Strategy games, whether they are turn-based or real-time, occupy a
unique niche within gaming. While there is not always the thrill of the
fight, there is often a deep satisfaction achieved from outsmarting
both other players and particularly AI. Here are some of the most
favored titles in recent years, in no particular order.
Starcraft
This classic real-time strategy game, released in 1998 is still one of
the most popular releases of all time. Three species duke it out in the
26th century
to gain control of a faraway chunk of the Milky Way. Terrans are humans who've been exiled from Earth. Another humanoid species, the Protoss, who are fairly advanced and possess various psychic abilities, are trying to keep their culture safe from the insectoid Zerg, who are bent on assimilating everyone else.
to gain control of a faraway chunk of the Milky Way. Terrans are humans who've been exiled from Earth. Another humanoid species, the Protoss, who are fairly advanced and possess various psychic abilities, are trying to keep their culture safe from the insectoid Zerg, who are bent on assimilating everyone else.
Starcraft is largely considered a game that revolutionized real-time
strategy gameplay, as well as providing a deeply engaging story. There
is still a thriving community of professional competitors, particularly
in Asia, complete with sponsorships and televised events. Zerg Rush!
Age of Empires III
This real-time strategy game, released in 2005, takes place largely
during the colonial era, from the late 1400s to the 1850s. Players must
choose to develop a colony of Europe, Asia, or North America from an
initial settlement to a thriving empire. Development of the colony goes
through various technological ages, but unlike other games about
territorial conquest, such as the Civilization series, where it is
technically possible to play an entire game without fighting, this game
requires the player to destroy the enemy's colony. Emphasis is placed on
the production of civilian units to collect resources to stimulate the
economy, and the development of the military to defend against rival
colonies.
Another feature unique to this game is the use of a "Politician
System", where players must choose from among several politicians upon
successful completion of each level, which grant various bonuses.
Difficulty level is assigned to specific colonies, as opposed to a more
customized method, which often serves as motivation to keep playing.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
This title, a sequel and marked improvement to the first Dawn of War is
unique in that the multiplayer option involves co-op, as opposed to
pitting players against one another. The campaigns, unlike those found
in this game's predecessors are non-linear, and do not have base
building elements. Units must be selected before a missions beings, and
no new units are issued once it is progress.
Players are faced with decisions regarding the missions and locations
chosen in which to fight, and consequences are based on these choices.
Even after choices are made, missions can have multiple objectives which
may be mutually exclusive depending on the further unfolding of
events.
This game can be appealing to those who normally prefer RPGs, as
players to level up, and some units can be equipped with scavenged
weaponry and armor. This is a good crossover game for any die-hard RPG
fans who are interested in experiencing a strategy game without
completely unfamiliar elements.
World in Conflict
Many strategy games take place either in the distant past or future,
but this title, released in 2007, is set in more recent times, during
the collapse of the Soviet Union, but speculates as to what would have
happened if Soviet forces had attempted to remain in power through
aggressive action.
There is no resource collection or base building in this game, but
rather reinforcement units are bought with a pre-determined amount of
in-game points, and dropped into the battlefield. When units are dead,
the points gradually return to the player's balance, so that new units
can be acquired.
In multi-player games, players choose a specific role from among four
preset roles, Air, Armor, Infantry, and Support. These have various
abilities, such as unusually effective long ranged attacks, and the
ability to hide easily, but are usually balanced with a weakness of some
sort, like being vulnerable to attack on open ground, or being useless
in short-range skirmishes.
Players will enjoy the small user interface, as it provides a more open
view of the battlefield and the ability to manage individual units more
effectively.
Civilization IV
Like the other titles in this series, Civilization IV is a turn-based
game in which the player takes on the role of the leader of an empire
that must be built from scratch from a single city, built by a settler
in 4000 B.C. As the building expands, so do the options for
infrastructure, military fortification and training, study of science
and art, religion, and all the other stuff that empires have. Build
"wonders" around the empire, and experience the birth of historical
figures who can enhance various aspects of cities within the empire.
This game, like many turn-based strategy games can feel slow for the
first few turns, but things get interesting once contact is made with
neighboring cultures, and the potential for trade, aid, and war arises.
Bonus: Leonard Nimoy congratulates the you overtime you attain a new
technology or hit a milestone within your empire.
