cold War, but six years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. This game is utterly immersed in what might be a distant conflict for modernity, but at the time was one of the most pressing geopolitical situations in the world.
Games likeCommand and Conquershow strategy titles areno stranger to difficulty, butNATO Commanderis a particularly hard title to beat, for any able to get ahold of it. Warsaw forces are simply too strong to defeat, and the goal of the game is to stall into diplomatic negotiations, rather than force a surrender.
1Dark Colony
Fight For Mars On A Shifting Battlefield
Sci-Fi strategy titles are some of the mostcompelling and interestingwithin the genre, and part of this charm comes from the history of sci-fi strategy titles that have consistently innovated on the formula.Dark Colonyhas an incredibly interesting scenario and binary set of factions to make it one of the pioneers in the strategy scene.
Dark Colonydoes suffer from a setback that defines a few titles from this era, in that opposing factions mostly have aesthetic differences, but there are a couple of minor gameplay tweaks between the defending humans and invading Taar.
