While I try and figure out what else I may want to write about in this blog of mine (I have a potential Fallout story in the works too), I figured as I did RPGs last time it's time for my 2nd favourite genre: Strategy!
Now, I know that is quite broad these days as the lines between genres are so blurred it's genuinely difficult to put games into just one of them. Having said that if that comes up as a conundrum to solve, I'll just explain why I think game X is a strategy game to me.
I spent most of last week mulling it over and trying to narrow it down to about five games but I am honestly not sure if I can so there might be some honourable mentions before the top one. Something I regret not considering doing for the last one but ah well, I can always do a part two!
As before, I have a few conditions for things I put on this list. The first is obvious, I'll only put things on here that I have played a lot of if not completed in some fashion. Like most gamers, I have an ever-expanding backlog of games that I have only dabbled in. Second, I am not counting any multiplayer aspects as I tend to focus mostly on single-player games. Much as I like the idea of playing multiplayer strategy, I am a bit too slow so I tend to get stomped pretty effectively!
Without further ado, let's kick this list off!
5. Total War: Medieval 2
The Total War series is one of my favourite strategy franchises though choosing just one out of all of them was a little tricky. Medieval 2 beats out the others just ever so slightly for me especially among the history-focused titles. Attila was a close choice but I have sunk far more time into Medieval 2 than almost any other Total War game to date.
The battles always felt epic whether it was a few units of peasants and some archers duking it out or a vast sweeping cavalry battle with crossbow bolts flying everywhere. The sieges were also some of the most fun siege battles I played across the franchise too. I know Britannia had amazing ones too but I haven't played it. Watching lines of infantry clashing and then zooming in to watch the melee up close is still impressive even today despite the ageing graphics.
The campaign also meant there was always some new faction to try out even if the unlock system for it was a little tedious (save file editing anyone?) Most had a unique slant to them though a particular favourite of mine was Venice. Decent militia troops and a whole heap of crossbow units? Yes, please!
While like many people I hope we one day get a Medieval 3, I'd genuinely settle for a remaster of Medieval 2. Let's hope, eh?
4. Master of Orion 2
Trying to choose a favourite 4X strategy game was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be but I settled on MoO2. I'll even still fire this up on occasion to play as while it's not as utterly bonkers in scope as some other space-based 4X offerings I found that just makes it more manageable and less likely to get bogged down in the end game.
Making your custom race to play was also a neat touch that added to the replay value alongside the randomly generated galaxy map. Though it never felt like it was too much to manage either. Tactical space battles, ship design and a mysterious antagonist keep things interesting along the way.
There's a good reason why so many space-based 4X games take their cues from MoO2 though it is genuinely difficult to best this classic in my mind!
3. Total Annihilation
Now, like anyone growing up in the 90's I loved Command & Conquer as it was one of the few RTS games on the original PlayStation. When I finally shifted toward PC gaming Total Annihilation took the crown of best RTS to me. Even compared to its spiritual successor in Supreme Commander though this nudges it out slightly due to nostalgia.
From my experience, it was the scale of TA that impressed me most, huge maps, massive armies and all kinds of fun units to use. From tiny bomb robots to literal battleships all alongside massive artillery cannons that could fire right across the map. It was also that strategy game that revealed to me I'm a shameless turtle who loved trying to build impenetrable bases of layered defences.
The story was nothing to write home about but the battles more than made up for it. Genuinely surprised it never spawned the same kind of copy-cats and clones that Command & Conquer did.
2. Distant Worlds: Universe
Yes, another space-based strategy game, anyone would think I liked them, eh? This one to me stands out most for one reason alone beyond its crazy scale. The galaxy feels alive with civilian ships, traders, tourists and mining ships all doing their thing while fleets do their thing. There are even pirates and smugglers who have their faction mechanics and it just generally feels amazing once you can wrangle the UI properly.
