-Top Six List of Evil Protagonists - In gaming!- #6-1

This is a tough list to make, because this is a rare classification - archetype of main character in a video game; so you really have to dig and find good justifications of why these characters are supposed to be here.  I tried to limit the amount of RPG characters that have karma bars, unless they have a substantial history in being a villain otherwise, aside from the player’s wishes to cause evil.  I could have filled this list up with characters like Shepard from the Mass Effect series but that couldn't be considered a challenge and those characters aren't really villains, it's just that you shape them to make bad choices and generally, they're still considered heroes in the story.  No, this is a list about characters who engage in evilness, no matter what and no matter how you play the story they have darkness running in their veins. Let me be clear here, this is NOT a list containing wish-washy anti-heroes; this is about the glorious (and not so much) Main Character Villains!

Be warned however that this list will contains ~ MAJOR SPOILERS!~ from this point on. So don’t say I didn't warn you first!

Honorable mentions go out to the main character from Diablo, who ends up becoming corrupted by the wicked demon in the sequel, unfortunately he is well out of player’s hands by then, otherwise he would be high up on this list.

And also to Marche from Final Fantasy Advance, although the story-makers attempt to show him as the honest hero.. Some of his actions, including destroying crystals that hold together the world to get his friends who don’t want to leave back to the real world and besides, everyone knows that it doesn’t matter if he’s good or evil, because Marche is just a dick.

(Underneath that blank stare is a volcano of rage waiting to be unleashed, I’m telling you.)

So without farther introduction, here is your…

-Top Six List of Villain Protagonists – In gaming!-

#6 – Arthas Menethil / Lich King – Warcraft III and beyond

(Arthas:“Hey, you skeleton over there, why aren’t you wearing a helmet like all the other ones?” Skeleton:”Why aren’t you?” “..Point taken.”)

The main character that is most played as in the story of Warcraft III, you are the Prince of Lordaeron. He is a cocky inexperienced paladin of the light, who combats through the human campaign against an undead plague terrorizing your people.  This man's morality is quickly realized as not so noble however when he kills a town full of peasants in order to keep them from becoming undead. At this point he travels to the frozen north’s of Northrend to put a stop to the Demon Mal’Ganis once and for all. However his troops received an order to leave by the King, so Arthas used mercenaries to burn the boats and subsequently blamed them for the attack, allowing them to be slaughtered. He finds the Runeblade Frostmourne which kills his fellow friend upon picking it up still Runeblade allows his to kill the demon but being the possession of the Lich King the blade speaks into his mind driving him mad in the winter lands.  The last shot of the human campaign is him killing his own father and burning the human capital.

This sets up the Undead campaign where you play as Arthas, now a Death Knight Champion for the undead and his reign of terror begins here, killing many heroes and the power of his scourge grows for some time. Eventually he comes to the Lich King, a giant suit of armor setting in a block of ice

(Insert your token Army of Darkness quote here: )

by setting it free he melds his mind with the Lich King, becoming the leader of all of the Undead in Azeroth and by proxy one of the strongest characters in the universe.

As amazing as accomplishments sound you might be wondering why he is only position six? The reason he isn't higher is due to many reasons: He is ultimately portrayed at a sympathetic character, after the events described in Warcraft III he is never played as again in the Warcraft universe, he fought as a boss in the MMORPG World of Warcraft (Which is a huge let down for such an amazingly built up character, but that discussion is for another time) and just the way they waste him in the forthcoming events, such a disappointment.

 Perhaps if they released a side story prequel-like game where you play as the Lich King as he uses his undead to take over Azeroth.. (Blizzard, are you taking notes??)   Speaking of which, talking about that kind of world conquering game brings forth another similar game in my mind; which just happens to be number Five on our list.

#5 - Evil Genius/Dungeon Keeper (Both) 

(Horny is quite displeased with the evil genius’s choice in mascara. ..No, the Asian male one.)

Now these are true, simple, evil Villains! Yeah! This is a pick that is relatively forgotten but very a satisfying entry none the less, these games are made by the same developer and are all extremely similar to each other, such so that you could think of the Evil Genius as a inheritor of power and this is why I just decided to put both of them into the same entry. You are the leader of (depending on the game) a vile evil dungeon or villainous spy-like base.  As you build up your power you proceed to take over the lands or the world in the case of Evil Genius.  Each game has many things to make it worthy of this list: Torturing people, using dead soldiers to animate corpses to fight for you, building giant diabolic lairs complete with deadly traps and many henchmen at your command, the list could go on and on.

