strategy games | Through the Shattered Lens

I went diving through the XBox Live Arcade’s new releases the other day. And you all know what that means! Yes, I’ve played Skulls of the Shogun, a new release by new developer 17-BIT (their only release to date, as far as I’ve determined), and available for 1200 Microsoft Points which (I think) is something like $15. The game draws inspiration from the classic GBA title “Advance Wars” in its game play, while its visual style reminds me of the classic XBox Live Arcade release “Castle Crashers”.

In its single player mode, the game follows the story of the tactically brilliant General Akamoto… after his death. He arrives in the afterlife prepared to claim all of the glory that his countless victories in life earned him, and is instead consigned to a bleak shore outside of the afterlife proper with only a few skeletons to keep him company. Obviously unsatisfied, Akamoto (you, the player!) begins gathering undead soldiers for an assault on the gates of the afterlife, to claim what is rightfully his. You soon learn the truth; Akamoto was stabbed in the back in life by his right hand man, Kurokawa, a noted coward. Immediately after stabbing you, Kurokawa fell on a spear, and was able to arrive in the afterlife first. There, he assumed your identity (and one of your daisho swords) and generally left everyone pretty torqued off in his wake.

Each mission (or multiplayer level) begins with each side commanding units drawn from a small pool. At first, you have access to only the slow-moving but defensively powerful Infantry and the faster but more vulnerable Cavalry. Soon after, you gain access to Archers, who are vulnerable in close combat, but very powerful at range. Archers are lethal to Infantry, whom they can outrun, but are outpaced by Cavalry and can’t fire when the enemy has closed in, while Cavalry can’t win a stand-up fight with Infantry, you see? Of course, your units can power-up in battle by consuming the skulls of the fallen. Each skull increases the maximum hitpoints of the unit, heals it somewhat, and if you eat three skulls you enter a Demon form, which gains a second action on each of your turns. The game also adds another twist in the form of Monks, spellcasting allies that you gain through capturing their shrines on the battlefield. Monks gain new spells from eating skulls, and can turn the course of a battle.

Your other main unit of concern is the General, a powerful unit (with an Infantry’s defense, the highest attack of all, and reasonable speed), however, the loss of the General means the loss of the mission. For this reason, it’s often wise to simply let the General hang around (in fact, each turn you go without ‘activating’ your General to give him orders, he heals a hitpoint and gains a maximum hitpoint, this is called ‘Meditating’, and is unique to the General) behind his men and direct the battle. Your units can also group together in tight formation to prevent the enemy from speeding past – an invaluable tactic that can help to protect your Archers, Monks, and General.

Although the unit list is limited and the game’s rules are not difficult to learn, there’s definitely some strategic depth to the game. In addition, the dialogue of the game is tight and fairly humourous, and the game itself is fun to play. You can’t ask for much more than that.

Those who forget their past; are doomed to forget some incredible games.

I forget who said that, but he must have been a smart man. Going back to the days of DOS games and 3.5 disks, we can still find some gold. In fact, some of the greatest games I’ve ever been played were made before the world had envisioned the idea of a game on a CD-ROM. Well, the greatest squad-based strategy game ever made is just one of these. And you can get it on Steam for a pittance. Really, a pittance of a pittance! I’m talking, of course, about X-COM: UFO Defence (Hereafter referred to simply as X-COM).

People who have played this game are already having some nostalgic flashbacks, and are strongly considering buying it on Steam right now.

For those of you who haven’t played it… read on!

X-COM is a squad-based strategy game that places the player in command of a global counter-alien organization aptly titled X-COM. A completely covert organization, X-COM crosses national boundaries with impunity, and remains hidden from the alien aggressors who haunt the globe. As the theatre commander for this covert organization, you will establish bases across the globe. Each base can house facilities such as alien containment for captives, hangar bays to launch interceptor craft in pursuit of UFOs, laboratories to develop new technologies, and workshops to build weapons. From your initial base, your X-COM organization will grow to protect all of Earth from a merciless and inhuman enemy. It is up to you to save us all.

The game play is based on the Geosphere. In essence, this is a map of the earth which is manipulated through time lapse controls, allowing the player to speed or slow the passage of time. From the Geosphere, the player can access the aforementioned workshops and laboratories, outfit soldiers for battle, and construct new bases and facilities. In addition, the Geosphere map allows the player to monitor alien activity on earth. Each time your base(s) detect UFOs, you can intercept them, shoot them down, and attempt to recover salvage. In addition, you may detect alien bases manufactured on earth, or the aliens may strike on their own, terrorizing Earth cities in an attempt to frighten our governments into submission.

Once you’ve landed at an alien crash site, an active UFO, a terror site, or an alien base, you take command of a squad of soldiers deployed from your landing craft. Equipped with the weapons and armor that you provided them, your soldiers are ready to fight and die at your command. They have various gameplay statistics that will determine how far they can move, how brave they are in the face of adversity, and how accurately they shoot. This squad combat is turn based, and pits a small group of highly-trained soldiers against their enemies. As these soldiers kill aliens and survive their missions, they are advanced in rank and in statistics, moving from squeamishly determined green troops into hardened combat veterans. At the same time, your scientists will learn the secrets of the aliens’ technology, allowing your troops to use fantastic energy weapons and psionic attacks against the invaders.

Strategy game enthusiasts will, almost without variation, love this game. It has incredible depth of strategy, and yet still contains a lot of action. You’ll have to learn the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of alien opponents, and counter them, if you ever intend to defeat the aliens at their base on Mars and stop the invasion of Earth. If you don’t know the joy of X-COM: UFO Defense, then it’s time to run, not walk, to check it out.