3. Civilization IV (2005)

It did not have to come to this… another nuke goes off.

Of all the Civilization games, number IV certainly nailed the formula of empire building, research, war and diplomacy, in one delicious package. It had real depth, not matched by Civilization V until its Brave New World expansion was released. It is considered one of the best PC games ever made and its title music even won a Grammy award, so obviously some people thought this game was the bee’s knees.

But best of all, every time you discovered a new technology you were treated to the dulcet tones of Leonard Nimoy. His quote about the Russian satellite Sputnik ended with the memorable “beep… beep… beep…”, adding a touch of class to an almost perfect game.