Sorcerer Lord
The Shadowlord, the evil sorcerer who rules the Northern Shadowlands, has invaded the ancient lands of Galanor. In this fantasy wargame simulation, you must gather the free forces of Galanor and stem the advancing might of the Shadowland.
Call upon the ancient battle magic of Galanor’s warlike ancestral inhabitants; learn to use the magic and the powerful Rune Rings will hum to the force of your spell casting. The Shadowlord also knows the ancient secrets, so control of the Rings is essential if you are to defeat this malignant invader and his Demons of Chaos and earn the coveted title of SORCERER LORD.
Fortresses and citadels, a variety of terrains, and the near invisibility of the enemy forces combine to give you a challenging game in which your strategic and magical abilities are tested to the fullest.
FEATURES
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Strategic and tactical map displays
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Three difficulty levels
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Save game option
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Rune rings and magic spells
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Highly intelligent computer opponent
Read More: Best Turn-Based Strategy Fantasy Games.
Space Empires III
Despite the glitches and bugs, this game has that beautiful blend of design your own units and turn based strategy that I do love so much, but be ready for the eternity each match takes (on large with multiple players).
– Real player with 547.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Turn-Based Strategy Turn-Based Tactics Games.
Absolute nostalgia. Wonderful to see this again, haven’t seen it since the mid 90s. A few gripes about UI and UX and the tutorial but those are minor. 7/10
– Real player with 17.2 hrs in game
Shining Force II
SF2 tells a bit more lore of the World of Runes compared to SF1 and we get a clearer picture in part of the world in our explore and its history of the 3 demon lords here.
Although it’s a SRPG, this game folds out more like a normal JRPG, with everything we can expect in a JRPG story completed in the game, from boat, to ship, to air ship… from hidden characters… hidden items… to final strongest weapon crafting… all the classic goodies of a JRPG is here. The tactic part falls on a random encounter basis, but instead of small fight, it’s a full map fight, so they lowered the encounter rate to super rare… which makes finding a random fight outside the main story battle in the game a wee bit harder than a normal JRPG.
– Real player with 6.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Turn-Based Strategy RPG Games.
This along with its predecessor Shining Force I is an absolutely unique mix of tactical RPG and traditional JRPG town and overworld exploration.
In pure Strategy RPGs, what you get is usually a sequence of battles separated by cutscenes. Personally, that causes me to burn out pretty fast because of the repetition. The Shining Force games however have such a perfect mix of battle/exploration/story that my interest is constantly renewed. Combat can be challenging but the mechanics are light enough that it still feels relaxing to play.
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
Conflict: Europe
Finally, the threat of an atomic nightmare seems to be over. The equilibrium of terror that has held mankind under its spell for too long is about to lose its power. In CONFLICT: EUROPE we examine the diverse “what if …” scenarios that have dominated world history for the past forty years.
In this gripping simulation, the player experiences seven different conflict situations. A comparison is made between the effects of nuclear and conventional weapon systems and the relationship between NATO and the Warsaw Pact is examined. The careful and realistic study of these scenarios in CONFLICT: EUROPE clearly shows that everything must be done to prevent such a nightmare.
FEATURES:
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Represent either NATO or the WARSAW PACT.
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Seven different conflict situations.
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Full use of AWACS and reconnaissance.
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Ground, Air, and Naval Forces included.
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Range of nuclear and chemical fire plans
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Special Forces raids.
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Complex FSM based strategy system.
Firezone
With the break up of the Superpower blocks, colonial wars ravage the world.
The development of powerful beam weapons and defensive energy shields have revolutionized ground warfare giving a new lease of life to the concept of the Armored Fighting Vehicle.
Propulsion systems have advanced beyond recognition. The development of the GRAV engine means tanks can skim across a battlefield at the speed of todays helicopter gun-ships.
FIREZONE simulates this new style of combat. It can be played as a solo game against a tough computer opponent or as a two player game. The player can control either of the two main protagonists - the EUROPEAN LEAGUE or the PACIFIC COMBINE - in any of the set scenarios. Victory is yours when the opposing forces are either wiped from the map or forced into mass retreat. Also incorporated is a scenario editor program allowing the player to design his own battles.
FIREZONE is a phased game and incorporates the latest in Artificial Intelligence techniques.
Features
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Phased game
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Highly intelligent computer opponent
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9 pre-set missions on disk
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Unique scenario generator
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Hidden or open movement
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1 or 2 players
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Multiple terrain types
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Hex based scrolling maps
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Variable unit types
Shining Force
This along with its sequel Shining Force II is an absolutely unique mix of tactical RPG and traditional JRPG town and overworld exploration.
In pure Strategy RPGs, what you get is usually a sequence of battles separated by cutscenes. Personally, that causes me to burn out pretty fast because of the repetition. These games however have such a perfect mix of battle/exploration/story that my interest is constantly renewed. Combat can be challenging but the mechanics are light enough that it still feels relaxing to play.
– Real player with 18.3 hrs in game
Classic SRPG that’s pretty much fun and sticking to all the old school pattern with class upgrade, hidden objects on battle field, rpg style town explore and hidden characters to collect which adds to the replayability.
