recommend a noob to strategy game

[ch33kym0use]

Ones that come to mind are...Civ V, Starcraft 2, Supreme Commander (The first one and expansion) or Supreme Commander 2, Age of Empires 2/3, Sins of a Solar Empire. Total War (any) or whatever else you want.

 

[zinfamous]

I played the demo of Sins of a Solar Empire and I thought it was bloody brilliant, but iirc the pirates were a pain in the bum. Was really addictive though. Atm I just have a netbook but when I get a semi decent pc up and running i'm definitely going to try it again. I would give it a try if I were you.

If you played Diplomacy (the most recent expansion), then pirates were really overpowered. I recent patch has tuned them down but prior to that, just about everyone had to turn them off.

I liked them in the prior versions of the game--very useful to simply pay them off to keep pounding on your rivals. Part of the learning curve for me was figuring out how to deal with them. For me, paying them off on every raid is/was the way to go.

 

[Sulaco]

Are those micro management? i really don't want to do stuff like feed/train troops, build towns...etc. I just want to use strategy with basic rules like you would in chess.
I did try Medieval briefly, but its poor graphics was a big turn off, then for some reason i just sucked at it on top of the fact it just didnt feel very strategic to me, like it wasnt accurate or something? i dunno

this genre has always been very popular for some reason, so many strategy games, but unsure if i really have the time to play much...i'm kinda in limbo till some good FPS games come out, likely later this year.

Quick rule of thumb, as someone who has been playing strategy games for 20 years:

The prettier they get, usually the less depth and real-world strategy. Not always, but the popular, glitzy/flashy strategy games generally are made to appeal to wider audience, at the cost of depth, realism, and real-world tactics and strategy.
On the flip side, the games that place a great emphasis on historical accuracy, depth, realism, strategy, and minutiae, do so usually at the expense of accessibility and "noob friendliness".

What you're asking for is tricky: Realism, depth, actual strategy (not click fest, tank rush nonsense), visually pretty, but not too challenging or hard to grasp to a new player.

That's tough.

I would echo some other posters recommendation and say your best bet, by far, is the Total War series. IMO, and I've played them all, they're all enjoyable and offer a tremendous amount of depth for what they are, and for their times, are visually superior to anything in the same genre. Yes, you're going to forfeit some accuracy and realism, but that's just the trade-off.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

i love history, i love chess, why i have never previously got into strategy games is beyond me. I mostly prefer FPS games, but i want to venture back into different genre's. i want to give strategy a better try, but something not too deep and complex.

Try Sins of a Solar Empire, it's a 4x-real-time-strategy game with deep and complex strategic and tactical elements where boring micromanagement has been almost eliminated. It's already had 2 expansions and a large stand-alone third expansion (which might actually be a Sins-2) is in the works for 2012. The AI isn't too bad as far as AI goes, but the real game is in online multiplayer on the Diplomacy expansion where you can put your chess skills up against real human opponents. Here are some links:

Sins webpage and forums.

YouTube review 1
YouTube review 2
YouTube review 3

Note that those reviews refer to the original version of the game (before the improvements in the expansion) and that those guys probably never played it in online multiplayer. Most online multiplayer PvP games don't last longer than one hour, forty-five minutes (because in a team game like 5v5, you only have to take out one player on your own, not all 5 opposing players since you have allies) and the 5v5's are played on the Huge Random single star map.

You can get the Trinity pack (the original game plus both expansions) for $20 on Impulse, and doing so should save you $10 for the large Rebellion expansion if you get into the game:

http://impulsedriven.com/sinstrinity

 

[Specop 007]

Strategy....History....

No Company of Heroes? Really?

For turn based I still maintain that M.A.X. (Which is *very* dated by now) is one of the best TBS's ever created.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Good lord, Age of Empires (1&2) you can get on amazon for 10 bucks here

If you prefer something a little more modern, the total wars. Medieval 1, Rome Total War, and Shogun 2 are the ones I'd recommend but if you like retro (older computer) Shogun 1 and Medieval 1 (and maybe Rome) are the way to go.

I would second Age of Empires. I always wanted to like the total war games but could never get the hang of them.

I would also suggest Age of Mythology, Rise of Nations, and Company of Heroes. Also Supreme Commander, the original, not the second game which I personally kind of liked but everyone else seemed to rip it mercilessly.

 

[WelshBloke]

Try Sins of a Solar Empire, it's a 4x-real-time-strategy game with deep and complex strategic and tactical elements where boring micromanagement has been almost eliminated. It's already had 2 expansions and a large stand-alone third expansion (which might actually be a Sins-2) is in the works for 2012. The AI isn't too bad as far as AI goes, but the real game is in online multiplayer on the Diplomacy expansion where you can put your chess skills up against real human opponents. Here are some links:

Sins webpage and forums.

YouTube review 1
YouTube review 2
YouTube review 3

Note that those reviews refer to the original version of the game (before the improvements in the expansion) and that those guys probably never played it in online multiplayer. Most online multiplayer PvP games don't last longer than one hour, forty-five minutes (because in a team game like 5v5, you only have to take out one player on your own, not all 5 opposing players since you have allies) and the 5v5's are played on the Huge Random single star map.

