With so few good new titles being released these days, especially by major studios, I figured I'd make a thread for everyone to share your favourite classic or older games, especially if they're lesser-known titles that others might have missed at the time.
I'll open with The Saboteur (2009), Mercenaries (2005) and Saints Row 2 ( The 2008 original)
98-04 golden age of pc games... so many favorites but one that i especially enjoy from then is Septerra Core a western jrpg with full voice acting and very strange combat mechanics. it often came in a double pack with Shogo which is another great game from that time.. a fps with giant mech action
I'd argue the golden age was 1994 to 2004.
'94 starts with games like Master of Magic, System Shock, Warcraft's: Orcs and Humans, Eye of the Beholder and Menzoberranzan, Theme Park, X-COM: UFO defense and more. It was an tremendous year for gamers, and that's just where things started for the era.
other great games from roughly that era: Heroes of Might and Magic 3, Wizardry 7 and 8, Fallout 1 and 2, Jagged Alliance 2, Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic, Arx Fatalis, Dungeon Master