Want to rewrite the story? Make Scotland a superpower, push Mexico to Europe, save Jeanne d'Arc from burning, or simply repeat the feat of the famous military leaders of past centuries? This is only possible with global strategies. Companies involved in the development of computer toys provide a wide field of activity, so it’s not at all necessary to go into politics “in real life” - no one bothers you to conquer fantasy worlds or space.
The dominance of shooters, RPGs with an open world, MMOs, MMORPGs and other projects marked "online" made the genre almost exotic. Even smart indie ones come out almost every day, unlike good global strategies. Organizations and private projects on kickstarter are trying to revive the genre, but it turns out they have little. All that we have is, in fact, a continuation of existing ideas and universes with a prefix in the name - 2, 3, 4, etc., and something new and fresh, alas, is represented by single samples or is completely absent game year.
So, let's try to identify the best global strategies that have distinguished themselves by their quality component, interesting plot, entertaining gameplay and positive user ratings. The list is based on reviews of gaming publications, but distributing projects by rating is mostly pointless, because they all deserve attention, and the particular setting is not for everyone. Someone like space, someone can’t live without a sword and armor, but some do not care where and how - if only to win something.
Top global strategies look like this:
- Total War: Shogun 2.
- Crusader Kings 2.
- Europa Universalis 4.
- Sid Meier's Civilization 6.
- Stellaris
- Endless Legend.
- Endless Space 2.
- Anno 2205.
Let's consider games in more detail.
Total War: Shogun 2
Almost all of the series of “Total War” are divided into two main components - these are real-time battles and the global economic strategy in turn-based mode. The player, in addition to massacre, needs to develop settlements, hire military leaders, deal with taxes, conduct diplomatic negotiations and send special agents to risky tasks.
The global strategy with the economy in “Total War” may not be as well thought out as in other projects, but this part cannot be called a “tick”. In Shogun 2, both components turned out to be well developed. And even if the turn-based mode on the global map is just a prelude to epic battles, it is no worse than mass battles.
In the pros, you can add a very beautiful and well-recreated setting of Japan of the 16th century, as well as a refined balance and atmospheric musical component. The world of global strategies of “Total War” was always easy to learn, and “Shogun 2” was no exception: the threshold for new users to enter is minimal.
Crusader kings 2
As for the second “Crusaders”, the game interface and the process itself can not be called friendly for beginners. The threshold for entering the international global strategy is quite high, and in the first hours of the game the lion's share of the time will be spent on exploring menu branches, maps, and other tactical possibilities. But the material is correctly fixed by the training campaign, so there are no serious problems here.
After you understand the management and get into the process properly, you will come to realize that “Crusaders-2” is one of the best global strategies among other representatives of the genre. Describing the game, we can say that this is an excellent generator of addictive stories and adventures, dedicated to family squabbles, betrayals, conspiracies and other intrigues that took place in medieval Europe.
In this global strategy, you can become a petty lord from some godforsaken Scottish county and, passing through the bones of enemies, as well as through diplomatic jungle, unite your lands and become a contender for the royal title. Each new campaign generates a chain of random events, so there is no need to talk about uniformity. The game is especially popular among fans of the game “Game of Thrones” due to a similar setting and similar intrigues. The latter feel at home in the Crusaders.
Europa Universalis 4
If in the previous game you had any separate personalities at your disposal, then in Europa Universalis 4 you will manage entire empires. There are no small conflicts here - only grandiose military campaigns.
At your disposal are entire states that will need to lead to victory in various wars, be it colonial strife or religious. The player in this case becomes not the king of his subjects, but the leader of the nation, so there is no time to unravel the intrigue - you need to have time to conquer the world before someone else has done it.
Sid Meier's Civilization 6
The series “Civilization” can be called a classic representative of the genre of global strategies. Sid Meyer managed to create an original and addictive product, for which you can disappear for weeks, or even months.
Unlike other games of this type, "Civilization" is not tied to any particular period. The strategy guides the user through a chain of eras, starting with the small. At first, you are building a small settlement, hunting, farming and fighting war with careless neighbors with spears, bows and axes.
