Need advice on buying a good Turn Based Strategy

[aymanhaq]

So I've been a dedicated PC gamer my entire life, aka since the 90s. Oddly enough, I've just now come round to playing TBS (shocking I know). I have Civ 5 and every one of its expansions/dlc and I really love the game albeit a few gripes. I'm trying to find a TBS that addresses these issues and need some advice as I am pretty new to the TBS arena.

Essentially, I'm looking for a TBS that focuses mainly on strategic and tactical COMBAT. I don't mind the 4x formula, but I'm looking for a game in which things like diplomacy, economy, etc directly contribute on your ability to wage war against the opponents, rather than having their separate paths to victory. Needless to say, the AI needs to be challenging and intelligent as well. I find Civ 5's combat AI stupidly frustrating at times.

Graphics is also somewhat of a priority. I like my games to look pretty (one reason I bought Civ 5 and not Civ 4). I have a Core i7 and GTX 600m and I'd like to put them to use!

Thanks for your help!

 

[aks90hay]

Try XCOM enemy unknown

 

[joafu]

Try Sins of a Solar Empire. It is technically a real-time strategy, but I find myself being able to breath as if it were a turn-based strategy- ie, it does take some time for decisions to be executed. Zoomed in, the battles looks great, and it's practically a must-have for space opera fans.

You could also try one of the recent Total War games, I enjoyed Empire and Shogun 2, Napoleon I just couldn't get into as much for whatever reason. These types of games have turn-based world maps were the entire purpose is conquering, but individual battles fought in real time, and your success and cunning in the world map is what really matters; the battles can be auto-resolved, and if I'm doing a faster run of the game, I'll only do the battles if the odds are very against me.

It is a shame you skipped Civ 4, it is one of my favorites, and I find it to be more balanced gameplay-wise over Civ 5, and the AI is much more challenging even without the resource boosts it gets at higher difficulties.

I haven't tried the XCOM refresh yet, but it is near the top of my list, and might be worth looking into.

 

[13thmonkey]

total war: any of them

 

[renz496]

Try XCOM enemy unknown

+1

 

[aymanhaq]

How does Gal Civ 2 stand up? I've been reading around and it supposed to have really awesome AI. Is Sins of a Solar Empire a sort of successor of Gal Civ 2?

 

[joafu]

Gal Civ 2 is also a really great game; I suppose I didn't mention that because it has more dated graphics, and it is a more 'balanced' game if you will, instead of leaning heavily on military aspects as you requested. Gameplay-wise, the AI diplomacy is more tangible than Civ 4's, and the AI strategy is a tad more complex as opposed to just outright resource cheating, and I appreciate that challenge. Civ 5 leaders annoyed me, and diplomacy for me there was just taking advantage of them as I saw fit; there were no lasting friendships because the AI always seemed to ah heck out at declare war for no reason. Civ 4 was at least formulaic, and you could know where you stood with a leader, and they would behave appropriately. Gal Civ 2 seemed to be a more organic approach to what Civ 4 was doing, which is what Civ 5 was trying to accomplish.

I think some of the powers that be have attributed Sins as the 'spiritual' successor, but except for being in space and having Stardock influence, I don't really think of them as being the same blood. I see Sins as more a crossbreed between 4x and RTS, they said so themselves that this is what they wanted and I think they achieved that goal very nicely. It is more war-centric, where the economy is used to build your fleet, and your fleet size will directly influence your economy; economy and fleet/ability to make war are inseparable, which seemed kind of what you were looking for.

Honestly, I've seen both games for $5 on sale from various online distributors, and I'm pretty sure there will be a black Friday Steam sale, and chances will be good for either of those games popping in there.

As far as other games are concerned: Master of Orion 2, the authority in space 4X and possibly 4X in general, if you were wanting a history lesson. GOG.com has it for 6 bucks. Dated? Sure, but not so bad that it hurts the eyes to look at, and I still can go back to this one almost as much as Civ 4.

 

[aymanhaq]

I think some of the powers that be have attributed Sins as the 'spiritual' successor, but except for being in space and having Stardock influence, I don't really think of them as being the same blood. I see Sins as more a crossbreed between 4x and RTS, they said so themselves that this is what they wanted and I think they achieved that goal very nicely. It is more war-centric, where the economy is used to build your fleet, and your fleet size will directly influence your economy; economy and fleet/ability to make war are inseparable, which seemed kind of what you were looking for.

Yeah that's kind of what I'm looking for. A military TBS. I'll look into it. Hopefully I can find a demo somewhere so I can try before I buy. Otherwise, I'll just have to pirate a full version to try it out, not something I'm really fond of doing.

I think I may also give Gal Civ 2 a run for its money as well. If the combat is well implemented, I don't have a problem with other aspects existing as well. I feel like in Civ 5 the developers ended up with a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none situation. If they had focused on a specific path they could have created a deeper and more intelligent game.

 

[bystander]

Another TBS that you might like, but does not have any political aspects, is King's Bounty.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/25900/

It's a good game with good reviews. It has a mix of RPG elements with turn based battles with a large army.

 

[JBB-SaDo]

Any of the Total War series are good. My favorite has to be Medieval Total war 2 Gold.(awesome Lord of the rings full conversion mod for that.) but the game on it it own is great.

 

[aymanhaq]

Any of the Total War series are good. My favorite has to be Medieval Total war 2 Gold.(awesome Lord of the rings full conversion mod for that.) but the game on it it own is great.

I'm hearing Total War show up alot on this forum. What's so good about?

 

[JBB-SaDo]

I hate to use wiki but does a good job of discribing what MWTW is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_II:_Total_War

 

[casualcolors]

Shogun 2 is the newest in the Total War series and the general consensus is that it's an excellent game. I like it although not as much as some people. I would also say that XCom has been getting rave feedback. And I'll throw out another title that probably won't be mentioned otherwise: Frozen Synapse.

 

[aymanhaq]

So I've been playing the new XCOM demo for a bit. I have to say I'm not feeling it. I certainly like the tactical battle, but I miss building empires and fighting over vast open areas. Maybe I'll warm up to it, maybe not. Till then, I'll keep on looking.