The Twenty Best PC Games of All Time

While this list is really just my own personal favorite games, it is by no means the games that I think you should play. I just wanted to put a list out here of the twenty best games I've ever played on the computer, and why I believe they are the best, so that others who haven't seen some of them might want to try them out. This is quite possible since a few of them are little-known games that I found somehow on the internet. Feel free to give me feedback if there's another game you think should be on this list, and be sure to tell me why so I can see if I'll be interested or not. Also note that since I don't enjoy first-person shooter (FPS) games, there aren't any on this list to speak of. I've played them quite a bit, make no mistake--they just aren't very addicting or appealing to me. Also, I don't get a lot of satisfaction from being able to pull a trigger faster than my enemy. I much prefer strategy games, and most of the games on this list are in that category.

In this hub I'll probably be using a lot of nerd-speak acronyms which may or may not be familiar to those of you reading this hub. If they are not familiar to you, then you're reading the correct section to fix that. I've provided this little glossary of terms that I might use, or that you will probably hear if you ever step into some nerds' conversations about gaming. Note also that all the acronyms (words where each letter stands for another word and are not really words themselves) are pronounced by saying the names of the letters in order, rather than trying to make it sound like a word. For instance, "FPS" is prounounced "EFF-PEE-ESS" instead of "FFF-PSSS." If you think of any that are not in this glossary that you have heard before, please list them in the comments section and I'll add them here.

AI - Stands for "Artificial Intelligence" and it means any entity that can think for itself and make decisions, known or unknown to you, the player, that affect you in some way. For instance, a man standing on the sidewalk that goes and talks to someone else if you say a certain thing to him, but otherwise just stays where he is. Even a simple decision like that is considered an AI, although there is probably more to it that you aren't aware of yet, or haven't encountered in the game.

Bot - A bot is a computer AI that can think for itself and fight against you or others in a strategy game. The important thing to remember about bots is that they are the only enemy you can play against if you aren't playing against real people. Usually you are able to select a bot's difficulty level before the game starts. See also "NPC" below.

EXP - These are the first three letters of the word "experience" which is almost always what EXP stands for. Experience is a quantity of knowledge that an RPG character or a player profile can gain. Upon gaining enough experience, a player usually gets a level up. In most games, EXP is gained by killing enemies, or performing certain actions in the game. See also "Level" below.

FPS - Stands for "First-Person Shooter." First-person means that your point of view is the same point of view you would have if you were actually standing there, holding the gun. Shooter means that you are usually holding a gun of some kind and shooting and killing lots of NPC's, which might be aliens, humans, or whatever. It all depends on the game. Any game in which you are unable to inflict damage with an item you possess is not really an FPS (in other words, you are required to use a stationary missile turret or something else to inflict damage rather than just being able to shoot missiles yourself).

Frag - This term is used synonymously with "death," referring to when your in-game character dies. It can also be used as a verb which means to kill another player in a video game. Generally, there is a frag limit, which is the number of kills required to win the game. It is possible for a player to frag him or herself--for instance, a player holding a barrel of gunpowder with the fuse lit. Or rather, shortly afterwards.

Level - A player's level is a measure of how potent the player is at the game in general. A level up is a point where the player's level increases based upon the amount of experience (EXP) a player has gained, or other factors unique to the game.

MMO - Stands for "massively multiplayer online." Often with a "G" added at the end for game or gaming. This is actually an entire industry, considering how popular online games have become in recent years, and a fairly lucrative industry at that. An MMO is a game whose players all connect to the internet and log in to begin playing, and players from any location can play and chat with players from any other location, worldwide. MMO games are a testament to the fact that, despite our differences, human beings love to play games in great numbers.

Mob - Any large group of computer AI's, bots, or enemies in general that are found in the wild and can be killed are mobs. Mobs may or may not respawn, but if they do they are usually found in the same area. For example, if there are scorpions that can be killed in a desert area for experience, they will most likely respawn in the desert area because that is where they belong. Unlike actual human players, mobs usually respawn once the main player or players have left the area where the mobs were killed. So going back to town and coming back to the area with the enemies will sometimes respawn those enemies, depending on the game.

