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Pro Customization through policies
Policies are used as a tool to gain a variety of customizations that benefit ones society. There is a branching tree of policies that will allow the user to pick certain aspects that will suit them best such as adding law or religion to ones society which will give gains in certain aspects.
Pro Beautiful graphics
From the players cities and armies to the lush landscape, Civilization is quite a beautiful game for those with systems powerful enough to push the graphics to the limit. Even when on lower graphical settings the game looks lush and well animated.
Con One unit per tile
Civ 5 restricts you to having one unit per tile, but has an AI unable to handle that restriction well, and doesn't even have decent pathing for units. Late game becomes a slog of ordering each unit individually due to poor pathing.
Con Performance could be better
Even when using well above the recommended hardware the game does show some performance issues as it is difficult to hold 60fps. While not the biggest problem thanks to this being a turn based game it would have been nice to see better performance and a constant 60fps when using what the developers
Pro It's fun to upgrade and manage your squad
As you progress through the game you can train and promote your soldiers to make them more effective in combat, unlock new abilities and upgrade their weapons armor. The interesting part of it is if a member gets injured (which is really easy to happen on the harder difficulties) they are not avai...
Pro Excellent suspense
You're always against the clock in one way or another. Globally your enemies are moving forward with their plans and unless you actively work towards countering them, they will win. You'll be short on cash, manpower, and will have to work with inferior tech. On the field most missions have...
Pro Fantasy 4X game
If you're into a more fantasy settings, this is the game to go to as there are few fantasy set 4X games.
Con Can get difficult sometimes
The gameplay can be difficult and may be a turn off to some gamers, but apparently there are mods to remove or tone down all of the annoying features (such as winters). For those that are willing to install mods to make the game easier or more palatable.
Pro As good as Civ, if not better in some areas
Tends to have more nuance to the way you play it, especially with different factions. Strategy and diplomacy also have larger roles in Endless Legend, helping to round out how one can play.
Con Extremely complex
No hand holding here, and the learning curve is a killer. However, people who invest the time to learn the game tend to be satisfied at the end.
Pro Extremely complex
If you're familiar with any other games by Illwinter Game Design, you'll recognize the difficult game design. These games are extremely complex, takes ages to learn, and have enormous replayability. Provided you have the guts to go through the tough stuff first.
Con Graphics outdated
If you care about graphics much, this game won't make you a fan.
Con Very static story
While the gameplay is randomized and meant to be played repeatedly due to the randomization, the story is still static, so after every mission there will be cut scenes that are always the same. After a while this becomes annoying due to familiarity, while they can be skipped, it would be nice to t...
Pro Excellent difficulty progression
As you take longer time during missions, the general difficulty level increases gradually. Time and mission profits must be balanced wisely.
Pro Worthwhile leveling system
throughout the game players troops are leveling as long as they are being used. This adds to each's pool of abilities. There are also points one can earn in battle that can be used to unlock new abilities. Both of these systems add up to a competent way to always be leveling and give a feeling...
Pro Intuitive tactical battles
The tactical battles in the game play out in a way that feels different depending on what enemies are being fought , which makes for a good way to differentiate play. The battles also play out in a fast fashion that is easy to understand making for an experience that feels well made due to how the...
Con Some areas are too easy
At certain points of the game decision need to be made, which would normally mean something is lost when choosing, but sadly things like buildings are too easy to build meaning there is no loss when choosing what to do, which makes the choices meaningless.
Pro Upgrading is done well
Upgrading ones units and operations is quite fun and intelligently done. As new equipment is developed the user has the choice to bring their units in, in order to equip them with the new equipment. Not only is this intuitive but it adds to the strategy of the game as the player must decide who and
Con Gameplay is too simple
Short of being a constant aggressor there is really no worthwhile way to win battles. While there are a few different victory conditions non of them really amount to anything as they will not be achieved unless dominating with ones military in the first place.
Pro Assortment of add-on content available
There are quite a few add-ons available for XCOM, including the Enemy Within expansion pack.
Con Proper choices not obvious until after the fact
Choices that effect the game are not obvious when they are happening and once realized is too late.
Pro Effective resource management mechanics
Resource management feels like a juggling act, in the best way possible. Users have to make hard decisions on what options to give priority to, as they all will effect gameplay in some manner.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a turn-based tactical strategy science fiction game, developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games. The gameplay consists of the player controlling a troop of soldiers who are tasked with stopping an alien invasion. The characters are displayed in a top down like view and are controlled in turns with each having different maneuvers they can execute as well as different areas they can navigate to. This all plays out in a strategic way where the player must defeat the enemies on each map.
Pro Spiritual successor to original X-Com franchise
Xenonauts took its inspiration from the original X-Com game, giving fans a new game in similar style but expanded on the finer details of the game to give an even more deep experience. This should appeal to those familiar with X-Com as well as those looking for a fun yet deep strategy game.
Con Can be difficult for newcomers of the genre
There is no in-game tutorial and there is only an online manual for the game, which means users who are not familiar with this game type and what is expected in play may have a difficult time learning all of the ins and outs. Online video tutorials may help as well, but of course this is all time...
Con Nothing much new added to the gameplay from previous games
While the developers are not trying to stray from a working formula it would have been nice to see some new elements added tot the gameplay over just refinement.
Pro Rich story and universe
This is the 3rd installment of Shadowrun from Hairbrained Schemes Development, giving us even more fantastic story content to explore. Much like the previous game the story is BladeRunner esque as a cyberpunk type story but with a twist of involving fantasy elements such as Orks and Elves.
Pro Engrossing theme
Fantastic setting blends science with magic. The Classic Shadowrun experience from the original creators.
Pro Very deep strategy
Keeping track of more than a dozen soldiers with 10 skills, their inventories (including ammo count and weight), dynamic visibility, line of sight, destructible terrain, consequences of missed shots (like friendly fire or destroyed loot), etc. quickly overwhelms noobies, putting the real strategy...
Pro Active open source clone
The openxcom team have re-implemented the entire game and fixed many of the longstanding bugs in the original. It allows you to play on modern machines and in much higher resolution. A copy of the original game is still required for the assets.
Pro Requires good planning
Each character in the game has a set amount of action points meaning the player needs to tally how much it would take to move and then use a weapon when deciding on where to place each of their characters. this requires careful planning and makes for fun strategy focused gameplay.
Con Individual characters much more important
While gameplay-wise this is very similar, there are mission fail-states if core characters die, meaning you don't get quite the same meat-grinder recruitment as in the X-COM/XCOM games.
Con Can be difficult for newcomers
But only for a short time, because everyone who loves TBS can pick up the beat and rock in this game. Of course there are difficulty levels in this game made for the hardcore players too, which can appear to be unwinnable, but they are not.
Pro Fun but difficult gameplay
This is a difficult turn based strategy that offers many detailed combat mechanics such as armor, knockback, various hazards, etc. These mechanics come into play when considering each and every move making for a game where the player needs to plan out their attacks appropriately as any mistake will
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