I was here because i wanted to start playing another Shining series but vaguely remember the game is supposed to be SRPG and not ARPG, so I came for a quick check but ended up finishing the whole game and probably will go for other series they have on SMD Steam before i move on to play the newer ones. Glad i did too! It’s fun, and the old and simple old school beats all the complex settings and story lore of the later series i guess… too complex makes them a burden to learn… I guess the simplicity is what makes the Classics so wonderful.
– Real player with 9.6 hrs in game
Dragon’s Bane
I really want to be able to give a positive review as the gameplay itself is quite fun. Sadly with 4 separate playthrough attempts all ending with different game-terminating bugs, I cannot. The developer does seem to be updating and fixing some of the bugs, but the sheer volume and level of impact these bugs have ruins the experience. I will likely attempt again after an update to see what has been remedied. Perhaps, then, I will alter my review.
– Real player with 17.6 hrs in game
Love RPG Pixel.
– Real player with 16.3 hrs in game
Sid Meier’s Colonization (Classic)
This game is a gem, and still great fun to play more than two decades after its release. It starts in 1492; your sovereign grants you a few colonists, some tools and muskets and a ship to head into the vast unknown. It is up to you to turn that humble beginning into a vast colonial empire - and then rebel against the ever more oppressive rule from across the seas.
It is a game that is fairly simple to get into, but the more finnicky bits of growth and economy can take a while to get the hang of. Do you start a vast agricultural colony, raising new colonials through food, or do you start with cash crops and their refined versions to scrape together enough gold for new recruits from the old world? Perhaps you instead focus on spreading the good word of your faith to lure lost souls across the Atlantic, or use your military might and missionaries to subdue the local natives as converts? Perhaps all of the above, all the while bickering with your fellow European colonies and treading carefully around the sovereign’s steady requests for higher taxes, your day only brightened as founding fathers flock to your banner to aid you.
– Real player with 121.8 hrs in game
An oldie, but a goodie and, IMHO, superior to the 2008 remake.
Pros
1. Works fine on Windows 10 though my PC is a toaster from 2009ish so your mileage may vary.
2. Excellent soundtrack.
3. The same addictive formula as the other Sid Meier games.
4. Colonial setting. It’s not super historical or anything, but it’s still an interesting time period.
5. The ability to commence your own 1776.
Cons
1. Combat. I once had a unit with 15 attack lose to a unit with 5 attack… 15 reloads in a row. There was another case where a unit with 1.5 attack managed to defeat my artillery which had 20 attack. I’ve seen fishermen defeat dragoons more then once. These kind of upsets don’t happen constantly, but are frequent enough that I wasn’t surprised and would save before every attack just in case. TL:DR A higher attack doesn’t guarantee victory so your frigate could end up being sunk by a guy in a rowboat with a knife.
– Real player with 93.3 hrs in game
Worms
There are so many versions of Worms out there but the original is the one with–-
*Less cartoony graphics - pixel art here instead of smooth cartoons.
*Fewer items - you have a good selection of weapons, but the most exotic items are the exploding sheep and banana bomb - no Holy Hand Grenade, Carpet Bomb or jet pack in this version.
*Less polish - sound effects are fuzzy and the menus are a bit unwieldy.
*Worse AI - computer characters never use ropes, spam the teleport awkwardly, get stuck behind cover and never ever miss with ranged weapons.
– Real player with 18.5 hrs in game
i love womes and have been playing since i had it on my sega mega drive (similar to this version), while i have not played much of the newer ones - this version is simple at it’s best:
quick to start a game
no long loading times
fun short sharp matches
pleanty of weapons (not as much as later games of course)
pleanty of fun teams including teedies and waterloo (based on abba)
i really love this game - and i know some people might not like using the dosbox emulator - but for me (windows 7) works very nicely, with minimum errors
– Real player with 13.9 hrs in game
Eador: Genesis
This old school 2D turn-based strategy is great, I have been playing this game since 2009 and I still haven’t found anything as good as Eador. Genesis.
The game was developed by single man, after some time 1C Snowbird got rights and made a 3D remake Eador. Masters of the Broken World. Though game looks pretty nice it had some critical problems with visual and UI experience coupled with constant crashes and plethora of annoying bugs (though most of crashes and bugs are fixed now, it took a really long time for developers). Because of that Eador. Genesis is still the better option than its 3D remake.
– Real player with 1210.0 hrs in game
Alright, what’s the deal with this game? It’s got crappy graphics and looks like it’s from 1998!
Let’s ignore those facts for a moment. Suspend your disbelief, if you will. What’s going on beneath the surface with the game mechanics?
As of this review writing, I’ve got 305 hours spent on this game (I’m a bit ashamed of that). So, there’s something being done right here. It certainly scratches a lot of my itches and gives me what I’m looking for.
In terms of strategy, there are multiple layers of complexity. You’re first introduced to the game in a small starting scenario which introduces the game mechanics to you. Most of the time, you are moving your hero armies around on the campaign map. On occassion, your hero will get into a tactical battle against monsters or other heros. This takes place on a hexagonal grid system and each side takes turns moving all of their creatures.
– Real player with 666.6 hrs in game