Turn-Based-Strategy
Latest
SteamWorld Heist goes turn-based in spring 2015 [Update]
Image and Form Games announced its next project today, turn-based strategy game SteamWorld Heist. The next entry in the SteamWorld series is all about "space adventures and survival," according to the developer's announcement blog. In it, players captain "a team of ragtag robots" that loot the ruins of a destroyed world, boarding the ships of enemies and partaking in turn-based battles. The game follows the events in last year's SteamWorld Dig after a "cataclysmic event" crushed the planet and forced its citizens to spaceships. Still, Image and Form Games carefully noted that it's not a direct sequel to the game, just that it takes place in the same universe. The developer is aiming to launch SteamWorld Heist in spring 2015, and has not yet listed its targeted platforms. Update: According to a Nintendo of Europe interview with Image and Form, the game has been confirmed for 3DS. [Image: Image and Form Games]
Civilization: Beyond Earth enters orbit on October 24
Civilization: Beyond Earth will launch October 24, Firaxis Games announced today. Those that preorder the PC game will receive the Exoplanets Map Pack at launch, which features six maps that were inspired by real exoplanets, such as the Earth-like, forest-filled Kepler 186f, the arid Rigil Khantoris B and Tau Ceti d, a "planet of seas and archipelagos" that has a "wealth of resources." Beyond Earth was first announced at PAX East in April, and breaks free from history by having its roots in space exploration. The game is deemed a spiritual successor to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, as Firaxis Games discussed with Joystiq at E3 last month. It's also inspired by sci-fi authors such as Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. [Image: 2K Games]
Hitman Go launches April 17 on iOS, Android 'shortly after'
Square Enix Montreal will launch mobile strategy game Hitman Go on iOS on Thursday, April 17. Based on the publisher's popular Hitman series, the diorama-style, turn-based game will cost $5 (£3 / 4.50 euros). Announced in February, the first game from the developer has players navigating fixed, grid-like spaces while using familiar tools from the series, such as Agent 47's Silverballers. Hitman Go will include eight special "Curtains Down" levels based on Hitman: Blood Money. While Square Enix didn't set a release date for it, the Android version of the game will arrive "shortly after" it launches on the App Store. [Image: Square Enix]
Wakfu announces plans for crafting revamp
Ankama Games' quirky, cel-shaded, turn-based title Wakfu is tearing down its old crafting system and rebuilding it into something totally new. While the dev blog on the topic makes it clear that the final version of the crafting revamp is still subject to many changes, the basic idea behind it is to recreate crafting as a time-based system in which players assign crafting tasks to their (NPC) workers, with each task taking a variable amount of time to complete. Players can continue their adventures as usual while their workers complete a task, so there's no need to park your character and go make a sandwich while he crafts. Each crafting task occupies a craft slot, with each character beginning their crafting career with a single slot. Players can unlock additional task slots (allowing more crafting tasks to be completed simultaneously) by completing crafting achievements, up to a maximum of nine slots. In addition to this new crafting system, the revamp will also introduce a contract system that will allow buyers to place orders with their crafters of choice, complete with the tools for price negotiation and the ability for buyers to supply the required materials to the crafters. When a contract is completed, the item is delivered directly to the buyer's inventory upon its completion, making for a hassle-free shopping experience. All the finer details on Wakfu's proposed crafting revamp can be found in the full dev blog on the game's official site. [Thanks to Avaera for the tip!]
Soccer Legends combines sports and turn-based strategy on Kickstarter
Soccer management sim-meets-strategy game Soccer Legends recently hit Kickstarter. Developer Digital Lightning Studios is seeking $100,000 on the crowdfunding service by October 18, of which it has raised $12,816. The PC game has players managing a soccer team on a hexagonal board, using turn-based tactics to out-smart opponents and win matches. Soccer Legends offers more than 50 different player skills, a handful of "strategic cards" for managers to use and the ability to create and edit players and teams, upgrading their abilities along the way. Digital Lightning Studios likens the game to NES game Captain Tsubasa, first localized to North America by Tecmo in 1992 as Tecmo Cup Soccer Game. Soccer Legends will come to the iPad and other tablets if the campaign reaches $180,000, and would launch on PS4 and Vita if the $220,000 stretch goal is reached.