The reason in my eyes that this doesn't get higher is because of the campy nature of these games, the action that goes on at times is really silly and slapstick and while that lends itself quite well to the style of the games, on this list it is a big drawback. The lack of main character depth, as well as the fact that it's not very well explained that you are the main character of these games. It's easily assumed that you are, however, you don't see them engaging in the same acts you do in the game, in fact, the only time you see your main character in the Dungeon Keeper games - a demon named Horny (What?) is at the end of a stage when he shows up and grabs the evil crystal after you defeat the end boss.

#4 – Kratos – God of War (Series)

(What can I say, Kratos is just a hundred and ten percent Spartan, god-killing bad ass.. Kratos could you try not looking in the opposite direction when I’m attempting to complement you? Geez.)

This was a character that I was hesitant to put on this list and that isn’t because he’s a popular and very clear choice for this list’s theme. There were two different characters that I was planning on taking this spot but overall after some thought I really do feel Kratos deserves the number #4 spot.  The reason you would think he obviously should be number 1 is, well, obvious.  He’s a chaotic evil berserker who solves his problems by killing it, and if it doesn’t work, killing it harder until it does work.  Nothing will stop him from his revenge, friend and foe alike. 

But, can you blame him? He’s a soldier raised in the Spartan culture of kill-or-be-killed, after the death of his family he has been betrayed time and time again by gods and mortals alike and after hearing his story you feel pity and sympathy for this savage character.  This is why he was a hard pick, because he regularly walks the narrow line between Anti-hero and Villain with swift vigor! But, after pondering; to me this makes him that much more of an interesting pick. You see in the first two games he is walking this line clearly, however it is the third game that shows just how much of a Villain he is to me. This is very ironic because that game is considered his redemption.

It is the fact that to finally reach his goal he must kill off his own allies, which is a Villainous act all on its own and the Pandora’s Box that he abuses to weaken his enemies, the gods.  Why? To obtain the power necessary; to defeat the gods and then restore order to the world? No, he uses it to corrupt and weaken the gods in order to destroy them.  It is one thing to kill heroic gods, It is quite another to unleash their sealed fears and emotions and let them drown in it before murdering them.

It is that sympathy however that holds him back from being a better Villain to me.  I am not saying he is a bad character, in fact quite the opposite! It’s just his motivations for evil are simple and that sympathy really shows his true humanity and ultimately forces me to restrain him to the number four position. 

#3 Main Player Character Aka Dark Lord Revan - Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

(A pose that could stop the gods in their tracks.. now if only Revan could figure out how to actually see out of that wicked mask..)

From the information that has been revealed during the video games and the Expanded Universe as well of the various choices you are able to make in a Bioware RPGs, this is a lot to take in and explain, so for your sake; as well as mine, I am just going to talk about the main points that to me, really define the evil aspects of this character.

At one point in the game, the information is dramatically revealed that your main character was actually Darth Revan. Darth Revan is a character was responsible for the rise of the Sith during the past Mandalorian Wars. If you have been acting evil through the game this really enhances the fact that your character is a villain.  If I was one of the members of his party and I found out about this I would be like so. “Wait a minute.. the guy I am following was actually the previous Dark Lord.. Wait, he has been acting evil this whole damn game! We got to take him out now!”

Just being known as this Sith Lord and being evil throughout the game just isn’t enough to be an awesome villain on our list however.  But, during the ending of this game the player has the chance to fall back in the shadows, becoming the feared, menacing figure once again.  Of course, because the majority of your allies are not this type they won’t stand for your sudden Heel turn and you must either kill off your former friends or if powerful enough, use Force mind tricks so make them kill off each other first.  Darth Revan: because being a sith in a dark metal masked costume has NEVER been so cool.

(I said NEVER damn it!)

It actually saddens me to say that the sole reason this character isn’t higher up on the list, as vile as he is; is that in the Knights of the Old Republic canon this character is a light side Jedi. So no matter how much damnation you do within the game, you know that he is truly a hero on the scripture. Damn and we were so close too! Oh well not too worry, there are still two awesome entries left!

