Game strategi (turn-based tactical strategy game) dengan theme fantasy yang indah. Kendalikan tentara perang untuk membangun kembali dunia. SO: Windows Vista atau.
Civilization 6 is the latest entry in a series I thought was already perfect. I was certain Civ 5 couldn’t be improved any further, but developer did it. In Civ 6, you take control of a civilization and lead it through the course of history.
You get to research technologies, create a religion, build trade routes, an army, and more. Opportunities and strategies are endless, making this game extremely addictive. We’ve all been there. You just need to build one last archer before going to bed and it’s suddenly 3 AM and you need to finish that last tank. Civilization 6 also introduced city-planning for the first time, with districts and special buildings that can be built within cities.
And if that wasn’t enough, the Expansion introduces more units, civilizations, and brand-new mechanics. For a turn-based game, Civ 6 has surprisingly good graphics and did a good job delivering a bug-free MacOS port. That said, this is still a demanding game that requires a powerful machine My 2016 MBP can barely handle it A Good Match For: Gamers looking for the best turn-based strategy games. This is, after all, the best Civilization game available. Into the Breach is a tactical strategy game from the same team that did FTL: Faster than Light. Set in a far future, you’ll take control of huge mechs to fight off hordes of gigantic monsters and save the World. This may sound a lot like Pacific Rim, but the game comes with a twist: saving cities and civilians is more important than killing the monsters.
So prepare to make some tough choices as this game can feel like playing chess, and you’ll often have to cut your losses and accept smaller defeats. Featuring retro graphics, Into the Breach is an extremely easy game to run. And if you happen to have a particularly old machine that can’t run it smoothly, don’t worry, the turn-based gameplay won’t suffer. A Good Match for: MacBook owners who prefer slower turn-based strategy games that require focus, patience and lots of thinking. Into the Breach benchmark results (in FPS).
The follow-up to one of the most famous RTS games in history, StarCraft 2 shouldn’t need an introduction. This space RTS depicts a fascinating war between the Terrans, Zerg, and Protoss. But what sets this game apart is the gameplay. StarCraft 2 is fast, precise and features perfectly balanced factions. The game is definitely easy to grasp and get into, but insanely hard to master. I stopped trying to become “good” at it a long time ago, but I still enjoy playing the campaign, a co-op mission or the occasional skirmish against the AI.
StarCraft 2 could have been our top pick. The only reason it wasn’t was because no other game could be a better budget pick. StarCraft 2 is as budget-friendly as it gets: most of the game can be played for free, including online matches, co-op missions, and the Terran campaign. StarCraft 2 also features nice graphics that stand the test of time and reasonable system requirements.
Our 2013 MBP runs it 33 frames per second without breaking a sweat. A Good Match For: Gamers interested in only the best RTS games for Mac. The original StarCraft defined the genre and StarCraft 2 continues to push the envelope.
Also, gamers looking for. Total War: Warhammer 2 took it’s time coming, but when it did, it changed the outlook of the strategy genre on MacOS. Instead of taking place in a historical period, Total War: Warhammer 2 is set in the fantasy world of Warhammer and features all the monsters and flying creatures you can expect.
This turned out to be a bigger change than expected, because the units not only look different, they behave differently and allow tactics that weren’t possible before. That said, this is still a Total War game, with both turn-based strategy and real-time battle modes. TW: Warhammer 2 is also an impressive game to behold, featuring massive real-time battles with hundreds of units on huge battlefields. Powered by Apple’s Metal 2 graphics API, this is one demanding yet great-looking game that can be enjoyed on MacOS.
A Good Match For: Gamers interested in fantasy strategy games, but also those who enjoy the high-level strategy Total War games have always demanded. Total War: Warhammer 2 benchmark results (in FPS). Based on Norse mythology, Northgard gives you control of a clan of Vikings trying to conquer and settle on a newfound continent.
This RTS reminds me a lot of the glory days of Age of Empires. You have to gather resources, create buildings and train soldiers, fishermen and scouts. But similarities with old-school classics stop there. Northgard introduces modern mechanics that give the game a fresh and interesting feel. For instance, you can’t create people. You have to keep your clan happy and that will attract settlers that can then be trained to become soldiers. This game is the newest entry and the only strategy game from 2018 in this Top 10 and it shows.
