The classic tactical games on the PC
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- 28 Sep, 2022 |
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According to military science, as opposed to strategy, which solves problems on a war-wide scale, the tactic is a discipline about the theory and practice of preparing and fighting a single battle, from a single combatant to entire units and formations. So if you want, you can call almost any game with combat "tactical," regardless of the genre, be it a shooter (and there is a separate sub-genre of tactical shooters with a particular emphasis on the realism of movement, shooting, and interaction), strategy (you have to make strategic decisions only in 4X-giants like Civilization, Europa Universalis or Imperator: Rome; a rubber frame with two dozen tanks - is tactics) or RPG.
But in the game world, there is already a certain stereotype according to which a tactical game involves managing a small unit of several fighters, often paying attention to the parameters and equipment of each of them. Therefore, we will stick to this stereotype to avoid trying to grasp immensity. Also, note that on the sites of the best online casino in india are slots of strategic themes, which may be of interest to fans of the genre.
Also, this article will not cover Japanese tactical RPGs like Disgaea and Fire Emblem, as it is undoubtedly beautiful but an utterly separate subgenre. Instead, here is our selection of the best tactical games, from immortal classics to interesting new ones.
Jagged Alliance.
This game series has primarily defined the face of tactical games: a small squad of fighters with different skills (snipers, medics, bombers, stormtroopers) and the possibility of their enhancement, customization of weapons and equipment, and turn-based battles with turn interception. In the first game of the series, developed by MadLabs studio and published by Sir-Tech Software in 1994, the player led a unit of AIM mercenaries who had to liberate Metavira Island from the evil dictator, where, after a nuclear test, unique trees were growing that could produce a cure for cancer.
There was also an element of management - not only did we manage the fighters in combat, but we also formed our team, hired sap harvesters to generate revenue, militiamen to hold the already liberated sectors and distributed our fighters, sending wounded veterans to heal in the rear and replacing them with fresh recruits. Damage to equipment, wounds, and fatigue was not forgotten, and the game world was somewhat open, allowing you to capture sectors of the island in any order. A separate trick was the unique personalities of the mercenaries, as well as their relationships.
X-Com
X-Com is another classic series, but it, unlike Jagged Alliance, managed to survive much more decently to this day and get a remake for modern systems. The X-Com franchise has a long history: three installments of the classic series, many spin-offs, and already two games in the contemporary remake series.
The basis of the gameplay is unchanged since the first part - the player takes on the role of the head of the international organization X-Com, designed to save the Earth from the alien threat. You will have to deal with all issues:
• Placing and building bases
• Reporting to funding governments and relations with factions
• Hiring personnel and choosing the direction of scientific research
• Buying every fighter weapon and ammunition and commanding units on the battlefield
The games in this series are very versatile, and the strategy mode with its signature globe (or massive city in the case of X-Com 3: Apocalypse), emphasizing the enormity of our affairs, could have been made a separate game altogether.
But by all accounts, the tactical component is the quintessential X-Com series. In turn-based battles, we have to go from armed with primitive firearms "guerrillas" on the crash sites and landings of small alien ships to storming enemy bases on Earth and beyond, formidable fighters with powerful guns and armor based on studied enemy technology.
A considerable number of weapons and gadgets (robots, scanners, even suppression and subjugation tools) provide incredible tactical flexibility, and the new series is even more diverse with the introduction of a shelter system, several types of armor with various additional features, as well as a more advanced method of development of fighters with individual abilities.
Commandos
The Commandos series, the first part of which came out in 1998, may not have revolutionized the genre, but it has become one of the most iconic and unique. In the best traditions of the genre, the player commands a small squad of elite fighters of World War II, sent to the German rear to perform various tasks. There is no economic component, equipment selection, and leveling up parameters - only tactics in their purest form.
A fundamental trick was different classes of fighters with unique abilities: the green beret could set decoys and silently shoot sentries with a knife, the sniper - to kill enemies silently from a long distance, the spy - to disguise in an enemy's uniform, the sailor - to swim underwater, the driver - to control any vehicles, from a truck to a tank, and the sapper - to work with explosives. Squad composition for each mission was rigidly assigned, and to pass successfully, you had to skillfully use and combine the abilities of available fighters, somewhat reminiscent of chess. But unlike chess and most of the tactical games of those years, all the action was in real-time. It added a lot of excitement to the game, and more than once caused numerous saves and reloads. The game was designed primarily as a stealth tactic, but there were methods of passing some missions with fire from all guns.
Further games in the series remained faithful to the standard set by the first part, slightly changing the composition of fighters, missions, and visual style. The last game (the shooter Strike Force belongs to the series quite conventionally) was released back in 2003, and in 2020 the HD remaster of the second part of the series was released.
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
Fallout Tactics is a spin-off of the legendary RPG series, focused on the actions and tactics of a group of fighters. The changes were not to the liking of all fans of the series, but overall it is a great tactical RPG, which has earned itself a place in the ranks of classics of the genre.
Brotherhood of Steel gives up the usual West Coast setting and sends us to the suburbs of Chicago. It allows us to uncover another piece of the puzzle about the situation in post-nuclear war America. We play as a recruit of the titular Brotherhood of Steel, who, along with his team, tries to find what's left of pre-war civilization.
