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Lists for every gamer who knows the physical world is overrated.

Cthulhu Saves The World

There are tons of truly amazing PC games out there, more than enough to satisfy entire lifetimes. It makes sense, since PC gaming has been around for decades.&nbsp;The bench is super deep. Sure, there are some really good AAA games out there, but there are way more PC games no one knows about. Often, they can be more entertaining&nbsp;than the bigger titles.Fun indie PC games have to be, well, really fun&nbsp;simply because they don't have the budget to render super-shiny graphics. In other words, they actually work super hard on the gameplay, character development, and story.&nbsp;That makes their titles shine. Check out these little-known PC games; hopefully you'll pick up a few and play 'em!

Gaming

Most of the time, <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-games-of-all-time" target="_blank">games that players find enjoyable</a> will receive&nbsp;a ton of&nbsp;critical attention. However, game critics aren&#39;t above getting swept away by hype, and sometimes, customers will be left wondering why some&nbsp;overrated video games were so well-received by the press.&nbsp;

When it comes to&nbsp;video games that nobody actually likes, it often feels like no amount of bad word-of-mouth buzz can cause an expensive yet <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/biggest-video-game-flops-of-all-time/brandon-michaels" target="_blank">mediocre title to flop</a>. It appears that gamers sometimes want different things than reviewers, as the things that make a game impressive don&#39;t guarantee a title will be fun. The most&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-controversial-video-games-ever/nathan-gibson">controversial titles </a>are <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/games-that-escaped-development-hell/terrance-w-pryor" target="_blank">critically successful</a>, but&nbsp;loathed by the vast majority of players who didn&#39;t receive a free copy to review.

These train wrecks are video games people lie about liking, simply because&nbsp;Metacritic said they were&nbsp;&quot;universally acclaimed.&quot; Players know when they&#39;re having fun, and no amount of fancy language or big-budget trailers can change that.&nbsp;

Myths have always been part of human society, but the Internet has allowed stories to be spread much more quickly and efficiently than ever before. In particular, video game rumors have become incredibly popular source material,&nbsp;as players try to find secret items or unlock hidden rooms. Inevitably, video game urban legends&nbsp;run rampant.&nbsp;While some&nbsp;of the gaming urban legends that fill forums online turn out to be true, there are countless others that are completely and utterly fictional. Some are instantly debunked by gamers, but others are able to fool huge swathes of the&nbsp;community. Sometimes, they&nbsp;become so engrained in the public consciousness that they are simply accepted as the truth – even when there is no evidence to support them.

Ultima

The video game industry is full of franchises that have been abandoned. After all, there are thousands of games released every year and it takes a special kind of franchise to be able to weather the test of time while releasing new titles. Only a few examples exist that have continued to remain successful, such as Mario, Final Fantasy, and The <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/a-timeline-of-the-legend-of-zelda-chronology/stephanroget?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Legend of Zelda</a>. These series represent some of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-video-game-franchises/ranker-games">best video game franchises</a> and have managed to evolve with the industry and&nbsp;adapt to the tastes of modern players.However, that isn’t to say that all dormant video game franchises are failures. In fact, there are multiple series that were put aside due to unfortunate circumstances, such as suboptimal market times for a specific genre or a studio's desire to go in a different direction for a while. Regardless, there are certain <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/video-game-rerelease-wishlist/joedonley">series that deserve a remake</a> or release for the latest gaming platforms. Check out the games below and vote up the dead video game series you would resurrect&nbsp;for an epic comeback.&nbsp;