Exclusive: March of War heads for the jungle in Episode II Tropical Thunder
March of War might be set in World War II, but it's an alternate version of the war that provides a different take on the conflict with six worldwide factions fighting a much more expansive battle for the globe. After the release in late July, the team behind the game has been hard at work developing the next piece of content for the game. Tomorrow, you can start playing the second episode, but today you can watch the trailer. In Tropical Thunder players head into the depths of South America to hunt down Che Guevara, leading to a large-scale conflict between both the United Republic and the Latin Junta as both factions seek the same man. And the jungle isn't exactly welcoming, with a variety of carnivorous plants and animals to complicate otherwise simple engagements. New units and new skins are available as well. Take a look at the exclusive trailer and screenshots past the break for a better idea of what Guevara did and what both sides of the conflict will face in the jungle landscape. [Source: ISOTX press release]
XCOM: Enemy Unknown now available for iOS
The long-awaited XCOM: Enemy Unknown has finally arrived on the App Store for a premium price of US$19.99. This is Firaxis' turn-based strategy hit from last year (in my opinion, one of the best games of 2012), translated to the iOS platform in full. The controls have been tweaked just a bit to work with the iOS touchscreen, but otherwise this is the full game, featuring a base that you can upgrade at will, soldiers that you can outfit with bleeding-edge technology and terrific turn-based skirmishes against aliens of all kinds. The graphics, I believe, have been slowed down just a bit, and Firaxis does recommend that you use an iPad 4 to play (and they even say to turn off other apps that might take up cycles in the background). So that could be a pain, especially if you have an older device. Still, this is a modern PC game, and we're getting it here in full form on iOS, so it's hard to complain about that. It's nice that this is a full premium release. You spend one price and get all of the game's content with no IAP or freemium twists at all. XCOM is a great game from a company that is well worth supporting.
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions updated, on sale for half price
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions arrived on iOS a little while ago, and it's long been lauded as one of the best tactical strategy games out there. And there are two good reasons you should check it out right now if you haven't yet. First and foremost, the game just got updated. There are now better graphics in the game than ever before, all meant for higher resolution Retina Displays. The update also adds improvements to the game's animations, and iCloud integration has been improved as well. Square Enix says it's not quite working correctly on the iPhone just yet, but it should soon, and the iPad works just fine. And additionally, to celebrate the update, the series is also on sale (which is even more important when you consider how rarely Square Enix drops prices on its games). The iPhone version is down to $7.99, and the iPad version is only $8.99, both still pricey, but both half off of their usual costs. If you've been waiting to play this one, there's your chance to grab one or both.
Daily iPad App: Frozen Synapse simulates some very impressive turn-based strategy
Frozen Synapse has been a successful title on Steam for a while now -- it's a turn-based strategy game, with the twist being that you're a sort of tactical AI, running these battles on simulations and hardware rather than in real life. As a result, the big draw of Frozen Synapse is that while, like many other tactical strategy games, you are guiding a series of soldiers around turn by turn, these turns are actually simulated, and you can test them out and repeat them as many times as you like before playing out the "prime" sequence, and running the real thing. The pacing of the game is pretty perfect, then. Frozen Synapse has now been ported to the iPad, and the touchscreen gives you a whole lot of flexibility over what commands you can give your little soldiers: Just double tap on the screen to set up waypoints for them, and then you can drag those points around as needed. You can then run the simulation to see what happens, but of course your enemies don't always behave in the real world as they do in the sim, so it's up to you as commander to make sure you've planned for any contingencies in the various scripting you've passed out to your troops. Frozen Synapse is simple once you figure it out, but the UI allows you to do a lot with the little guys you control, and as a result can be fairly complicated. Still, there's lots of helpful tutorial videos included, and the good news is that there's no shortage of content for the game. In addition to a full campaign, you can also play instantly created skirmishes, or five different multiplayer modes. Frozen Synapse is available for a premium price of US$6.99, but that's much cheaper than the Steam version still goes for. If you're a tactical strategy fan, this one is a don't miss for sure.
FreeCiv now playable in browsers, including on iOS devices
FreeCiv is one of my favorite open-source projects out there. Civilization is one of my favorite games, and FreeCiv is an open-source version that you can download and play for free. The latest update of the game has added an HTML 5 version, which means that you can now load up and play FreeCiv right in any compatible browser. And that includes mobile Safari, which means you can now navigate to play.freeciv.org on one of your iOS devices, and play the game at will. Pretty excellent. There is no version of FreeCiv in the App Store, unfortunately, though there has been a port to Android just recently. And Civilization Revolution has been available on both iPad and iPhone for a while now -- it's a simpler, more accessible version of the 4X strategy game. Firaxis has just recently stepped up its efforts on iOS, so it's possible that we will see a more full, official version of Civ arrive on the iPhone before too much longer. Or wait -- what if they ported Alpha Centauri? Drool. But until then, FreeCiv will have to do. If you have never had a chance to play, the game manual should help you out.
