11. Age of Empires + Rise of Rome Expansion (PC)
The original Age of Empires is my highest rated RTS game. It might not have been as amazing in multiplayer as Age 2 and it might not have the outrageous units of Age of Mythology but there's an old school charm to this game... or maybe it's just because it was my first RTS! This and the original Starcraft came out at similar time, and they were both fantastic introductions into the RTS world.
Part of what made me enjoy this so much though was the setting. Guiding a civilisation from its early roots to the height of an empire really struck a cord with me, more so than the sequels. It is part of a small collection of games that must always be installed on my PC for instant access when I have that nostalgic feeling and it actually still holds up pretty well for a game that is over 13 years old. The graphics are obviously dated (although not as much as you might think) and the AI frustrating by todays standards but the solid balanced gameplay of the Age of Empires series doesn't age.
The Rise of Rome expansion also added 4 new civilisations including Rome and Carthage, some extra defensive units to balance the game further and upped the population limit for multiplayer to 200 from 50.
