Rule over people who did not consent, and the long tail of it.
Age of Empires II is a real-time strategy game developed by Ensemble Studios in 1999, running on the Genie Game Engine. It is the second title in the original Age of Empires series. Players advance one of 13 civilizations through four historical Ages to build towns, gather resources, create armies, and defeat opponents.
Civilization II is a foundational turn-based strategy game where players build a civilization from a primitive tribe while competing with computer-controlled rivals on a tile-based map. It offers three victory paths—conquest, space colonisation, or survival to 2020 AD—and lets players choose from 21 historical civilizations or create a custom one. Brian Reynolds was the primary designer; the 'Sid Meier's' prefix functioned as a quality signal. The base game supports only single-player mode. It models historical development through abstraction, not simulation.
1080° Snowboarding is a Nintendo 64 snowboarding game released in 1998. Players control one of five snowboarders in third-person across eight levels. Core gameplay splits between racing (Race, Time Attack, 2 Players, Match Race) and trick-based scoring (Trick Attack, Contest). Tricks — 24 standard and 5 secret — fall into grab or spin categories and require circular stick motions plus R, Z, and B inputs. Scoring rewards complexity, combos, and timing. Characters and boards have distinct stats affecting technique, speed, weight, balance, and edge control. The game emphasises realistic physics and responsive controls.
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising is a Game Boy Advance turn-based strategy game released in 2001 by Intelligent Systems. It refines the Wars series’ core loop with non-linear campaign progression, Super CO Powers, and terrain-specific objectives like capturing Black Cannons. It asks players to sequence actions across turns with precision, not flair. Its rigour is its strength—and its limit.
Alone in the Dark (1992) is a 3D horror adventure game set in 1920s Louisiana. The player selects Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood and begins trapped in the attic of the haunted Derceto mansion. Escape requires exploration, weight-managed inventory use, and puzzle-solving—some enemies demand ritual solutions; others must be avoided entirely. Fixed camera angles and mixed 2D/3D visuals create deliberate tension. It received international attention upon release.
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is a DS courtroom game built on three fixed actions — Press, Present, Perceive — and one hard constraint: you cannot move forward until you trigger the correct response. It works because every phase feeds the next. It falters because it offers no deviation from that feed.