Top-down perspective

Top down games were very popular in the 80s and the 90s, when graphic cards were not capable of supporting 3D, and even when 3D started to become popular, 2D games continued to be easier to develop, at least in the infancy of 3D gaming. 2D game offered the player a viewpoint that helped keeping things easily under control (think about top down party-based RPGs or hex-based strategy games).

Most popular top down games

Dune 2000

strategyWindows XP/98/95

PC-Man

actionDOS

Ultima 7 Part 1: The Black Gate

rpgDOS

Top down games

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La Grande Armee

DOS19913.8/5 SDJ Enterprises
Laser Squad

DOS19924/5 Target Games Limited

Laser Squad is an abandoned turn-based strategy/tactical game designed by Julian Gollop (the mind behind the X-COM series). Laser Squad was developed by Target Games Limited and released by MicroLeague Multimedia in 1992 for DOS and other 8-bit systems. Laser Squad is considered as a precursor of X-COM: Ufo Defense.
Last Duel: Inter Planet War 2012

DOS19893.4/5 Capcom
Lawn Mower

DOS19874/5
Legacy of the Ancients

DOS19893.9/5 Quest Software
Legend of the Silver Talisman

DOS1996freeware3.9/5 Inter-Active Arts
Legend of the Sword

DOS19884/5 Silicon Software
Legends of Murder: Volume 1 - Stonedale Castle

DOS1989protected3.4/5 Softdisk Publishing
Lego Loco

Windows XP/98/9519984.1/5 Intelligent Games
Liverpool: the Computer Game

DOS19923.3/5 Arc Developments
Llamatron 2112

DOS19923.8/5 Llamasoft
Locomotion

DOS19924.2/5 Prestige Softwareentwicklung
Logo

DOS19903.8/5 Starbyte Software
Loopz

DOS19903.8/5 Audiogenic
Lords of Conquest

DOS19873.6/5 Eon Software
Lords of Midnight: The Citadel

DOS19954.3/5 Maelstrom Games
Lords of the Realm

DOSWindows XP/98/951994protected4/5 Impressions Games

Lords of the Realm is top-down kingdom simulation game set in medieval Europe (England and Germany), designed by Christopher J. Foster and David Lester, developed by Impressions Games and released 1994 for DOS, Windows and Amiga.
Lost Adventures of Kroz

DOS1990freeware3.3/5 Apogee Software
M.U.D.S. - Mean Ugly Dirty Sport

DOS19904/5 Golden Goblins
MacArthur's War

DOS19903.9/5 SSG Strategic Studies Group
Machiavelli the Prince

DOS1995protected4.1/5 Holistic Design
Mad Mix

DOS19884.2/5 Topo Soft
Mad Paradox

DOS19943.9/5 Queen Soft
Mageslayer

Windows XP/98/9519974.1/5 Raven Software
Mah Jongg Solitaire

DOS19874.3/5 Arcanum Computing
Major Stryker

DOSWindows XP/98/951993freeware3.7/5 Apogee Software
Marble Cooking

DOS19943.6/5 Negative
Master of Magic

DOSWindows XP/98/951994protected4.2/5 SimTex

Master of Magic is a turn based 4x strategy game developed by SimTex and published by the well know Microprose, very similar to Civilization, with a fantasy twist. You play as a wizard and your objective is to evolve your race from a small settlement to a bursting empire. To do so, you can produce military units to fight other computer controlled p...
Master of Orion 3

Windows XP/98/95Mac2003protected4.2/5 Quicksilver Software
Mech Brigade

DOS1987protected4.1/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.