Most realistic Strategy Game

There are many great and popular strategy games, ranging from the online games like 'Travian' or 'Astro Empires', to the more popular, and much more criticized console games, such as Halo Wars, and Command and Conquer - Red Alert. But none of the above are the games that keep you addicted as much as the ones i am about to discuss, nor do they give you an outstanding gaming experience as my choices. So, lets take a look at the second section:

Most realistic Strategy Game

Let’s face it, for realistic and complex strategy games that are made to test your skills, not just for fun, they need to have a keyboard, so that you can react to the game you are playing by using different buttons that do different things, and you can hit very quickly, in contrast with any console such as the Xbox, or handheld console such as the DS or IPod, which both would make you click a button and cycle through all the things you want to do. So, I have based this purely on computer games.

For some reason that actually annoys me, is that I can’t find many realistic war strategy games at all. I have downloaded a few suggestions, and therefore these reviews are based on quick plays, except the winning game which I have been playing for a while.

The first choice was World in Conflict, which I downloaded about a week ago. And I can honestly say - I hate it. For a self alleged ‘Realistic war strategy game’, it’s unbelievable how unrealistic it is. I first noticed when I had more artillery, and better quality tanks, when playing as soviet Russia, when I was attacking NATO. Now, I am pretty sure that would be a bit of a shock to the world… Also, the AI for the enemy is terrible. They don’t try to retreat when I have called in artillery on their heads, and they have no sense of morale.

I think the worst bit of AI I saw was in the first mission, which is a stealth mission through an open topped compound to ‘take out’ two AA guns. There is a helicopter circling around the place, with a spotlight constantly on the floor. So, I was making my men run around the place, dodging the spotlight as it came towards me, and killing enemy troops, yet for some reason when the spotlight went over a dead body, it didn’t do anything. And the terrain was sandy, so it would be quite hard to miss…

Overall, I found some parts of the game decent – like tank warfare, but once again this was ruined because all my tanks had awesome abilities, like being able to one shot an enemy tank, yet the enemy were very weak, which made the game way too easy. Also, the game is mission based, so you have control over nothing except troops and sometimes artillery.

My second choice was a game I have been playing for quite a while, so I trust my judgement here. It is called ‘Supremacy 1914’, and it is a browser game that pops up in a new window. Now, in my head – this is a true strategy game. You balance resources, you create buildings that allow new units to be created, and you can even create buildings that increase the production of the resource the selected province creates. There are a few different maps (different sections of the world during world war 1), and with whichever you pick, you have to reach the victory conditions with this country to win. The victory conditions are usually about 1000 points, which translates as owning most of the map.

And the best part? And it’s totally multiplayer!

People join in as different countries, with up to 31 players on a map, to offer an incredibly competitive atmosphere! Create alliances with other countries, make trade deals, or declare war – it’s all your choice. And they game is even better for me, because my computer is terrible for running games, however this goes straight off the games server, so you won’t expect much (if any) lag!

But the game hasn’t won, so it does have its problem. First of all, being an online game, there are a lot of 10 year olds who don’t understand the concept of an alliance, and just turn on you as soon as you move troops away, which is frustrating – to say the least. Also, there is no single player option, which is something I would also like, as the AI on the game is great, and could still be a challenge even without someone playing the country.

The third game is the winner. And I absolutely love this game, purely because it’s so difficult! It is called Hearts of iron 3, and it is probably the most realistic game you will ever play. Forget Operation Flashpoint, forget Battlefield 3, this is strategy, and this is warfare. You control all aspects of the economy, trade, war, espionage, production and so on… And it all comes so easily to you, it’s unbelievable! It feels like you are actually in World War 2, in control of whatever country you choose to play as. Which is actually another great part of the game, you can play in any significant country from USA to Germany and from Britain to Afghanistan, each with their own benefits, such as more oil in Middle East countries, and a better industry in Germany than the other countries.

Also, the game has a multiplayer, which I haven’t had chance to try yet, but I have watched some videos and it looks great! As soon as I find some spare time from writing, and playing the Battlefield 3 Beta, I will be trying it out.

I have to say, this was a matter of opinion, and I am quite certain I’m part of a minority, in that most people seem to prefer the faster paced games instead of this.