Electronic Arts is most likely to be remembered as the developer of games such as FIFA, The Sims, and Battlefield; however, its contributions to the strategy game genre are often underrated yet unforgettable.
To a gamer who spent his/her early years playing strange hospitals, taking control of an army of the future, or being a god, there is a certain magic to EA and its vast catalogue of strategy games.
Here are the five best EA strategy games, feature simulations of city-building, summoning, and dungeon control, defining the genre and still holding value today.
5. Dungeon Keeper 2 (1999)
Tagline: Evil Has Never Been This Profitable
Platform: PC
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Dungeon Keeper 2 reversed the traditional good-evil story by allowing the player to be the villain. Being a demonic overlord, you create lairs beneath the ground; these lairs are full of monsters, rooms of treasure, traps, and even torture chambers.
This is also a departure from a traditional RTS where you are deploying armies to conquer rather than constructing the dungeon and repelling the do-gooder heroes.
It was classic due to its dark, humorous style, innovative design concept, and advanced 3D graphics (at the time). Unfortunately, the show was left as a cliffhanger; however, this episode has always been a cult icon.
4. Populous: The Beginning (1998)
Tagline: When a God Starts to Feel Human
Platform: PC
Genre: God Game / Real-Time Strategy
Where the predecessors of Populous: The Beginning focused on the action of a super powerful deity, you were instead cast in the role of a shaman leader.
You would lead your tribe in real-time, throwing great spells and dealing with resources on foreign terrains.
Its launch was controversial, but it developed a cult following due to its unusual mix of the genres RTS and god game. It was one of the most ambitious strategy games by EA, using experimental mechanics and a unique visual style.
3. Theme Hospital (1997)
Tagline: Nothing Cures Like Laughing at Inflated Heads
Platform: MS-DOS, PC, PlayStation
Genre: Simulation
Theme Hospital was a game developed by Bullfrog and published by EA, made a potentially deadly serious subject, such as healthcare, look humorous.
The game featured elements like “Bloaty Head” and “Slack Tongue,” combining British humour with heavy management systems.
The jokes were a front behind which stood a punishingly realistic simulation in which budgets, staff behaviour, and broken machines could make or break your hospital. Its legacy continues in the spiritual successor, such as Two Point Hospital.
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II (2006)
Tagline: There’s No Peace for a Realm at War
Platform: PC, Xbox 360
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
There are not many effective licensed games of the RTS genre, and Battle for Middle-Earth II played against the odds.
It has expanded beyond the trilogy of movies and delved into the intricate world of Tolkien lore. Players were able to command Elves, Dwarves, and even make their own heroes.
The War of the Ring mode introduced a strategic turn-based element, and siege battles brought the epic of Middle-earth to life. Mods like Age of the Ring have kept the community alive despite servers going offline.
1. Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 (2000)
Tagline: The Cold War Ends in Explosions and Mind Control
Platform: PC
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Red Alert 2 is one of the RTS games that have managed to be unabashedly fun. It took place in an alternate timeline in which Einstein and Stalin assassinated Hitler, and it would introduce psychic abilities, weather machines, and Kirov blimps, with all of it (including parts of the in-game fiction) wrapped up in chintzy FMV cutscenes.
It was easy to play and had a balance between all these factors, along with numerous factions that differ immensely, therefore making it an instant classic.
The Yuri revenge expansion did nothing but create more mayhem. The Cold War continues, with mods and privately created servers being maintained by players to this day.
Final Thoughts
Although the reputation of EA is traditionally associated with sports games and popular franchises, its history of strategy games is truly a land of innovations, cuteness, and nerd cults. These are the titles, which range across genres, and a lot of them have remained fondly remembered even decades after their release.
You might be drawn to them because of memories, or you might be encountering them now, but the fact is that these EA strategy games demonstrate that intelligent gameplay does not become outdated.
