Great Turn Based Games

Kodiak888

Join Date 10/2006

+10

Great Turn Based Games

Hello,

I'm not what you'd consider a hardcore gamer, but I enjoy quality games from every genre. From point and click adventures to twitch shooters, if it's an engaging game, I'll like it. However, I've been itching for a good turn based game lately. I'm getting tired of GalCiv and Space Empires V (if you love either of these games get the other, you'll love it too).

Some of my favorite turn based games were the Front Mission releases. For those not aware, basically, you control a team of battle mechs (wanzers) that you repair/upgrade/manage speed, armor, weight, & etc options between turns. AFAIK, none of them were ever released for the PC, but that doesn't mean there aren't similar games that have been that I've never heard about.

If anyone knows about another great turn based game, I'd love to hear about it. The purpose is so I can find a copy and play it, so if you've got a link that'd be great too. I'd prefer PC games, but I've got the consoles too so they're acceptable. I'd prefer a game similar to Front Mission (battle mechs and such) but that's not as important as a good turn based. I had an old GBA game, Zone of Enders I believe, that was a very poor man's version of Front Mission, but was remotely similar, if that helps anyone's idea of what I'm looking for.

I'll also note that I've played many of the big named and famous turn based classics, but feel free to list any as they might help someone else looking.

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Does this count?

#mce_temp_url#

Preorders ready, the game has gone gold.

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Quoting Ellestar,

reply 23

[...]

Valkyria Chronicles - tactical TBS like Jagged Alliance etc.

[...]

Wow. I'm not going to pretend that I've played the game (Consoles, and PS3 at that) but just checking the game out at a glance, I just don't see how it remotely relates to Jagged Alliance. Where'd you get that comparison from?

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Fire Emblem (pretty much any, except for Sacred Stones), Breath of Fire III, Legend of Dragoon, and Advance wars (I and II, not III) are all brilliant turn-based games.

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Quoting pseudomelon,

reply 3

Fire Emblem (pretty much any, except for Sacred Stones), Breath of Fire III, Legend of Dragoon, and Advance wars (I and II, not III) are all brilliant turn-based games.

I loved both the Fire Emblems released for GBA. Why the Sacred Stones hate?

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psychoak

Join Date 07/2007

+225

Heh, if someone thinks that one sucks, maybe I'll have to give em a second shot. I've never managed to make myself play through it.

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Quoting Luckmann,

reply 4

I loved both the Fire Emblems released for GBA. Why the Sacred Stones hate?

Most disliked Sacred Stones because they thought the Tower of Valni made the game too easy, nevermind that no-one actually had to go there in the main game. Frankly, I think it's far better than Blazing Sword, though of course Fuuin and Thracia 776 annihilate both in entertainment.

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Quoting Raledon,

reply 14

If you like strategy, you should play these:

Star control (1)

You should also try:

Star control 2

IIRC Star Control 1 is arcade space shooter, not a strategy. Star Control 2 is a strategy/action/quest, but it's real-time, not turn-based. Well, i recommend Star Control 2 anyway because it's it's on a first place in my personal top.

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Quoting Swordsalmon,

reply 6

Quoting Luckmann, reply 4
I loved both the Fire Emblems released for GBA. Why the Sacred Stones hate?
Most disliked Sacred Stones because they thought the Tower of Valni made the game too easy, nevermind that no-one actually had to go there in the main game. Frankly, I think it's far better than Blazing Sword, though of course Fuuin and Thracia 776 annihilate both in entertainment.

Eh, in general I just sorta breezed through it without a hassle, and the levelling process was irritating. The stones were also whack.

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Kings Bounty - over the top awesome.

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Here is my list of favorite TBS games:

X-COM UFO Defense - a classic that is now playable on XP and Vista (only $5 at Gamersgate)

UFO Alien Invasion - an updated (graphics), free (open-source) clone of X-Com UFO Defense that is pretty good

Advanced Tactics World War II - If you like Panzer General, you'll like this one - awesome options and replayability (kind of expensive though at $40)

Some of the best have already been mentioned above: Civ 4, Sword of the Stars, Battle for Wesnoth and (even though its not turn-based) Europa Universalis III (the most in-depth strategy game I have ever played - it takes weeks to play one game)

Also, Star Control 2 has been released, and is now avalble free as The Ur-Quan Masters

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Massive Assault or Massive Assault Network 2..probably most similar to Advance Wars on GBA.

What's so awesome about it is the simple damage/hp/cost ratios. This unit moves 2 damage 2 hps 5, this has 1/4/1, whatever. Some units clearly block terrain while some clearly flank while some clearly bombard, and the easily calculatable results of various actions (along with the ability to test out a move and rewind all the way to the beginning if so desired if it turns out that no you cannot flank the rocket launcher and instead will lose a transport with 2 tanks in it because of the damned forest tile) makes it play more like chess than anything. Well, you can build new units unlike chess, but the game has a simple sort of perfection to it. It's as if it was a classic board game made into a computer game. The original and standalone exp also come with huge numbers of scenarios and campaigns and training, though the sequel only has training and online multiplayer (but with AI bots as well).

Which reminds me, Settlers of Catan is pretty fun for multiplayer.

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Quoting ,

quoting post

Hello,

I'm not what you'd consider a hardcore gamer, but I enjoy quality games from every genre. From point and click adventures to twitch shooters, if it's an engaging game, I'll like it. However, I've been itching for a good turn based game lately. I'm getting tired of GalCiv and Space Empires V (if you love either of these games get the other, you'll love it too).

