During the 2000s, strategy games changed a lot. From the rise of big strategy games to the fall of real-time strategy games, these are the best ones.
When you look at how technology changed during the 2000s, you can see that games made a big step forward during that time. Strategy games were no different, and the genre really took off in the 2000s, when e-sports became a way to make a lot of money and 2D sprites were replaced by beautiful 3D models.
Some of the best strategy games of the 2000s were big hits when it came to starting or continuing beloved series and intellectual properties. There’s no question that these games were great, but because strategy games have become less interesting in recent years, we still play a lot of them today.
Black And White
Black and White was a unique game where the player became a god and had to run a healthy society that respected them. People on the screen are not directly controlled by the player. Instead, the player can have an effect on them and treat them in different ways to see what happens. In Black and White, there was no HUD, and the player did things like throw people and things, tap on things, and do wonders with an animated hand on the screen.
It is one of the most open-ended games of the time because you can play as a good god, a bad god, or someone in between. When Black and White came out in 2001, it was also praised for its graphics, how it was played, and how the player connected with the A.I. It was the 11th best-selling PC game of 2001 and led to an update and a sequel. Due to a confusing IP ownership situation, it can’t be bought in any online store, which is a shame.
Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War
Dawn of War, which came out in 2004, did a great job of making Warhammer 40,000 into a real-time strategy game. It also started a series that has sold millions of copies since then. People liked how Dawn of War handled the different groups and units. It let you play as the Space Marines, the Chaos Space Marines, the Eldar, or the Orks.
In the Winter Assault expansion, the Imperial Guard was also added as a possible race. The Tau and Necrons were added in the Dark Crusade expansion. This was the way to go if you wanted to see Warhammer 40K in all its digital glory, and it still works today.
Total War Series
During this decade, Creative Assembly made five Total War games, each set in a different era, but each with its own fan group. This makes it hard to choose just one. The Total War engine was a mix of real-time tactical fighting and turn-based strategy and resource management.
After Shogun: Total War in 2000 and Mediaeval: Total War in 2002, Rome: Total War in 2004 was a big step forward for the series. It had the first 3D map and free map movement. Empire: Total War was made by Sega in 2007. It was set in the 18th century and had military battles, negotiations, spy games, and running a country’s business. Even though the game had bugs when it came out, most of them have been fixed in the 20 years since.
Homeworld 2 And 3
One of the best-rated video games of 1999 was Homeworld. After Sierra Studios launched this masterpiece of real-time strategy, it added more content about Kushan refugees and their fight against the Talidan Empire. In 2000, Homeworld: Catacysm came out with some changes to the core gameplay, and in 2003, Homeworld 2 came out.
Even though all three of these games are great, the two that came out in the 2000s are the best. The unique three-dimensional space battlefield with beautiful planet and star backgrounds was a hit when it came out, and it’s still one of the most popular strategy game series.
Starcraft 2
Starcraft and the additions to it When it came out in 1998, Brood War quickly became the best real-time strategy game ever. Blizzard did a great job of matching the three races and play styles of the Terrans, Zerg, and Protoss, and almost everyone praised them for it. Starcraft became very famous very quickly, and it was a mainstay in the professional gaming world in the 2000s.
Even though Starcraft was very famous, it wasn’t until almost a decade later, in 2010, that a new game came out in the series. Even though the first game didn’t come out until the 2000s, it dominated the strategy scene for most of the decade. The sequel, which came out at the end of the 2000s, also dominated the scene for almost another decade, making it hard to not talk about this series.
Sid Meier’s Civ 4
With the release of Civilization 3 in 2001 and Civilization 4 in 2005, Sid Meier’s famous Civilization series kept going strong in the 2000s. Even though Civ 3 was the first game in the series that Meier didn’t make, fans of the series thought it was nearly perfect and gave it several Game of the Year Awards.
Civ games focus on taking a primitive society and improving it until the modern day via turn-based gameplay. The game engine for Civ 4 was built from start, so it has 3D graphics. It came out in 2005. Like Civ 4, it was thought to be one of the best games ever made. Either of these games could be on this list, but since Civilization 4 set the stage for so much of what came after, it deserves to be there.
Warcraft 3
Warcraft 3 was a groundbreaking game from Blizzard Entertainment. Its amazing gameplay, which combines RTS action with RPG elements thanks to the addition of hero units, not only wowed people, but also changed the gaming industry for good. In the first two Warcraft games, the only races were Orcs and Humans. In Warcraft 3, Night Elves and the Undead were added to the mix.
Warcraft 3 sold millions of copies, but its remaster, Warcraft 3: Reforged, was a big letdown. The best thing about Spacebar Clicker game, though, was that you could make your own maps for it. The Defence of the Ancients mod, which was part of this hacking scene, basically created the genre of games called “multiplayer online arenas,” or MOBAs.
Command And Conquer: Red Alert 3
When you think about it now, it’s hard not to feel sad about the end of Westwood Studios. But even so, Command and Conquer was very popular in the 2000s. This decade saw the release of Command and Conquer: Tiberium Sun (officially at the end of 1999), Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 and Red Alert 3, and Command and Conquer 3, as well as several spinoffs.
Westwood’s RTS classics were always a place we loved to go back to, with different versions of World War II and Tiberium destroying the Earth. But Red Alert 3 deserves special attention, if only for Tim Curry’s legendary, over-the-top live-action performance as Premier Anatoly Cherdenko.
Age Of Empires 3
Age of Empires 2 was one of the best games in the series when it came out in 1999 and got an update the following year. Moving the story forward from the Stone Age roots of the first Empire, it focused more on the Middle Ages and got a lot of praise as a result. This led to a spinoff called Age of Mythology, which was also a big hit and won several awards in 2002. It was based on Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology.
But Age of Empires 3 stands out and should be mentioned. It was released in 2005 and moved the time periods to travel further ahead from 1492 to 1876 AD. It also won game awards, sold millions of copies, and led to the creation of more sequels. It’s clear that this series had a strong hold on strategy players in the 2000s.
Advance Wars
Advance Wars is a turn-based game for the Game Boy Advanced that came out in 2001. It sets two countries, Orange Star and Blue Moon, against each other. It is thought to be one of the best mobile games of all time, and Nintendo was worried about putting it out in North America because of the complicated way it works.
The “Wars” series has been around since the 1980s, but it really took off in the 2000s when Advance Wars 2, Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Battalion Wars, Battalion Wars 3, and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin came out. The Game Boy Advance really showed Nintendo that they could bring more Advanced games to North America, and we’re still very glad they did.
