Caltrops - Gamerasutra - Re: Best Strategy Games

Forum Overview :: Gamerasutra

by FABIO 10/20/2005, 11:10pm PDT

Kabuke wrote:

I need to know. Right now I'm playing Evil Genius, which feels like a Dungeon Keeper in the 60's Bond vein, and I love it.

Yet I want something of the magnitude of say, Galactic Civilizations. Was that good and if not, what is?

To help narrow this, know I did not like MOO 3 but loved M00 2.

I really liked Imperialism for a long time. Although a lot of it is managing your assembly lines, it focused on what made Civilization fun and streamlined out a lot of the busywork that dragged it down. Worker units that build improvements can travel anywhere in your empire in one turn, instead of the painfully slow one space per turn of Civ. Instead of invidual squares, the map is divided into territories like Risk, and your military units simply occupy that territory, which makes things a lot easier than moving everything around one space at a time over mountains. You only ever have one production center to worry about (your capital), and capturing new territories simply provides more raw materials for your capital's industry to work with; no more changing buid orders on two dozen different cities (or leaving it up to a brain dead AI). It's so simple you'll find yourself wondering how you could ever go back to the Civ model.

The AI is pretty much like any Civ game: it gets a huge resource advantage and is able to field impossible large armies that would normally bankrupt a player with upkeep, but doesn't use them to their full effect so you have a chance. The computer players are also completely ruthless and will usually gangpile the weakest current player and slice him up (which you can join in on as long as you're not the rapee).

Some complaints are that the gangpile system means that usually you either get hopelessly slaughtered when the entire world declares war on you or you're left alone to build up until you can slaughter everyone else. Naval combat is automated, which is a shame, and amphibious landings are overpowered. You can transport your entire army via boat to any territory in the world. This is both cheap and also your only chance at defeating the computer in a decisive surprise landing at his capital. Would have been nice if there was a chance at defeating them conventionally.

Mischief Maker is probably going to recommend Laser Squad Nemesis or Starships Unlimited. Don't listen to him. Both seem like they have great potential at first but their bare bones presentation and fundamental balance issues quickly drag them down once you're familiar with the mechanics.

I really wish they'd make a 4X game with the space combat of MOO2 and the everything else of MOO1.