Rise of Nations
This game features the idea of expanding territory similarly to
Civilization IV, but employes a real-time mode of gameplay. Territory is
expanding by building more cities and forts within the borders, which
opens more options on a technology tree, through which options are
selected to customize the territory. Cities support citizen units, which
can be assigned to specific tasks, but will always look for tasks to do
when idle if not assigned to anything specific. Rise of Nations
specifies six different resources, food, timber, metal, oil, wealth and
knowledge, which are used to create buildings, units, and to research
technologies.
Any nation within the game is playable at any point in history,
regardless of the actual historical timeline of that nation, but
resources only become available in the age in which they were originally
utilized. Keeping a balance between offensive and defensive forces is
crucial to successful gameplay, as is the state of the economy. Rise of
Nations is both rewarding and frustrating in turns, but always highly
addictive.
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
This long awaited sequel to the original Starcraft has earned a spot on
this list in its own right. Finally released in July of 2010, the story
picks up four years after the events of the original Starcraft, and
follows an insurgent group attempting to make its way across the Terran
Dominion. Non-linear gameplay with regard to the campaigns keeps the
game interesting, and is a minor departure from the original. However,
the order in which the campaigns are done will not interrupt the
narrative.
Units remain largely the same, with some additional specialized units
available only for campaign play and not in regular multi-player, such
as the Terran Wraith, Vulture, and Diamondback. There is also a map
editor, similar to the original StarEdit, which allows for customization
of terrain and campaigns.
A word of warning for players hoping to have a nostalgic evening of
strategy gaming with local friends, though: Blizzard has killed LAN play
with this release, so players can only play together online, and on the
same server. Any players wishing to play together must ensure that
they've signed up for the same server at the time of original
registration, because the game is region-locked.
Warcraft III
Before it was an extremely popular (and often parodied) MMORPG, the
"world" of Warcraft existed in a series of real-time strategy games.
Standard resource-gathering and unit-building rules apply, with "black
mask" covering unopened areas of the map. Once explored, the black mask
is removed, but these areas must remain within sight of at least one
unit, or they will be covered in the "fog of war".
With AI-controlled, universally hostile units called "creeps" guarding
areas heavy in resources, there is a slight element of RPGs, especially
since players win experience points, gold and items after defeating
them. Also introduced in this game was the shifting from day to night,
which provides more cover, but reduces the ability to see incoming
attackers.
There are five total campaigns, which are broken up according the
various character race factions, though some specific "hero" characters
are retained across each race's campaigns. Warcraft III still has a
devoted following, and in spite of the massive popularity of the MMORPG,
remains a favorite among fans of Warcraft and strategy games alike.
Supreme Commander
Considered by many to be a spiritual successor to 1997's Total
Annihilation, Supreme Commander begins with a single unit, which much be
expanded and multiplied to aid in a war which has erupted in the future
after humans developed portal technology, referred to as a "quantum
gateway".
The three warring factions are the Cybran nation, comprised of cyborgs
who wish to separate from the other two factions, and get out from under
the thumb of the United Earth Federation, which represents a united
government for all three factions, which of course would be based off of
the planet Earth. Finally, there is the Aeon Illuminate, which wishes
to emulate the so-called "Golden Age" of Earth, in which alien life was
first discovered but soon went south due to xenophobia. Naturally, the
thing to do when fighting xenophobia is to go out and wage war on anyone
who doesn't share the same beliefs.
The critical moment comes when the UEF decides to use "Black Sun", a
weapon which, if deployed, will wipe out both planets of the other
factions. However, the Crybrans and the Aeon Illuminate have their own
secret weapons as well, and one of these does involve use of the phrase
"Monkeylord", which is reason enough to put any game on a top 10 list.
Company of Heroes
This release and subsequent expansions from Relic Entertainment takes
place during WWII. Players are put in charge of two U.S. units during
the Allied takeover of France from occupying Nazi forces.
Micromanagement skills are key in this game, and perhaps provide the
tiniest degree of realism (minus the horrific violence, of course, as
this is not typically depicted in strategy games) as to what it must
have been like to actually "storm the beach at Normandy", considering
that there were over 150,000 troops in reality, and each one had to know
exactly what when and where in order for the mission to be successful.
Players take control of points on the campaign map, collect munitions,
fuel and manpower, and can takeover civilian buildings to convert them
to barracks, which will aid in the creation of new units.
Company of Heroes has been praised as one of the best real-time
strategy games of all time, with several successful expansions and both
LAN and online options available for multi-player.
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