Gamers&nbsp;today have it easy – everywhere you look online there's interesting, personal, and profound coverage of video games, but that wasn't the case just ten years ago. G4 TV was the only source most people had for personality-based video game news. While magazines and the occasional website scratched the itch, the G4 TV station was the entire package of personality, news, and culture...&nbsp;until it disappeared.Why did G4 TV fail? What happened to G4 is a mixture of bad timing, poor programming decisions, and, ultimately, the Internet. There is no one specific person or decision&nbsp;to blame for the channel's downfall. Video game YouTube personalities,&nbsp;Twitch streamers, and massive forums make gaming&nbsp;content sound&nbsp;like a surefire hit today,&nbsp;but things were quite different in the mid-2000s.&nbsp;G4 held on quite a bit longer than you might remember, as it wasn't until 2014 that the channel and website finally shut&nbsp;down&nbsp;for good. The strange story of this seemingly good idea has&nbsp;many gamers wondering&nbsp;how something they have&nbsp;wanted so badly had suffered&nbsp;such a slow, painful, and obscure death. What lies ahead is a detailing of G4 TV's downfall and the reasons it was, ultimately, unsuccessful.&nbsp;

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Some games are great to play alone. Others are <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-sports-to-play/sports-lists?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">fun to play</a> online and with fellow gamers. Then there are the awesome games that anyone can pick up and play. We’re not talking about Resident Evil on hard mode here, we’re talking about games for non-gamers. Games that someone who’s only ever played bowling on the Wii can still pick up and play as part of a duo or group without too much of a problem. If you’re playing Assassin’s Creed and your little cousin shows up, which game do you pop in to play? Do you switch over to the Wii or keep the PlayStation rolling? Do you pop in Portal 2 or throw it back to Super Smash Bros. on the N64?Playing alone and getting through a game's story mode is a great feeling, but sometimes playing through an entire story mode with your girlfriend or boyfriend for the first time can be even better. You guys worked together and tackled the game that you could barely beat yourself the first time around. What are the best games to play with your boyfriend, girlfriend, or plain old friend who’s a non-gamer?Or do you prefer multiplayer games were you can take your friend down? Forget about that nice and friendly co-op mode and throw down in one of the Soulcalibur arenas. It’s all fun and games until their button mashing throws you off the side and they win with a lucky ring out. Whether you prefer playing with your inexperienced friends or against them, what’s your favorite multiplayer game for non-gamers. Vote up the most accessible group games and vote down the ones that will end in heartbreak for gaming novices.

Moral choices&nbsp;in video games have only grown as a trend over the years. There used to be a time when&nbsp;nobody cared about the ethics of Mario jumping on&nbsp;anthropomorphic&nbsp;turtles or the potential to cause a&nbsp;pileup by leading a large frog into traffic. That&#39;s because those horrors were just a bunch of pixels. They still are, and, granted, some <a href="/list/games-where-you-can-act-on-your-worst-instincts/jacob-shelton">games still let you do horrific things with no consequences</a>,&nbsp;but with the introduction of photorealistic&nbsp;models, deep characterization, and&nbsp;real-world values into narratives, video games have become greater engines for generating empathy and guilt.

Talented game writers use these emotions to challenge players with interesting and complex moral quandaries during the course of gameplay. This is entertainment value that can only be mined&nbsp;by the game industry, as no other medium gives control of a character&#39;s decisions to the consumer in quite the same way.&nbsp;No other medium can make the consumer feel the weight of a character&#39;s decisions quite so heavily.

For your consideration is a list of some of the&nbsp;video game moral dilemmas that most made players tear their&nbsp;hair out, wavering back and forth while staring at a &#39;Pause&#39; screen. Now it is up to you to upvote the ones you feel most strongly about. You can handle it.

