Have you ever wanted to run the world as an El Presidente? In Tropico 5 you get to live that life. Raise as either someone people love or raise as a dictator and instill fear in your populous. However, your choice will bring consequence as the public will react to every choice you make. Your reign could last a lifetime or be over in a blink of an eye in Tropico 5.

While the Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise has allowed players to build up empires from scratch, Tropico 5 aims to be more about how you will be a ruler over the lands. Players need to make smart choices to gain power over nations and rule without issue. Developer Kalypso Media made sure to give players the real feel of what rulers will deal with if the populace hates your leadership and that makes for exciting gameplay. With beautiful graphics, simple but deep gameplay and great multiplayer play, Tropico 5 really stands as an impressive turn based strategy game like Sid Meier’s Civilization.

In 2070, the world seems to be at its inevitable end. The polar ice caps have finally began melting at an alarming rate causing cities to be flooded and drowned. Following the mass destruction of most major cities, the world split into three factions all of which have grand ideas for a new world order. Now it’s up to you to choose a faction to align with. Make your choice and change the world in ANNO 2070.

Sid Meier’s Civilization lets players create cities and empires, ANNO 2070 gives you the same ability but in a world that’s set in the future. What we loved about ANNO 2070 is the single player campaign which gives players so many options of how to run a new world. At first you can choose between Global Trust Inc. and or the Eden Initiative but later gain a third possible choice called the S.A.A.T. The choice is important because each faction has different ideals and thoughts on how to run the world in their way and that will alter your play style significantly. However, no matter the choice you’ll have a blast crafting new cities and reigning over them in ANNO 2070.

Dive into the dark ages in Age of Empires II HD Edition. Players choose five different campaigns taking on the roles of several heroes. Lead an army of religious warriors with Joan of Arc or take over the world with the ruthless Genghis Kahn. Build and shape your armies to reign over the world and see how the world could have played out under these legendary rulers. Make wise choices and see a world under your rule in Age of Empire II HD Edition.

While it may be cool to craft your own stories in games like Sid Meier’s Civilization sometimes having the ability to live the lives of others great rulers is equally fun. Thanks to Ensemble Studios we get to see historical figures at our control in Age of Empires II HD Edition. Micromanage your armies and ruling cities to see gains in both income and land. We really love the amount of detail in Age of Empires II HD Edition thanks to an impressive soundtrack and graphical detail in this HD remaster version. If you love Sid Meier’s Civilization titles but want a more story focused game, then look no further as Age of Empires II HD Edition is calling out to you.

Stepping away from medieval times we now go towards feudal Japan in Total War: Shogun 2. Take control of both an army general as well as a clan leader giving you different modes of play. As a general, you must lead your faction to victory all while as a clan leader you must make smart moves to ensure your faction is happy and healthy. Choose between nine different factions such as the Date clan or Oda clan who each play differently and have different outlooks on the land. Whether you’re in battle or ruling the land, your choices matter to see a bright future for your clan’s future in Total War: Shogun 2.

Total War: Shogun 2 gives players a fresh outlook as you’re not leading knights but instead samurai and ninja. What’s also very interesting about Total War: Shogun 2 is the fact that the game shifts between two very different play styles. Sometimes you’ll be engaged in turn based gameplay—this is when you’re controlling the clan—and then other times you’ll be fighting as a general leading his troops. If you tire of the single player game you can play online with up to 8 other players in either competitive or cooperative modes of play. We love Total War: Shogun 2 and we know if you love Sid Meier’s Civilization series you’ll fall in love too.

In the future humanity has learned the ability to travel through space at a speed unprecedented via quantum gateways. These portal like devices can be used to get from place to place quickly and efficiently leading to millions of possible applications. However, when two factions—the Cybran Nation and Aeon Illuminate—end up at each other’s throats a new war occurs. Dubbed the Infinite war three faction now fight for power over the quantum gates and their possibilities. Choose a side and delve into a futuristic war on the likes you’ve never seen in Supreme Commander.

Supreme Commander has a lot of qualities we absolutely love about the RTS genre. First the fact that you build bases with a giant robot was so amazing and truly a unique idea. Also unlike most RTS titles, Supreme Commander was playable on the Xbox 360 and played well, a rare trait of RTS titles. All too similar to the Sid Meier’s Civilization titles, players can enjoy building various structures and develop various buildings to gain tactical advantage in battle. With a lot of detail sewn into such an ambitious title we truly felt that Supreme Commander would feel right at home on our list of 6 Games Like Sid Meier’s Civilization.

Wrapping our 6 Games Like Sid Meier’s Civilization list we look at the classic RTS title known as Command & Conquer. Taking place in a very different future, a strange event changes the landscape of the world forever. A strange meteorite crashes into the Earth in 1995 with a strange toxic substance that is called Tiberium. However, Tiberium has a strange power to absorb precocious metals and substances from soil making it an extremely valuable resource. As various forces both new and ancient begin to race for the resource an inevitable war begins…

While Command & Conquer may be old and there have been plenty of updates and newer titles in the series, we will always stand as saying the first Command & Conquer title is amazing. With a strong story that had live action actors playing the roles of the various faction leaders and character, Command & Conquer made players feel as if they were living a game inside a movie. In the campaign players choose one of the various factions and lived the story according to their alliances goals and had to build bases and armies to take down the opposition. While the multiplayer has been long gone we have found memories of going into skirmishes that tested our RTS skills as we battled against others. Thankfully with the single player still playable if you loved the micromanaging that Sid Meier’s Civilization titles did so well, we recommend Command & Conquer strongly.