You can get the Trinity pack (the original game plus both expansions) for $20 on Impulse, and doing so should save you $10 for the large Rebellion expansion if you get into the game:

http://impulsedriven.com/sinstrinity

I've just bought this because of this thread.

Game is bloody hard! Good though.

 

[apac]

Company of Heroes!! A great intro to strategy games for sure, I'd categorize it as "easy to learn, difficult to master". Starcraft 2 is also good, but IMO less intriguing for non-enthusiasts.

 

[zinfamous]

I've just bought this because of this thread.

Game is bloody hard! Good though.

:thumbsup:

It took me ~1 year and at least 5 attempts to start to ever get into it. But once I figured out how to survive the first pirate wave and first opponent attack, I was hooked. excellent game.

 

[zinfamous]

I would second Age of Empires. I always wanted to like the total war games but could never get the hang of them.

I would also suggest Age of Mythology, Rise of Nations, and Company of Heroes. Also Supreme Commander, the original, not the second game which I personally kind of liked but everyone else seemed to rip it mercilessly.

This, so much this. AoM is good, too.

 

[SparksIT]

Have you looked at any open source RTS games?

Spring RTS - http://springrts.com/ - Its a Open source RTS engine, quite a few games are being built upon it, such as WW2 (Spring 1944) game. Haven't had a chance to install it yet, been busy.

0 AD - http://wildfiregames.com/0ad/ - If Swords are more your thing, you can try this, time frame is from 500 BC to 500 AD

Benefit of Open Source is its free so your only out any time you put int to it. Downside is with most open source is it is in a perpetually state of Beta/Alpha stage.

 

[frozentundra123456]

:thumbsup:

It took me ~1 year and at least 5 attempts to start to ever get into it. But once I figured out how to survive the first pirate wave and first opponent attack, I was hooked. excellent game.

Yea, I tried it once and gave up. I appreciate that the devs want to make a game challenging, but it seems that that could make an "easy" setting that is really "easy" for those who dont want to put in so much time trying to master a game. Those that want a bigger challenge could then play a harder difficulty.

I am sure this will offend the hardcore RTS players, but just my opinion.

 

[QuantumPion]

Rise of Nations

TBS: Civ4.
RTS: RoN.

/thread.

 

[Valkerrick]

Stronghold 3 comes out next week.

Stronghold 3 thrusts you into the role of a Medieval lord. You'll create castles and intricate village economies with the improved building system, letting you truly experience life during the Middle Ages. Realistic physics, cutting-edge graphics and detailed lighting bring castle sieges to life in stunning display. For the first time ever in the Stronghold series, you can feel the adrenaline rush of night-time castle sieges. Be captivated by story-driven action in two campaign modes, Combat and Economic. Become a part of history and partake in legendary sieges of accurately re-created castles, and take over other castles online in a wide variety of multiplayer modes. -- Best Buy

1-8 players

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I've just bought this because of this thread.

Game is bloody hard! Good though.

That's great, I hope you really enjoy it. I suggest starting out by playing it with the pirates set to off and locked teams. This way you won't have to worry about the high-powered Diplomacy version pirates coming after you and the AIs won't ally against you.

Also, one simple strategy is to just let the AI suicide itself on your starbases.

 

[zinfamous]

Yea, I tried it once and gave up. I appreciate that the devs want to make a game challenging, but it seems that that could make an "easy" setting that is really "easy" for those who dont want to put in so much time trying to master a game. Those that want a bigger challenge could then play a harder difficulty.

I am sure this will offend the hardcore RTS players, but just my opinion.

While there isn't a setting to make it "easy" or "normal," you can tweak each game to do that for you:

1. turn off pirates
2. lock teams. 4x4 or 4x3 or 5x4 or whatever.
3. set AI to economy or research instead of aggressive.

Honestly, you do need the Ai to be a bit aggressive and you really don't need to turn off the pirates. Just make sure to pay them off to attack whomever you want just before their raid. You get more bang for you buck that way because they keep your enemies in check and you aren't spending that cash on ships that will soon be destroyed.

for those that like to build a bit more before being overly aggressive (like me), it seems to work. But Sins has definitely taught me to be much more aggressive and not to dilly dally.

I don't play against people, though....I probably should, but that doens't really interest me. I'm often doing several things and pausing a game throughout so it doesn't exactly work.

 

[HeXen]

i've been quite enjoying Civilization 5. i liked massing up an army against a city, but quite time consuming and sucks you can't combine units. It also crashes, i spent some 2 hours taking over a city and working on the next then it crashed and lost it all.
definitly fun and pretty simple. the management isnt too bad but i'd like to try something where i can do a little more in the area of war itself and use land and position to advantages.
gonna check into the Total war series now.

 

[Doublejr]

Go old school

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/master_of_orion_1_2

These games are old, but fun.

 

[you2]

Age of wonders is on slae this wekeend @ gog if you are interested in an older turn base fantasy strategy game. They were quite good though the graphics are a bit on the aging side.

 

[shortylickens]

OK, since the necro was appropriate I guess I will contribute.

Some better TBS's than Age of Wonders include Disciples 2 (recommend Gold Edition) and Heroes of Might & Magic. Both can be found on Steam very cheap.