Nostalgia

The gaming industry has evolved dramatically over the past few decades, morphing video games into experiences that are vastly different from their early predecessors. One thing that has noticeably changed, though, is the fact that games are now much easier than they ever used to be. Kids today have no idea just how tough titles on the likes of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-super-nintendo-_snes_-games" target="_blank">Super Nintendo Entertainment System</a> (SNES) could be and there are some truly super difficult games from the '90s that they would not even be able to imagine playing through today.That decade saw many titles that were practically impossible to beat with normal means. Some of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/hardest-video-games-of-all-time/ranker-games" target="_blank">hardest video games</a> from the '90s to finish would punish players in a number of unforgiving ways. Many had no save feature to back-up your progress, whilst others would instantly kill you and send you back to the start of a level if you so much as touched an enemy. With the exception of a select few examples like Dark Souls and Super Meat Boy, today’s games just don’t pack the same challenge. Take a look at these video games from the '90s <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/hardest-games-to-100-percent-complete/ranker-games" target="_blank">no kid today could beat</a> and see if you agree. Remember to vote up the ones you think are the most difficult to complete.

Fads

The video games industry -&nbsp;like many others -&nbsp;is still trying to figure itself out. There&#39;s no tried and true method to creating a great game, as players&#39; interests change across generations and fun is always subjective. On the plus side, this means the next big game can come out of left field;&nbsp;PlayerUnknown&#39;s&nbsp;Battlegrounds&nbsp;started off as a mod for the military simulator&nbsp;ARMA 2&nbsp;but ended up establishing an entirely new genre of <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-online-multiplayer-games/ranker-games?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">online multiplayer games</a>. Unfortunately, it also means developers often opt to take the safe route by only creating games that are in line with what&#39;s currently hot.&nbsp;

One of the main reasons <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/why-good-developers-release-bad-games/joesph-langdon" target="_blank">why developers make bad games</a> is they&nbsp;stops taking risks to theoretically maximize profits. This is a leading cause of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/stale-gaming-franchises/robert-carnevale" target="_blank">stale game&nbsp;franchises</a>&nbsp;and some of the most annoying video game trends every big-budget release seems to glom onto.&nbsp;

What&#39;s most frustrating is many of modern gaming&#39;s worst trends simply weren&#39;t issues in generations past.&nbsp;Before early access and day one patches, new games had to be finished and playable before they shipped, and there was no chance the best parts of a story would be locked behind paid DLC. Hopefully the&nbsp;good developers will learn from the past before gamers end up with an industry built on&nbsp;hot garbage.

The crossover combination of legalities and video games isn’t anything new - gaming lawsuits happen all the time. Take for example, people like Patrice D&eacute;silets, who&nbsp;have struggled to wrestle&nbsp;back the rights to their&nbsp;games - in his case he had to rescue&nbsp;1666: Amsterdam from the clutches of Ubisoft, after they wrongfully terminated him. In the world of video games, lawsuits are pretty common as people fight for ownership, censorship, and more. Of course, not every lawsuit makes sense - and some are downright silly.&nbsp;It’s important to know when and how to pick your battles when taking the fight to judicial arenas. And over the years, much like non-gaming related legal fisticuffs, what we find betwixt are cases of individuals and parties alike who abuse the judicial system for the pettiest, and sometimes hilarious, of reasons. Whether these lawsuits by gamers are justified or not, they make for interesting reading.&nbsp;Get ready to chuckle and strain your neck with constant head shaking, these are the most ridiculous lawsuits in gaming.&nbsp;

Books have inspired all kinds of different media, video games included. It's pretty rare for games to be directly taken from books, which means there are a lot of&nbsp;video games you didn't know were books first. Games tend to adapt features, atmospheres, and ideologies from books, which makes for intriguing stories and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/easter-eggs-in-video-games/ranker-games" target="_blank">hidden Easter eggs</a> for the most observant of players.&nbsp;Games writing is its own unique animal, which is part of the reason that video games inspired by books tend to crib ideas or atmospheres from books rather than be outright, moment-by-moment adaptations. Both <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/the-8-most-annoying-types-of-video-game-levels/ariel-kana?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">kinds of video games</a> based on books exist, of course, but the realities of writing for games mean it isn't as easy as writing a story and having the developers, designers, artists, and so on make it a reality. But that's what makes games based on books special: they're enjoyable not just because they replicate our favorite stories, but because they do so by translating them to an entirely new form and method of experience.&nbsp;

