I'll echo the earlier nominations of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Homeworld and their respective children (Including the somewhat secret Homeworld bonus storyline, where you went after the Turanic Raider home base after the first carrier attacks you). Imperium Galactica II has been far and away the best space-empire conquest game I've played, although it is quite dated. Star Wars Rebellion, while ancient as well, has always been good for a few hours of Empire v Rebellion. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War has proven to be as entertaining, if not more so, than Warcraft. I've yet to grab the expansion, but the original alone kicks all kinds of butt, especially when craked up to maximum graphics settings. Tachyon: The Fringe was a neat little space combat gem, with as close to a user-defined storyline as it got when Novalogic came out with it. When it comes to console games, I remember fondly Shadows of the Empire and several of the old Twisted Metal games. Super Smash Bros Melee makes the Gamecube worth buying for anyone, even Nintendo haters. Nothing brings a goupr together like an SSBM brawl. And when it comes to 1st person shoot-em-ups, I'll always remember Goldeneye 007 with fondness, as long as it has been since I last played it.
