The Gamers' Temple 2002 Games of the Year - Strategy Games

Warcraft III

Warcraft III has been a long time coming, and 2002 was the year that strategy gamers finally got a new strategy game from Blizzard.  When games take a long time to get to market, it is usually a sign of trouble.  Technical issues, development team turmoil, unworkable designs have delayed the release of many a game until the point where the final product is one big mess.  However, in the case of Warcraft III, it was a sign that the game was undergoing extensive testing, refinishing, and polishing, and the final product shows that the results were worth it.  Imaginative units, a compelling storyline, and some great tradtional real-time strategy gameplay make Warcraft III a must-have for strategy gamers.

Honorable Mention
Freedom Force

The world of computer gaming has strangely and sadly been devoid of a quality superhero game for far too long.  In fact, there have been very few superhero games at all.  Freedom Force makes up for this with some great gameplay set in the world of comic book superheroes during their glory years.  Brooding "why me?" whiners are thankfully nowhere to be found.  These heroes are the epitome of all that is good and the game has a lot of tongue in cheek fun with its cheesy men and women in tights.