Video games with complicated storylines aren't inherently bad. On the contrary, some of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-games-of-all-time" target="_blank">best games of all time</a>&nbsp;feature totally convoluted plots, and gamer hipsters will tell you that an absolutely batsh*t narrative is&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-compelling-video-game-storylines" target="_blank">pinnacle of storytelling</a> in the medium. However, nothing is immune to criticism, and all too often, enthused fans will confuse a complicated story with a good one. Just because a game features <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/huge-video-game-plot-twists/john-saavedra" target="_blank">a huge plot twist</a> that you never saw coming doesn't mean its story is finely crafted.&nbsp;It's important to recognize when a beloved series has gone totally off the rails. While a studious player will probably be able to piece together what's happening in&nbsp;Silent Hill,&nbsp;the most die-hard fans are confused by parts of&nbsp;Kingdom Hearts,&nbsp;and sometimes, even a game's director will acknowledge that&nbsp;their story is just a bit too much.

While casual gamers play to earn achievements and trophies on their consoles, a select group set their sights on bigger goals: gaming world records. Those&nbsp;feats aren&#39;t as easy as turning on a console or PC. Attempting to break gamer Guinness World Records can take months or even years. Being able to snag a rare world record will give any gamer a great deal of satisfaction.

When it comes to world records, these are the most surprising ones owned by gamers. While records are meant to be broken, these might stick around in the Guinness Gamer&#39;s Edition for a long time. Vote for the video game records that impressed you the most.

Video games usually transcend time to become a beloved classic&nbsp;when they have&nbsp;one of three things:&nbsp;great art styles, gameplay that's too good to age, and music that's eternally catchy. For example, think back to old titles such as amazing NES games like&nbsp;Mega Man 2&nbsp;and the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-playstation-2-shooter-games/reference" target="_blank">best PS2 shooter games</a>, such as&nbsp;Star Wars Battlefront 2. However, not all amazing titles age gracefully.While they may have been epic when they were released, some classic games became a real mess with time. Compiled here is a list of video games&nbsp;were once industry pioneers. Others&nbsp;were merely intriguing at launch, only to become zits on the face of the medium with time. However, all these titles share a common theme: every game on this list has aged poorly. Very poorly. Vote up the video games that have&nbsp;gotten uglier with the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/sad-songs-about-time/ranker-music?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">passage of time</a>.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/video-game-companies/reference">Video game companies</a>&nbsp;create&nbsp;one&nbsp;of the biggest forms of entertainment in the world, directly competing with movies, television, and music for people's&nbsp;attention. While games are well-known for their ability to entertain and amaze, there are proven&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/top-10-_proven_-health-benefits-of-video-games/val1s">health benefits of video games</a> and other positive effects. In fact, there are plenty of real life skills learned from video games that people have utilized in reality to great effect.Although not every title is a realistic simulator that directly correlates to real life, there are certain skills, abilities, and life lessons that have been useful. Read on to discover how video games have had a sincere, positive effect on people and have even served as a platform to&nbsp;help save lives.&nbsp;

Pretentious <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-games-of-all-time" target="_blank">video games</a> are difficult to play.&nbsp;They&nbsp;often try&nbsp;to break the mold, only to fail in the two most important categories:&nbsp;storyline and user experience. Instead, these games&nbsp;exude palpable self-importance.It's not merely <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/video-games-no-one-completely-finishes/john-saavedra" target="_blank">games that are impossible to beat</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;games that aim to tell thought-provoking stories that are guilty of being pretentious. Others games fall short as well.&nbsp;They disregard gameplay mechanics, seeking fame and novelty. If developers only understood&nbsp;that most people play for fun, more games would have real&nbsp;substance instead of just a flashy facade.