Northgard also features landscapes and weather effects that are simply top-notch. Other entries on this list may be less demanding, but the fact a MacBook from 2013 can run such a pretty game makes it our MacBook Pick. A good match for: Fans of games like Age of Empires on Mac. Also, gamers looking for the best strategy games 2018 has to offer. Northgard benchmark results (in FPS). XCOM 2 is a turn-based strategy game that continues the story of the original XCOM.
Humans lost the war against the aliens and the remaining survivors have to live under their rule. The future is grim and the only hope is the tiny resistance army, which you’ll lead. Features excellent turn-based combat missions where the use of cover and special abilities is crucial. Plus, if one of your soldiers dies he or she is gone forever, making every mission feel tense and important.
In between missions, you get to manage your resources, research technologies, train your soldiers and decide where to go next. Vanilla XCOM 2 is an excellent game as is, but the War of the Chosen expansion makes it infinitely better. In fact, War of the Chosen is so big, developer Firaxis thought it would become XCOM 3. Many call it the ultimate XCOM experience and once you try it, you’ll understand. Did an outstanding job with the game’s port. In spite of requiring a recent machine to run, you would expect such a great-looking game to be even more demanding. My 2016 MBP shouldn’t be able to run it but it does!
A Good Match For: Gamers looking for action-oriented turn-based strategy games. Most turn-based games favor complexity instead of intensity. XCOM 2 is the exception. XCOM 2 benchmark results (in FPS).
Company of Heroes (CoH) was revolutionary when it first came out in 2006. The graphics, the destructible environments.
My jaw dropped the first time I saw a Panzer tank drive through a wall and kill my soldiers. Company of Heroes 2 is all that and more. Just like the original, CoH2 is all about securing resources, building an army and crushing the enemy.
But unlike StarCraft 2, this game isn’t about building the biggest army as fast as possible. In CoH2, every unit matters and you’ll have to use the right combination of units, terrain and cover to win. This may sound complicated and slow, but don’t worry.
CoH2 is an action-driven RTS with lots of destruction and mayhem. Feral Interactive did an excellent job with this port, but the game’s advanced physics and great-looking graphics make it particularly demanding. If you have a machine with integrated graphics, our tests concluded you will probably be out of luck with this one A Good Match For: Fans of WW2 strategy games. There are others that take place in that period, but CoH2 is the top choice. Also, gamers looking for military strategy games. Company of Heroes 2 benchmark results (in FPS). Is an expert at creating free-to-play games.
Hearthstone is a perfect example of how to do it right. Hearthstone is a digital collectible card game based on the popular Warcraft universe.
But before you ignore it because you don’t “like” card games, know this game is amazing, no matter your past experiences with the genre. Hearthstone is much simpler than you would imagine. In every match, you pull three or four cards (depending on who goes first) out of your customized deck of 30 cards.
There are different card types (weapons, spells and minions), but the goal is clear: empty your opponent’s health. As far as free games go, you won’t be disappointed here. You can genuinely spend hours playing Hearthstone without having to spend a dime. Plus, the cute yet simplistic graphics are perfect for low-powered machines. A Good Match For: Fans of strategy card games. Other choices exist, but Hearthstone is the clear winner in this category. Hearthstone benchmark results (in FPS).
Europa Universalis 4 is a grand strategy game that puts the world’s history at your fingertips. The entire Earth is represented and you can own, conquer, and colonize any part of it.
The game gives you an unprecedented level of control of a nation’s military, diplomacy, and economy. And that’s what makes it so challenging. That said, the developer did a lot to make it more accessible. The menus and interface were streamlined and the tutorials beefed up.
Still, this game is hard to get into. If your attention span is as short as mine, you may be overwhelmed early on. But if you’re up to the challenge, and give it some time, it will reward you with a chance to rewrite history.
Among the games featured here, this is one of the most forgiving entries in terms of system requirements. As the purpose is to create an interactive simulation of the World’s history, the game never tries to look fancy. A Good Match For: Gamers looking for the best Mac grand strategy games. Is the clear expert when it comes to grand strategy games and Europa Universalis 4 is their top-rated game to date.
Europa Universalis 4 benchmark results (in FPS). Ever wanted to be captain of a ship and sail out to conquer the universe? Homeworld may be your way out. Released in the 1990s, Homeworld 1 and 2 turned the strategy genre on its head with huge Star Wars-like space battles at a scale never seen before. Over a decade later, many still remember the excitement Homeworld created. And now that Aspyr has remastered the game and brought it up to modern standards, Homeworld looks just as good as any of the other games featured in this list. The Remastered Collection includes updated graphics, high-res textures, better lighting effects, and a new UI.
