Pump out units you don’t care about, never get attached to, and send them at the enemy as fast and as often as you can. This is pretty much the formula they’ve followed since, well, forever.

The only bug exception I know of was the original Age of Empires. Those were the good old days of RTS gaming–when a ‘defensive’ strategy also worked. You could build walls and be safe behind them. You could plot and plan. There was time to think, and I love thinking.

Wow, was I ever excited about the game Supreme Commander. Those overhead shots of red vs blue units in tactical array really had me. Or should I say, tricked me. For all it’s hype ingenuity, the S in RTS was still the same: Click click click to pump out the units, overwhelm with numbers, zerg. To me, at least, this game was an utter disappointment. It got great ratings though, so obviously it was great for others…but not for me. I wanted more. I wanted…deeper.

If you like strategy games and you’ve never played Galactic Civilizations 2, you’re missing out. Stardock, the publisher of ‘Sins of a Solar Empire’ created a masterpiece with that game, catering to a niche of fans eager to relive the glory days of Master of Orion 2. But Stardock outdid themselves, and GalCiv 2 has surpassed it’s 4X strategy forefathers (including Civilization) and in a few months time, when it’s next expansion arrives, will get even better.

Point is: They make great games, and more importantly, are committed to improving and enhancing those games in light of the desires expressed by the players who buy them.

Sins of a Solar Empire is deep, immersible, customizable. It is made for a gamer who loves to think and plot and plan, who likes their games saturated with lore and steeped in tactical balance. Yeah, games last long. This, to the strategy gamer, is a good thing. It means one mistake won’t cost you anything. It means a struggle that promises rich fulfillment at the end. It means, in a word, ‘Epicness’.

No, that’s not a real word. But you get the idea, I hope.

My favorite game(and I feel far and away the most universally strategic game of all time) is Rome/Medieval 2 Total War. I’m not here to argue the point, but I don’t think anything comes close to the grand scale and immense tactical decision-making present in those games. Time will tell how Sins of a Solar Empire stacks up, but what it is now is close, and what it will likely be in a years time may surpass anything I could hope to imagine.

My review? This game is incredible. You can read about the gameplay mechanics elsewhere. I’m here to tell you that if you like your strategy games long and complex, but exciting and vastly challenging as well, sit on the fence no longer. Hop into the yard and jump in the pool, my friend.

Epic space strategy on a colossal scale is here. And it’s equipped with three banks of laser cannons, front and rear missile bays, roving fighter squadrons and a Gauss cannon.

I’ve wasted enough time trying to convince you. Time to play.Â

Thrilling new approach to real-time strategy. Addictive, intense multiplayer gameplay. Strong story with terrific voice acting. Visually stunning with plenty of spectacular moments.

 

World in Conflict is an RTS that is based off of a concept of “what if” the Cold War didn’t end soo well? The result is a massive scale war across continents and you play as America in the campaign mode (online you can choose to be the Americans, N.A.T.O. or the Soviets). Anyways the brilliance of how this game was put together and the amount of fun playing it will impress you.

Gameplay - You start off with commands points and can order units across “drop zone areas” of the battlefield. These command points automatically recharge throughout your gameplay. It’s the same concept as any other RTS, units have weaknesses, certain units kill others better and are more vulnerable to other units. You can also order in airstrikes, artillery, chemical gases and ect. This makes the game much more fun and it’s fun to watch things blow up (it feels great when you hit another unit using the artillery or airstrikes).

Graphics - Let me start off by saying, these graphics are incredibly realistic. From the cutscenes to the gameplay everything looks great. My computer isn’t a very good one, I have an older graphics card (6200 Geforce) and my game still looks great.

Sound - I honestly have never heard a game sound this realistic. From the radio chatter of your units to the sounds of explosions it sounds real. Everything works great. In campaign the voice acting is excellent and it creates a tone of seriousness and a level of maturity.

All together this game is worth buying. The special edition comes with a fake piece of the Berlin Wall which has a detailed card in German behind the rock and also a DVD about the Berlin Wall. I honestly thought that was pretty nice to have that in there. It suits the mood of the game but sends out a message which will leave you questioning war. If you do buy this game listen to the song played at the credits after you beat campaign.

SimCity Societies is not a terrible game, it’s simply different. SimCity Societies gives players the chance to build a capitalist democracy, an authoritarian dictatorship, a rural farming community, or a fantasy society, which is a nice change to the series. Although it may not allow you to build cities to the same scale as in SimCity 4, the general gameplay is still the same. You still build your Sims homes, jobsites, and industries. You still set up transportation networks, and you still get to create natural disasters. I’ve heard a number of people say SimCity Societies it too easy, which I tend to disagree with. If you set the game difficulty high enough, the game becomes quite challenging.