Mod - Short for "modification." A mod is an enhancement to a video game, usually one that adds new elements to the gameplay or new units to try out, and it can be more or less than that. Mods vary from game to game, but games that support mods are sure to have a large fan following of plenty of different mods. A mod is usually narrow and specific in its scope--for instance, in an RTS game, it would probably do something like add a new race to play in the game, and might include new additions to the technology tree for that particular race. See also "TC" below.

Nomic - This is an adjective used to describe a game in which part of the game is to change the rules of the game itself. Nomic games are centered around this idea, and any game where changing the rules is considered an entire turn or a single "move" is certainly nomic. There are quite a variety of online nomic games out there.

Noob - A noob is a player who is new to a game and doesn't yet know what to do, or know a whole lot about the game. It is generally used as an insult by players of a higher standing to players they have a grudge against or players they are angry at, whether or not those players are actually noobs. It can also be used jokingly with friends when they do something stupid. A "noob account" is a character or profile that has very little experience, even though the player who owns the account is not necessarily a noob.

NPC - Stands for "Non-Player Character" and it means anyone else (a character) in the game besides you, the player. If there is a librarian that says "Hi" to you whenever you walk in a room, that character is an NPC, regardless of the fact that it probably doesn't have an AI behind it. Most NPC's will have some kind of AI but that doesn't mean they aren't an NPC if they don't. NPC can also mean an enemy you're facing, such as a collective CPU-based enemy that does its own thinking (an AI without a character representation). These are commonly known as "bots" and are standard in strategy games, especially for PC.

Respawn - This refers to the concept of extra lives. When a player dies in certain games, if that player has infinite lives, or at least has extra lives remaining, then that player will respawn somewhere else in the game. It means the player re-appears and can resume playing the game, but usually respawning causes a player to lose any bonuses or power-ups that he or she may have had before. The term "respawn point" means the place on the map or the spot in the game where the player appeared after dying. The term "respawn rate" means how long it takes for your character to respawn after he or she dies. That is, if your character dies, and it takes ten seconds to respawn, the respawn rate is ten seconds. During this time you are usually forced to stare at your dead character lying on the ground (and, presumably, shed tears in preparation for the next round).

RPG - Stands for "Role-Playing Game" and it refers to games that involve a fictional character that you create, whose role you will play. In other words, when you are playing the game, you are playing the role of the character you created, so you aren't playing as yourself, you're playing as if you were actually that character in that world. RPG's typically have fantasy elements to them, and most of them are turn-based, although there is a lot of variation to how the turn-based element is implemented.

RTS - Stands for "Real-Time Strategy" and it means any strategy game that happens in real time. Real time is happening constantly, so any game that you cannot stop and think as long as you need to without something happening meanwhile is in real time. Real time is the opposite of turn-based. Also, RTS games are typically games in which you begin with a number of worker units and a command center building, and you can then use the workers to collect nearby resources and build other buildings, which can then build and upgrade military units. In an RTS, nearly everything you can do will cost you resources, so good resource management is a key skill to have in order to do well.

TC - Stands for "Total Conversion" and is the next step up from a mod. A total conversion takes the engine and underlying aspects of a game and converts it into an entirely new game altogether, with the same core and often the same type of gameplay, but a fully different experience. An example would be Age of Empires 2 and Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds. The latter is a TC of the former, because it changes everything about the game except for the basic menu system and the game's graphics core. All the units, races, technologies, and everything playable about the game have been changed.

Turn-Based - A game that is turn-based requires your confirmation of the ending of your turn before more events can take place. Generally, you move your units around and attack, then confim the end of your turn somehow, and then the opponent does the same. If you have not clicked end turn yet and it is still your turn, the game will be paused until you move, attack, or click end turn. Turn-based is the opposite of real time because things are not happening continuously, but only when an order is given or the turn is ended.

