Online Strategy Games That Are Worth Playing
Online Games Eve Online and Fall of Rome Hold High Replay Factor
Aug 21, 2008
There is an inherent difference between MMORPG's and true online strategy games. While online games such as World of Warcraft and others claim to be strategy games in essence they have very little aside from click, kill, loot, and repeat.
True strategy games, such as the board game classic of Risk, have been reborn online in inferior multiplayer environments, but online strategy games with real gravitas are few and far between. Finding free online strategy games with true replayability is an even greater task. This article digs through the Flash based strategy game back-catalog and pulls two lesser known gems from the genre.
Fall Of Rome
Fall of Rome is a turn based online strategy game that in some ways reminds one of a cross between Risk and Civilization. Players compete in a turn-based fashion, with the ultimate goal of dominating and/or completing the goal for a specific game session.
Each game can last as much as two months, ending when a player has met the criteria for victory. Each game is further broken down into segments lasting around three days each where players have an opportunity to submit orders to their computerized minions.
After each segment of play the server calculates, updates, and randomizes the game environment to account for how the various strategies might play out - and then the next round begins. While there is a monthly subscription cost to the game beginners can try it out at a discounted rate.
Eve Online
If futuristic science fiction environments are more interesting, Eve Online is an excellent, totally immersive outer space strategy game. Eve has been around for many years but recently has begun a major PR push to get the word out about recent improvements and the role out of a massive shift in the story line to plunge the known universe into a multi-sided war.
While Eve is in some ways similar to other strategy based MMORPG's, it is different in that the users truly guide the course of the story based on the combined actions of the players. The scope and requirements of the game are truly monumental, requiring a download over 600 megabytes in size.
Still, with a 14 day free trial, it is a refreshing take on the old rape and pillage mentality of most games of this kind. The scope of the Eve universe is incredible and the graphics in the game are truly impressive.
These are two prime examples of the many lesser known online strategy games available on the Internet. The best online strategy games are those that have depth as well as a strong emotional hook. Both Fall of Rome and Eve Online fill that order nicely.
 |