Strategy Features
But after a few hours or even days, your place is no longer a small village, but an industrialized country, where skyscrapers and nuclear power plants grow. The instruments of influence on the neighbors, of course, are also changing: tanks, fighter jets, laser weapons and nuclear warheads.
As for the sixth “Civilization” specifically, newcomers will relatively easily master the basic controls and, thanks to a competent training campaign, will quickly become involved in the process. This is an extremely high-quality strategy, taking from the previous series only the best ideas and bringing them almost to perfection. “Civilization” is really a place where you can disappear for a long time and enthusiastically build your world.
Stellaris
This is a global space strategy for those who are crowded and stuffy on a small planet Earth. An ambitious player is given the opportunity to conquer the entire galaxy for any of the races presented.
The player will have to colonize new worlds, develop existing ones, improve technologies, and also devote a considerable part of his time to diplomacy. If the latter option does not suit you in any way, then you can go exclusively along the military branch and, having gathered a huge fleet, exterminate all those undesirable and conquer the rebellious.
Strategy Features
The random generation of events will not let you get bored in a huge universe. You never know in advance what awaits you on this or that planet. You can meet an unknown alien race, find a valuable artifact or activate a whole chain of additional quests, the implementation of which will bring you or your interstellar empire useful bonuses.
As in the case of Civilization, you can hang here for a very long time. Equipping one planet after another and getting involved in military conflicts, you will not notice how it flies all day (or night). This is a very thoughtful and high-quality project that can be recommended to all ambitious conquerors.
Endless legend
“Endless legend” is a kind of aforementioned “Civilization”. But from this the game does not become less quality. Both products have similar gameplay, but Legend is distinguished by its original and memorable setting.
Here we have a pun from science fiction and fantasy with a very competent implementation. The "Endless Legend" is devoid of similar fractions. Each individual group has its own distinctive features. For example, the Lords of the Dust (ghosts) do not need food and absorb energy resources as an alternative. While monsters or necrophages have no diplomatic relations with other races at all, they get provisions by devouring the conquered tribes.
One of the main features of the "Endless Legend" is first of all survival, and then wars and other feuds with neighbors. The seasons in the game change quite quickly and randomly. Winters are harsh, and the ruler, who spent six months escaping to neighboring tribes and did not pay due attention to the domestic economy and peaceful industry, risks not surviving until next spring.
Endless space 2
Endless Legend and Endless Cosmos are games from one developer. And if the rulers of the first strategy did not leave the Earth, then for the second there are no barriers. The manner in which the campaign and development branches are presented is somewhat similar in games, but there are specific and critical differences.
The game attracts with its graphic component, which was noticeably improved compared to the first part. You can choose the path to develop your empire. If you want to defeat your opponents with technical superiority - please invest in the appropriate branches, and not a single military enemy ship will even come close to your planets. Opponent’s fleet is simply sprayed with atomic defense systems. If you like to cope with beautiful interstellar spaceships and forcefully resolve all urgent conflicts, then the aggressive development branch is just for you.
At the beginning of the game, each player is given an equal number of planets and opportunities. Developing basic and specific skills, you yourself choose your style of play, and Infinite Cosmos does not limit you in anything, but only indulges your desires.
Anno 2205
The Anno series is a city-planning and economic simulator. The actions of past games in the series took place on land and under water, but on planet Earth. A new strategy allows us to master our satellite - the moon.
But in order to get there, you will first have to build several factories, research centers and start-up mines on earth. After the resources are collected and the necessary buildings are built, one can proceed to the development of the satellite with all the ensuing cosmic realities like weightlessness, meteor showers and forever confusing the plans of the anarchists.
Game features
Despite the fact that the game is positioned by the developer precisely as a city-planning and economic simulator, there are more than enough hostilities in it, where global strategists can prove themselves fully.
We should also mention the visual side of the project. The magnificent panoramas of the general view, along with the careful detailing of small details, are simply amazing. Despite all the beauty, the game only added a little to the system requirements, and the level of acceptable FPS is largely achieved through competent optimization.
As for the threshold of entry, the sensible training campaign will not let you get confused in the interface and step by step will guide you through all the annoying places of Anno. After an hour or two, the discomfort among the newcomers disappears, and they already feel at ease, ready to conquer the earthly satellite.