30 coolest strategies of all time

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© Thief

So, we already have 30 coolest shooters of all time.

It is no less popular genre of video game strategy.
Real-time strategy, turn-based strategy and wargames.
In this set, I'll show you 30 of the most successful, most loved, most popular, best-selling, most-strategies since 1981.

This opinion is only my IMHO. All the games that you love, I can not reach, so get involved, let's remember together!

Please do not break, I'll tell you when I finish!

Let's go!

The Battle of the Bulge

Developer: Tactical Design Group

Publisher: SSI

Released: 1981

Very early vargeym on Atari and Apple II was released back in 1981. He is devoted to clash with the Allies and the Germans Bulzhe in 1944. The game lasts 15 moves - so much going on battle days. Graphics ... hmm ... she is there. But clearly not the one that the inscription on the box: «HI-Res graphics present a colorful Ardennes forest ...» Although, perhaps, in those gray years, it captured the imagination of not less than the penultimate text adventure from Infocom. The Battle Of The Bulge three types of troops: infantry, tanks and artillery, which seems to shoot at their own discretion. Please ask someone to attack, and then anyone. When the next empty cell - where to go. There is even a kind of landscape, though, I did not notice his influence on the course of the battle. There multiplayer (hot-seat of course) for two persons. Populous

Developer: Bullfrog

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Released: 1989

Game, opened a new era in the genre strategies vaunted in every way possible, and the award-winning all the time.
We suggest to try the mask of God the Father (the Buddha, Krishna, underline). And what do the gods? That's right, utyuzhat infidels so that only shreds of flying. So we will. A rival company, which is located in exactly two meters away from our humble abode, and, of course, are not sleeping. Throughout the game the gods share the eruption of Vesuvius, the Flood, gallantly flung hammers Mёlnirami and crowds of brutal fanatics, until the complete disappearance of a gang osatanevshih idolaters with politicheskteologicheskoy world map.

In Populous, to my knowledge, the first time in the history of game development has been implemented the system of indirect control units. It implemented it so. All I want-to-be-Buddha chooses from among the infidels of the prophet (Jesus, Mohammed, underline). He - the only creature in the world ungrateful atheist, which can be ordered somewhere mysheklikom pilgrimage. This healer syphilitic drags in his hump Ankh very heavy, and when he saw the divine radiance of the relic around him very soon will come the twelve (thirteen and fifty-one, Thousand, underline, unnecessary hatch, pull out and give the Hellfire). An emergency team will perform a gallant promenade of the Great Helmsman and anchor team, where warm, light and flies do not bite. At the meeting the two gangs representatives of different religions comes the mess that continues as long as one does not convince others that their god - the only true (in the tradition of the Crusades and other jihad). Of course, in this case from the higher authorities on the heads of enemies spitting acid rain, and roll Kamenyuki breeze blowing at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour.

A fun game, definitely.
SimCity

Developer: Maxis

Published: Brøderbund

Released: 1989

In SimCity the player is usually no particular purpose, achievement of which the game ends. The player controls the city, serving as mayor. He was given the opportunity to collect taxes, to build town houses and pave the road. Of course, in the hands of the mayor, not all aspects of city life - he can not, for example, ordering, where to build a private building, and can only plan for the territory, dividing it into commercial, residential and industrial areas. These areas are then built up the inhabitants of the city. If the appeal of the area in front of the urban population is low (which may be the cause of high taxes in this area or lack of development of other urban areas), it will not be built.
The mayor has the opportunity to build a building, located in the city property, primarily power stations, police stations, fire stations, hospitals, schools and colleges, as well as the building related to the urban water supply system.

Railroad Tycoon

Publisher: MicroProse

Released: 1990

Railroad Tycoon - economic strategy computer game in real time. The game is the ancestor of the series Tycoon, which is still ongoing.
The game can take place on one of the four maps: US East (since 1830), US West (1866), England (since 1828), Europe (1900).
At the beginning, the user chooses the map, the level of complexity: the investor (investor), financier (financier), the boss (tycoon), mogul (mogul), behavioral style computer players, opponents and realistic economic model. Start-up capital players at all levels of complexity of 1 million dollars or pounds.
The goal is to increase the capital of its own railway company at the expense of transportation of goods, construction of railway tracks, trains and stations. Depending on the success of the player can be assigned to another title, the last of which - the US president.
The main screen, where the player spends most of his time - the map of the area with the ability to view in four scales: from the largest, which is visible to the entire game map, to detailed, with buildings and terrain elements.
Civilization

Developer MicroProse

Publisher MicroProse

Release date 1991

Civilization - the first game of a series of Civilization, designed by Sid Meier for the company MicroProse and released in 1991.
As the leader of his nation the player to create their own state, to develop the technology and the economy, to improve relations with neighboring states. You can try yourself in the role of Lincoln, Napoleon, and other equally important personalities. The game is available 5 different difficulty levels - chief, Knight, Prince, King and Emperor. They vary the speed of the digital age and the year of the end of the game (from 2100 to 2020).



Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty

Developer: Westwood

Publisher: Virgin

Released: 1992

Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty - one of the first computer strategy games in real time. Her appearance greatly influenced the development of the genre and its popularity.
Number 2 in the name of the game derives from the fact that the creation of games based on "Dune" by Frank Herbert Virgin Interactive Publishing Company commissioned two independent developers: Cryo Interactive (France) and Westwood Studios (USA). Game by Cryo came first, and the product automatically Westwood Studios was the second number in the title.
The game has become extremely popular due to the unconventional at the time gameplay, quality graphics and sound design, as well as by the fact that for the full game did not require knowledge of a movie or a book. Everything you need to know, the game is told on the spot. Many aspects have been simplified or omitted. In particular, the exotic names inherent in the original novel, replaced by the more simple; none of the novel's characters do not appear in the game. Formally, the novel was only setting.




Master of Orion

Developer Stephen Barcia (Simtex)

Publisher Microprose

Release date 1993

Master of Orion - cult computer game in the genre of turn-based space strategy. Designed by Stephen Barcia (Stephen Barcia, from the company Simtex) and released in 1993 under the name Microprose.
The game is very similar to other games of Microprose - Civilization, Colonization - but the action is transferred into space. The goal - to get control of the galaxy by colonizing the planets and the war with other civilizations, each of which has its own special abilities. Another diplomatic way to win - to get the most votes in the election and become the president of the galaxy.



X-COM

Publisher Microprose

Release date 1993

X-COM - a popular series of video games based company MicroProse in 1993. Home Series put game released under the name UFO: Enemy Unknown in Europe and the X-COM: UFO Defense in North America. At the head of the project X-COM were two programmers - Gollop brothers. Immediately after finishing work on the first part of the brothers started work on the third (Apocalypse). The second part of the X-COM: Terror from the deep is a clone of the first part of a redrawn sprites and greatly altered the balance.
The game begins in 1999. Concerned about the increasing number of reports of UFO sightings and abductions, the government of the Earth establish the service X-COM (Eng. EXtraterrestrial Combat Unit - Russian. Extraterrestrial Combat Unit), which is designed to protect humanity from alien aggression, if such a threat would be real. The player is the head of the service.



Settlers

Developer: Blue Byte

Publisher: SSI

Released: 1994

You have to take care of the residents of your state, organized a powerful economic infrastructure, and then, leaning on it, to shift their concurrency.
A distinctive feature of this genre of game strategy:
 a huge amount of resources involved in the game;
 large production chains;
 a large number of types of buildings;
 autonomous control subjects;
 comparative "peacefulness" of the game, the absence of violence;
 tightness game missions.
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans

Developer Blizzard Entertainment

Publishers Blizzard Entertainment,

Release date January 15, 1994

Warcraft: Orcs and Humans (from Eng. Warcraft - military craft, orcs and humans - orcs and humans) - a computer game in real time zhanrestrategii released by Blizzard Entertainment in 1994.
The game takes place in the Kingdom of Azeroth - part of the fictional universe of Warcraft. Events, reproduced in the game belong to the First Great War (or First War) in the world of Warcraft.
Orcs, exploring other dimensions, open a portal, teleporting them to the great kingdom of perfect people - Azeroth, and, driven by a thirst for blood and power, start a war against the kingdom. Player can play as the orcs, and for the people. The main difference lies in the magic spells units magicians. The game also offers a variety of single-layer and the dungeons, where the player must, as a rule, get to a certain place.