Units - People, ships, vehicles, and mobile weapons. The term "unit" refers to any individual entity that you can move around in the game. A basic infantry soldier is one unit. A lot of infantry soldiers are simply called units, or in some games, a squad. A tank, battleship, or aircraft is a unit. A unit is any commandable part of your army that you can order to move and/or attack with.

Finally! Now we can get to the list itself. I'll briefly mention each game and why I think it belongs in the spot it is in, explaining what is good about it and what might be improved, if there is anything. Also, free games are noted by an asterisk after the game's developer in parentheses. Two asterisks indicate an online game that has both free and paid options for membership.

#20: Silent Thunder (Sierra Games)

Silent Thunder is an amazing game, if only for the pure joy of flying around and blowing up tanks. You can choose from a variety of aircraft, then pilot them through a variety of missions in a diverse map set--from the jungles of Africa to snowy northern lands. It has the replayability and addiction level of the average aircraft simulator, but the shallow learning curve and the interesting missions make it worth playing, not to mention the nice scenery.

#19: Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds (Lucas Arts / Microsoft Game Studios)

While this game is a TC of Age of Empires 2, it adds what AoE 2 lacks in a way that stays true to the Star Wars universe. The races in this game are more distinct and true to what they are in Star Wars. The historical races in AoE 2 are historically accurate to some degree, I'm sure, but they aren't all that different from one another. Say the Chinese get a +15% woodcutting bonus over the Saracens. Like you're really going to notice that! Battlegrounds put the fun and the variety into AoE 2 and for that it is on this list. It could be better if more work had been put into the graphics, which are relatively the same quality as that of AoE 2, or possibly worse.

#18: Bejeweled 2 (PopCap Games)

Here's a trivia question for you: What is the one game that has run down the most cell phone batteries? The answer is Bejeweled 2! Okay, so that's not the PC version of it, but doesn't that say something about other versions of the same game? The PC version is simply awesome. There is nothing that could be improved about it. The new powerups add the variety that the first version lacked, giving you a sort of goal instead of just matching up the first three gems that catch your eye. The game's only limitation is the game type itself. One can only play this game for so long without getting hungry or deciding that there are better things to do in the world than swap pictures of gems on a computer. However, it remains the best swap-3 game that I am currently aware of.

#17: Neon Wars (BlitWise Productions)

Neon Wars is unbelievably fun to play. Not only is it a brilliant game in many different ways, but I was unaware until now that arcade games could be this awesome. Little did the programmers of Neon Wars know that they would become the first to make fireworks into a game! There are only two flaws--first is the sound, which was too soft and light for such an exciting game; and second, the title screen has crazy fireworks all over it, which looks neat but is hard to stare at for more than three seconds without contracting a chronic eye disorder. Aside from these two minor details, the game is already a classic in my book. There may be another game out there that contains more creativity, beauty, and originality than Neon Wars, but I am not yet aware of such a game.

#16: Ore No Ryomi 2 (Vertigo Games)*

This is one of the most unique games you will ever play. What it lacks in graphics quality, it makes up in everything else. Ore No Ryomi 2 is a restauraunt tycoon game, but it is also an exciting food-prep craze. The music is awesome in every version I have played, and matches very well what is going in on the game. For instance, in the lazy afternoon times you'll hear jazz or relaxing music, and during the "rush hour" times, you hear the William Tell Overture or the little flying-ship building-tune from Chicken Run. Also, there is some humor involved. Once you obtain enough money to buy a dinner buffet, the health inspector can be seen going through it multiple times. He also buys up to three gumballs on every inspection, while normal customers can only buy one (only once you have a gumball machine). If you're going to try this game out, I would recommend that you become accustomed to using the keyboard rather than the mouse. If you use the mouse, you'll find the game getting harder and harder the more menu items you buy, and the iron cook challenges may well be impossible. This is one of the best free games on the internet. I highly suggest you try it out.

