Mark's Pick: Sacrifice
It was a weird year for Shiny. Going from Messiah to Sacrifice is like eating lunch at McDonald’s and then having dinner at the Ritz-Carlton. Sacrifice is a hard game to pin down. As an RTS, there are better ones out there. As an action game, again, you can do better. But there is no action-RTS hybrid quite like this. It’s quirky. It’s inventive. It’s charming. It has great 3D graphics and good camera control. It’s more polished than the Marquis de Sade’s boots. Get this game and get your mind out of the gutter and stop thinking about what goes on at the Marquis’ place. Sacrifice is more fun.

Tom's Pick: Majesty
On the surface it might look like a conventional RTS, but what you really have here is the spiritual heir to Populous. In Majesty, you are the prime — but not the sole — mover. You set things in motion, but the little people and elves and gnomes in your kingdom cobble together their own destinies, sometimes following your lure, sometimes slaves to their own natures. Very few games have the courage — or design acumen -- to limit the player's involvement without making him feel left out. But Majesty is a fascinating fantasy-themed fishbowl, not unlike being a Dungeon Master or a minor deity.

The Best Game of 2000