Best Strategy Games I can buy & download today

[kserra]

OK, I'm down here in SW Florida (moved last month from Michigan for an AD job at a new school)...and I'm greeted by this storm...

At least I've got a day off, and so far, I've still got power...

After firing EU 2 back up and enjoying myself as usual, I got in the mood to play a strategy game I haven't seen yet...

Anyone suggest a strategy game I can download and play right now? My main source of gaming are text-based sports sims and strategy games such as EU2, Civ3 (though I haven't played it in a while because I hate the effect of railroads), XCOM, and Jagged Alliance...

Anything I might be missing?

Thanks.

Kevin

[Fritz]

you can dl war in the pacific from matrix....

[JonInMiddleGA]

you can dl war in the pacific from matrix....

That's just ... cruel :D

[judicial clerk]

what abour that Steel Panthers mod? Was it called World at War?

[Crapshoot]

That is cruel Fritz... :D

You could download GalCiv, which I believe is now 29.99, and the expansion pack over at galciv.com - very intelligent AI, well thought out. Plus, they have some deals there if you're interested on other games..

[Glengoyne]

You can download Fast Break College Basketball, if you have win2000 or better. It runs poorly on '98. Also Puresim has a seven day demo I believe.

[JonInMiddleGA]

You could download GalCiv ...

Is GalCiv real-time, turn-based, or hybrid, or what?

(Although this ain't my thread, I wouldn't mind finding a good turn-based strategy game myself)

[Eaglesfan27]

GalCiv is a turn based 4x space game. It has some flaws, but I found it to give me quite a good number of fun hours. I haven't tried it since the expansion came out.

[Crapshoot]

Is GalCiv real-time, turn-based, or hybrid, or what?

(Although this ain't my thread, I wouldn't mind finding a good turn-based strategy game myself)

tbs jon - and a pretty good one. Its basically everything MOO 3 was supposed to be. The best IMO is a very intelligent AI that doesnt cheat, unless you put it at the absolute highest level. The AI is capable of thinking long term, and of showing a sense of self-preservation- its very impressive. A long time enemy of yours getting its ass kicked will surrender to another civilization as opposed to losing its entire empire to you. I definitely spent a lot of time with it, though I havet played it in a while- the new expansion pack might draw me back. They did update the game with new additions for a year, and they are continuing to do so- which is impresive. If you have money to burn, look at their Totalgaming.net package = 89 bucks (50 if you already own galciv) and you get access to a whole bunch of other games as well- you have a subsription to any games they produce in a given year- and they're yours forever (tis not a rental).

[sachmo71]

Space Empires IV. Or check out underdogs to see if there is any shareware that interests you.

If you like fantasy, there is Dominions II.

[Desnudo]

I'll second the GalCiv recommendation. If you liked Civ and EU2 you'll likely get into it as well. I might fire it up when I get home now that I think of it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I checked out the galciv site, interesting, probably depends upon what comes up this weekend (that I don't know about already) , but it's a definite maybe.

Funny thing though, I'd have d'loaded & bought Political Machine without hesitation right this minute ... but of course the only way it's available for d'load at this point is with their subscription deal. And that little scheme is one they can shove squarely up their ...

[kserra]

Shoot...just got done typing a reply and my power flickered...

Storm is picking up...rain is going sideways and the palm trees don't look like they'll stand if the rain picks up much more...man, I'm starting to miss those Michigan blizzards!

I'm going to check out GalCiv...any word on the expansion pack?

I loved Stars! In fact I still fire it up every once in a while...Space Empires 4 was something I just never got into...still have it, but didn't capture me...however I gave up on it quickly because EU or Championship Manager were released around the same time and those games took over my life...

Is SE 4 still a quality game? Wow...gotta fly...winds going crazy!

Kevin

[Crapshoot]

I checked out the galciv site, interesting, probably depends upon what comes up this weekend (that I don't know about already) , but it's a definite maybe.

Funny thing though, I'd have d'loaded & bought Political Machine without hesitation right this minute ... but of course the only way it's available for d'load at this point is with their subscription deal. And that little scheme is one they can shove squarely up their ...

fyi John, from when Galciv was starting - if they offer a new game at the same rate that stores sell it, they get beat up by retail for cannabilzing their sales (and get threatened with it being pulled- notice it costs 10 bucks more on the website than in most stores)- most of the total gaming package is past the retail front row stage, which is why they can make it avialable for download. it is somewhat strange that the Political Machine is not available for downlaod though given the price differential..

