Best games
Best Strategy games of 2002
The 9 best Strategy games released in 2002, ranked from 4,224 critic and player ratings.
The best Strategy game of 2002 is Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, with a critic score of 93/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Each game is ranked in one genre only, the one that defines it best, so the same title never tops two different genre charts.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 2002.
- 9 games are listed on this page, carrying 4,224 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 9
01
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos is an RTS made by Blizzard Entertainment. Take control of either the Humans, the Orcs, the Night Elves or the Undead, all with different unit types and heroes with unique abilities.Play the story driven single player campaign, go online to play default- or custom maps against people around the world or create your own maps with the map creation tool.
93
/100
02
Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos
92
/100
03
Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood
Prince John Lackland has stolen the throne from King Richard Lionheart and put him to jail. You play as Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, fighting Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Use the different skills of your Merry Men to either fight or sneak your way through levels to complete your objectives.
80
/100
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos is an RTS made by Blizzard Entertainment. Take control of either the Humans, the Orcs, the Night Elves or the Undead, all with different unit types and heroes with unique abilities.Play the story driven single player campaign, go online to play default- or custom maps against people around the world or create your own maps with the map creation tool.
93
/100
02
Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos
92
/100
03
Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood
Prince John Lackland has stolen the throne from King Richard Lionheart and put him to jail. You play as Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, fighting Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Use the different skills of your Merry Men to either fight or sneak your way through levels to complete your objectives.
80
/100
04
S
Stronghold: Crusader
Stronghold: Crusader is the successor to Firefly Studios's 2001 game Stronghold. Crusader has much in common with the original Stronghold, but differs from its predecessor in the fact that the game is no longer set in a pseudo-Europe, instead being set in the Middle East during the Crusades. The game features a multitude of new Arabian units that can be purchased in a new building, the mercenary post. Though the Arabian troops do not require any weapons to produce, they are rather expensive. The game was also released as Stronghold Warchest. This version was a compendium of Stronghold and an enhanced version of Stronghold: Crusader, containing additional characters and an additional Crusader Trail. Stronghold Warchest was only released in limited number of countries (i. e. USA or Poland), meaning players in the rest of the world have never encountered the second Crusader Trail, or second set of characters. This changed when an updated version of Stronghold Crusader, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme was released in early 2008.
78
/100
05
Disciples II: Dark Prophecy
Disciples II is a fantasy strategy game, set in a fictional kingdom called Nevandaar (also referred to as 'The Sacred Lands'). The main focus of the story revolves around four dominant races in a state of almost constant war. These four factions are the human Empire, the dwarven Mountain Clans, the demonic Legions of the Damned, and the skeletal Undead Hordes. There are also several other 'neutral' races such as Merfolk, Greenskins and Elves (the Elves became a full-fledged playable race with the addition of the expansion pack 'Rise of the Elves'). The gameplay is divided into three main parts; building up the Capital City of your race so that you can research new Warriors and spells, and building up new armies (this involves careful resource management); using heroes (leading small squads) to explore the surroundings, procure resources and attack the enemy; and finally the battles themselves.
77
/100
06
Age of Mythology
Age of Mythology is a real-time strategy game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Drawing inspiration from Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology rather than historical events, it diverges from the Age of Empires series while sharing familiar gameplay elements. The campaign follows Arkantos, an Atlantean admiral embarking on a journey through the lands of the game's three cultures, hunting for a cyclops who is in league with Poseidon against Atlantis.
76
/100
07
RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrill Pack
74
/100
08
Worms Blast
Fall in line for fast, furious fire fights with Worms Blast. Your mission: launch your worm marine into hostile waters and blast your way to survival through intense puzzle action! Take the big chunk of puzzle-styled gameplay and slice into 60 fun-sized missions.
73
/100
09
Cossacks: Back to War
Back to War is the second expansion pack, and it can be played as a standalone. Cossacks: Back to War adds two new nations (Switzerland and Hungary) to the choices from Cossacks: European Wars and Cossacks: Art of War because of their influence on European history. There are also new maps, a tutorial campaign and a map-editor. It adds several units to various countries, new cannon types and alters some parameters such as building time, upgrade and building costs.
60
/100
S
Stronghold: Crusader
Stronghold: Crusader is the successor to Firefly Studios's 2001 game Stronghold. Crusader has much in common with the original Stronghold, but differs from its predecessor in the fact that the game is no longer set in a pseudo-Europe, instead being set in the Middle East during the Crusades. The game features a multitude of new Arabian units that can be purchased in a new building, the mercenary post. Though the Arabian troops do not require any weapons to produce, they are rather expensive. The game was also released as Stronghold Warchest. This version was a compendium of Stronghold and an enhanced version of Stronghold: Crusader, containing additional characters and an additional Crusader Trail. Stronghold Warchest was only released in limited number of countries (i. e. USA or Poland), meaning players in the rest of the world have never encountered the second Crusader Trail, or second set of characters. This changed when an updated version of Stronghold Crusader, Stronghold: Crusader Extreme was released in early 2008.
78
/100
05
Disciples II: Dark Prophecy
Disciples II is a fantasy strategy game, set in a fictional kingdom called Nevandaar (also referred to as 'The Sacred Lands'). The main focus of the story revolves around four dominant races in a state of almost constant war. These four factions are the human Empire, the dwarven Mountain Clans, the demonic Legions of the Damned, and the skeletal Undead Hordes. There are also several other 'neutral' races such as Merfolk, Greenskins and Elves (the Elves became a full-fledged playable race with the addition of the expansion pack 'Rise of the Elves'). The gameplay is divided into three main parts; building up the Capital City of your race so that you can research new Warriors and spells, and building up new armies (this involves careful resource management); using heroes (leading small squads) to explore the surroundings, procure resources and attack the enemy; and finally the battles themselves.
77
/100
06
Age of Mythology
Age of Mythology is a real-time strategy game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Drawing inspiration from Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology rather than historical events, it diverges from the Age of Empires series while sharing familiar gameplay elements. The campaign follows Arkantos, an Atlantean admiral embarking on a journey through the lands of the game's three cultures, hunting for a cyclops who is in league with Poseidon against Atlantis.
76
/100
07
RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrill Pack
74
/100
08
Worms Blast
Fall in line for fast, furious fire fights with Worms Blast. Your mission: launch your worm marine into hostile waters and blast your way to survival through intense puzzle action! Take the big chunk of puzzle-styled gameplay and slice into 60 fun-sized missions.
73
/100
09
Cossacks: Back to War
Back to War is the second expansion pack, and it can be played as a standalone. Cossacks: Back to War adds two new nations (Switzerland and Hungary) to the choices from Cossacks: European Wars and Cossacks: Art of War because of their influence on European history. There are also new maps, a tutorial campaign and a map-editor. It adds several units to various countries, new cannon types and alters some parameters such as building time, upgrade and building costs.
60
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Strategy game of 2002?
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos currently tops the ranking with a score of 93/100 across 1,610 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.