If you're looking for Steam games to run on an older laptop or a touchscreen device, turn-based strategy is a great genre. It rarely demands top-notch computing power and will wait patiently for you to fiddle with clumsy controls. Even if you're just an everyday Steam gamer, top strategy titles are always worth a look.
It's a neglected genre in the mainstream, yet contains so many unique titles. If you want a break from twitch gaming or role-playing, the mental workout of strategy can satisfy like nothing else. So here's our top picks for gamers looking for a change of pace. A mix of introductory and in-depth titles with a particular eye toward those that work well on mobile.
This arranges for space on the hard drive of your Mac work area or workstation, which prepares for more files or much more diversions. The uninstall procedure is like the procedure you would experience to expel a diversion from a Windows PC. Open the symbol for your Mac’s hard drive on your Mac OS X work area.
All of them guaranteed to give the gray matter a good stretch. Sid Meier's Civilization V By Firaxis Games - (£19.99) Let's get this out of the way first: the most popular and accessible 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate) game around. Some say its predecessor Civ IV is more demanding and compelling. Which it might be for micromanagement maniacs.
For the rest of us, the smooth balance of positional, diplomatic, and economic strategy offered by this game is a safer bet. The chance to re-create human history in a randomly generated world is rarely less than enthralling. And a choice of play styles, world seeds, and difficulty levels ensures an almost limitless play time. By Firaxis Games - (£14.99) Staying with getting the most obvious choices out of the way first, here's the strategy smash of the decade. Again, an approachable interface hides a cybernetic fist of strategic depth underneath. Add in the role-playing elements of gradually nurturing a squad of soliders toward elite status in a demanding environment and you've got a sure-fire winner. The game also achieves a rare satisfying marriage of tactical and strategic elements.
While famed for its combat missions, managing the whole XCOM enterprise is equally fun, and can be just as deadly if you make a bad choice. Invisible, Inc. By Klei Entertainment - (£14.99) One of the more obviously derivative spawn of XCOM turns out, on inspection, to not be derivative at all. Rather than a combat title, Invisible Inc is an almost unique stealth strategy game.
Your task is to guide agents through corporate buildings, hacking terminals for tasty secrets. Quiet is the order of the day, with missteps ratcheting up the security level in an unbearable corkscrew of tension. Add in procedural generation, role-playing elements and terrifying time limits, to make one of the best indie games of the year so far. X-COM: UFO Defense By MicroProse Software - (£2.99) Some gamers might not realise that XCOM is an up to date version of a much older game, originally released in 1993. The presentation is as bad as you might expect by modern standards. The gameplay, however, doesn't feel like it's aged a day. This is the ancestor of almost all modern squad tactics titles.
It's also quite different from its modern day descendants. Most notably in its punishing level of challenge.
Anyone who's already suffered at the hands of XCOM might find that surprising, but seeing of the aliens is all the more satisfying as a result. Chaos Reborn By Snapshot Games - (£14.99) The XCOM franchise is the brainchild of developer Julian Gollop. One of his earliest commercial games was fantasy strategy title Chaos on the ZX Spectrum. What made is special was the simple mechanic for illusions. Wizards could summon creatures with a risk of failure, or cast an illusion that always worked. However, everyone had a disbelieve spell that destroyed illusions - at the cost of wasting that turns' casting slot.
This simple yet brilliant dynamic is intact for this modern remake. Along with better graphics, collectibles, stats, options, online multiplayer, and all the other bells and whistles we've come to expect. By 17-BIT - (£6.99) Quality fantasy strategy games like the latter pick can be hard to come. Which makes it all the more surprising that this little gem, a hit on mobile, seems to have passed so many Steam gamers.
The action follows a murdered Samurai into a violent afterlife to seek revenge. The tone is a fantastic blend of horror and humour. What makes Skulls stand out, though, is the way it grafts difficult decisions onto simple mechanics. Do you attack the enemy, move to a defensive position, or eat someone's skull?
It's a harder choice than it might sound. King's Bounty: Armored Princess By Katauri Interactive - (£7.99) There's a long and distinguished history of fusing fantasy strategy with role-playing.
But most titles in this group tend toward the latter. Not so Armoured Princess. Good job, too, since the narrative elements are mostly dire, as typified by the egregious bikini armour of the box cover.