#15: Jedi Knight 3: Jedi Academy (Lucas Arts)

While this game does have a lot of bugs, glitches, and issues, it is worth the money for many reasons. The graphics quality is very good for what little system requirements there are. The missions are interesting and varied, even though they are presented in a dull way and your superiors (Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn) aren't much help at all. Occasionally, though, when Kyle is with you, you can let him kill all the enemies for you, as he's definitely a Jedi Master. When he does decide to fight, he means business. The RPG element is limited by the fact that you can only put up to three points into your force powers, but that is made up for by the eight different force powers you have to play around with. My favorites would have to be healing, since some levels are incredibly annoying without it, and force lightning. There's just something fun about zapping a stormtrooper off the edge of a building. There are also eight weapons which get unlocked as you progress up the tiers of missions. These weapons are great except for the fact that you don't really need them. Anyone holding anything but a lightsaber has no chance of living if you decide to kill them. This game is the true jedi apprentice experience. Though the storyline is predictable and cheesy, some of the in-game dialogue is rather humorous.

#14: Pocket Tanks (BlitWise Productions)

This game is the one game that was just meant to be ever since Scorched Earth on the old computers. It was designed well, and its excellent interface and intense gameplay reflect this. The music is humorously light for a game where two tanks are blasting the snot out of each other. Pocket tanks comes with the ability to add new weapon packs, which makes it that much more fun. You can also customize your game settings into a profile, including which weapons are allowed and which are removed. This is great because there are a few weapons I don't care for, and I'm sure some of the weapons I like are despised by others. Overall, the game is perfect. Not in all my years of playing it have I once been disappointed about anything in Pocket Tanks. Games by BlitWise typically display these properties.

#13: Super Mario War (various authors)*

For any Super Mario Brothers fan, which is anyone who didn't grow up in a cave, this is the perfect way to satisfy all your cravings for old-school gaming fun. It has elements from every game up to and including Super Mario World, and then some. It has about 15 different modes of play, including Domination, Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Frag Limit, and Classic (number of lives left). There are also various power-ups including a cape, a boomerang, a bob-omb suit, firepower, and one-ups, as well as many more which I won't spoil for you. Complete with a map editor and downloadable content, as well as many different characters or "skins" to use, this will be a game sure to cause fun and enjoyment for years to come.

#12: Red Alert 2

This game is a fast-paced RTS for those with a death wish. The computer AI's are a challenge on the easy difficulty, and at worst, move with the speed of a bolt of lightning. If you can manage to keep up with your enemies, this game is much less of a pushover than AoE 2. Redeeming qualities include two very distinct alliances with several unique countries behind each; lots of neat, futuristic units at your disposal; and plenty of replay value and graphical bells and whistles. Buildings transform into existence when they are done building, and many units have special things they can do that further enhances gameplay. If you really want a beating, you can turn on the "super weapons" option and have a blast if you ever manage to survive long enough to build one. Luckily, the game speed can be turned down for the less attuned players, although it makes the game seem like playing with legos in molasses. Overall, Red Alert 2 is worth a try if you're too bored with the other average RTS games out there. The timeline for the units and structures is set in the near to distant future.

#11: Warcraft 3

This game is pure fun. It has great graphics, especially for an RTS, leader units that gain experience and can hold items, like an RPG, and other unique elements of its own, such as side-quests and special hero units that you can follow through an entire campaign. Four VERY distinct races make this a challenging and enjoyable game. The one thing I would really like to see for this game is the High Elves to become a playable race; there is currently no way to build the high elf magic towers that you see in certain levels, nor any of the high elf units that are also in certain levels. It would be awesome if this became possible in the future. Plays a lot like AoE 3 (below) but is a fantasy version of it, and there is no food resource, only wood and coin. Food is really just your population limit, which is determined by the number of dwellings you have built, just like in AoE.

