To mark episode 90, Al, Joe, Adam, and Drexy trace strategy gaming’s defining decade, from Dune 2’s birth of the RTS and Games Workshop’s fateful rejection of Blizzard’s Warhammer license to the golden age of Caesar 3, Master of Orion, and the original XCOM trilogy.
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Marking their 90th episode with a fittingly themed retrospective, Al, Joe, Adam, and Drexy dive into strategy gaming’s most formative decade. The conversation traces the genre’s explosive diversification during the 1990s, from Westwood’s Dune 2 establishing the RTS blueprint through Command & Conquer, to Blizzard’s Warcraft and Starcraft building parallel esports and multiplayer legacies. The hosts cover the birth of city builders like Caesar 3 and SimCity, god games like Populous and Megalomania, the original XCOM trilogy, and the 4X genre’s foundation through Civilization and Master of Orion. A particular highlight includes the little-known story of Games Workshop rejecting Blizzard’s request to license Warhammer for what became Warcraft, arguably reshaping the entire trajectory of MMO gaming. The episode closes with each host’s personal picks for 90s strategy titles still worth playing today.
Critical Moves Podcast – Episode 90 Show Notes
Episode Title: Best Strategy Games of the 1990s
Hosts: Al, Joe, Adam, Drexy
Episode Length: ~54 minutes
Episode Summary
Celebrating their 90th episode, the Critical Moves team dedicates the show to strategy gaming’s defining decade. The conversation ranges from personal formative memories of Caesar 3 and Populous through the birth of the modern RTS with Dune 2 and Command & Conquer, the rise of Blizzard’s competing RTS lineage with Warcraft and Starcraft, and the genre-defining emergence of 4X games, city builders, and god games. The hosts examine why PC-based strategy gaming dominated the decade before console online play eventually reshaped the industry, and close with personal recommendations for 90s titles that remain genuinely playable today.
Caesar 3 and Sierra’s City Building Legacy
Joe opens with Caesar 3 as his defining 90s memory, describing its blend of city management, logistics-driven wealth progression, and lightly implemented tactical combat, including a memorable scripted Hannibal invasion. The hosts trace its lineage forward to Anno and discuss later entries in Sierra’s city-building catalog, including Pharaoh (with its Nile flooding mechanic) and Zeus, which Joe missed at the time and now finds difficult to return to due to dated graphics.
Populous, Megalomania, and the Birth of the God Game
Drexy credits Populous (technically an ’89 release enjoyed into 1990) and the lesser-known Megalomania as his personal entry points into strategy gaming, describing both as foundational “god games” where players influenced rather than directly controlled their populations. The hosts connect this lineage forward to later god-game-adjacent titles like Dwarf Fortress.
Dune 2, Westwood, and the True Origin of the RTS
The hosts credit Westwood Studios’ Dune II as the genre-defining birth of the real-time strategy format still used today, distinguishing it from earlier contenders like Herzog Zwei. Adam notes that early Warcraft games directly borrowed structural elements from Dune II, positioning Westwood as the genre’s true originator ahead of Blizzard’s later dominance.
Command & Conquer’s RTS Explosion vs. Blizzard’s Warcraft/Starcraft
A friendly rivalry emerges as the hosts debate Westwood’s Command & Conquer against Blizzard’s Warcraft and Starcraft franchises. Joe praises Warcraft III’s storytelling as the strongest narrative of the era despite generally preferring Westwood’s output overall, while Al and Drexy discuss Command & Conquer’s massive influence spawning a flood of imitators throughout the late 90s.
Starcraft’s Esports Legacy vs. Quake’s Claim to Being First
The group debates whether Starcraft (particularly Brood War’s massive competitive scene in Korea) or id Software’s Quake deserves credit as the true origin point of esports, tracing a broader lineage from Quake through Starcraft, Counter-Strike, and eventually free-to-play multiplayer titles like League of Legends and Dota, the latter originating as a Warcraft III mod.
The Games Workshop Story: How a Rejected License Led to World of Warcraft
Al shares a notable piece of industry history: Blizzard (as Bungie at the time) originally approached Games Workshop seeking a Warhammer Fantasy license for what became Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, and was refused. The hosts speculate that this rejection, which forced Blizzard to create original IP, may have indirectly enabled World of Warcraft’s massive later success, fundamentally altering the trajectory of the MMO genre. They also note Starcraft’s own unlicensed resemblance to Warhammer 40,000’s factions.
The Original XCOM Trilogy (1994-1997)
The hosts highlight the original XCOM trilogy—UFO Defense (1994), Terror from the Deep (1995), and Apocalypse (1997)—as another foundational 90s series whose tactical combat format continues to influence modern titles, including the upcoming Star Wars Zero Company.
Why PC Dominated Strategy Gaming in the 90s
Adam argues that strategy games skewed toward an older PC-owning demographic compared to console-focused audiences of the era, while Al credits the lack of stable online multiplayer infrastructure on consoles prior to Xbox Live as a key factor keeping competitive and cooperative strategy gaming firmly rooted in PC culture. The hosts discuss early multiplayer solutions like GameSpy and self-hosted servers, and note Steam’s own origins as primarily a launcher for Half-Life and Counter-Strike before becoming a full storefront.
Total Annihilation vs. Dark Reign
Al offers what he calls a “hot take,” arguing that 1997’s Dark Reign: The Future of War was technically superior to the more popular Total Annihilation in terms of unit AI behavior and quality-of-life features like customizable patrol and engagement settings, despite Total Annihilation achieving greater lasting popularity and eventually spawning Supreme Commander.
Did 4X Games Nearly Die After the 90s?
Drexy observes that while RTS games maintained steady if diminished popularity into the 2000s, 4X games effectively disappeared as a genre until a resurgence beginning around 2010 with titles like Sword of the Stars and Galactic Civilizations, framing this as evidence of cyclical trends in gaming much like fashion or music.
Grand Strategy as an Exception to the Cycle
Adam notes that grand strategy, largely defined by Paradox Interactive’s catalog, appears to be one subgenre that has grown steadily rather than experiencing the boom-bust cycle seen elsewhere, though the hosts debate whether Total War qualifies as grand strategy given its real-time tactical combat component.
Final Recommendations: What Still Holds Up
Each host offers personal picks for 90s strategy games worth revisiting today. Joe recommends Master of Orion (or its modern spiritual homage, Remnants of the Precursors) for its distilled, unfussy approach to 4X design, alongside Caesar 3 and SimCity 2000. Adam highlights Heroes of Might and Magic III (still hugely popular in Poland) alongside the lesser-known puzzle-RTS hybrid Gorky 17 (or similarly titled Granats) from Metropolis Software. Al recommends the officially remastered Command & Conquer Remastered Collection and the browser-playable, officially licensed Dark Reign Redux.
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Episode Verdict
This retrospective succeeds by balancing genuine nostalgia with real historical substance, particularly Al’s Games Workshop anecdote, which reframes a familiar rivalry (Blizzard vs. Westwood) around a genuinely consequential industry decision most listeners likely haven’t heard. The hosts’ willingness to disagree, Al’s Dark Reign hot take chief among them, keeps the conversation from collapsing into pure reminiscence, while Adam’s outsider perspective as someone who experienced the decade secondhand through delayed Polish releases adds useful texture rather than feeling like a gap in expertise. The episode’s closing recommendations give listeners genuinely actionable starting points rather than ending on vague sentimentality, fitting for a milestone episode that clearly aims to both celebrate and educate.
Next Episode: Sanctuary: Shattered Sun
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