Perfect 10: Strategy Games and Simulations

Following on from the RPGs and adventure games to which I would give 10/10, I present the following epitomes of the strategy and simulation genres...

Civilization IV (Strategy, 2005)

The Civilization series is about leading an empire from 4000 BC to the near future, striving to dominate the world through superior military, technology, economy and, in more recent editions, culture. The series is simply the archetype of the 4X genre.

There is much debate about which of the Civilization games is the best and any of them has the ability to hook you in and not let you go for the many hours it will take to complete a single game. I've recorded my own thoughts on the latest version, Civilization V, in which I was optimistic about the direction the series was taking, but it was definitely a departure from the huge detail and complexity in its immediate predecessor. For those who are willing to face up to those challenges, Civilization IV (with the expansion pack, Beyond the Sword) is extremely rewarding.

(Available from Steam)

Alpha Centauri (Strategy, 1999)

The technological victory in the Civilization series ends with a successful colonization of the Alpha Centauri star system. Alpha Centauri takes up the story with you controlling one of the factions from the colony ship, as you strive to dominate your new home.

Like it's inspiration, Alpha Centauri is also a 4X game, and is essentially Civilization on another planet. But what a Planet! The 4X gameplay integrates with an intriguing setting, characters and story in a way that make it feel richer and more involved than even Civilization's Earth.

(Newly available from gog.com)

Championship Manager 4 (Simulation, 2003)

The premise is simple: take over any football (soccer) team from any of the supported leagues around the world and do your best over a number of seasons. Win the Champions League with Manchester United or get promotion out of the 3rd division with Huddersfield Town.

Football management games must be one of the narrowest niches there is: sport and spreadsheet-style management would seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. Yet there is an audience for them which, at least in the UK, is reasonably large (the almost year-old Football Manager 2011 is only behind the latest Sims 3 expansion in this week's UK retail charts). I'm not going to try convince you that you'd enjoy the sub-genre - this is definitely a case where you either get it or you don't.

So why does Championship Manager 4 deserve a 10 over its technically superior descendants, the Football Manager series. The problem is that the series shows only incremental improvements in each annual release. Championship Manager 4, on the other hand, introduced the graphical 2D view of matchday play and this feature, more than any other, is what ensured I was captivated for hundreds of hours, living an alternate reality as manager of struggling 1st division Watford Football Club.

(Essentially a franchise, buy the latest edition, Football Manager 2011, from Steam)

My pick of puzzle games and shooters next...