#10: Age of Empires 3

Personally, this is my second favorite RTS game. It takes everything that was annoying, stupid, or just a brain-boiling hassle out of AoE 2 and replaces it with new ideas and content that are as much fun as they are ingenious. For instance, your workers no longer have to run frantically back and forth between a resource drop-off building and the resource; instead, they simply remain at the resource and continue to add it to your stock. They are never "carrying" any resources so you can move workers around with ease, no longer having to ensure that they drop off any resources they are carrying first. Also, resource management has been made simpler by the removal of stone as a resource. Now, there is only food, wood, and gold. The graphics are astounding compared to AoE 2, and the variety and specialization of units has been greatly improved, as well as the difference between races. The addition of a customizeable home city also makes this game a fabulous new way to experience real-time strategy gaming. The timeline for AoE 3 is just after that of AoE 2, when sailing to distant worlds for conquest and gold had become old hat and new lands were being sought after, as well as legends being uncovered.

#9: Battle for Wesnoth (David White)*

While Ore No Ryomi above (#16) is one of the best free games out there, Battle for Wesnoth IS the best free game out there, period. I have read that Microsoft Game Studios is actually ending the Age of Empires series in favor of adopting this game and possibly making it available for XBOX. I couldn't applaud more, as this is the best RPG I have ever played, let alone that it is completely free and is customizeable. It comes with a map editor and you can create your own scenarios and campaigns, and the gameplay is just strategic enough that you can still have a fighting chance just by random luck, but that you can't consistently win without a fair bit of strategic skill. There are also varying difficulty levels, and the graphics are far beyond what is to be expected out of the average RPG. Warning--if you start playing this game, you may not be able to stop!

#8: The Elder Scrolls 3 - Morrowind (Bethesda Softworks LLC)

This is one of the most entrapping games I have ever played. You choose what to do, and where to go. Travel the vast empire of Morrowind and embark on a new journey with every footstep. Free prisoners, or join the royal guard and help enslave them. Rent a room for the night, or save money and pick the lock to a room yourself. There is so much to this game that you will never be able to just "beat" it once and for all, so if you like games that you can win, Morrowind is probably not for you. Whether you've got a hankering to run around and kill strange beasts, wizards, and skeletons, venture into a deep mine and help stop a conspiracy, or raid an ancient tomb for treasure, Morrowind is here to help fulfill your craving. With several races to choose from and many different shops and towns to visit, this is one game you don't want to miss out on.

#7: Warhammer 40k - Dark Crusade (Games Workshop)

In terms of RTS games, this game is far above the usual standard. It has enough unique elements of its own to be interesting, while containing a few major elements typical of RTS games. Strategy is even more of a factor in determining who wins, especially with plenty of unique races to choose from. You've got your average army, the Space Marines. Then there's the Eldar just to keep the tables unbalanced, who can warp their entire base somewhere new at the snap of a finger. Then just for good measure, the Necrons come along and make a dent in your defenses, and just when you thought they were all dead, they all get back up and start attacking, and right about that time, their monolith teleports in and begins demolishing whatever base you had left. Instead of mining resources as in other RTS games, your objective is to capture and hold strategic points around the map, which give you resources continuously as long as you retain control of them. Sound like fun? Make no mistake--this is a game for the serious strategy gamer, not for the noob looking for another new game to play.

#6: RuneScape (Jagex Ltd.)**

This is one medieval RPG you'll never forget, and I am absolutely sure it will remain popular for many, many years to come. I refer to it as the one true "medieval masterpiece" of a game. Read my hub about it to hear my soap box about why it's such a great game; or better yet, try it yourself--it's free. You can pay for a membership and get benefits for being a member, but if you don't want to pay, you can still play quite a bit of the game for free. It will take you a while before you reach the limits of the free game and begin to itch for a membership. Even if you don't think you'll like a game set in medieval times, just try it. You won't be disappointed.

#5: Starcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)

Starcraft is simply a classic game. It set the bar for RTS games nearly ten years ago when it was released, and the bar has since remained in Starcraft's possession. No gamer can be considered a strategical genius without having played this game. Starcraft wrote the book on making races in RTS games distinct from one another. The races are also very delicately balanced, so that no one race has any specific advantage over another. Regardless of its genre, this is one of the most popular games of all time, and I'd be lying if it wasn't on my list as at least number five.