This, combined with a great story and atmosphere, makes the Homeworld collection a must for space strategy fans. And as an added bonus, the game has low system requirements that support even the older Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics and machines going all the way to 2012. A Good Match For: Fans of sci-fi space battles. Few games manage to create such epic space battles, and unless you get Star Wars: Battlefront 2 on Windows, Homeworld is your safest bet. Homeworld Remastered benchmark results (in FPS). Games Games Our take Demand Level Free games only?
✅ Not demanding Into the Breach From the team that did FTL: Faster than Light, comes another excellent turn-based strategy game. Puts you in charge of giant Mechs that will have to fight Alien invaders and save as many humans as possible. This is a game that uses charming retro graphics that accomplish to things. First, you won't need a powerful machine to run it at all. And second, the graphics won't distract you from the excellent gameplay Into the Breach offers. 89 Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding Factorio If you think sounds like a factory-building simulation you’d be right. And if all you’re doing is building factories you can bet they’re going to be big, require lots of resources, and attract lots of enemies.
Add in cross-platform cooperative multiplayer, modding support, and a map editor, and Factorio takes factory building to the next level. If you’re a fan of building big, complex systems that do cool things, Factorio is for you. NA Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding RimWorld A single player, sci-fi survival game, RimWorld has you attempting to keep alive the survivors of an interstellar shipwreck on an alien world. How you proceed is largely up to you: RimWorld provides an almost overwhelming amount of detail you can tweak and there are multiple approaches you can take. RimWorld is also known for its personality; players actually get amused at the weird ways their colonies are wiped out after so much careful building and planning.
NA Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding This War of Mine Perhaps the most unique game on this list, is a single-player survival game simulating war from the perspective of a group of civilians in a bombed out city. By day you craft, take care of yourself and your group, and plan for the night, when you venture out to gather resources including food, fuel and weapons. With Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam and low hardware requirements, This War of Mine suits many Mac gaming needs. 83 Metascore Not demanding No Construction and Management Kingdoms and Castles Kingdoms and Castles, from Lion Shield, LLC, is as you might expect a city building sim set in Medieval times where you start by building your hamlet and graduate to building your castle. Considered more of a “lite” city sim builder, with low-poly graphics and smallish maps, Kingdoms and Castles offers an alternative to the modern-era city builders. 72 Metascore Not demanding No ⚠️ Fairly Demanding Surviving Mars Along with Northgard above, is one of the newest games on this list. It offers a unique, Mars-based twist on the city building sim.
Building a city on Mars offers unique challenges, like making sure your colonists have air to breath, and developer Haemimont Games has thrown in some mysteries inspired by classic science fiction depictions of Mars to keep things interesting and different every time you play. 76 Metascore Fairly Demanding No ✅ Not demanding 0 A.D. This open-source, historical, real-time strategy game comes from Wildfire Games, a group of volunteer game developers from around the globe who are obviously big fans of Age of Empires 2. In 0 A.D, you will begin development of your city, raise a mighty army, build an empire, and contend with rivals to take over the world. Those rivals can be on Windows, Linux, and Mac. And did we mention it’s free? NA Metascore Not demanding Yes ✅ Not demanding Endless Legend A fantasy entry in the 4x turned-based genre dominated by the Civilization series, Endless Legend comes from AMPLITUDE Studios, who brought us Endless Space and Dungeon of the Endless.
Working to survive and unravel the mystery of why your planet seems on a cycle of doom, you will build and lead a civilization using resources, skills, and magic. Cross-platform multiplayer rounds things out for those seeking a fantasy-based Civilization-like game. 82 Metascore Not demanding No ⚠️ Fairly Demanding Dawn of War 3 is an RTS set in the Warhammer universe.
Featuring big armies, huge heroes, and an increased focus on multiplayer (only cross-platform between MacOS and Linux), developer Relic has announced the end of DoW III support meaning no new content will be coming. However if you can find it on sale, it should be supported on your machine for years.
77 Metascore Fairly Demanding No ⚠️ Fairly Demanding Stellaris A universe-spanning, grand strategy 4x game, Stellaris focuses on exploration and story more than combat, though there will be fighting. Another game from Paradox Development Studio, the connections to Europa Universalis are clear. Explore the universe, upgrade your technology, build fancy ships, meet with aliens and decide the path you want to take to universal domination.
