3. Titan Quest; THQ - 2006

This gleeful romp through ancient Egyptian, Greek and Chinese landscapes has pretty much made the slur “Diablo clone” irrelevant. All your favorite mythical beasts are here in an epic journey that makes the Labors of Hercules look like a summer camp scavenger quest. Titan Quest is low on innovation, but high on great loot and frantic combat. It looks as good as it plays, too. Every time you kill a satyr, shed a tear for the defunct Iron Lore studios.

2. Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile; Myelin Media - 2004

City building is serious business, and this criminally underrated Egyptian themed game is the most serious of all. No witty walkers or silly combat here. Children of the Nile is all about the rhythm of the river and the pacification of enough peasants to make your self-glorificaiton easier. Your own prestige is what matters here. Neither the gods (who may or may not exist) nor the whining barley farmer who has a toothache are as important as that mastaba. No other city builder has come as close to capturing how foreign the distant past is.

1. Age of Mythology; Microsoft - 2002

This is not only the best ancient themed game, but also Ensemble’s best game--period. OK, the Norse weren’t precisely ancient, but you could build hydras, giant scarabs, minotaurs, and crocodiles with laser beams on their heads. Cyclopes could throw elephants into a forest. Age of Mythology also broke from RTS tradition by having a story based campaign that didn’t make you pass out from boredom. All three factions played very differently, and within each faction you had to choose deities that would also change how you took advantage of your situation. Where most RTS games make do with a rock, paper, scissors set up, AoM had two r.p.s. circles (mortal/hero/myth as well as traditional unit counters). It is an elaborate and thrilling game that, in spite of its age, is still rightly regarded as a high point for the entire genre.

And there you have it -- our list of the Top Ten Ancients of all time. Agree? Disagree? Did we forget a game? Let us know!