#2 – The Nameless One - Planescape Torment

(Again, when dealing with Immortal bad asses like this, it would be insane to even attempt to act snarky.)

The Nameless One is the name (funnily enough) used to describe the main character of Planescape Torment, by looks and feel alone this man is the most villainous on this list.  Being an immortal character that has mysteriously lost his memories he wakes up in the morgue his skin a mass of scar tissue and death, covered in tattoos he is almost more undead than alive in this sense. Through the game you make his decisions and the events are slowly unrevealed that make up this complex character. To me, The Nameless One represents the worst possible path of someone with the power of being immortal, and shows it can be a grave weakness.

Although The Nameless One has had many past personalities, that he can no longer remember due to memory losses of the decades; such as being evil, manipulative and insane; even the original personality which is called the good incarnation committed so many sins in his life that in order to atone for them he would have to become immortal and spend eternity to make up for it. Just think about that for a moment and you’ll know why this character is so well suited for such a list.

The Planescape world is that of a massive unending combination of planes and power, it feels so very rich, dark and just generally chaotic - thus as The Nameless One you are meant to blend and be part of its balanced insanity. As such, the opportunities to be a villain are numerous and vast and it gives you this feeling as you play that hasn’t been seen since it.  You are meant to truly make the decisions this character faces and as such you can ultimately become a good character overall despite your terrible past. #1 on this list doesn’t have such a weakness however.

#1 – Wander – Shadow of the Colossus

(A tale about a pre-adult adventurous boy shooting arrows at monsters from horseback while trying to save a sleeping princess.. where have I heard that before…?)

Wander is my ‘surprise reveal’ for this list, if you predicted this you are a true sinister mastermind!  He is awesome villain while he doesn’t look the part as well as others on the list and you don’t feel any evil intentions from him at the beginning, it ramps up dramatically by the end.

The plot that involves this character is summarized as thus: you are Wander, a young adult with little past, a bow and a reliable horse. You have a girl with you who is dead and an entity comes to you saying that if you defeat several monstrous Colossus that wonder the lands it will use its powers to restore her life. The only thing that can defeat them is a sword from the king, so after stealing the sword you use your horse to find these colossi to kill them.  The entity never explains why he needs them killed, or that maybe they are horrible evil beasts deserving of killing and Wander never asks. Of course there are signs that these Colossus are, in fact, targets of nobility that you wouldn’t assume they are at first thought, for example when they are killed a pillar of light marks where they have fallen in the game.

(Ladies and Gentlemen, our hero of this story!)

After killing some of them you notice a dark taint from their death begins entering his body as the corruption slowly befalls you after killing each Colossus. The hero’s appearance begins to begin more twisted ultimately growing horns from your head. By the time the Lord Emon finds him, he has soldiers at his command, and your thoughts of the righteousness of Wander is thrown out the window as he is shocked by your demonic, undead-like husk of a human body that is left and he orders the soldiers he has to attack him. But, before Wander can be killed the essence from the Colossi consume him and the entity, named Dormin is finally brought back to world from the Colossi and Wander’s left over remains.

(“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”) – Martin Luther King, Jr.)

This is exactly what completely sells this character as a Villain to me, Wander knows what he is and he doesn’t care one bit.  The King is warns him that the road he is on will be an ‘extremely high price to pay’ which he states “It doesn’t matter.” Unlike the other Villain Protagonists, there is no redemption for Wander.  Despite a seemingly noble goal, the means to get it is certainly completely villainous.  In other words, if he were in another game; he would be the character you are trying to stop before he destroys the world.

Well folks, that’s it! I hope you enjoyed this Top List and I hope to return with bigger and better lists soon, in the mean time please tell me what you thought of it! Did I leave out some awesome character that is just too important to not bring up? I would like you to let me know! Until next time.

-Top Ten List of Turn Based Strategy Games- (#5-1)

#5 - King's Bounty: Crossworlds

(Rugged Knight main hero, Check. Undead unit army, Check. Giant frog boss, Ch-Wait what the?)

