History is dotted with charismatic commanders who led their troops to victory time and again. These shrewd leaders excelled at battlefield strategy, outflanking their enemies with both mind and might. Nowadays, moral, social, and political factors prevent us from building an army and taking over the town next door. There are, however, more appropriate outlets for our megalomaniacal intents. Strategy games let us step into the combat boots of a military commander from the keyboards of our Macintoshes.
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Building an army
Some strategy games are purely militaristic, while others require you to develop and maintain entire civilizations.
In military-focused strategy games, you’ll have to deploy troops and other armories very carefully to maximize the effectiveness of your attack. In some situations, for example, you might place vehicles with heavy firepower on your frontlines to strike a powerful blow against your enemy. In other instances you may place hordes of disposable ground units on your frontlines to absorb the brunt of the enemy’s attack. Many games give you direct control over each unit in your army during the battle. You can select specific units with your mouse, and then click on the enemy you wish to engage. Other games require you to prepare your offense in advance. The battle itself may be over in seconds, so you’ll have to play your hand cautiously in order to seize victory. And, as always, there is strength in numbers.
In civilization-building strategy games, you step into a leadership role and oversee the development of an empire. You can wage war on neighboring civilizations to expand your territory. Victory is often accompanied by riches, which you may use to purchase more powerful weapons and rebuild your armies. In addition to military concerns, you may need to ensure your people are well fed and have good jobs to ward off angry protests. You might also play an important role in the development of your cities and towns, adding homes, shopping markets, libraries, and other important establishments. Increased taxation can add to your government’s coffers, but it might also instigate a revolt by your citizens.
Strategy games typically use one of two gameplay modes: real-time or turn-based. In the former, the action continues regardless of what you do. Leave your computer to get a drink without pausing the game first, and you could return to find that an enemy has sacked your empire, leaving it a smoldering ruins. The latter, however, goes around the board and gives each player a chance to take a specific action, stopping when your turn arrives. That offers you the chance to carefully consider your options before making a decision. Nothing will happen until you say so.
Strategy on Shelves
Age of Empires III (MacSoft) continues the popular real-time strategy series by adding unique wrinkles to the gameplay, including Home Cities, trade routes, and the opportunity to forge strategic alliances with the Native Americans whose settlements dot each map. Home Cities bring a role-playing game (RPG) vibe to the action, giving you a home base that grows over time and offers you new options as you play subsequent matches.
Nation building moves to the Americas in Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs, in which you control the Aztecs, Iroquois, and Sioux tribes. They offer unique advantages, such as the War Chief ,who replaces the European nations’ explorer, and the fire pit, around which natives can dance to confer bonuses to their tribes. The Europeans also gain new features, such as new military units and the ability to start a revolution at the start of the fourth Age.
The Civilization series, which uses turn-based gameplay, is also going strong, with Aspyr Media releasing the fourth edition, along with the Warlords expansion pack. While Age of Empires III covers the period from 1500 to 1850, Civilization IV opens at the dawn of time, complete with a sonorous introduction by Leonard Nimoy of “Star Trek” fame. Choose one of 18 civilizations and start with nothing but a couple of settlers, building up an empire that soon butts against its neighbors. Negotiate treaties with other leaders, trade technologies with them, or simply go to war — as in previous iterations of the game, brute force isn’t the only way to win, though.
Civilization IV: Warlords adds six new civilizations to the mix, along with new leaders for four of the 18 civilizations that came with the original game. (The full version of Civilization IV is required.) All 24 civilizations now have unique buildings, and you’ll find three new personality traits among the new leaders. You can also use the new vassalage option to turn another civilization into a vassal state, and the new Great General character can join a city as a military instructor and boost its unit production.
Imperial Glory (Feral Interactive) takes a more narrow view of history than either Civilization IV or Age of Empires III, focusing specifically on the years 1789 to 1830 and the struggles between the Old European empires. Select one of five empires — France, Great Britain, Russia, Austria, or Prussia — and play turn-based games that feature both land- and water-based warfare. During battles, however, Imperial Glory switches to real-time mode.
Right Now in a Strategy Game Near You…
If you’d rather focus on conquering entire galaxies, Star Wars: Empire at War will probably fit the bill. Set before the events depicted in the first Star Wars movie, Empire at War lets you join the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire, unleashing real-time assaults against the other side on Tatooine, Dagobah, and many other planets; both those seen in the films and some never before featured in a game.
Manage your troops, vehicles, and structures as you deal with such environmental obstacles as tornados and sand storms. When the situation seems hopeless, bring in memorable Star Wars characters, like Darth Vader and Han Solo, to save the day.
Back on Earth, Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars (Electronic Arts) takes you to the year 2047. Kane, leader of the Brotherhood of Nod, resurfaces after nearly two decades of silence to launch a missile at a satellite where the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) leadership is meeting. Thus begins the third Tiberium War between the GDI and Nod, and you get to control both sides as you play through 30 missions. Four bonus missions let you take the reins of the marauding aliens known as the Scrin, who have arrived on Earth to harvest Tiberium for their own purposes.
Tiberium is a lethal substance that has ravaged the globe but also provides important resources for all three sides in the war. Use it to build structures and produce vehicles, aircraft, and soldiers as you develop your strategy. Live-action cut scenes featuring “Star Wars” star Billy Dee Williams, as well as “Battlestar Galactica” regulars Grace Park and Tricia Helfer, propel the storyline to a conclusion that will leave you wanting more. Luckily, you can take on other C&C 3 opponents over the Internet until the next installment in the series arrives.
Since science-fiction and fantasy are so closely linked, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention Heroes of Might and Magic V (Freeverse), the latest entry in a long-running series. This edition takes us to a new world, Ashan, where six factions vie for control: the humans, the wizards, the demons, the Necromancers, the Dark Elves, and the Wood Elves. Play 30 intense missions spread across six campaigns, with six more custom missions available, and experience the new Dynamic Battle System, the gorgeous new 3D graphics engine, and more.
The fantasy-themed strategy fun continues with Hordes of Orcs (Freeverse), a game that challenges you to use towers to stop an invasion of the green-skinned brutes. Cast spells to slow them down and use your gold to upgrade the towers when more powerful orcs appear during later waves. Four game modes, each with different levels of difficulty, will keep you fighting off the onslaught for a long time.
System inspection
Many of the latest strategy titles recreate a three-dimensional environment, so they demand the faster processors, additional memory, and more capable graphics cards typical of the Mac Pro or the iMac. Please inspect the box of any title that appeals to you to ensure that it will run on your Macintosh.
Waiting for orders
Strategy games allow us to command and conquer from the comfort of our home office. These titles require a calculating mind and a quiet ambition to rule a powerful empire. Pick one up today and discover your inner Napoleon. Or Darth Vader.
