When it comes to video games, everyone talks about first person shooters and RPG's.  But don't forget about god games.  They differ greatly from the action of those other genres, but their difficulty lies in how they require skill in strategizing and dealing with real time challenges while utilizing only what resources are available.

 

11.)  Utopia (1982)

Utopia was released in 1982, and is probably the first god game of all time.  Unlike most games of this genre, Utopia is a two player game.  Players controlled their own island, and got points for things like feeding the people and preventing violence from rebel activity.  Players can also sabotage the other player by putting rebel soldiers on their island in the hopes that they destroy something valuable.  Alright, you wouldn't play this game today in favor of something more modern, but in its day, Utopia was a great strategy game that allowed you to destroy something your friend had built.  Props for that.

 

10.)  Populous (1989)

Populous, which was released in 1989 by Bullfrog for the computer, is considered one of the earliest god games.  The user plays the role of god, or some sort of deity, and is given a plot of land in which he or she has to create a civilization.  Your civilization has to protect itself from other civilizations.  The only way for a player to advance in the game is to accrue points through the statistics of their civilization.  Depending on the amount of points, players can advance multiple levels at once. 

 

9.)  Black and White II (2005)

Released in 2005, Black and White 2 is the sequel to the game that enables the player to be a god that rules over a village.  They can choose to be either a good god or an evil god, which is obvious by the way the god conducts himself ie, protecting his followers when in need, or just destroying their homes for no reason.  In order to control the game, the player utilizes a hand that performs tasks for the inhabitants of the village, tasks like miracles can only be performed with a certain amount of prayer power, that is, the followers must be asking for a miracle if you want to grant one.  Black and White 2 built on the potential of its predecessor, and made the series even better. 

 

8.)  The Settlers (1994)

The Settlers is a pretty straightforward premise:  You're helping people who've moved onto a new land to create a community that properly feeds, shelters, and protects all its inhabitants.  In order to import goods, you need to build roads, if you want protection, you need knights, and if you want knights, you need a healthy supply of gold or they'll bolt.  Send your knights to attack other lands, and be as ruthless as necessary.  The Settlers is your chance to be a cut-throat feudal lord.

 

7.)  Zeus: Master Of Olympus (2000)

Slightly different than most god games, Zeus: Master of Olympus gives the player the role of city builder, as opposed to being an actual god.  In fact, players can build temples to the gods for rewards.  Players are encouraged to gather raw materials like wood, bronze, and marble for buildings.  Players are encouraged to build philosophy and drama schools, as well as gymnasiums to train athletes to compete in the games that are held every four years. Land is required to grow crops like wine grapes, and olives.  Zeus: Master of Olympus is a fun way to live like the Greeks.

 

6.)  SimCity2000 (1993)

The sequal to SimCity, SimCity2000 gave players more control of their environments.  Players are able to build new facilities, namely, sports stadiums, hospitals, schools, prisons, and zoos etc.  One of the coolest things the game allows the player to build is the arcology, a giant and futuristic structure meant to house many people.  At one point in the game, if the player has built enough arcologies, all of them will take off in order to start new civilizations on far away planets.

 

5.)  Roller Coaster Tycoon (1999)

Who doesn't want to design and build rollercoasters?  Roller Coaster Tycoon from Frontier Developments gave players the chance to do just that with this 1999 release, and it didn't disappoint.  Players were able to create their own amusement parks from scratch, all the while dealing with financial and landscape restrictions.  In order to have a successful park, it's important to maintain a level of customer happiness, enough employees to entertain guests and repair rides, with a wide array of both intense and low-intensity rides to appeal to all possible guests preferences.  Don't forget to hire a cleaning crew, guests will vomit if they go on intense rides.

 

4.)  The Sims (2000)

The Sims is the best selling video game for the PC ever.  It passed Myst and has sold over 6 million copies.  The Sims does not have an ultimate goal or ending of any sort.  Goals are to simply control a sim and have them lead a good life, and accomplish personal goals.  This can be done by getting a good job, having a nice house, interacting with other sims and forming relationships, among other things.  It is possible to fail however, and this occurs when the player's sim dies.  Death can happen due to starvation, accidents (like drowning or electrocution), or disease.  Sims can have a limited amount of personal freedom in the game, but any action they perform is overwritten by the player's commands.  The Sims offers players the chance to control another person's life, which is important, especially if you're trying to escape the shittiness of your own.

 

3.)  Evil Genius (2004)

Give into your destructive urges with Evil Genius.  The game parodies many of the classic evil genius cliches; secret lair on an island, a giant map of the world, evil henchmen, and secret agents sent to destroy you.  The player is given the chance to choose one of three characters to run their evil organization.  From there, you need to research weapons, enlist the help of evil minions, and devise plans for the destruction of the world.  When you've reached the point of world domination, you can launch a powerful and destructive weapon that will bring the world to its knees, with you as its leader.

 

1.)  Darwinia

While not specifically a god game, Darwinia employs a lot of god game like elements in order for the player to complete objectives.  The storyline revolves around Dr. Sulpaveda, a mysterious man who invented a digital theme world that is currently being destroyed by a virus.  Dr. Sulpaveda enlists the players help in destroying the virus so that he can protect the years of research he's put into the digital world.  It's very unique in that the player is defending a world that doesn't exist except as a digital place on a computer.

 

1.)  (Possibly Upon Release) Spore (2008)

We admit, this game hasn't even been released yet, but by the looks of it, and the hype surrounding it, Spore could be the best god game of all time.  The ideo of the game is to create an entire species beginning with the creation of a single celled organism.  Your cell eats weaker cells and plants, gaining "DNA points" which allow you to buy upgrades.  You continue to grow the cell until it grows into a social animal, where it can finally ascend into space to interact with other complex beings.