Then, closer to the mid-2000s, there was a gradual increase in variety, partly due to the emergence of adventure games for children like Pink Panther and Bremen Town Musicians; partly because, as a schoolchild, I had common interests with my friends.
Friends gave me Warcraft 3 for my birthday, and I borrowed Gothic on a disc (and at the same time, there were heated debates about which was better, Gothic 1 or Gothic 2). Every time a new Heroes game came out (first 4, then 5), I remember the excited, almost reverent descriptions of how cool the angels were.
So, it might not seem like much, but... it was actually very good in its own way.