Rambling is fun. I'm going to try to see how this goes, and if I can keep up my interest. Since I like to see myself type, perhaps it will.

Let's start with the two best games of 2001. In Computer Gaming World Russell Sipe once opined that the original Railroad Tycoon was the game that he always wished he could have made if his talents lie in that direction. Such are my feelings toward Europa Universalis and EU2. I hate both games' instability on my system, but that doesn't undercut the underlying genius of their designs. Fluid boundaries, provinces, strong diplomacy--this is the sort of that I have dreamt of for years. It's not unlike Colonial Conquest updated for the new millennium.

Europa Universalis

Upon my first playing, I was immensely disappointed in Sid Meier's Civilization III; it felt like such a step back from the brilliance of SMAC, and, in many ways, that is precisely what it is. Strategy fans deserve a "Civ 3.5" that combines the two. Despite this, some of the new features are so good, they have sucked me in. The best is the new idea of culture. Other civ's cities occasionally joined your empire in the earlier games, but it was a very very rare occurrence. In Civ 3, it's much more possible. Cultural victories--for me--are much more easily obtainable than others, especially military. I've played the game since it came out, and have yet to have a leader emerge, and I have found the military aspect to be much more difficult than previously. I've waged perhaps one truly successful war in hundreds of hours of playtime. Still, I keep playing.

Civilization III

Finally, a game that was updated in 2001, but has a legacy stretching back to the mid-1990s: the independent Hollywood Mogul. The very epitome of "one more turn" gaming, HM, now up to version 2.5c, places you in the role of upstart movie studio head. Navigating the vagaries of tinseltown to release blockbusters while maintaining your artistic integrity is incredibly addictive.

Hollywood Mogul

Hmm, those aren't bad initial ramblings. Perhaps my creative juices are flowing enough to start typing my master's paper...with any luck.