In Fallout Tactics, we can fight enemies in real time, translating into much more dynamic gameplay than the first two Fallouts. In addition, battles have replaced long dialogues with superior enemy forces. These changes make the game stand out from the main series and make it a great tactical RPG.
But in the game world, there is already a certain stereotype according to which a tactical game involves managing a small unit of several fighters, often paying attention to the parameters and equipment of each of them. Therefore, we will stick to this stereotype to avoid trying to grasp immensity. Also, note that on the sites of the best online casino in india are slots of strategic themes, which may be of interest to fans of the genre.
Also, this article will not cover Japanese tactical RPGs like Disgaea and Fire Emblem, as it is undoubtedly beautiful but an utterly separate subgenre. Instead, here is our selection of the best tactical games, from immortal classics to interesting new ones.
Jagged Alliance.
This game series has primarily defined the face of tactical games: a small squad of fighters with different skills (snipers, medics, bombers, stormtroopers) and the possibility of their enhancement, customization of weapons and equipment, and turn-based battles with turn interception. In the first game of the series, developed by MadLabs studio and published by Sir-Tech Software in 1994, the player led a unit of AIM mercenaries who had to liberate Metavira Island from the evil dictator, where, after a nuclear test, unique trees were growing that could produce a cure for cancer.
There was also an element of management - not only did we manage the fighters in combat, but we also formed our team, hired sap harvesters to generate revenue, militiamen to hold the already liberated sectors and distributed our fighters, sending wounded veterans to heal in the rear and replacing them with fresh recruits. Damage to equipment, wounds, and fatigue was not forgotten, and the game world was somewhat open, allowing you to capture sectors of the island in any order. A separate trick was the unique personalities of the mercenaries, as well as their relationships.
X-Com
X-Com is another classic series, but it, unlike Jagged Alliance, managed to survive much more decently to this day and get a remake for modern systems. The X-Com franchise has a long history: three installments of the classic series, many spin-offs, and already two games in the contemporary remake series.
The basis of the gameplay is unchanged since the first part - the player takes on the role of the head of the international organization X-Com, designed to save the Earth from the alien threat. You will have to deal with all issues:
• Placing and building bases
• Reporting to funding governments and relations with factions
• Hiring personnel and choosing the direction of scientific research
• Buying every fighter weapon and ammunition and commanding units on the battlefield
The games in this series are very versatile, and the strategy mode with its signature globe (or massive city in the case of X-Com 3: Apocalypse), emphasizing the enormity of our affairs, could have been made a separate game altogether.
But by all accounts, the tactical component is the quintessential X-Com series. In turn-based battles, we have to go from armed with primitive firearms "guerrillas" on the crash sites and landings of small alien ships to storming enemy bases on Earth and beyond, formidable fighters with powerful guns and armor based on studied enemy technology.
A considerable number of weapons and gadgets (robots, scanners, even suppression and subjugation tools) provide incredible tactical flexibility, and the new series is even more diverse with the introduction of a shelter system, several types of armor with various additional features, as well as a more advanced method of development of fighters with individual abilities.
Commandos
The Commandos series, the first part of which came out in 1998, may not have revolutionized the genre, but it has become one of the most iconic and unique. In the best traditions of the genre, the player commands a small squad of elite fighters of World War II, sent to the German rear to perform various tasks. There is no economic component, equipment selection, and leveling up parameters - only tactics in their purest form.
A fundamental trick was different classes of fighters with unique abilities: the green beret could set decoys and silently shoot sentries with a knife, the sniper - to kill enemies silently from a long distance, the spy - to disguise in an enemy's uniform, the sailor - to swim underwater, the driver - to control any vehicles, from a truck to a tank, and the sapper - to work with explosives. Squad composition for each mission was rigidly assigned, and to pass successfully, you had to skillfully use and combine the abilities of available fighters, somewhat reminiscent of chess. But unlike chess and most of the tactical games of those years, all the action was in real-time. It added a lot of excitement to the game, and more than once caused numerous saves and reloads. The game was designed primarily as a stealth tactic, but there were methods of passing some missions with fire from all guns.
Further games in the series remained faithful to the standard set by the first part, slightly changing the composition of fighters, missions, and visual style. The last game (the shooter Strike Force belongs to the series quite conventionally) was released back in 2003, and in 2020 the HD remaster of the second part of the series was released.
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
Fallout Tactics is a spin-off of the legendary RPG series, focused on the actions and tactics of a group of fighters. The changes were not to the liking of all fans of the series, but overall it is a great tactical RPG, which has earned itself a place in the ranks of classics of the genre.
Brotherhood of Steel gives up the usual West Coast setting and sends us to the suburbs of Chicago. It allows us to uncover another piece of the puzzle about the situation in post-nuclear war America. We play as a recruit of the titular Brotherhood of Steel, who, along with his team, tries to find what's left of pre-war civilization.
In Fallout Tactics, we can fight enemies in real time, translating into much more dynamic gameplay than the first two Fallouts. In addition, battles have replaced long dialogues with superior enemy forces. These changes make the game stand out from the main series and make it a great tactical RPG.