When you can zoom in from a galaxy of a thousand stars right down toward seeing a single mining ship working above a gas giant it's hard not to be impressed. The battles also felt suitably epic and there was a lot of strategy to them. You could for example hunt down and destroy all their gas mining operations to starve their fleet of fuel or hit their starports to make repairs more challenging.
It is even now a yardstick with which I compare most other grand strategy space games though not many have come close to it. However, I'll cover that in the honourable mentions, which is a good point to get to those!
Honourable Mention #1 - Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri has to be one of the most atmospheric 4X games out there and was one of the very first PC games I played long before becoming a PC gamer properly. It came with all the assorted junk CDs you used to get with a pre-built computer. Though the disk went missing and it took a long time to get another copy.
For me, it just genuinely felt like you were exploring an alien planet while competing or working with all the other factions. Barbarians if Civ games have nothing on the mind worms though, nothing like alien fauna that wants to munch on your greymatter right? Getting to design your units was pretty novel for me at the time too. This got beat out by Master of Orion 2, mainly as I played that more. A lot more.
Honourable Mention #2 - Stellaris
Ah, Stellaris, very nearly landed in Distant World's spot but it's so close mainly because DW: U is finished and I feel like they have a lot more fun stuff planned for Stellaris that might elevate it for me to take its spot.
The battles are certainly epic to watch though the depth comes from fleet composition and ship design rather than micro tactics. A good thing indeed if you are a slow and clumsy player with all the speed of a glacier going uphill like I am.
Honestly, I just think the galaxy in Distant Worlds feels a bit more alive than in Stellaris but maybe one day Stellaris will reach such a state, it's come a long way since its release.
Honourable Mention #3 - XCOM2: WotC
I love XCOM and games like it which is nothing new or surprising. The only reason XCOM2 lands in the honourable mentions is mostly due to not having played it with WotC. I played the base game to death but haven't gotten into delving into it with the expansion installed though I doubt it'll dislodge the king.
Now, I do like the remakes, I played the original to death but on higher difficulties, it felt like you were being railroaded into doing things in a set order just to survive which I found XCOM2 improved on greatly. One day I'll get around to playing it with WotC installed as what I've heard is impressive. It leads us nicely only the number one game on the list which probably won't surprise anyone who knows me.
1. X-Com: UFO Defence/UFO: Enemy Unknown
The original 90s classic from Microprose and one of the games that nudged me toward being a PC gamer (the other being Fallout 2 I mentioned in the last post.) These days I use Open XCOM with my GoG copies of the game for all the fan-made fixes for the first two games.
To me, this feels like a perfect strategy sandbox. You are given the broad goal of stopping the alien invasion of Earth, handed some meagre resources and off you go. Everything from where you place your bases and what they contain (even the layout matters) right down to controlling your soldiers in battle. Research, production, air interceptions and it felt like you genuinely were leading humanity against an alien invasion.
It was and still is very atmospheric whether it's pensively watching the Geoscape for the next UFO detection or creeping around a city at night trying to save civilians from aliens. The soundtrack also helped keep the tension high. The enemy variety was also quite high alongside procedurally generated tactical maps based on the terrain on the Geoscape made every battle feel quite different. Stray shots blowing up fuel pumps in a city or explosives taking out walls for a line of sight were stood against long-range sniper duels in the desert or picking your way through a farmstead.
Also, your soldiers improved along the way meaning you often get attached to them making that unlucky shot to the face sting all the more. You also needed good soldiers if you wanted to have a chance at actually winning. I even loved Terror from the Deep as well though the original will always be my favourite by a long shot!
There we have it, a list of some of my favourite strategy games of all time. There are a lot more that I like or need to play more of but these are the top ones for now. If I were to go through every strategy game I liked the list would have easily been about twenty or so games long. A top 100 all-time favourites list? New blog post idea? Hah, that'd be a lot of work but who knows what the future holds?
Speaking of which, if you have any gaming-related topics you want to see me blog about, feel free to let me know. Hope you enjoyed the list, til next time!
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