Centipede Is About A Magic Elf Battling An Evil Wizard

CAUTION: This list contains plot spoilers for various video games.&nbsp;Video games are arguably the most diverse type of media and while lots of titles avoid storytelling, there are plenty of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-compelling-video-game-storylines">games that incorporate compelling storylines</a>. While most backstories&nbsp;are associated with the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-rpg-video-games-ever-made">RPG genre</a>, a surprising amount of different games also boast rich narratives. Sure, not every type of genre needs an interesting or intriguing plot to make it fun to play, but providing a narrative solidifies&nbsp;the&nbsp;purpose for&nbsp;why a player is going out on their adventure and justifies the events that are taking place.Although most games that want to include a story will do so in a rather obvious way,&nbsp;such as straightforward objectives issued by an NPC in a single-player campaign,&nbsp;there are some titles that hide an elaborate backstory. The narrative is purposefully difficult to uncover, with bits of information&nbsp;spread out here and there like a delectable bread crumb trail. Other times, the story is just hidden due to technical limitations&nbsp;preventing a studio from&nbsp;including&nbsp;everything they want in the game. In some cases, publishers opt to sell <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-dlc-packs/ranker-games">extra content to fans in the form of DLCs</a>.Whatever the case, it's clear that the most popular games in the world have hidden backstories that are as bizarre as they are interesting. Check out the list below&nbsp;for crazy storylines behind familiar games and vote up the ones that shocked you.&nbsp;

Work can be insufferable. People expect things from you, so&nbsp;you&nbsp;trudge through these requests because you'll be (under)paid for your efforts every two or four weeks. It would make everything better if there were some entertainment at the office. And while having a playlist of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/movie-soundtracks-to-listen-to-while-you-do-work/cehudspeth" target="_blank">best movie soundtracks to listen to at work</a> can help, sometimes you just need something more engaging. Like, say, video games.&nbsp;&nbsp;Believe it or not,&nbsp;there are video games you can secretly play at work. In fact, there are a whole bunch of browser-based discreet video games that are perfect for life in the cubicle. Some are text-based and look innocuous, and a few even replicate the appearance of a Word doc or Excel spreadsheet that will easily fool a quick glance from management. Check out this list below to see if any of these secret video games are ones you could get into&nbsp;and vote up the ones that are the best to play while &quot;working.&quot;

Over the last few years, video games have started to earn&nbsp;some of the same critical acclaim&nbsp;as movies and television. Their breathtaking worlds and in-depth stories mean&nbsp;they have become great ways to experience fiction. While plenty of titles have made the jump to Hollywood to become feature <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/video-game-movie-problems/jordan-love" target="_blank">films</a>, there are definitely even more video games that would make great TV series. This is especially true when you consider that so many video games take inspiration from television and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/video-games-inspired-by-books/melissa-brinks" target="_blank">books</a> in the first place.

The lack of critically and commercially successful&nbsp;movie adaptations might well be due to the fact that most <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-games-of-all-time" target="_blank">video games</a> are just better&nbsp;suited to the format of television shows. After all, video games are usually far longer than a standard movie. They also tend to include a wide&nbsp;variety of characters, complex worlds, and story&nbsp;arcs that can be better explored through&nbsp;the longer format that TV offers.

Pong brought video games into the mainstream, and with it came a whole lot of frustration and elation. The early technology was crude and expensive, but interacting with your TV was an exciting new frontier. Nowadays, developers look to extract emotion through epic storytelling, relatable characters, and intense difficulty. In between exasperation from frustrating mechanics and modern psychological manipulation lives a gaggle of video games that cause extreme reactions.There are emotional video games that make you sad and introspective, like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-PlayStation-4/dp/B00YOJIDSO?tag=rankercom-20">Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons</a>, and there are <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-scariest-video-games-of-all-time-?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">scary video games</a> that freak you out like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Outlast-Trinity-PlayStation-4/dp/B06XGQ376Z?tag=rankercom-20">Outlast</a>. Whether you're an everyday gamer or a part-time mobile enthusiast, there's plenty out there to push your buttons.SPOILER ALERT: There are a few startling plot twists and dramatic deaths in this list, so don't be surprised to find some spoilers here and there. You've been warned.