78 Metascore Fairly Demanding No ✅ Not demanding Hearts of Iron 4 The latest in the series of turned-based, WW2 grand strategy games, Hearts of Iron is considered the deepest, most authentic simulation of WW2 on a world scale. Choose your nation and run it exactly as you wish, from making economic, diplomatic and political decisions to how, when and where you fight. 83 Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding StarCraft That’s right, the original also makes this list, because it’s just that good. Possibly the best RTS of all time, StarCraft has you gathering and building as one of three races in a story that connects them all. The Brood War expansion is also free, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t grab them and play them (again) now.
88 Metascore Not demanding Yes ✅ Not demanding Tooth and Tail Another lighter RTS, in Tooth and Tail you play as one of four different weaponized animal factions battling over control of the food supply. Tooth and Tail features short battles, pixel graphics, multiplayer, and system requirements that should appeal to owners of less powerful machines. While the single-player is hampered by some balance issues, the game is an affordable and different take on the genre.
80 Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding Crusader Kings 2 Another from Paradox, Crusader Kings 2 applies their formula to the Middle Ages, allowing you to rule your domain over generations as the descendants of a family dynasty. The game is infamous for throwing random events at you that you'll need to handle with grace or put your kingdom in danger. As with other Paradox games, the strategy is deep and can be complex, but the game is worth it. 82 Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding Offworld Trading Company Offworld Trading Company is a rare RTS that features no combat. That’s right, you’ll be collecting resources, but not to build armies.
Instead, you’ll be on Mars trying to build the next big company, play the stock market, and defeat your enemies in commerce, not on the battlefield. It also features a difficult AI and cross-platform multiplayer.
78 Metascore Not demanding No ✅ Not demanding Rome: Total War The highest rated Total War game ever, Rome: Total War has to be on anyone’s best Mac strategy games list. With the classic Total War combination of empire building strategy and battle tactics, Rome: Total War allows you to lead one of Rome’s famous families all the way to the top. And as an older title, it’s perfect for all of you with less powerful Macbooks. 92 Metascore Not demanding No. Games are subjective and Top 10 list even more so. To keep this list as fair as possible and ensure every game listed here is worth it, we made sure the following set of criteria is always met: Native: Every game listed here natively supports MacOS. This means they won’t need Wine, Parallels, Bootcamp or any other third-party app to run.
Just install any of these games on your machine and enjoy. Performance: Obviously, we think every game on this list is solid in terms of graphics, gameplay, and stability. But performance is also a key factor to consider: we Mac users keep our computers for a long time. Mac Gamer HQ is the only place that tests and benchmarks games on several machines and shows you actual performance, not just listed system requirements. Keep in mind that we test all our games on Medium settings because we continue to believe they are an acceptable compromise for testing across a wide variety of machines: And for reference, this is how we interpret the results: Below 20 FPS Unplayable Laggy gameplay, full of stutters and slowdowns.
20-30 FPS Borderline Can be Ok in slow paced games. Still, not optimal. 30-45 FPS Playable Acceptable for most (most gaming consoles do this).
45-60 FPS Smooth Fluid gameplay, with no perceivable stutters. 60+ FPS Very Smooth For hardcore and professional players, a luxury for most. We usually aim for 30 FPS, because 30 FPS is enough to guarantee a smooth and fluid experience. Critical acclaim: To counter the fact that games are extremely subjective, we focus only on the games that have received good reviews by critics and average gamers.
We’re not looking to please everyone, but we want to make sure these games have been generally enjoyed. Pricing: Price tags are not the most important factor, but they still count.
Sometimes a game that is only $10 will be superior to a game that costs $60. We know you’re looking for the best value for money. There’s never been a better time to try a strategy game on your Mac. With top games from AAA developers and independents, there’s something in this genre for everyone. With options from fast real-time games to collectible card games, there’s a MacOS strategy game for every gamer and Mac.
Which strategy game caught your eye? What are you currently playing? What did we miss? Let me know in the comments section, perhaps you’ll even find fellow Mac users to play with online! Disclaimer: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission (this is how we pay the bills). This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Ric- Great site, longtime lurker.
Have you reviewed the recent re-entry of classic strategy game EMPIRE DELUXE, now developed by Killer Bee Software, whose chief developer Mark Kinkead has almost singlehandedly kept this product alive for almost two decades. Since the last shrink-wrapped edition for Mac came out in the late 80’s. This classic is approaching 40 years of satisfying gameplay.