 

 

Each building will use or produce a certain amount of prosperity, authority, creativity, and more. if you fail to balance your use and production of these values, your society will collapse. I do, however have a few issues with SimCity Societies. The game’s framerate is terrible, which can ruin the experience. There is also not enough variety in buildings. I think EA had a great idea, however some of those ideas were poorly executed.

Three unique, distinct, and neat factions to play as. Hierarchy walkers are fun to control or take down. Online modes are a blast. Universe at War has three engaging factions and some interesting ideas, but it’s also saddled with some annoying issues.

 

     
I’m happy to say that Universe at War wasn’t at all the boring, limited game I expected it to be. The three sides are very unique. It makes for some intresting gameplay, to say the least. 

Novus favors a fast, slightly swarming kind of tactic, and if you have a good flow network set up, you can be all over your opponent. The flow conduits can even double as a camera of sorts, letting you see if any enemy units go near your conduits. They are also best at dealing with Heirachy walkers, because of their amplifiers. Patches are also a very good way of changing your tactics on the ball.

The Heirachy are the typical big bad overlords of the universe. They invade Earth, wanna blow it up, use the people for resources. Sound familiar ? Probably. Their walkers are without a doubt the most powerful units in the game. They crush most stuff in their way. I say most, because a lot of times my Novus and Massari units could just hang around under its legs. The walkers can be configured to be gay weapons of destruction, but they’re also your factories. So its really a choice of being powerful, or being a factory.

Finally are the Massari. They’re some sort of human looking alien race who’ve been guiding us all along. They can switch between Light and Dark modes, pretty nifty, with Dark modes giving something called DMA, which is a glorious name for shield, over time. Light mode makes your weapons burn, and let your air units fly. The two modes also affect your superweapon, with a different one in a different mode. The weapon recharges when you switch mode, which can be irritating. As it stands, I spent most of my time in Dark Mode, because one research allows your structures to get DMA too.

Audio is pretty well done. There’s some rock music that plays when you enter battle. The different teams’ voices fit the general scheme of their respective sides, though the Massari put me in mind of the Necrons for some weird reason. Dialogue between missions is also intresting and draws you into the game. You don’t want to skip the briefings, but want to stay and listen. The cutscenes are good too, pushing the story along without really being obvious about it. Lastly. The Novus amplifier at full charge has a very piercing sound. Its really realistic. While its not bad, it tends to hurt my ears.

The bad points. Firstly, and most obviously, the camera. You can’t scroll out. You can scroll in, but can’t scroll out of the standard view. Which is fustrating because a walker pretty much takes up the screen. The control scheme is pretty clumsy too. Creating control groups is a bit irritating. After pressing ctrl+1, you have to hold it there till you see the number appear under their hp bars, or it won’t stick. Finally, there seems to be problems with the AI pathfinding. My units kept getting stuck on corners. They were also way too battle hungry. And for some reason, when ordered to attack walkers, units tend to charge forward, instead of staying back and hammering from afar.

Overall, the game is pretty nifty. Good concept, nice story overall. Especially the Massari campaign. I didn’t expect it to turn into the strategic warfare. If you’re looking for a RTS to tide you over until something else more intresting comes along, this will do nicely.

Red Alert belongs in the same category as Civilization II and Quake, games that followed legendary predecessors and immediately eclipsed them. One can only wonder where Westwood can take us from here.

Still one of the most beloved of all RTS. The early CnC and Warcraft series carved the way ahead for all RTS games.
Any command and conquer buff or RTS fanatic would have at least played this once in his life time. CnC: Red Alert is still probably the best in the whole series. It further improved the original CnC: TD with more tweaks and threw Westwood into the lime light.

The story is simple.

Einstein kidnapped Hitler by travelling back into time thus preventing WW2. What our brilliant scientist failed to realise that such an action caused a power vaccum in Europe, where Stalin grew in power unchecked. Without anyone to stop him or hinder his way, Stalin began his plans for a Greater Russia where he starts by invading the entire Europe. (more…)

Innovative and engaging blend of strategy and role-playing; interesting d&d setting and universe; great graphics with excellent monsters.

I am a huge D&D fan, I have been playing the paper based game since I was at school, almost 20 years now! Every D&D based game that comes along, I buy and sit down and play and am left disappointed because they never quite capture the essence of the game.

“Despite all the problems, Dragonshard has a unique feel. It leverages the D&D license to create something that stands out from the me-too genre clones on the shelves.” -GameSpy

This one though surprised me, it is actually rather good and has some fine elements that will keep you entertained for quite some time.