Heroes of Might and Magic

Developer New World Computing

Publisher New World Computing

Release date 31 August 1995

Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest - cult computer game in the genre of turn-based strategy, the founder of the cult game series Heroes of Might and Magic.
Heroes I were released in 1995 by New World Computing (at that time still an independent company - later it was bought by 3DO)
Action Heroes I happening on the planet Enroth (Eng. Enroth) on the eponymous continent. It unfolds the struggle for power between the four rulers: Lord Ayronfistov (Knight, Eng. Iron fist «iron fist"), Queen Lamanda (magician), the leader Sleyerom (barbarian) and King Alamar (Warlock). In campaign mode, the player can play for any of the parties, but the plot eventually wins Ayronfistov Lord.
One of the most noticeable differences from Heroes I later parts of the series is the magic system. In Heroes I while visiting t. N. Mages Guild character automatically stores each spell, available in the guild, with the number of "charges" parameter equal to one of the four basic skills of a hero - "knowledge».
Battlefield in HoMM I is substantially less than in the subsequent parts, and is only 5x7 cells (hexagons). Each creature has a low, medium or high speed, allow you to move at 1, 2, or 3 cells, respectively, in the course, however, the area of ​​movement is limited by natural obstacles on the battlefield (trees, rocks, and so on. D.). The battle takes place on the round in which the order of stroke units is determined in descending order of their speed. If there are several units at the same speed, priority is given to the top offensive player detachment (his troops are always located on the left edge), and then turn order beings with equal speed alternates from left to right and top to bottom.
Command & Conquer

Developer Westwood Studios

Publisher Virgin Interactive

Released: 1995

The first game in the series, Command & Conquer (the informal name of Tiberian Dawn, «Dawn Tiberius"), tells of the beginning of the conflict. On the planet breaks world war for control of Tiberium field, exotic substance that has the ability to pull minerals from the earth's strata, and throw them on the ground in the form of crystals, which are easy to collect and then use. Tiberius was named the river Tiber, in the valley which was first discovered (the version on which he has been named in honor of the emperor Tiberius, it is incorrect). At the same time, Tiberium has a high toxicity and mutagenicity. Tiberius has extraterrestrial origins and came to Earth from a meteor rain. It was specially sent by aliens to change the face of the earth.
Although the gameplay is a bit primitive (the player operates primarily quantity, but not quality), the game has gained immense popularity, becoming a cult, and together with the second equally memorable game - Warcraft 2 - largely determined by the appearance of real-time strategy in the next few years. Firstly, it was the first time management easy and intuitive (the ability to allocate any number of units, building through the side panel without being distracted from the action). And secondly (and perhaps in-chief), it was very well designed atmosphere, not the least of which played a role in the high-quality video and a soundtrack written by Frank Klepaki. However, the balance of power was not observed due to the differences in scale armed parties.



Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness

Developer Blizzard Entertainment

Publisher Blizzard Entertainment

Release Date December 1995

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness - cult computer game, sequel to the popular computer game in the genre of strategy in real vremeniWarcraft: Orcs & Humans. Warcraft II was developed by Blizzard Entertainment and was released in December 1995. Users can play either Orcs or for the people in the world of late medieval fantasy.
Users can play with each other online (on the LAN or over the Internet) using existing maps, or by itself. They can also play in single-player campaign that tells about the war of men and orcs. The game takes place during the Great War.



Z

Developer Bitmap Brothers

Publishers Virgin Interactive

Release date 1996

Two technologically advanced civilization of robots fight for total supremacy, but the true causes of the conflict between them is not disclosed. Battles take place in five planets with a different landscape. Landscapes on the sequence of the planets in the plot:
 sandy desert
 volcanic earth
 snow edge
 moorland
 high-tech city
Each planet is divided into four levels. Thus, the original game contains 20 levels.
Despite the almost complete absence of plot, the game with the proposed concept has become a classic RTS.



Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Developer Westwood Studios

Publisher Electronic Arts

Release Date October, 1996

Command & Conquer: Red Alert - a computer game, real time strategy, released by Westwood Studios in 1996. The game takes place in an alternate history where the Allied forces protect Europe against an aggressive Soviet Union.
The story begins in 1946, when Einstein decides to kill Hitler in the past and prevent a bloody war. But the efforts were in vain - Stalin, uncontained occupation of Europe begins. Thus, the North Atlantic alliance, NATO led a very long war with the Soviet Union, and eventually, in 2003, defeated, and defeated the Soviet Union.
«Red Alert» is a real-time strategy in which the player controls the army, collecting resources, building bases, trains units and fight enemy army. «Red Alert» has received good reviews for the user interface, which was much more developed than in other games at the time. For example, there was no limit on the number of selected units can also be ordered as many units as enough resources.
Battles in «Red Alert» held both on land and on the water in the air. Each side (the Allies or the Soviets) can train ground troops, air force and navy
Game balance was innovative at the time: the Soviet Union was initially considered a strong faction. They are the easiest and light tank was strongly allied heavy and infantry was initially better. The same situation was in the air, where the Soviet Union had its own specialized airplanes and helicopters.
However, the allies had a powerful navy with excellent destroyers, cruisers and gunboats, while the Soviet Union did not have a strong navy (submarines are very weak).



























































































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