I don't understand how you could totally ignore Deus Ex. It could be argued that it is nothing more than a mix of open-ended role-playing with 3D action, but it could be argued that Citizen Kane was just an amalgam of previous movies. Deus Ex allows you to decide what kind of player you want to be and even what kind of person you want to be. It creates a world as real as that of Shenmue but far more exciting. I'm not familiar with the games on your list except The Sims, which I will admit is worthy of admittance, and No One Lives Forever, which instantly bored me by expecting me to sit at a window and shoot people (perhaps it gets better later on, but that's not much of a beginning). However, I can't believe that these other games have anything over Deus Ex. From what I read No One Lives Forever combines Thief-like stealth with Half-Life-style action, which is what Deus Ex did several months earlier.

-Charles Herold


Though I agree that Sacrifice is pretty innovative, I think you overlooked Combat Mission because of its small audience. This is a game that takes a genre thought dead, turn-based combat, and breathes new life into it by allowing you to plot moves simultaneously, then watch the result in a real-time movie experience. By doing this, it combines the strategy and planning that have always been the strength of turn-based games, but adds the visual flair and excitement that real time has to offer. Not to mention, this is the only play-by-e-mail game I've ever had the patience for. With the wide variety of units and the excellent map generator, playing against a human opponent is always a unique and interesting challenge. The game strives so hard to simulate real tactical combat that "gamey" tactics won't work. Unit rushes don't work, and only a well-designed combined force can be successful. Finally, the game also supports user modifications, and a whole community has built up countless upgrades to the graphics and sound of the game, extending its life span.

-Ian Murphy


I must say I'm surprised you left Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord out of your most innovative game list. Combat Mission has brought wargaming to the masses (including me). Combat Mission is much better than any RTS game I've ever played, as it requires actual tactics, and not simply massing troops and sending them over. Combat Mission is what I was hoping for when I first started playing RTS games, but these fell short. For once, line of sight actually means something.

Plus, you have to love the game's order phase and then the one-minute action (movie) phase. The AI is great (better than many players), and for the first time I can play multiplayer with other players via e-mail.

-Brian Wharry


I still love Ground Control. The game has tactics, great graphics, and is action packed - and it is also getting a free expansion. Deus Ex just blows my mind when it comes to story and how many directions you can take. And why was Vampire bashed and ignored so much? I think the problem is that it was overshadowed by the hack-and-slash been-there done-that Diablo II.

-Parks


I think the Microsoft game Allegiance is an extremely underrated game. It combines the best elements of Team Fortress, Wing Commander, and resource-gathering RTS games. Very entertaining and a fun social experience. Too bad it was so buggy at release. Now most of the bugs are gone, and it is tremendous fun.

-Gern Blanston

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