i guess it's a foundational early rts that i, everyone i knew and everyone i knew's dad played for countless hours, the direct precursor to command and conquer and so on and so forth

but it's also the best soundtrack in history and it could be glued to a videogame that sucked ass and still be amazing. (of course this is a nonsense sentiment because what's great about it is that it captures the sublime desolation of arrakis and the energy and aggression of the technofeudal armies locked in a forever war over its resources, but you get the idea.) frank klepacki & dwight okahara greatest of all time

also i guess people might not realize this today but the fact that operation desert storm, george bush senior's first invasion of iraq, was on the news all over the world all day every day in early 1991 -- something i have only a very hazy recollection of -- really contextualized this game and its world in a way nothing else could