Some of my favorite turn based games were the Front Mission releases. For those not aware, basically, you control a team of battle mechs (wanzers) that you repair/upgrade/manage speed, armor, weight, & etc options between turns. AFAIK, none of them were ever released for the PC, but that doesn't mean there aren't similar games that have been that I've never heard about.

If anyone knows about another great turn based game, I'd love to hear about it. The purpose is so I can find a copy and play it, so if you've got a link that'd be great too. I'd prefer PC games, but I've got the consoles too so they're acceptable. I'd prefer a game similar to Front Mission (battle mechs and such) but that's not as important as a good turn based. I had an old GBA game, Zone of Enders I believe, that was a very poor man's version of Front Mission, but was remotely similar, if that helps anyone's idea of what I'm looking for.

I'll also note that I've played many of the big named and famous turn based classics, but feel free to list any as they might help someone else looking.

Yay! someone else that remembers Front Mission!! I fecking loved that series, especially the ability to fully customize the mechs or take a mech if the enemy ejects!! And the fights in urban areas was amazing!

On topic, Civ4, Fire Emblem(the way the units actually DIED was awesome), FF:tactics.

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Quoting Aviyur,

reply 12

On topic, Civ4, Fire Emblem(the way the units actually DIED was awesome), FF:tactics.

FF:Tactics for the PS1 rocked. The ones for the advance were a pathetic shadow of its former glory. Never got to play War of the Lions.

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Kings Bounty The Legend: Got to love a game whose tutorial starts off by pitting you and your little army against an obnoxious inyourface dragon, and then follows up this outrage by introducing you to a Necromancer! Look at videos on youtube, this one is very well done, has most of the bugs fixed at this point, and worth it.

Civ4, yes. Or Civ3. Or even old Civ 2. Everyone should play a Civ game at least once. Choose whatever culture seems to you to be the best at being howling maniacs. Begin howling at once! Turn evil!

EtherLords 2, Nival Interactive. If you can find it. This is an animated card game, quite well done. It was never popular in the US for some reason. I really liked it. Ride around on a top level map. Enter special arenas for combat. Spell cards, ether, summon evil cabbages, snakes, bees ... you know the drill.

Master of Orion, and Master of Orion 2. Avoid Master of Orion 3 unless ending up insane running down the street in the nude and quacking wildly through the night in the belief that you have become a duck is your goal. (yes, I still have flashbacks)

Rise of Nations is an RTS but what you do to make it turn based is bind Pause to your mousewheel click, rove around the board, issue all manner of instructions and move directions, then unpause for what seems to you to be a turn. To me, a great game from primitive up through about the WW1 era. Huge number of options, set it up to play as you like.

Disciples III is coming, no estimated release date yet. Disciples II was an acquired taste for me. Then I threw up.

Heroes of Might and Magic series I've never played. My bad.

Warlords IV, Heroes of Etheria: Welcome to Overpowered Are Us. Played this a lot very long ago. These days, it is a web research project to locate the necessary patches to make it work.

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Risk 2.

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1. Oh, wait! hey!

We are all forgetting Battle for Wesnoth!

http://www.wesnoth.org/

This is a free open source turn based strategy game with a very active community. Often said to be the best free open source game out there. Usually in everyone's top five anyway.

The user community is active.

2. Age of Wonders, Shadow Magic:

http://aow2.heavengames.com/ and see patch 1.4, now out for a long time, active user community.

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EtherLords 2, Nival Interactive. If you can find it. This is an animated card game, quite well done. It was never popular in the US for some reason. I really liked it. Ride around on a top level map. Enter special arenas for combat. Spell cards, ether, summon evil cabbages, snakes, bees ... you know the drill.

I had a great time with Etherlords 2. It was fairly brief, but fun while it lasted. A nice copy of the Magic CCG.

Heroes of Might and Magic series I've never played. My bad.

HOMM 5 was made by Nival, who also made Etherlords 2. I love it, especially with the expansions. You can get the second expansion, Tribes of the East, as a stand alone just to see if you like the game. It's one of my favorites.

Disciples III is coming, no estimated release date yet. Disciples II was an acquired taste for me. Then I threw up.

I'm really geeked for this. I thought II was excellent and can't wait to try the new one.

I'm currently hooked on Armageddon Empires from Cryptic Comet. It's a TBS game with CCG mechanics and has absolutely beautiful artwork on the cards. It has quite a lot of depth to it as well. They're also making a new TBS game right now called Solium Infernum and it's looking really good so far. It should be out by the end of the year. Go here to find out more: http://www.crypticcomet.com/

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The TOTAL WAR series. With ROME Total war being my alltime favorite.

Stop reading this and go buy it now!!!.

Sadly its not on impulse

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Pretty much anything by SSI rocks the TBS world.

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Alpha Centauri - one of the best games ever made.

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Great Turn Based Games

Lords of the Realm II, baby.

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Quoting Valardur,

reply 18

With ROME Total war being my alltime favorite.

Stop reading this and go buy it now!!!.

Only if you like games with no challenge, no immersion, and no fun. Thus far, Rome has easily been the low point of the series (although Empire is trying *real* hard to take its place).

Quoting Valardur,

reply 18

Sadly its not on impulse

Nor will it ever be, I'm sure, since Creative Assembly & Sega went to the dark side (i.e., Steam). While I would love it if I turn out to be wrong, I strongly doubt we'll ever see any TW games sold through Impulse.

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