King's Bounty: Crossworlds is an expansion pack update to the expansion of the original game, Armored Princess. It is essentially the same game but with more content and more units.  It also adds extra quests and a faction based arena like mode also.  This is definitely the best version of this game to buy, period although if you want to enjoy the story in sequence, play the first, first. 

King's bounty is another HoMM like game, more similar than Disciples.  The combat is more influenced by the recent HoMM V with it's hex-based battlefields.  However the reason I rate Crossworlds more highly than Disciples is because it is simply the better put together game.  It has a nice loot system for one. Armies you can gather are alot more varied, although you play through the game with only the human faction you can get different armies, such as undead, orcs, elves, dwarves and more.  A great addition is giant cinematic boss fights, with a giant enemy taking up the whole part of the screen.  They are fiercesome and really toss up the enemy encounters that are at times repetitive.

 

(It's not that I hate you HoMM V, it's just that your long frustratingly difficult missions crushed my soul and cast me away into darkness.)

  

#4 - Langrisser series (Der Langrisser)

(Then perhaps I should just stop talking here..)

Oh, Langrisser, Langrisser.  If I had a child he would be a bad ass named Langrisser.  The first game named Warsong (blah) in the US is a decent game, but the Japanese only Der Langrisser, the sequel to the first is by far my favorite. The series has a standard grid based combat system with your heroes able to do attacks and magic based on their class.  The unique thing here is each hero on the map also has control of smaller army units which you must fight with in order to defeat the other enemies. This adds a mix of good ol' strategy and RPG elements. 

Combine this with an engaging plot that forks in certain points depending on your actions which can result in far different plot and endings and the main characters class is changeable at the beginning of the game (meaning different classes you can be promoted to for you and all your heroes) for a game with great replayability. In fact it is a game you should play multiple times because of the way you can change the plot based on your decisions so you won’t be playing the exact same game again. A SNES game that feels really ahead of it's time when I think about it.  If only more of these games had been translated and it definately would be one of my favorite series.

Oh, and if I didn’t mention it earlier and you didn’t pay attention to the screenshot, Der Langrisser has an unofficial translation of the game on the internet, kick ass.

#3 – Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume 

(If looks could kill.. well they wouldn't need those awesome weapons, now would they?)

Oh man! Damn, in my haste I almost forgot about this awesome little gem! Easy to see why, since it's a DS Turn Based Strategy and that makes it the only DS game on this top ten list.  Part of the console expansive Valkyrie Profile series, you would think this title is one of those japanese-englishy titles that sound complicated and has little to do with the game, but not so much actually. You are Wylfred a young mercenary who is out on a quest to prolong his borrowed life while on a quest to kill a Valkyrie who indirectly caused his family to suffer. As you can see the plot is a dark tale that is also based on the Norse mythology and as such is extremely interesting and unlike the stories you would usually find in this kind of setting.

Gameplay wise it is very similar at first glance to a standard grid-based game of this type.  But, this isn't exactly true.  There is a very tactical position based combo system in this game and mastering it is the key to succeeding in sometimes extremely challenging fights.  The other unique thing is the feather plume you receive in the game, itself.  It allows you to power up one of your recruitable companions to his or her 'fullest potential' giving them game-breaker like power.  The exchange you ask? The reaper is a hard trade. That said character DIES after the battle is over, permanently!  In fact, the more you use the power the more your character powers up and the plot is affected and split by the main characters corruption, or not, if you are skilled enough to not bite the forbidden fruit.  Perhaps the difficulty and a handheld release pushed it back from the publics eye, but for those unafraid of a little challenge (and if you enjoy strategy games, why would you?) Buy this game.

# 2 – Brigandine: Legend of Forsena

 (Someday they'll learn that this is why you don't bring a sword to a dragon fight.)

Brigandine, more than an awesome type of armor, it is also the name of a TBS playstation game. It is a sandbox-like empire based game with hex style battles.  It also combines genres of Strategy, Role Playing Game and pokemon-like monster evolution. (What?) That’s right. You have your lords which are unique heroes; they have classes which can be promoted to higher more powerful classes, much like the Fire Emblem series. Also, like in the previously talked about Der Langrisser your heroes using rune power points, each can control a number of recruitable monsters and beasts; such as ghouls, dragons, centaurs and giant plant tentacle monsters to name a few and they all have 1-2 evolutions with different paths that can become different monsters, so it provides a lot of replay, being able to find different monsters and how they sync with each other.  Dragons for example being great front row fighters while centaurs rain arrows from behind. 

