Favourite strategy game of all time

[Crandaeolon]

But I haven't heard much about Terra Nova or Sacrifice...

Take a look at these games. When people complain and haven't played them it could very much be because those games haven't been exposed very much.

They were both critic darlings at the time, so I don't think it's lack of exposure. TN got eclipsed by Mechwarrior 2, but I'd be hard pressed to call MW2 a "better" game. Just a better brand.

Anyways, on topic: (fav TBS or RTS games, in no particular order)

Total Annihilation
Master of Orion 2
Age of Wonders 2: Shadow Magic
Dominions 2 (as PBEM)
Combat Mission
Steel Panthers: World at War

I might sound a little blasphemous here, but i don't like the Total War series all that much. I've never finished a single campaign in any of the three games, it's mostly been about multiplayer only. And TW multiplayer has suffered from serious flaws since day one... in retrospect, it was rather sucky. Other games are so much smoother, dunno why i bothered in the first place. Maybe because there were, and still are, few alternatives to get that epic battle feeling.