The game is split into two portions. The first is an underground portion that has you trawling through dungeons searching for treasure and equipment and discovering new portions of the map. In contrast, the second portion is based above ground where you construct and defend your bases and troops.

A really nice feature is when you are above ground your troops spread out and gain midget henchmen that follow them around and bulk up your army somewhat. You can gather together quite an impressive looking army to stomp about. But when you move to the underground portions all the little troops merge into one character and it is them that you use to explore and fight. (more…)

Self-employment highly flexible; new business skills provide new way to improve your sims; listening to licensed music in simlish is a total trip.

“Running a restaurant, building a trendy nightclub, creating a megastore, opening a cozy little coffee shop — these kinds of challenges will keep you entertained for months to come.” -GameSpy

For the past couple of years, the Sims has providing a brand new type of gameplay, that brought strategy games to a new level. Last year, the second part of the Sims has been introduced to the world. It still brought the same addicting gameplay, as the original, and has brought a lot of new features such as picking what you cook. So, for the past couple of years, the sims had sexual intercourse, and got promotions to have the best house ever. Now, they are able to open up a store of their own. This expansion pack was able to make the game more successful and addicting. (more…)

Fast-paced real-time strategy with authentic Tolkien flavor..

The Battle for Middle-earth II improves on 2004’s game with a better strategic mode and a much broader scope that encompasses the whole of Middle-earth.

I recently went to best buy to get this game and i have to say it is amazing! It has several factions such as elves dwarves and goblins. The sauron option is awesome and is like the sauron in felowship of the ring wreaking havoc. It is a must buy game and I encourage you all to buy it. I recently bought EAW also and this is much better than it. It was slightly harder but increadably easy to learn! I havent yet beat it for it only came out today but it is really immersive and gets you in the game quickly. (more…)

Simple gameplay and controling everything from ATAT’s to Han Solo makes this a perfect game for any star wars fans.

Simple gameplay and controlling everything from ATAT’s to Han Solo makes this a perfect game for any star wars fan. if you are realy into your RTS games then you may find this game lacking , they have got rid of resource collecting in favour of resource points , the more planets you control the more you can build but your still limited to how much you can take into battle, though you can still bring in re enforcements you have to ask your self , do you want to waste all your units on a battle that will cost you to lose other planets after the fight is over. overall it has everything a star wars fan could want out of a RTS but would you still buy this game if it wasnt star wars.

With a large audience in mind, it has a lot going for it even if it might not be all that hard-core RTS gamers expected.

Overall, I think this game has sufficient promise in becoming a great game that will last quite a while. Whether this is true shall be seen when the full version comes out.

About this game

The game features beautifully rendered land and space battles set on memorable planets such as Hoth, Tatooine and Dagobah as well as never-before-seen environments taken directly from the Star Wars films and expanded universe novels. In the game, players can choose to join either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire, building and setting up tactical forces that can be unleashed on the enemy in real-time 3D. All of the gameplay and action within Star Wars Empire at War is persistent, meaning that strategic and tactical elements from previous events will have a permanent effect on the galaxy.

One the best Turn Base Strategy games of all-time.

I would put it right up there with Civilization 4, both just dominating the turn base genre right now. Basically if you like Sci-Fi and turn base strategy games Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is the game for you. If you where a fan of Masters of Orion 2 (not 3) then Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is just what the doctor ordered, it’s not exactly the same but similar and just better. Most importantly it has the same addictive qualities but does so with state of the art graphics and with tons more depth.

One of the best strategy games I’ve played recently. The depth of gameplay offered is truly remarkable and the AI is good enough to almost make me forget that there is no multiplayer (almost). -PC Gameworld

I don’t think most people know this but Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords really doesn’t have a polygon limit, so in essence you can make ships that are thousands of ploys and import them right into the game. The game was built from the ground up to be extremely modable, I just can’t wait for the star wars and star trek mods to come out. This also adds to the lasting appeal of Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords since with no poly limit this game will just keep getting better graphically as you update your PC’s.

About this game

Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is a PC strategy game in which the players take on the role of leader of a space-faring civilization. Players direct their civilization’s military, colonize planets, establish trade routes, fight wars, research new technologies, sign treaties, build up their planet’s industry & economy, and ultimately battle to control the galaxy.

It is the sequel to Galactic Civilizations (2003), a game that won Turn-Based Strategy Game of the Year from GameSpy.com, as well as Editor’s Choice awards from several publications including Computer Gaming World and Computer Games Magazine.