Strategy game advice for a novice

Michael Dean · Mar 18, 2008

Hello, all: I have just recently become interested in the possibility of buying some strategy pc games, but I am a complete novice. After looking through Best Buy the other day, two titles look kind of interesting. The first is "Sins of a Solar Empire", sort of Age of Empires in outer space. The other is "Ageod's Civil War: the Blue and the Grey."

My question is a two parter: what should I look for in finding engaging strategy games, and does anyone have any experience with these two games I mentioned? Any other suggestions for great strategy games would be appreciated. I'm not that interested in any of the Sims games; for whatever reason, they don't seem that appealing.

Thanee · Mar 18, 2008

Do you like more hectic, action, fast-thinking, tactical, real-time strategy ...
... or rather the slower, careful planning, turn-based strategy.

Those are probably the two biggest differences in approach for computer strategy games.

Sins of a Solar Empire seems to be a pretty classic game of the second kind, including the typical exploration, conquering, research and diplomacy.

Bye
Thanee

Michael Dean · Mar 18, 2008

Thanee said:
Do you like more hectic, action, fast-thinking, tactical, real-time strategy ...
... or rather the slower, careful planning, turn-based strategy.

Those are probably the two biggest differences in approach for computer strategy games.

Sins of a Solar Empire seems to be a pretty classic game of the second kind, including the typical exploration, conquering, research and diplomacy.

Bye
Thanee

The second type, definitely. I had Age of Empires II a couple of years ago and it pretty much turned me off to pc games until now. I hated having to move guys in real time to build, mine, farm, etc... all the while the computer is optimizing its resources and beating my brains out. I much prefer the careful planning aspect and that's why Solar Empire and the Civil War game looked interesting, at least from the box description. I was curious about other games in a like vein that emphasize overall strategy rather than tactical moves.

TwistedBishop · Mar 18, 2008

Dawn of War is the series which finally got me hooked on RTS games. It does a great job of easing you into the experience with immediate, easy to understand goals, distinctive units, and satisfying, visceral combat. It's also a few years old at this point, so it should run on most systems.

I've heard nothing but good things about Sins of a Solar Empire. However it does sound pretty complex for your first RTS.

Mustrum_Ridcully · Mar 18, 2008

TwistedBishop said:
Dawn of War is the series which finally got me hooked on RTS games. It does a great job of easing you into the experience with immediate, easy to understand goals, distinctive units, and satisfying, visceral combat. It's also a few years old at this point, so it should run on most systems.

I've heard nothing but good things about Sins of a Solar Empire. However it does sound pretty complex for your first RTS.

Warhammer 40: Dawn of War and its expansions are really good games, I agree. I personally was a bit surprised how much I liked it, considering that it lends itself more to quick-paced fights, with less long-term base building and such stuff. You are forced to expand, which is something I usually hate - I love turtling. But it worked incredibly well for me.

The only other games I am currently playing are:
- Command & Conquer 3 (I am sucker for the Tiberium Wars and the storyline. It helps that the game isn't bad, either

)
- Universe at War. Not played it much yet. Soulstorm sucked me in at the moment...

Isn't Sins of the Solar Empire from the makers of Galactic Civilisation? I liked those games, though they weren't perfect. (Pretty close to Master of Orion 2 in gameplay...)

mrtauntaun · Mar 18, 2008

Sins of a Solar Empire will make for some long addicting games, but unless you go for some multiplayer, it gets old fast. Each game feels the same.

Andre · Mar 18, 2008

Michael Dean said:
Hello, all: I have just recently become interested in the possibility of buying some strategy pc games, but I am a complete novice. After looking through Best Buy the other day, two titles look kind of interesting. The first is "Sins of a Solar Empire", sort of Age of Empires in outer space. The other is "Ageod's Civil War: the Blue and the Grey."

Well, first off, Sins of a Solar Empire is real-time. Even worse, you can't modify the speed - you're stuck with what the game gives you in terms of time. That said, it has gotten excellent reviews, so since you've already purchased it, by all means give it a shot. For specific strategies and tips, go to the publisher's website. These are the same folks who gave us Galactic Civilizations (another great 4X space strategy game), and they're known for having great support for their games.

http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com/gameplay.aspx

Recommendations:

Heroes of Might and Magic 3. The series is up to HOMM 5, but HOMM 3 is (IMO) the still the best. Pick up the complete version which has both expansions. Turn based fantasy strategy game. Very addictive, tough computer opponents, and if you get bored with the maps and campaigns that come with the game, you can download literally hundreds of fan-created maps.

http://www.celestialheavens.com/index.php

Age of Wonders. Similar to the old Warlords and Master of Magic DOS games, great graphics, interesting campaign, opponents who will crush you if you let them. The only weakness is that your hero becomes a one-person army later in the campaign (tho I personally like that feature, others don't). Age of Wonders II added some new features and updated the graphics, but I didn't find it to be quite as addictive.

http://aow2.heavengames.com/

Jupp · Mar 19, 2008

Michael Dean said:
My question is a two parter: what should I look for in finding engaging strategy games, and does anyone have any experience with these two games I mentioned? Any other suggestions for great strategy games would be appreciated. I'm not that interested in any of the Sims games; for whatever reason, they don't seem that appealing.

My recommendations would be:

Civilization 4 (Sid Meier, looks like it would be easy as pie, but it's hard as hell to play it well)
Europa Universalis III (hardcore strategy game)
The Operational Art of War, Volume III (even more hardcore

)

Aside from those you should at least have a short look at:

Railroad Tycoon III (Sid Meier)
Heroes of Might and Magic 5
The Settlers: Rise of an Empire (aside from Civ 4 this is my favorite strategy game)
The Settlers 2 The Next Generation (fun remake of the original game of 1996)

Most of those games had their introduction on the Commodore Amiga back in the early-mid 90s so I followed them througout the years.

Generico · Mar 19, 2008

If it's turn-based strategy you want, I would recommend Civilization 4, and Galactic Civilizations 2. Both of these are masterpieces of the genre. Both of them can easily cause you to stay awake all night and call off sick in the morning, just so you can get in one more turn, for the 147th time.

Sins of a Solar Empire is a good game, and is really the first game to pull off the traditional 4x (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) gameplay of turn-based strategy, but in real-time. The game's time scale is quite variable, depending on the size of the map you use. A small map may only last an hour or 2, where as the largest maps in the game could last over dozens of sessions. If you want a slower paced strategic game that occurs in real time, Sins is pretty much your only choice.

Supreme Commander also offers some potentially slower paced RTS gaming, but IMO if you want epic scale real-time strategy, Sins is far and away the best choice.

Thanee · Mar 19, 2008

Andre said:
Well, first off, Sins of a Solar Empire is real-time.

Oh? I always thought it is turn-based and not real-time. :heh:

Bye
Thanee

Strategy game advice for a novice

Michael Dean

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Thanee

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Michael Dean

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TwistedBishop

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Mustrum_Ridcully

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mrtauntaun

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Andre

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Jupp

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Generico

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Thanee

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