It’s one of the original God’s-eye games but God (i.e. You, the player) is moving against one or more AI opponents or networked humans, and they strike fast. What I love about ED is plowing through dark territory, uncovering Read more ».
Whether they are turn-based or real-time, strategy games 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. Strategy games are a preserve of PC gaming, but it’s not due to exclusivity agreements between game developers and console manufacturers, but simply because the PC offers unhindered keyboard and mouse controls that allow gamers broader control over their games.
In strategy games, the user interface more or less requires point-and-click interaction, which controllers struggle to provide. Only a few games are designed with controller support. In this list, we take a look at 25 of the best strategy games that stand the test of time. Some games, like Dune 2, don’t really hold up well against newer titles, so we didn’t include them. You will however find a few classics listed on here, only because they’re still as playable today as they were back when they were first released. Keep in mind that Civilization VI’s coming out later this year, too! So expect to see this list updated with it if it’s any good (and it probably will be).
#30 Battlefleet Gothic: Armada. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a real-time space strategy game set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000, where evil lurks around every corner of the galaxy and alien races do just about everything to try and kill each other.
The game is a tribute to its source material and one that will test even the most exceptional admirals out there. #29 Factorio Factorio is a game in which you build, manage, and organize automated factories within an infinite 2D world. The factories you construct are of increasing complexity, requiring more and varied resources to produce an equally diverse set of items. These items, in turn, allow you to produce even more stuff. Players are invited to use their imagination to design their own factories, combining simple elements into complex structures–and protecting all of it from the monsters that want to destroy it all.
#28 Grey Goo Developed by Petroglyph, the makers of Command & Conquer, Grey Goo is a return to form. In the game, players fight for survival on a planetary oasis by commanding one of three factions: the defense-oriented Humans, the versatile Beta, or the all consuming Goo. The game caters to a myriad of play styles, including the ability to turtle, by offering players the ability to construct impenetrable walls, dominate from strategic outposts—or become the Goo and overrun your enemies.
#27 Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. The planet is dying, and an ancient, derelict spaceship is your people’s only hope for survival. In this prequel to the interstellar series of space strategy games, you take on the role of the scientist leading an expedition into the harsh and unforgiving deserts of Kharak to recover an ancient artifact that will come to be the salvation of your people. #26 8-Bit Armies 8-Bit Armies offers gameplay that’s been rolled back to the glory days of RTS, while maintaining some of the modern conveniences we’ve picked up along the way since then. It’s fast-paced, lightweight, and simple to learn.
With a voxel-style look reminiscent of Hipster Whale’s mobile hit Crossy Road (it’s not really 8-Bit), it feels like a perkier version of Command & Conquer, which several key staff at Petroglyph worked on at the now-defunct Westwood Studios. #25 Crusader Kings II Made by the masters of grand strategy games, Paradox Interactive, Crusader Kings II explores one of the defining periods in world history. Medieval history is brought to life as players take on the role of a regent in any one of the period’s many dynasties and ruling families and set out to carve an empire out of the ruins of the Dark Ages.
#24 Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth Beyond Earth is a science fiction take on the tried and tested Civilization formula of turn-based grand strategy games. As part of an expeditio nto find a home beyond an overpopulated Earth, players must lead their people into a new frontier, explore and colonize an alien planet and create a new civilization in space. Sorcerer King is a fantasy turn-based strategy title in the vein of 4X games like the classic Master of Magic. In the game, players must build a kingdom and raise a force powerful enough to challenge the eponymous Sorcerer King.
It’s a game where the bad guy has already won and it’s up to the remnants and survivors of his onslaught to set things right. You have to do so before he fulfills his plan of becoming a god and destroys the Elemental Shards upon which the world’s magic depends on. #21 Stellaris Stellaris is Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio’s new 4X game set in space. Best known for their work on Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron, Stellaris’ devs take to the final frontier in this real-time (with pause) strategy title. Players will begin a civilization of their own creation in a randomly generated universe, exploring new worlds, encountering aliens, and facing the challenges of running an intergalactic civilization replete with war, diplomacy, and everything else.
Developed by Stardock Entertainment, Galactic Civilizations 3 is a 4X space strategy game and the latest installment in one of the highest-rated strategy series of all time. The game challenges players to build an empire that dominates the galaxy through conquest, diplomacy, cultural hegemony, or scientific research. The stars are yours to control.
