Strategy

Emperor – Battle for Dune

Description

Emperor: Battle for Dune is the true sequel to both Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty and Dune 2000. Unlike Dune 2000, it progresses the storyline and takes place after the Ordos victory in its predecessors, but with the same basic premise: houses Atreides, Ordos, and Harkonnen battle for supremacy on the planet Arrakis, the only location where the valuable resource known as Spice Melange can be found, but for the first time in the Dune RTS series, other locations are also visited briefly.

This time, all three factions have redesigned arsenals with more varied units. Other than a new 3D engine by Intelligent Games, Emperor: Battle for Dune introduces the sub-house system. In skirmish and multiplayer games, up to two (out of five) sub-houses can be chosen to lend their technologies to the player in the form of two unique units and a relevant structure which trains them. The singleplayer campaign is once again played on a meta-map, this time with defensive missions as well, and sub-houses may join the player in the fight. The Living Planet feature randomly spawns tornadoes. The AI’s play style can also be chosen in skirmish and multiplayer modes for a more varied gameplay. …

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Rise of Nations (2003)

Description

Rise of Nations is a real-time strategy game which covers a long period of time, from the early stone age up to the modern-day technology.

The game offers many unique features that you can not find in other RTS games, such as: National Borders, Rare Resources, “Conquer the World” risk-like campaign, Citizens can occupy themselves, 18 Historical Nations (with unique powers/units), Multiple victory conditions, and many more. Also, a multi-player mode is included and offers a ranking system.

The core of Rise of Nations’s gameplay centers around the concept of “territory”. The area near the player’s settlements is considered their territory, and players may only construct buildings within their territory or that of an ally (with the exception of the Lakota). A nation’s borders can be expanded by the creation and expansion of cities and forts, a technology tree, and obtaining access to certain rare resources. Other technologies and resources cause enemy units within a nation’s borders to suffer attrition over time, which can eventually destroy an unsupplied invasion force. …

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Rise of Nations 2 – Rise of Legends

Description

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends maintains the hallmarks of the first RTS in the franchise (attrition, non-depletable resources, national borders) while improving on gameplay mechanics such as city building and large scale battles. In addition to these improvements Big Huge Games introduced several new features including dominances, neutral units, and capturable resources.

The sequel differs from its predecessor in that it takes place in a steampunk universe spanning autumn-dotted hills in the lands of the Vinci to blinding sandstorms in the burning deserts of the magical Alin. At the furthest reaches of the continent, hidden in the deepest jungles, lie the stone stepped pyramids of the brutal religious zealots known as the Cuotl. Through the Conquer the World (CTW) campaign players strategically guide a tightly knit group of heroes across the continent pursing monsters, love interests, power, and vengeance.

Rise of Legends also sports a Quick Battle (QB) component so players can jump right in to the action by selecting a map and one of the three unique races. The player’s final test of skill is to go head to head on Gamespy or LAN to explore the radically different strategies of the slow but god-like Cuotl, the fast but glass-like Alin, or the innovative but even-keel Vinci. …

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Star Wars – Force Commander

Description

A real-time strategy (RTS) set in the STAR WARS universe, Force Commander is fully 3D , both the environment and the units. This allows for full camera control which let’s you see the action from any point. The innovative command system replaces ‘harvesting’ resources the norm in most RTS’s rewarding you with points toward purchasing units as you accomplish mission goals. The game follows the life of Lt. Brenn Tantor a young officer in the Imperial Army, who after just graduating is assigned the task of finding 2 droids on tantooine. Brenn after becoming dissatisfied with the Empire joins the Rebellion. Battles take place on 9 planets each with it’s own unique environments.

The game interweaves an original story between the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, sometimes intersecting with known Star Wars events. It is shown from the point of view of a young officer in the Imperial Navy, Brenn Tantor, who begins as a stormtrooper, but soon enough is given his own command. The first task (from the training missions) is to search for an escape pod that landed on Tatooine, and then track the droids that were inside. This is a reference to the opening scenes of Episode IV when C-3PO and R2-D2 escape the Empire via an escape pod which crashes on Tatooine. …

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WarCraft II – Tides of Darkness

Description

WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness is a fantasy themed real-time strategy game and sequel to WarCraft: Orcs & Humans set on the world of Azeroth. With the conquest of the kingdom of Azeroth in the first war, the orcs are now preparing for an invasion of Lordaeron and conquer the remaining human, dwarven and elvisch realms. In an effort to counter this invasion the humans, elves and dwarves formed an alliance in the hope to avert the same fate the kingdom of Azeroth met.

The game comes with many new features such as fighting not only over land but also over sea and air, SVGA 640×480 resolution graphics with many newly-rendered buildings and units, multiplayer-support with up to eight players, as well as a Red Book audio soundtrack, and a scenario editor that allows players to design and create their own scenarios. The editor requires Windows 3.1 or greater, even though WarCraft II is a DOS-based game. …

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King’s Bounty

Description

As a knight, paladin, barbarian or sorceress, amass an army of creatures to take on the local baddies and search for the Sceptre of Order. A turn-based game with a time limit that decreases depending on the skill level you play at.

Depending on your allegiance, you will initially start with a different set of creatures, though the king will not mind whether you’re his knight or a barbarian. Game consists of four maps, each with more mean creatures to control and meaner opponents to fight, but conquering one of the more difficult maps early will let you find and buy stronger creatures that will help you conquer prior maps easily. …

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Dune II – The Building of a Dynasty

Description

The planet Arrakis (also known as Dune for its sandy landscape) is the only place in the known universe where Melange (more commonly known as the Spice) can be found. The Spice is the basis of interstellar travel and thus the standard of the Imperial economy. To increase productivity, The Padishah Emperor has invited three powerful Houses (Harkonnen, Atreides, and Ordos) to compete against one another economically and bring up spice production. Competition among these houses begins peacefully but soon turns ugly as they battle each other with armed troops, advanced weaponry, and spies. The planet itself is also hostile, with dangerous sandworms inhabiting the spice fields.

Dune II is often considered the first mainstream modern real-time strategy game and established many conventions of the genre. Even though set in Frank Herbert’s famous Dune universe, the game is only loosely connected to the plot of any of the books or the films based on them. Controlling either of the three Houses, the player must fight a number of battles against the other Houses. In the early levels, the goal is simply to earn a certain number of credits, while in the later missions, all enemies must be destroyed. …

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