[JonInMiddleGA]

fyi John, from when Galciv was starting - if they offer a new game at the same rate that stores sell it, they get beat up by retail for cannabilzing their sales (and get threatened with it being pulled- notice it costs 10 bucks more on the website than in most stores)- most of the total gaming package is past the retail front row stage, which is why they can make it avialable for download. it is somewhat strange that the Political Machine is not available for downlaod though given the price differential..

Yeah, they seem to lay all of the blame on their contract with UbiSoft.

The catch is, as I see it, this is not a game that the retailers really give a particular crap about (I think the phrase I saw on the forum was "third-tier game", which seems about right to me). We're talking about release date/ship date of 8/11 and EB wasn't planning to bother to ship it to their stores until some time next week.

I'm having a tough time seeing this game doing much business (compared to high-profile titles) at retail OR via download. And in this case, since I'm at least an hour from the nearest EB (or similar) store, it's just costing them a sale.

Honestly, I thought GalCiv looked interesting, but I didn't exactly get the warm fuzzies about the company who owns it.

[druez]

That's just ... cruel :D


i was thinking about getting that game. Does it suck or something? I guess I'm missing the joke...

[JonInMiddleGA]

i was thinking about getting that game. Does it suck or something? I guess I'm missing the joke...

Somewhere around here there was a thread about this particular game. IIRC, the estimated time to finish a campaign was something on the order of several thousand hours. The first AI turn of a campaign, on a high-end system, was measured in hours, not minutes.

It's like the ultimate grognard experience on PC, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it appears to be to a point that is almost unplayable for the majority of gamers.

[druez]

Somewhere around here there was a thread about this particular game. IIRC, the estimated time to finish a campaign was something on the order of several thousand hours. The first AI turn of a campaign, on a high-end system, was measured in hours, not minutes.

It's like the ultimate grognard experience on PC, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it appears to be to a point that is almost unplayable for the majority of gamers.


ahh that explains it. Thanks... Slapbone has this game and is loving it so far I believe. I'll ask him about it.

[Crapshoot]

Yeah, they seem to lay all of the blame on their contract with UbiSoft.

The catch is, as I see it, this is not a game that the retailers really give a particular crap about (I think the phrase I saw on the forum was "third-tier game", which seems about right to me). We're talking about release date/ship date of 8/11 and EB wasn't planning to bother to ship it to their stores until some time next week.

I'm having a tough time seeing this game doing much business (compared to high-profile titles) at retail OR via download. And in this case, since I'm at least an hour from the nearest EB (or similar) store, it's just costing them a sale.

Honestly, I thought GalCiv looked interesting, but I didn't exactly get the warm fuzzies about the company who owns it.

I have a little more faith, because I recall when gal civ was near release - and the fact that they had an open beta for anyone who pre-ordered, and had a designer who was fairly active and listened and redesigned a major part of the game thanks to a late beta suggestion. Seemed like a combo of Jim and Markus imo. I will agree that I am fairly surprised that it is not available for download- given that Gal Civ, the flagship title, was from day 1.

Either way, Im tempted to spend the 50 bucks it will cost me - Id get the Gal Civ sequel and the Political Machine, which is what interests me, and whatever else they release in the next year (Along with all that disciples and ORB junk that I wouldnt be interested in)...

[daedalus]

If you were into JA2, there's always the fan-made mod, Urban Chaos.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I can't find my GalCiv disk or box or jewel case or whatever it came in (it's been over a year since I bought it), so I can't get the totalgaming.net subscription for $50. I can't seem to find my serial number. :( Oh well.

Edit: Found it on the shelf behind me. Oopsies.

[hukarez]

You can download Civilization 3 at http://www.trygames.com (http://www.trygames.com/)

Some other games on there too.

[Pumpy Tudors]

For anyone with any kind of interest in The Political Machine, I made a very brief post about it in the PC Games Impressions forum. If anyone wants discussion about the game or has any questions, I'd be glad to respond in either thread. I only played one game of it last night, but I'm sure there are people who are waiting for impressions before buying it.

[amdaily]

Speaking of politics, the update for President Forever should be out this month. It is going to add primaries and multiplayer.

For only $12, you can't go wrong with it. Even without those features, I've got far more than $12 worth of playing time out of it.

Once multiplayer does come out, we should have an FOFC tourament :)!

[hukarez]

Now, I'm seriously considering re-installing my Galactic Civilizations copy on my machine. In doing so, I've also been considering that Altarian Prophecy expansion pack...

I wonder if the price had gone down on it? I'll probably end up having to re-install StarDock and all...hm.