Features The 10 Best Strategy Games of the Last 10 Years.

While I've not played any of the DLC for Civ 6, it really was a step back from Civ 5 is almost every way. I regret buying it - first Civ game that I've haven't sunk crazy hours into.

No Total War: Warhammer 1/2, though?

 

No Hearts of Iron? No Stellaris? No Battletech? Tut, for shame.

 

Nice to see Invisible Inc/Shadow Tactics in there!
I'd argue if you'd made this list a couple of days/weeks later Desperados III may have battled it out with Shadow tactics for the real time tactics spot!

 

That reminds me - Endless Space 1/2 or Endless Legends, as well...

Shadow Tactics was good, but for some reason I just can't replay it.

 

I would have put the original Company Of Heroes in there.

 

The title is "The 10 best strategy games of the last 10 years". CoH came out in something like 2006 iirc?

 

This is absolutely unacceptable:

Rich Tea biscuits are not dry, and they are definitely not boring.

 

Indeed, the rich tea biscuit is an outstanding tea delivery system.

 

Surely if Xcom 2 is number 1, then Xcom 1 should be number 2?

Battletech was pretty boring and missed an opportunity to be great.

 

I'd argue that the new X-COM games aren't strategy games. They're tactics games: the entire game loop is focussed around the ground combat section and getting you back to the combat as quickly as possible.
X-COM 1 diked out the majority of the strategic layer (the Geoscape from UFO) down to one base, one craft, with minimal opportunities for country-level funding management and a mostly linear research system. X-COM 2 further pared things down to effectively "you can do three missions, pick 1".

 

No top 10 is ever satisfying. Never will be. It ignores too many titles.

And besides, choosing Xcom 2 over 1? Bruh

Edit: Here is an idea for future reference. Do a top 25 and include everyone in the office, or on the writing team. One persons top 10 will always suffer from lack of perspective.

 

I remember PC Gamer UK used to do a Top 100 every Christmas. Well, not sure whether it was every Christmas, but it was a small additional magazine - about 30 pages, total - which I had copies of for 1996, 1997 and 1998... I think it got thrown in with a few other PC mags from the same publisher as well. A Bit-Tech "Top 50" could be fun.

 

I remember those! Man I loved those editions and reading through the top 100. It was always great for seeing games you loved being loved, and finding new games to play. Internet has watered down everything. Magazines were good because they needed to be good to sell copies. Now any fool can do a review and you can't trust ****.

 

Totally agree, the modders at Roguetech have made it into something amazing.

Edit: Something like the best 25 mods that changed and improved the original game would be interesting.

Community Mods on Total war games, Jagged Alliance and battletech are ones that immediately spring to mind.

 

Get a spoon!

Me biscuit's fallen in me brew!

 

Absolutely agree.

There's a lot of things improved by the easy access to information that the internet provides, but a lot has been lost as well.

Any suggestions for Battletech mods? I keep starting Battletech, getting to some-random-point which I guess is about half-way through and getting bored. Then I take a break and don't come back for long enough to forget where I was, what I was doing and why... so start again. Rinse 'n' repeat.

 

For me its Roguetech, open ended game mode that’s basically a wrapper of a mechton of mods. It’s got its own loader, uses a community enhanced mod pack with more mechs than you can shake a stick at.

It more a create your own adventure rather than a guided “campaign” but the options are endless. I tend to play through till I get 8-10 assault / super heavies.

 

I'll check it out, thanks.