Hello, dear subscribers. Today, I want to share with you some of the great games of my youth that had a great impact on me as a gamer. If you already know my tastes in PC games, you may be surprised to find out that all the games in this list are strategies because you probably haven’t seen too many strategy reviews in this blog before. I was surprised even more when I found out that 3 of my favorite strategy games were actually released the same year.
So, here is how I came up with the idea of this blog. A couple of days ago, I was thinking about some of the favorite games of my youth. Naturally, I didn’t want to revisit many of them because not all seemed so exciting to me, and many of them have lost their gameplay value to the games with better graphics. At this point, I tried to think of the games that I would like to play now, which seem to resist aging.
Soldiers: Heroes of World War II
There are several reasons why you could have missed this outstanding game back in 2004. Soldiers: HoWWII was developed by a small Ukrainian company. In the pre-Steam times, it was much more complicated to distribute the games worldwide if you could not afford an impressive budget for these purposes. Secondly, the game was released for PCs only, which was also caused by the limited budgets for its production.
Soldiers: HoWWII is a real-time strategy with a big emphasis on realism in its gameplay. The players will have to command separate soldiers, squads, military equipment, etc. However, unlike many other military strategies, heavy machinery as tanks or armored vehicles are not functioning as standalone units. Each one features real soldiers who can be easily dropped off at any moment of the battle or if the vehicle is damaged.
All the battles in Soldiers: HoWWII are observed from the third-player perspective and happen on highly interactive terrains that have to be explored and smartly used by players. The terrains are highly dynamic, which is a rear feature for a 2004 strategy game. The game engine’s physical core allows players to destroy almost any building or any other exterior elements like trees, transport, or livestock. The graphics are also very decent if we recall any other game from this time to compare with.
Soldiers: HoWWII features two principle gaming modes – story mode and campaigns. In the story mode, you can play any of the separate missions that are not connected by the plot and reprise different WWII episodes. The campaign mode features four standalone campaigns – the Soviet Union, Great Britain, the US, and Germany. One of the greatest things about Soldiers: HoWWII is its storytelling, which is heavily based on real historical events, which is also pretty educational.
Evil Genius
This is a real-time simulation strategy that allows players to try on the persona of a real James Bond-type evil mastermind. The game features a sophisticated cartoon style, which is heavily inspired by the 60s and 70s animation. The action takes place during the Cold War, and the game is generally a compilation of homages and tributes to the classic spy and action movies of this era.
Evil Genius was developed by a small British company Elixir Studios, and became the second and the last game developed by them. Back in the 2000s, the game managed to receive multiple praises from critics but, for some strange reason, didn’t manage to meet the financial expectations of the developer and publishing companies. As I’ve already mentioned, pre-Steam times were harsh for many companies.
In my opinion, Evil Genius is a real masterpiece that didn’t get enough praise at the time of its release and was forgotten in a couple of years. The game’s humorous tone and brilliant gaming mechanics make it very fun to play. I highly recommend it.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
This cult game probably needs no introduction and, still, I would like to mention it one more time because it deserves more praise. It was developed by a Canadian company, Relic Entertainment, known for its real-time strategies Homeworld and Incredible Creatures. However, namely Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War became the biggest breakthrough for Relic Entertainment in 2004.
Warhammer features one-of-a-kind squad-oriented gameplay and terrific design that allows recreating the classic grimdark ambiance of Warhammer: 40,000 universes. I consider it one of the best-designed games that always stay true to the original universe created by Games Workshop. Apart from it, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War features one of the coolest battle modes ever. If you have never played it before, I insist that you should give it a chance!
