Since strategy games have never really translated so well to consoles, they remain a vital part of the PC’s heritage. Whether you enjoy real-time battles or weighty turn-based scenarios, great strategy games throw you into a grandiose simulation that lets you command armies, rule empires, and, in some cases, seize control of entire spacefaring races. Those who play them, love them dearly. But there are a few strategy games we love more than all the rest for the way they immerse us in their world and tickle that tactical part of our brain just right so we’re compelled to play them for hours on end without even realizing how addicted we’ve become. So read on if you love strategy games as much as us. And be sure to leave a comment if we forgot to mention your favourite title.
12. StarCraft II
Extending from the classic RTS archetype where you gather resources, build armies, and kill your enemy using quick thinking and even quicker mouse clicks, the original StarCraft is a game that came to define strategy and helped launch the competitive phenomenon we now know as esports. As such, multiplayer became the primary focus of StarCraft II which incorporates a ladder system that is sophisticated enough to recognize players who are capable of competing at the highest level.
That’s not to say the the single players aspects have been completely abandoned. As you follow the exploits of Terran Mercenary Jim Raynor in Wings of Liberty (part one of the three-part game), you fight your way through a series of missions with a number of unique objectives, including wave defence and resource gathering on a map that periodically overflows with lava. And in between missions your battlecruiser functions like an RPG hub where you can move around and talk to different members of your crew to research new tech, play mini games, and plot the course for your next mission. The ability to interact with the world outside of missions really lends itself to the interactive storytelling aspect in SCII — something that a lot of RTS games still struggle with today.
http://sep7agon.net/gaming/starcraft-2-review/ Via sep7agon.net