Glest

For a freeware game, Glest stands out at an astonishing level. A real-time strategy game in the vein of Warcraft III or the Empire Earth games, it asks players to create workers, harvest resources, construct buildings, produce military units, and ultimately destroy enemy bases.

Though its technology isn't quite as deep as the commercial games, we were quite surprised to find very well-rendered 3D textures, good music, detailed models, and a well-developed game system. The game pits two opposing factions, Magicians and Technicians, against one another, each having different structures and units. Players can choose either one, although novices might want to start with Technicians, which are similar to humans in Warcraft.

Magicians are a bit more complicated, with the ability to conjure new monsters and fire magic projectiles. Given the game's solid gameplay, good design, a small size, and, above all, a price tag of zero, we highly recommend Glest to anyone with a soft spot for real-time strategy games.