Game Is Life

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The best Age of Empires games, ranked from greatest&nbsp;to worst from readers everywhere. If you think the coolest Age of Empires game to play isn&#39;t as high as it should be then make sure to vote it up so that it has the chance to rise to the top. Are you and a friend arguing over what the greatest Age of Empires game of all time is? Use this list of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-sports-to-play/sports-lists?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">fun to play</a> AoE&nbsp;video games to see how many people would agree with you and end the squabble once and for all.&nbsp;

Thist list&nbsp;features all the games in the series, from Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings to Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition and more.

If you&#39;re wondering, &quot;What are the greatest Age of Empires games?&quot; or &quot;What is the best Age of Empires game of all time?&quot; then this list should answer your questions.

Age Of Empires Games List: Best to Worst

The Best Age Of Empires Games

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AMAZON

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999 for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems, it was the second game in the Age of Empires series. An expansion, The Conquerors, was released in 2000. A PlayStation 2 version was released by Konami in 2001, and a Nintendo DS spinoff, Age of Empires: The Age of Kings was developed by Backbone Entertainment in 2006. A Dreamcast port, by Konami, was canceled.
The Age of Kings is set in the Middle Ages and contains thirteen playable civilizations. Players aim to gather resources, which they use to build towns, create armies, and defeat their enemies. There are five historically based campaigns, which constrict the player to specialized and story-backed conditions. There are three additional single-player game modes, and multiplayer is supported. Despite using the same game engine and similar code to its predecessor, development of The Age of Kings took a year longer than expected, forcing Ensemble Studios to release Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome in 1998 instead.

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors is the first expansion pack to the 1999 real-time strategy game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. The Conquerors is the fourth installment in the Age of Empires series by Microsoft Game Studios and Ensemble Studios. It features five new civilizations, four new campaigns, eleven new units, twenty-six new technologies, new gameplay modes, new maps and different minor tweaks to the gameplay. A second expansion, the semi-official The Forgotten, was released exclusively on Steam in Fall 2013, over a decade since the release of The Conquerors.

SMEK

Age of Mythology

Age of Mythology is a mythology-based real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on October 30, 2002 in North America and a week later in Europe.
A spin-off from the Age of Empires series, Age of Mythology takes inspiration from the myths and legends of the Greeks, Egyptians, and Norse, rather than from actual history. However, many gameplay elements are similar to the Age of Empires series. Its campaign follows an Atlantean admiral, Arkantos, who is forced to travel through the lands of the game's three cultures, hunting for a cyclops who is in league with Poseidon against Atlantis.
Age of Mythology was commercially successful, going platinum four months after its release after selling over one million units. It also achieved critical acclaim, scoring 89% on both GameRankings and Metacritic. In 2003 it was followed by an expansion pack, Age of Mythology: The Titans.
On May 8, 2014, Age of Mythology: Extended Edition was released for Windows via Steam.

Anton Gustavsson

Age of Empires III

Age of Empires III is a real-time strategy video game developed by Microsoft Corporation's Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Mac version was ported over and developed and published by Destineer's MacSoft Games. The PC version was released on October 18, 2005 in North America and November 4, 2005 in Europe, while the Mac version was released on November 21, 2006 in North America and September 29, 2006 in Europe. An N-Gage version of the game developed by Glu Mobile was released on April 28, 2009. It is the third game of the Age of Empires series and the sequel to Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings.
The game portrays the European colonization of the Americas, between approximately 1492 and 1850 AD. There are eight European civilizations to play within the game. Age of Empires III has made several innovations in the series, in particular with the addition of the "Home City", which combines real-time strategy and role-playing game features.