If you can get past that, then the turn-based game beneath is a treat. The strategic layer sees you recruiting, training and maintaining an army. While tactical skirmishes seamlessly weave sword and sorcery together. Endless Legend By AMPLITUDE Studios - (£26.99) If you want something fantastic but on a grander scale, you won't do better than this recent fusion of fantasy and 4x.
It takes two genres which are both defined and constrained by their stereotypes and blends them with a skilled eye on what to keep and what to tweak. The result is at once comforting yet challenging. And also manages to be approachable without sacrificing the epic scope of a civilization game. Unity of Command: Stalingrad Campaign By 2x2 Games - (£14.99) Turn-based strategy is synonymous with a certain genre of historical wargame. These titles have an often-deserved reputation for being confusing and inaccessible. Unity of Command turns that on its head. With smooth graphics and simple mechanics, it brings the strategy of the Second World War alive for anyone and everyone.
But don't mistake ease of access for ease of play: it's a demanding, realistic game with an AI that will punish your mistakes. Interlocking historical scenarios given the game a grand narrative sweep. If you've any interest at all in military simulations, this is the place to start. Order of Battle: Pacific By The Artistocrats - (£29.99) And if you're into World War 2 strategy, this is the place to continue. The action has shifted to the island-hopping of the Pacific campaigns. It's epic in scope but eases the player in gently, like slipping into a warm bath. By the time you're in full flow, juggling supply lines for hundreds of unit types across the ocean, you'll hardly notice.
Plus it makes a breeze of spreading the action across land, sea and air, something that's eluded almost every game set in the Pacific before. Panzer Corps By Flashback Games - (£14.99) The previous entry owes an awful lot to this title which, in turn, owes and awful lot to the classic Panzer General series of the 90's. Wargame designers don't like to waste good ideas. It gets that vital balance of being approachable yet deep right from the off, and keeps it across all its campaigns.
And those campaigns cover all the titanic clashes on the Eastern Front that you've read about. Stalingrad, Kursk, and Moscow transform from dots on the map to the epicenter of colossal battles. Jagged Alliance 2 Gold By Strategy First - (£13.99) The majority of the games on this list focus on strategy over tactics.
Which is a shame in some ways. Because what you lose in terms of epic sweep you gain in intimacy. There's no better proof of this than the Jagged Alliance games, which see you nurture a squad of mercenaries through a series of demanding missions. You'll get to know each one, and the stories they carve across the map will be burned in your memory. Plus, there's a suprisingly modern role-playing feel to the stats and inventory management in this game for a title released over fifteen years ago.
Take command of your army and expand your reign in Medieval II - the fourth installment of the award-winning Total War series of strategy games. Direct massive battles featuring up to 10,000 bloodthirsty troops on epic 3D battlefields, while presiding over some of the greatest Medieval nations of the Western and Middle Eastern world. Spanning the most turbulent era in Western history, your quest for territory and power takes you through Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and even onto the shores of the New World. You'll manage your empire with an iron fist, handling everything from building and improving cities to recruiting and training armies. Wield diplomacy to manipulate allies and enemies, outsmart the dreaded Inquisition, and influence the Pope.
Lead the fight in the Crusades and bring victory to Islam or Christianity in the Holy War. Rewrite history and conquer the world. This is Total War!
Bigger and better real-time battles. Improved combat choreography, larger armies, quicker pace, and spectacular finishing moves make this the most visceral and exciting Total War ever. New epic campaign. The ambitious single player campaign will span three continents and let players sail across to the Americas to confront the Aztecs on their home soil.
Greater accessibility. An enhanced user interface and optional shorter campaigns make the Total War experience faster and easier to enjoy than ever before.
Over 40 new features. An advanced terrain system, enhanced weather effects, and more will help you divide and conquer. Intense Multiplayer Battles. Wage war against other players in 8-way multiplayer games across the Internet and LAN.NOTE: Because the Kingdoms expansion uses core game elements from the Medieval II: Total War game, it is required that you use the same method for purchasing Kingdoms as you did in purchasing Medieval II: Total War. If you purchase Medieval II: Total War from Steam, then please use Steam to purchase Kingdoms. Medieval II: Total War,SEGA,strategy,steam,Linux,Mac,Windows,game,videogame,deals Medieval II: Total War Price:-1999.00 EUR.