7. Annals of Rome; Personal Software Services - 1986
Largely forgotten today, 1986’s Annals of Rome is still one of the most compelling historical strategy games of its or any other period. Lead Rome against her enemies for as long as you can. The Gauls and Macedonians might not be much trouble, but wait till the Huns and Sassanids and Arabs show up. Oh, and your generals might decide to start a civil war just for the hell of it. Simple graphics and a shortage of numbers disguise how deep Annals can get. For 1986, this was truly groundbreaking.
6. God of War; Sony - 2005
If you’ve ever watched Hercules or Xena and wanted them to get bloodier, then you are probably the target audience for God of War. Now a major franchise title for Sony covering even the PSP, and one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, the idea of a mythological superhero challenging the gods is still a refreshing change from action games that rely on firepower and fighting games with Japanese schoolgirls. Kratos is an interesting anti-hero, easily capable of carrying his own movie if someone ever got around to writing it. And you know somebody is somewhere.
5. Rome: Total War; Activision - 2004
Everyone focuses on the battles in Rome: Total War and with good reason. History, schmistory! Elephants propel hoplites through the air, catapults launch fireballs at scythed chariots…it’s all glorious and pretty and a little hyperactive. But the real glory of Rome: TW is the strategy overlay. A 3D map with thousands of possible battle locations, characters whose experiences and characteristics make every game an adventure, and, for the Romans at least, a truly great end game when you have to turn on your former allies in the Senate and make yourself Emperor.
4. Great Battles of Hannibal; I-Magic - 1997
You could put the entire Great Battles series here (including Alexander and Caesar), but Hannibal is the best of the lot. Based on a classic cardboard war game from GMT Games, Great Battles of Hannibal is as educational as it is challenging. No other wargame has come as close to demonstrating how the master of ancient combined arms combat consistently defeated the unstoppable war machine of the Romans. The innovative initiative system meant that all your plans depended on careful exercise of your general’s action points and taking advantage of every gap in the enemy lines. This is ancient wargaming at its finest.
