End of Year wrapups begin

Gamespy's End of Year wrap-up has three strategy games on their PC top ten list: Warhammer, Rome and Sims 2, with Sims 2 taking strategy game of the year honors. I guess you could consider Pirates a strategy game, after a fashion, but it's really more action/RPG in my opinion. Warhammer gets the nod as the game that best used a license and Kohan 2 is acknowledged as the most underrated game of 2004.

IGN has given out its PC Game of the Year awards, too, and recognizes the same big games - Sims 2 and Rome. Sims 2 gets dubbed best management sim of the year and Rome wins best strategy game and best use of sound. Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots wins best expansion of the year.

Not many real surprises here. I don't take IGN all that seriously - they have a "Babes" section, for crying out loud - but both sites have made reasonable cases. The lack of Doom 3 awards is kind of shocking given the general salivation from the mainstream press, but since it's a shooter I won't say anymore than that.