#17 Age of Wonders 3 Developed by the makers of Overlord, Triumph Studios, Age of Wonders 3 is the third game in the Age of Wonders series of turn-based strategy games.The game sees a return to classic turn-based strategizing with an overworld map as well as a combat system that’s akin to Final Fantasy Tactics. Players can participate in two separate campaigns that pit rival factions against one another, in an overarching narrative that ties both of the campaigns together. Players can also play the game in free mode, which is much like Civilization—because that’s where the fun is at.
#16 Europa Universalis 4 The war game lives on the PC platform and no other, and the upcoming Europa Universalis is bigger and more expansive than any other wargame before it. The entire duration of the game stretches between the mid-15th century to the late 18th century, containing every detail you ever cared to know about generals, politicians, nobles, and royalty of all the European nations during that time. Like its predecessors, the game is all about politics and war on a grand scale. #15 Total War: Rome 2 Apparently, The Creative Assembly’s much lauded Total War series is stuck in a groundhog day like cycle now.
Everything ends with Empire, the last era that featured the kind of mass unit warfare the series handles so well, and goes back to the start, back to the Shogun era. Then there’s another Rome. This time we’re up to the Rome part of the cycle. It’s the second time Total War comes to the time where legionaires clashed with barbarians, and this times, things are not going to be pretty. #14 Company of Heroes 2 Based on Relic’s experience with Dawn of War, the World War II era realtime strategy game Company of Heroes was widely regarded as the ultimate toy soldier game when it arrived to both commercial success and critical acclaim back in 2006.
Ever since then, the Company of Heroes franchise has seen several new entries in form of both regular and stand alone expansion packs, but no true sequel. After publisher THQ went under last year the rights to the franchise have passed on to SEGA, who will publish the Eastern Front focused Company of Heroes 2 later this month. Watch trailer #13 Total War: Shogun 2 Shogun 2 brings the Total War series back to its roots.
Set in feudal Japan, players take on the roles of one of the many Daimyo vying for the title of Shogun as they take to the battlefield and subjugate their neighbors. Players must also contend with the rise of Christianity in Japan and the influence of foreign powers which threaten not only to take over the country, but also its culture. It’s up to the players to decide how history itself unfolds by making decisions both on the field and over the map board. #12 Civilization 5 Civilization 5 isn’t the best game in the Civilization series, but it’s the newest, and arguably the one with the best combat thanks to the implementation of a hexagonal board. The game is even further improved by its expansion packs, which alter—if not improve—the game in fundamental ways from culture and religion to diplomacy. If you’re searching for kindness in the latest Civilization, you’ll have to set the game’s difficulty down to the lowest setting because it’s easily the most challenging game of the bunch. Regardless of whatever shortcomings it might have with long-time fans of the series, Civilization 5 is by far one of the best strategy games around.
#11 XCOM: Enemy Unknown XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a worthy successor to the turn-based strategy game series by Microprose—classics from almost two decades ago. Revived by Civilization developer Firaxis, the new XCOM streamlines everything that made the original title a little annoying to play through and improves upon all of its best qualities for a modern, turn-based strategy game that’s like no other. The game’s popularity and success stands as a testament to the strength of turn-based strategy games, which have stood the test of time despite being declared ‘dead’ a million times over.
#10 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. 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.
It also featured in our list. #9 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. #8 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. #7 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. #6 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. #5 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. #4 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. #3 Ashes of the Singularity Ashes of the Singularity is real-time strategy on a grand scale, with large-scale battles taking place across enormous tracts of land. Players build gigantic bases and control hundreds of units and send them to war against each other. It’s like everything 8-year-old me imagined while playing with toy soldiers.
#2 Total War: Warhammer. TWWHDwarfSlayers Total War: Warhammer is Creative Assembly’s take on the Warhammer fantasy universe. Offering both the real-time and turn-based strategy mechanics that made the long-running Total War series popular, the new strategy game invites gamers to participate in the grimdark fantasy world created by Games Workshop, putting them in command of the medieval and fantasy-inspired factions like The Empire, Vampire Counts, and Chaos Warriors. #1 XCOM 2 XCOM 2 takes place in a world where the commander lost in the first XCOM.
Things didn’t go out as planned, and the aliens conquered planet Earth. They took over human governments and eliminated almost all resistance to their invasion–except for a few remaining members of XCOM.
XCOM 2 offers players a chance to strike back at the aliens, operating in secret and performing the kind of guerilla attacks that the aliens would’ve done during their invasion. The tables have turned.