#4: Dungeon Siege 2 (Gas Powered Games)

As far as RPG's go, this game is currently in the lead. Battle for Wesnoth may be a great game, but it just can't compare to the sheer magnitude and graphics quality that Dungeon Siege 2. It really isn't fair to compare the two games, as they're both unique and awesome games in their own way. DS2 contains what most other RPG games today lack, and that is fun. The time it would take the average gamer to get bored with DS2 is exponentially greater than that of any other RPG I know of. What you get for free in Wesnoth, this game delivers ten times as much for a price that is orders of magnitude cheaper than its true value. This game has "entertainment" written all over it.

#3: Sins of a Solar Empire (Stardock Corporation)

Of all the new, recent games that have come about, I like this game the best. Supreme Commander may be a great game, but paying five hundred dollars for a computer that can run it isn't worth it when you can just buy this game and have something so much better. Playing Sins of a Solar Empire is really like playing monopoly with planets and starships instead of a silly old strip of sidewalks. Where a lot of RTS games douse the less-acute strategic gamer in pure strategy, this game incorporates economics and yes, even politics. To picture this game well, think of combining the superb scale of Supreme Commander, the outlandish open space environment of Homeworld, and the economical superiority of Galactic Civilization. It's all those things combined, only better. The one major (and I mean, major) downside to this game is the playing time, as you'd expect with monopoly. A short game takes three hours, and a long game can last as long as you want it to. Picture playing an enormous game of chess for days and days. That's how much fun you'll have playing Sins, if you can only find the time.

#2: Portal (Valve Corporation)

Well, earlier I said I never play FPS games, and it's true. I don't get a whole lot of enjoyment out of being able to maneuver well in tight spaces, hide behind corners and support beams, and pull a trigger faster than my opponent. That's why I like Portal. It really is a puzzle game, not an FPS, but at first glance it plays like an FPS. Same first person view, anyway. Except you're in a sterile testing environment with a sadistic AI spouting ironically helpful information at you, and asking you to stop destroying vital testing apparatuses. Seriously, this is the second most enjoyable game I know. After beating it once, I only wanted to beat it again that much more, rather than saying, "Well, that was fun, time to ditch the game." The portal concept is so uncanny and freaky, that you can almost imagine for a second that it's really possible, and that makes this game enjoyable beyond belief. Not to mention all the crazy scenarios you can think up once you start playing around with the portal gun...to mention a few: falling infinitely through two portals (one in the ceiling and one right below it in the floor); putting two next to each other on the floor, sticking your legs through one, grabbing your feet, and spinning around and around (well, you can't actually do this in the game, but it's still hilarious); and finally, putting two on opposite walls in a corner, then chasing yourself in a circle.

Yes, finally, here it is. The moment you've been waiting for (or did you cheat and scroll all the way to the bottom just to see?)

#1: Homeworld 2 (Sierra Games / Relic Studios)

The cream of the crop in RTS gaming. (Okay, I know half of the games on this list are RTS games, but yeah, it's my favorite type if you haven't figured it out yet. Besides, this is my list, after all--I'm not forcing you to read it.) I can't really say much more. It simply is the best. I can't say what I like most--the intuitive, excellent controls, the adaptive gameplay involved, the customizeability of the game, or the open space environment. This is gaming at its best. I don't know how I survived before having played this game, or why I ever thought an RTS game could never be this awesome. End of story.

Maybe you don't agree with my choices, but that doesn't matter. They will change when Starcraft 2 comes out, that's for sure. I'm expecting that it may become my number two or number one choice, moving all the others up a slot. Regardless, I hope I've enlightened you to some of the less well-known but just as great games out there, and maybe you'll take a chance and try one or two of them. Well, I believe I've said enough for one hub. This is Cybermouse signing off.