Daily iPad App: Leviathan Warships features sweet, turn-based boat warfare
First of all, go enjoy the wonderful trailer for this game. If you're not sold on Leviathan Warships (US$4.99 on the App Store) after watching that, then I'm not exactly sure what else you want. Leviathan Warships is a turn-based naval strategy game. Your job is to guide a series of ships through watery battlegrounds, leading them turn by turn against your opponents. The game is similar to Bungie's Crimson: Steam Pirates, in that you guide ships around by dragging them, but it's much more complicated. You can aim each ship's guns separately, upgrade your ships as you see fit and take on co-op and multiplayer battles in addition to the main campaign. The whole package is impressively thorough, and in that sense, the trailer is dead on. In fact, there might be a little bit too much here to play with. Those looking for a casual title will find Leviathan Warships overwhelming. But the $4.99 price is fitting -- enough to signify the game is substantial, but still cheap enough for anyone interested to jump right in. Leviathan Warships is highly recommended for sure.
Witching Hour adds multiplayer into Ravenmark Mercenaries
Last year, Witching Hour Studios (a team that's grown to about eight people now) released Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion, a turn-based strategy title that felt way bigger than the little iPhone's screen it played on. The gameplay is complex (there are lots of units to control and every unit counters and is countered by another), but it's also very impressive, featuring big-scale battles and a story to match. Ever since Ravenmark arrived, fans have been clamoring for multiplayer, and last week at GDC I met up with Witching Hour to see Ravenmark: Mercenaries, a new entry in the series that adds the ability to play against other humans, along with lots of other very impressive features. The multiplayer is obviously the headliner here. The Witching Hour guys say the first game was really "stepping blocks" leading up to a multiplayer game, so obviously it was front and center when they started work on this one. It plays out just like the standard Ravenmark match, with players getting to field two different armies, and taking turns two at a time, passing them back and forth. As the guys showed me during the GDC meeting, moves are made almost simultaneously asychronously, and you can rewatch turns as much as you like to see how the battle is going down. In addition to the actual battles, each player gets to make their own battle standard flag, which is then carried by an actual unit in the multiplayer skirmishes. That's a fun touch -- not only does it provide a bit of customization, but it adds strategy as well, as the battle standard carrier conveys a number of extra powers and benefits (while he's alive, at least). In addition to the multiplayer options, there's also another long singleplayer campaign to play through, and units can now be leveled up. Players can also gain commander levels, which add new abilities to the mix, and give player commanders a little bit of personality ("Cold-blooded" or "hot-headed" are two of the commander attributes players can earn). And if the full campaign and all of the multiplayer isn't enough strategic battling for you, there will also be "contracts" to play out, which are daily skirmishes available against a certain enemy. Finally, Witching Hour is planning to deliver this content in a few different ways. Much of the buzz around mobile titles these days says that free-to-play games are the way to go, but that's not what Witching Hour found with Ravenmark. After releasing the first game both as a full package for a premium price of $9.99, and a free-to-play version with episodic content, the team found that more users wanted to simply go for the whole-package premium version. In fact, the team says they even saw a lot of users downloading the free version, and then buying the full version rather than picking up all of the same content episodically. So the same deal will probably be available with Mercenaries. In addition to a standard premium game, the team is also thinking about offering a "collector's edition" version, with extra content for an even higher price. And they're convinced that their biggest fans will be willing to pay for it, just because their most dedicated fans love the game so much. We'll have to see how that plays out. Ravenmark is a very impressive series, and Mercenaries looks like a more than worthy addition to Witching Hour's work so far. It is expected to be ready for purchase sometime this summer.
