Time to take a rest from jumping from platform to platform and settle down with a little strategic thinking. Today's strategy games come in many different styles from The Sims™ Bustin' Out, which has you in control over a virtual person, to upcoming titles like Worms 3D where you take control over a team of animated worms and wage turn-based warfare with cartoon-inspired weaponry.
The various titles found in the strategy genre are what often make it most appealing to many gamers. While the titles may all have different goals and at first glance seem unrelated, they all do share a basic idea. Strategy titles make the gamer use his or her mind to advance as opposed to reflexes. Many of today's strategy titles are turn based and give the player as much time as needed to complete a portion of the game.
Below you’ll find an introduction to several strategy titles available for the Xbox. The ESRB rating for each game is included to help you pick the age appropriate title for the gamer in your home.
Goblin Commander™: Unleash the Horde (Rated T for Teen) Developed and published by Jaleco Entertainment, Goblin Commander is a real-time strategy game built for play on consoles instead of desktop computers. The action is fast-paced, and the control scheme has been specifically designed for a console controller.
Goblin Commander™: Unleash the Horde
The warfare is set in Ogriss, a fantasy land populated by goblins that is threatened by a dark corruption. Our story begins with the five clans of goblins scattered throughout the lands, collecting resources for what will be Fraziel's greatest achievement … a mysterious machine that he has promised will bring them power beyond their wildest dreams. The player begins the game in control of Grommel, the Commander of the Stonekrusher clan. He and his tenacious goblins blissfully work the industrial strip mines, constructing the machine. Life, at least as far as Grommel and his Stonekrusher clan are concerned, is good.
Suddenly, disaster strikes the goblin world when their master, Fraziel, is murdered. Grommel and his Stonekrusher clan find themselves the prime suspects. With no choice but to fight for their very existence, Grommel and his clan find that they must use the tools that they have wielded so adeptly in the mines against the other clans as they embark on a journey that they hope will result in not only answers, but unity for all of goblinkind.
Engaging battles combined with strategic and tactical elements will keep even the most hardcore RTS fan challenged and satisfied. There are five unique clans, including Stonekrusher, Plaguespitter, Hellfire, Stormbringer, and Nighthorde, and each possess unique combat skills and upgrades. There are 17 single-player campaign levels plus eight multiplayer options including deathmatch. Environments are destructible and interactive to enhance both play and presentation.
Magic: The Gathering™—Battlegrounds (Rated T for Teen) Players select a duelist and two of five deck colors to defeat their rival by reducing his or her life to zero. You are placed on a court with a divider in the middle. You have the freedom to move around, but you need to stay on one side, and your opponent stays on the other. You can cross over the line, but you will rapidly lose health when you do, which is not a good thing. Little balls and shards of mana seem to randomly appear on the court as you play. As you collect these, you gain the ability to use magic. You can cast spells, enchantments, or summon creatures with two or three quick button presses. The idea is to use this magic to defeat your opponent while successfully surviving his own spells and creatures.
Magic: The Gathering™—Battlegrounds
The game offers a single-player Quest mode divided into six chapters, each offering up to 15 individual quests. Quests consist of duels between rival opponents, mini-bosses, and bosses that hold a specific creature or spell under their power. By defeating powerful enemies, players can acquire magic artifacts to help in battle, along with new spells and monsters to summon. XboxLive support includes a worldwide ranking and record-keeping function, downloadable content such as clothing and accessories for onscreen duelists, special tournaments, forums, voice chat, an active Friends List, and more.
Worms 3D (Rated T for Teen) Worms 3D from Team 17 features a bizarre and outlandish array of deliciously explosive weaponry, mad animals, crazy speech, and laugh-out-loud scenarios. The added dimension allows players to view the action from above in "blimp" perspective or from behind their invertebrate warriors. Battlefield landscapes are randomly generated and, of course, fully deformable. Other additions include a deeper training mode and improved A.I. opponents for solo play. Worms 3D is designed to retain the style and feel of its 2D predecessors with the return of such favorite armaments as banana bombs, "Holy Hand Grenades," and exploding sheep, as well as deceptively simple looking gameplay that seldom fails to surprise.
Players will be able to carve tunnels and caverns, explode pieces of land to create cliffs or islands, and modify any part of the world using a variety of new and familiar weapons. The terrain and the weather will also influence the strategy. The camera system offers a combination of automatic and manual control, so players can have the best view of the destructive action. The 3D worms are designed to be more detailed than in versions past and will blink, move their mouths, and express emotion as the battles rage on.
Strategy vs. Puzzle! Those games are just a sampling of what the Xbox has to offer when it comes to strategy games. Many of today's gamers feel that the puzzle genre is very closely related to the strategy genre. They are not in fact related, but let's take a look at some of the current puzzle games out there.
These games are great for families, as they can appeal to both younger and older gamers. Strategy and puzzle games are fun, and they encourage people to exercise their minds! Here are a few of the puzzle games in the Xbox lineup.
Tetris Worlds™ Online Edition One game that has proven itself over and over again in the gaming world is Tetris. THQ has brought this arcade classic to the Xbox console with Tetris Worlds Online Edition. Play against your friends and family online to see who's got the best skills! With six new game modes available only on Xbox and many levels of difficulty and complexity, this is a great game for new and skilled players.
Monopoly Party Everyone remembers the insanely popular board game Monopoly. Guess what? It's available for the Xbox in Monopoly Party, a fast-paced version of the board game where up to four players battle it out to take over the area. All the players roll the dice at the same time, making it quicker and more fun than the original board game. You won't go bankrupt first will you?
Egg Mania™: Eggstreme Madness Egg Mania is a bit like Tetris with an added twist. The whole concept of the game is to build towers before your opponent (up to two on screen at the same time and up to eight alternating) with the added pressure of rising water. The game features a variety of characters and will have you and your children playing for hours.
Wait, There’s More! Again this is just a sampling of what the Xbox has to offer. Be sure to check out Xbox.com for the full lineup or stop by Xbox Solution to see recommendations from our forum members and staff.