Age of Empires II HD: the Forgotten

Age of Empires

Age of Empires is a history-based real-time strategy video game released in 1997. Developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Ensemble was still an independent company, later acquired by Microsoft. The game uses the Genie, a 2D sprite-based game engine. The game allows the user to act as the leader of an ancient civilization by advancing it through four ages, gaining access to new and improved units with each advance. It was later ported to Pocket PCs with Windows, resulting in a version very similar to the PC game.
Originally touted as Civilization meets Warcraft, some reviewers felt that the game failed to live up to these expectations when it was released. Despite this, it received generally good reviews, and the expansion pack Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome was released in 1998. Both the original Age of Empires and the expansion pack were later released as "The Gold Edition".

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is the second official expansion pack for the real-time strategy video game Age of Empires III developed through a collaboration between Ensemble Studios and Big Huge Games, and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Mac version was ported over, developed and published by Destineer's MacSoft Games. The game is the second expansion pack following The WarChiefs. The game introduces three new civilizations; China, Japan, and India. It also introduced minor people, campaigns, maps, and game modes.
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties for PC was released in North America on October 23, 2007. The Mac version was released on August 5, 2008. The game was generally received well by critics, mostly praising graphics, and sometimes criticizing predictable aspects of the game. It earned a 79% score on GameRankings and an 81% on Metacritic.

Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome

Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome Expansion is a history-based real-time strategy game in the Age of Empires series. It is based on the rise of the Roman Empire, and adds the Roman Empire and three other playable civilizations to Age of Empires.

Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas

Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs

Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs is the first official expansion pack for the real-time strategy game Age of Empires III. It was announced by Ensemble Studios and Microsoft Game Studios on March 7, 2006. The demo version was released October 4, 2006. The full game for PC was released on October 17, 2006 in the United States. The expansion pack was then bundled with the full game of Age of Empires III, being called Age of Empires III Gold Edition on September 19, 2006. The Mac version was ported over, developed and published by Destineer's MacSoft Games. The full game for Mac was released on June 12, 2007 in the United States. It was followed by a second expansion pack to the original game called Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.

Age of Empires II HD: the African Kingdoms

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is a real-time strategy computer game set in the Star Wars universe.
Players have a choice of factions and campaigns. The factions in the original game include the Wookiees, Royal Naboo, the Trade Federation, the Empire, the Rebels, and the Gungans. There are two campaigns in the game centered on the Wookiee race, and one campaign each for the Gungans, the Trade Federation, the Galactic Empire, and the Rebel Alliance. The Naboo are only available in multiplayer. An expansion pack, Clone Campaigns, was released in 2002, adding two new factions and campaigns. Later that year, both Galactic Battlegrounds and Clone Campaigns were released in a box set, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga. No sequels have been made, although other Star Wars themed RTSes have been made such as Star Wars: Empire at War.
The games were built on the Genie engine, the same one used in Age of Empires, and Age of Empires II.

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Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns

Age of Empires Online

Age of Empires Online was a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game released on August 16, 2011 through digital distribution and optical discs. Based upon the gameplay of the Age of Empires series, it was originally being developed by Robot Entertainment, but on February 24, 2011, it was announced that Gas Powered Games, the creators of Supreme Commander, had taken over production. The game is published by Microsoft.
The game was free-to-play—it was free for users to play, with the additional option of earning or purchasing premium content. Premium content may include access to many special items and blueprints, and more quests and features. Also, booster packs are now available, such as Defense of Crete and Skirmish. The former gives the player the ability to play in a survival type mode game, while the latter allows up to four humans versus up to four CPU opponents in a more traditional skirmish game-mode. The modes can be played in either single-player or co-op. The game also features several player versus player modes for up to four people with the option of a PvP "Champion mode" which fully unlocks the players' tech tree and renders the gear for aesthetics only.

From Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings to Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, this list ranks all the best and worst AOE games, ranked by readers.