Daily iPhone App: Rune Raiders charges into turn-based combat
Rune Raiders isn't a new app -- it came out a little while ago and has been updated a few times (and you can actually play a version of it online in Flash). But I was looking through the App Store for a few good turn-based games recently, and Rune Raiders has been stealing more and more of my playtime. It is indeed a game you play by turns, where you control a small party of square-shaped soldiers, who move upwards on a grid-based battlefield, fighting a series of enemies who are also represented by tiles. Each of your heroes (and the enemies you face) have various abilities and uses, and each of those abilities has their own range and strength of attack. You can push your party to the right or left or forward, or simply move them at will around the bottom of the screen. Of course, every move takes up a turn, and the game progresses in this way, with you trying to make the fewest turns to keep your heroes alive and bring them to the end of the level as quickly as possible. The whole thing is governed by a currency system (supported by in-app purchases), and unfortunately, the system is a little wonky -- if your characters die during, you can spend some more money to get them back to life. That's a little more annoying than it has to be, I think -- I wish the devs here had come up with some other way to keep characters going than simply asking you to pay more money. But if you're smart with your moves and the strategy behind them, it's completely possible to get lots and lots of gameplay in just by using and earning the in-game currency. There's also a rating system for each level, and you open up different heroes as you go along, so there's plenty of replay value as well. Rune Raiders is a free universal download that's available right now.
Daily iPhone App: LostStar Tactics does turn-based strategy right
LostStar Tactics is a brand new game from developer James Pawliuk, and it features one of my favorite types of gameplay. It's a turn-based strategy RPG title, so the goal here is to take a series of characters through a run of battles, controlling their movement and actions from turn to turn. There's lots of fun depth and complexity here -- each character's action is controlled by a deck of cards, and leveling up and completing matches provides more actions and more cards to play with. The difficulty curve is well-done as well -- the game starts off very easy, but each level has quite a few difficulty levels to explore through, and there are lots of options for progression of your various troops. The interface can be a little confusing (and unfortunately this app is iPhone only for now, though it would really benefit from the iPad's larger screen, I think), but the game is a lot of fun, especially if you're a fan of turn-based strategy. LostStar Tactics is available for $1.99 right now.
Tilt to Live devs return to iOS with accessible turn-based strategy in Outwitters
One Man Left is the two-person studio behind the very popular 2010 iOS release Tilt to Live -- and that's all the two developers have ever released so far. Alex Okafor and Adam Stewart are finally ready, however, to show off their brand new title, and I got to play with it briefly last week at GDC. The game is called Outwitters, and it's a strong right turn from the arcade frenzy action of Tilt to Live. Instead of bullets flying everywhere, Outwitters is turn-based strategy that takes place on a board of hexagons, with three different factions battling it out over time. Players can play as the Scallywags, the Feedback, or the Adorables, and each faction has a number of different units (including one faction-only unit each -- the Feedback, for example, have a floating brain that can turn units against their team) to pit up against each other on the game's various battlefields. Turn-based strategy is often overly complex, but Outwitters smartly keeps things quick and relatively easy. You're given a number of resource points per turn, and you can use those points to move around, attack, or summon new units to the board every time your turn comes around. Those points can be saved up over time (so you can save up for a special unit), and there are also special spots on the board which will grant you more points as you hold them, so conquering parts of the map will help out a lot. The gameplay itself is sort of similar to Robot Entertainment's recent release Hero Academy, and yes, One Man Left did do a little bit of forehead-slapping when Hero Academy arrived right in the middle of development on Outwitters. But the game is definitely different enough: The boards are bigger, and there's a fog of war, which means there's no "undo" option. In Hero Academy, you can try as many turns as you like before registering your moves, but in Outwitters, it's think first and then move for good. I played a little bit of the pass and play mode, but there is an extensive online component, with unranked and fully ranked play across a number of different leagues. One Man Left has really gone the extra mile for online play, so there will likely be no shortage of competitors to match yourself up against. Just like Starcraft 2's league system, you can start in the Fluffy League, and rank your way all the way up to the Super Titan League, so if you're into the game, you can play Outwitters for a long, long time. The title will be free to download, and then (similar again to Hero Academy) players will be able to pick up packs of maps and extra teams for an extra fee, or be able to just buy the whole shebang in one go. Outwitters seems excellent, and of course we'd expect nothing less than the makers of Tilt to Live. Turn-based strategy probably wouldn't have been my first guess when thinking about a followup from these guys, but nevertheless, I'm looking forward to the game's release in a few months.
