Command & Conquer (C&C) was a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game Dune II and introducing trademarks followed in the rest of the series. This includes full-motion video cutscenes with a notable ensemble cast to progress the story, as opposed to digitally in-game rendered cutscenes. Westwood Studios was taken over by Electronic Arts in 1998 and closed down in 2003. The studio and some of its members were absorbed into EA Los Angeles, which continued development on the series.
Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of a OS/2 series of the same name. An expansion pack entitled Altarian Prophecy was released in 2004. A sequel, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords, was released February 21, 2006. On May 14, 2015 Stardock released Galactic Civilizations III.
Medal of Honor is a series of first-person shooter video games. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation in 1999. Medal of Honor spawned a series of follow-up games including multiple expansions spanning various console platforms and personal computers.
4X is a genre of strategy-based video and board games in which players control an empire and "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate". The term was coined by Alan Emrich in his September 1993 preview of Master of Orion for Computer Gaming World. Since then, others have adopted the term to describe games of similar scope and design.
Stardock Corporation is a software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but was forced to switch to Microsoft Windows due to the collapse of the OS/2 software market between 1997 and 1998. The company is best known for computer programs that allow a user to modify or extend a graphical user interface as well as personal computer games, particularly strategy games such as the Galactic Civilizations series, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Elemental: Fallen Enchantress, and Ashes of the Singularity.
Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is a real-time strategy video game set in the Star Wars universe. It was developed by Age of Empires developer Ensemble Studios and LucasArts. It was released in November 11, 2001. An expansion pack, Clone Campaigns, was released in May 14, 2002, adding two new factions and campaigns. Later that year, both Galactic Battlegrounds and Clone Campaigns were released in a box set, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga.
Age of Empires is a series of historical real-time strategy video games, originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The first title of the series was Age of Empires, released in 1997. Seven titles and three spin-offs have been released.
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is a 4X turn-based strategy by Stardock for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to the original Galactic Civilizations, and was released at retail and on Stardock's online subscription service, TotalGaming.net, on February 21, 2006. An expansion, Dark Avatar, was released in February 2007. A second expansion, Twilight of the Arnor, was released in April 2008.
Bradley R. Wardell is an American businessman, programmer, author and AI Engineer. He is the founder, President, and CEO of Stardock, a software development and computer games company.
Sword of the Stars is a space 4X game developed by Kerberos Productions. In the game the player chooses one of four unique races to form an interstellar empire and conquer the galaxy. In order to win, the player must expand territory by colonizing new star systems, exploit the resources available to their colonies, design and build starships, and improve their empire's technology through research and strategy.
Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar is the first expansion pack to the turn-based strategy game Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords. It was released by Stardock in February 2007, both as a separately downloadable expansion and the combination retail box Galactic Civilizations II: Gold Edition.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king is a real-time strategy video game published by Electronic Arts, based on the Lord of the Rings film series based on the book, directed by Peter Jackson. The Rise of the Witch-king is the official expansion to The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, which was published by the same company and released in 2006, for Microsoft Windows. The Rise of the Witch-king was shipped to stores in the United States on November 28, 2006 and was officially released on November 30, 2006.
The Genie Engine is a game engine developed by Ensemble Studios and used in several computer games, such as Age of Empires, Age of Empires II and its expansions and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. Some of those games have been ported to the Apple Mac.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals is a video game expansion pack for Zoo Tycoon 2 released October 17, 2007. The expansion focuses around extinct animals, mainly dinosaurs or ice age creatures, as well as more recently extinct creatures like the dodo, thylacine and quagga.
Rome: Total War: Alexander is the second expansion pack for Rome: Total War. It is set in an earlier time period, putting the player in the role of Alexander the Great. It begins with Alexander's ascension to the Macedonian throne in 336 BC and lasts for 100 turns. The game is much the same as the original Rome: Total War, but with fewer factions, different units, and a different map. The expansion was released in 2006 for Microsoft Windows. The macOS version of Rome: Total War: Alexander was released on 27 February 2014 by Feral Interactive. A standalone version of the expansion, also by Feral, was released for the iPad on 27 July 2017.
StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise, created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance among four species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the ever-evolving insectoid Zerg, the powerfully enigmatic Protoss, and the "god-like" Xel'Naga creator race—in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy known as the Koprulu Sector. The series debuted with the video game StarCraft in 1998. It has grown to include a number of other games as well as eight novelizations, two Amazing Stories articles, a board game, and other licensed merchandise such as collectible statues and toys.
Imperium Romanum is a 2008 video game for Microsoft Windows developed by Haemimont Games and published by Kalypso Media. The game is a city-building game where players are governor of a province and must build and maintain a thriving and prosperous settlement. The game takes place during the time of the Roman Empire. Players build Roman towers, gates, and bridges and use currency to fund projects.
Spore: Galactic Adventures is an expansion pack for the multigenre game Spore, developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The US version of the game was released on June 23, 2009. The European version was released on June 26, 2009.
Galactic Civilizations III is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to 2006's Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords.
