Farsala said:
Hints!
27- This series and genre is famous for being on PC. But my introduction to it was actually this PS1 game, it came with the original game and some extra goodies. An interesting limitation is that you could only construct things close to your main base. Apparently there is an upcoming remaster of this game for PS4 and XB1 soon.
26- A strategy PC game that came with all the expansions together. This game features 9 scenarios throughout history with special rules. For example Rome, Middle ages, Napoleon, or even the Pacific War in WWII.
25- Another strategy PC game. This game is set only during the Middle Ages, but you can choose different start points. You can play out the battles yourself, and it can be quite advantageous to hide in your massive castle as the enemy army gets slaughtered. |
Epic reveal!
27- Command and Conquer Red Alert Retaliation
This game was probably my introduction to RTS as it is the oldest RTS on my list. I got this game and like FF games it came with a ton of disks. While you couldn't build wherever you wanted, you can build without a unit being tied up. Instead building might stop if you run out of money. Making money was fun, all you had to do was build a bunch of ore refineries. Sometimes I would enjoy just taking out all the ore, before the enemies and I would have a fleet of ore trucks. Eventually resources run dry save for a small trickle every now and then, making the late game very interesting and not just a race to the top.
In destroying the enemy you can choose many creative strategies. One of my favorites, that isn't viable at all in multiplayer, was building tesla coils and turrets from my base stretching all the way to the enemy base. Eventually they would automatically destroy everything. Of course you can go the conventional balanced army and destroy them. Or you can use special expensive units that if protected well enough can completely ruin the enemy.
The campaigns were nice with General Carville and Tanya becoming a staple. Even killing the ants were fun. The music had some epic songs like Hell March, and I couldn't get enough of that intro.
26- Civilization 3 Unguessed
I enjoyed both custom and premade scenarios immensely in this game. In fact it is one of the few games I have a 2nd copy of on Steam. In custom the ai of the enemies and the variance of the maps can be quite good with some computer players completely dominating a large continent and one simply owning a small island. So it can suck if the variance is not in your favor either, but that is just part of the challenge and fun of it. Playing on Huge and not so rugged can present many enemies to annihilate on the way to world conquest, but the sheer amount of land to take makes it difficult.
In Scenarios, as said there are many different eras. In the middle ages it is a huge map of all the different countries, taking and controlling holy cities is fun to build victory points. Regicide is a bit sad though when killing a big empire. In Napoleonic Europe an Alliance system is in place and works out really well with lax ai conditions so even if you start as a small dude you can still make an impact. In Pacific WWII, you can play for early game as Japan, or late game as the Allies. As China I always enjoyed defending to the last and then pushing back into Manchuria. The other scenarios are fun in their own way too but this is getting a bit long and I have another game to write about.
25- Medieval Total War
At first I played this game for the battles. When defending castles it was nice to have some elite units waiting at the end, the enemy had 1000 troops completely bogged down by constant arrows and finally only has 200 left to fight your 40 elites. Since my elites had gold experience and gold sword/shield they easily beat them back.
But the grand campaign is where the bulk of this game is. Moving units one space over is like chess or tactics games and felt very much like a game rather than what future entries did with realism. It was great though. In the early game money source and key buildings for good units were the strategy. Annihilating rebels and keeping loyalty up was also good. Marriage with a few people around you kept things simple, while killing the weaker foes. Late game things get exciting, especially if you have to deal with the Golden Horde. A string of ships makes travel easy, taking only 1 turn across the vast sea. The Golden Horde might appear with 40 full armies, so moving 40 of your own there is quite fun to challenge them for the most epic battle of all time. Spreading out the armies would normally be the better idea for quick conquest of multiple enemies at the same time. Eventually the map will be your color.
Last edited by Farsala - on 10 December 2019
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