Jagged Alliance Online adds in PvP for testers
If you've been playing in the closed beta of Jagged Alliance Online thus far, the "Online" portion of that name has probably seemed to be something of a misnomer. Beta testers have been exploring the game mechanics from the point of set missions against AI opponents, but that's all about to change. Cliffhanger Productions and gamigo have just unveiled the game's new multiplayers modes, with three different modes and six different maps for players to take up arms against one another. The three modes consist of Deathmatch (self-explanatory), Bounty Hunter (a race to fight to a target and be the first to kill said target), and Search and Destroy (destroy three targets while protecting your own). Players will be matched via a matchmaker system based upon levels and position in the overall rankings, preventing unfair matches (in theory) and giving good players more substantive rewards for success. If you've got a need for some online turn-based strategy, it might be well worth keeping an eye on these features at they develop. [Source: gamigo press release]
First Impressions: Jagged Alliance Online
A short time ago, I posted my thoughts on UFO Online, one of the most exciting titles I found while at E3 this year. While I was there, I was given a tour of Jagged Alliance Online during the same sitting. Both games were thrilling in a "tiny army" sort of way, and both seemed to finally get what makes tabletop gaming and strategy games fun. UFO Online was more complex in some ways, and I found the beta to be further along than Jagged Alliance Online's, but I have had fun in both so far. I'm hoping that gamigo, the publisher of both titles, keeps getting them both right. I still had some issues with Jagged Alliance Online, but it's hard to say whether these will be corrected during one of the following betas. So while it is my duty to report to you these issues, I want you to bear in mind the state of the current game. Fortunately the title seems far enough along that I got a real feel for what is coming. War is coming. Click past the cut and I'll give you the details.
Daily iPhone App: Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion
Turn-based strategy warfare is a genre that's surprisingly easy to come by on iOS -- there are a lot of games out there that let you pit various forces against each other in a turn-based battle. But it is hard to come by a really great example of one of these on the App Store, and fortunately Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion does it right. This is the first game from a company called Witching Hour Studios, and as their website says, the title shows that they're trying "not so much to make a quick buck," but to actually set up a story and a world that feels epic even on the iPhone's little screen. Ravenmark feels exactly that. The story and lore feel super solid, and the tactical gameplay uses a sort of expanded rock/paper/scissors system that plays well and offers up all sorts of engagements to command. Various troop types do more damage to others (ranged defeats infantry, for example, but ranged can be beaten by cavalry), and troops can be joined up into sets of one, two, or three, each with their own abilities and special functions. If you've never played a turn-based strategy game, this one might get you into it. It's relatively simple, though obviously can get more complex over time (and there's plenty of depth here to explore over 15 missions, if you do want to get into the nitty gritty of tactics). The graphics are clean and smart, and while the interface does kind of boil down to a series of menus, it's still simple enough that it's easy to direct your troops to where they need to go. There's no RPG elements, really, other than an really deep ongoing story, but this game doesn't profess to be an RPG, so it works just fine (for now -- it definitely feels like there are more games to be set in this world). In fact, the only issue with Ravenmark is that it is so short, and it's constrained only to the small screen for now. But both of those issues are set to be fixed with a free update by Christmas (with new content and a universal version), so if you're interested in either dipping your toe into turn-based tactical strategy, or just really want to play a very well-done and polished example of the genre, this one's for you. It's available right now for US$2.99.
Skulls of the Shogun preview: Dem bones
All of us on the site seemed extra busy at E3 this year, our schedules filled with appointments for games both big and small. But each of us tried to grab a little time just wandering the show floor appointment-free, and in the 45 minutes I had to myself, I stumbled across this gem, sitting in the middle of the Indiecade booth area. Skulls of the Shogun is a game created by Jake Kazdal, Ben Vance and Borut Pfeifer, three guys with extensive game development backgrounds who decided to go it independently as Haunted Temple Studios. We saw it in action last October, but I'd never heard of it before, and I was instantly charmed by the premise: a group of cartoon-y skeleton Shogun warriors battle it out in turn-based strategy, with no hexes to be seen.%Gallery-126236%
Choose My Adventure: Wings rule, horses drool edition
For those who might not know, it was decided last week that my Wizard101 character was to be a boy from the school of Death. On top of that, he was ordered to get around town by using a pair of beautiful white wings. I heard a few comments in different places about how the wings would not look cool with a Death student or about how a horse mount or broom was better. I held fast and nabbed a pair of the white, fluttering back pieces. I had to obey orders! Once I made my character and put the wings on, though, I looked completely metal. For those younger players who might not understand what that means, Google "Dio" and watch a few videos. Avoid Slayer -- your parents would not like that. (Note: If you come across a band called Queensryche, that's not metal.) Anyway, my white wings only accentuated my dark intentions. It was a fantastic choice. But what else did I do over this last week besides wait for the vote to end? Well, click past the cut and I'll let you know. %Gallery-114601%
