But which of those games have earned themselves a spot in the eternal RPS Time Capsule?

The RPS Time Capsule isn’t intended to be a definitive best games of the year list, either.

And these future people will be delighted.

Artwork for Dark Messiah Of Might & Magic, Just Cause and DEFCON for the 2006 RPS Time Capsule header

Dark Messiah Of Might & Magicis a singleplayer first-person stab-o-shooter with a fewRPGtouches.

AHalf-Life 2-style linear-ish story shooter with special abilities.

Every level of Dark Messiah is Traptown, absolutely crawling with environmental hazards.

Cover image for YouTube video

Just Cause

James:This series peaked withJust Cause 2.

It was sunnier, too.

Visually, it also holds up surprisingly well considering its age.

Preparing to kick an enemy into spikes in a Dark Messiah Of Might & Magic screenshot.

Assuming that the future end days still has viable internet, of course.

Tomb Raider: Legend

Rebecca:I submitTomb Raider: Legendinto the Time Capsule under slight sufferance.

Where was my narrative resolution?

A man holds a rocket launcher in front of a helicopter on fire in Just Cause

What became of Kurtis Trent in that cliffhanger ending?

Why was Lara’s backstory suddenly all different?

You said it was going to be a trilogy, Eidos, yousaid.

Soldiers storm a muddy battleground in Company Of Heroes

But even an outraged hormonal fangirl had to admit that Legend did have some things going for it.

Proper Saturday morning cartoon shit.

No, you know what, scratch that.

Lara Croft climbs a rock face in front of a waterfall in Tomb Raider Legend

The absolute best thing was you got bonuses for having four characters on a team that made sense together.

God, it was a great game.

I don’t think anyco-op gamesince has nailed being so simple but so utterly enjoyable at the same time.

Deadpool and Captain America fight Marvel goons in Marvel Ultimate Alliance

An early Source game,The Shipwas messy.

Maybe a touch over designed.

The core premise was simple, however.

A masked man sits in a very tall chair in a red wallpapered room in The Ship

Hunt down your target and kill them in a creative way.

A frying pan to the head, perhaps.

Lock them in a freezer.

A hooded man stands inside a dark archway in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Pour a bit of poison in their wine.

It was good, silly fun.

Yes, Im aware it received a remaster in 2016.

A snowy walled town scene in Stronghold Legends

I think its best we all just pretend that it didnt.

I like how it frames its world through its mundane, little details, too.

Dreams are bizarre too, right?

A blue world map showing dozens of ships, missile launchers and more in DEFCON

“, “Take care”.

Back then, I played real-time strategies like base-builders - tycoon games, even.

And continue on my merry crusade towards the enemy stronghold, without interacting with the dragons at all.

A scantily clad woman rides a cow in Pathologic

I didn’t need to.

Their presence was apparently all that was needed to make me keep playingStronghold Legendsfor many hours after school.

That panicked response and subsequent self-doubt is the rapid set-up stage.

The wait feels eternal.

And then the food comes.

You take a little bite and it doesntseemthat spicy, right?

Again, this is DEFCON.

Your little ships start to battle each other, the silly bastards sinking all over.

And then it moves into DEFCON 1, nukes start flying, and any semblance of control gets discarded.

Its horrifying, really, but that carnage makes DEFCON a delectable bite-size portion of strategy.

Its grim, but an experience worth preserving all the same.

If it’s possible for you to handle all that, you are rewarded for it.

Into the safety of the Time Capsule it goes!