You start the game by picking one of five different nations (six if you use the secret cheat code.) each nation has a different motive for fighting, from power to the defense of what is left and even just Kekfa-like clown madness! Some nations are in a better position at the beginning than others, providing challenge, but at the same time each has weaknesses to overcome for balance. 

It is difficult to get into so expect to be beat down a few times before you get the workings of the combat.  The battles are also done in that bad playstation 3D that you love or you hate, thankfully for some that is an option to replace these with regular map attacks.  Also, if that wasn't enough, if you have lords that are simply too weak to go into direct combat with, you can make them power up indirectly by taking on random quests, that give you items, increases stats, or even you can find hidden heroes to join your side! ..Or you might just get hurt and have to rest up afterwards.

Despite my rambling on, you just need to know that this is a fun well made game that's worth picking up. I'm actually on my third playthrough right now!

  

# 1 - Romance of the Three Kingdoms (X)

(Awesome profile shot of the founding of Shu)

(Note: Although these screenshots are in japanese, the PS2 version of this game is in full English.)

When I think of Strategy games; the name I think of is Romance of the Three Kingdoms (RoTK), an empire themed game based on the writings of the same name - of which is a novelization of the famous Three Kingdoms Chinese war.  If I wasn't writing this list at the moment I would be playing this game right now, this second.  I choose the tenth installment specifically because of the RPG elements found within it, while the other games on this list as well as the other games in this series have things in common with it gameplay wise, none can compete with the way this game is played.  Being a ruler, founding a city, growing your kingdom and conquering the land - all of this is a stable of the series however this game changes the way you do this by having one thing that is so different.  You choose from a list of hundreds of characters from the Three Kingdoms, from the mighty fierce-some Lu Bu to the cunning Cao Cao all the way to minor warlords who originally left little impact on the lands; you control their fate as you play through the war.  Also, if all those choices weren't enough for you, you can create a custom character too. Damn.

(Suddenly, the world shook from the Three Kingdoms to the very heavens as Commander Martha Stewart was recruited to the Wu army.)

As I said, you can choose to be a ruler of one of the factions and the game really makes you feel like you are running a government, letting you order your aligned warlords into performing tasks for your empire such as recruiting soldiers. Being the leader, governing as they did in history or decide to carve your own past through it changing the events of the traditional story or you can be a minor warlord serving under a famous lord (Choosing any of them in the history mind you) as they set duties for you to help your kingdom. Though at any time can you go and join someone else’s side.  You can be leaderless and roam the land making friends out of the different warlords and watching the battles from afar.  The game really makes you feel intimately part of it and lets you do as you want.  You can even cause peasantry to rebel and take over a town creating your own custom nation.  Creating alliances, destroying enemies, dueling famous warriors, sabatoging cities to wreck the gate before your main force comes to attack.  The possiblities are immense and it would take me hours to explain all the details. (And believe me, this is a series I sit around and talk about for hours.)

 

(Don't know what Lu Bu is shouting, but it's judging from the dramatic speech-bubbles, it's probably bad ass.)

 If you are a fan of strategy games or even a history buff you owe yourself the pleasure of tracking down this title and playing it for the next months or even like me, years of your life; you will not regret it.

In conclusion: I picked this genre of video game simply because it is my all-time favorite type of game. You might have noticed that I put a range of older games to newer games because I wanted a range of different types of Turn Based Strategy games and because I honestly think these games deserve the spots they are given. There is of course that this is a diminishing genre as well, there are less modern examples of TBS than old-school games and this is something I want to change.  I want you readers to look at this list so you can see how great these games are and you will want to play them and you can show game companies that the public wants this type of game. It’s not a genre that should be just forgotten!

I hope you enjoyed this list, if you have any suggestions or comments, please go ahead and give me the lay down; if anything I take in your thoughts with as much care as you do mine.  Until next time!

-Top Ten List of Turn Based Strategy Games- (#10-6)

As an new up-incoming blog and as my first piece of content, it is important to start things off well and with something that is close and personal to me.  What better way to show off my gaming preferences than with a Top List?  But why Turn Based Strategy you might be asking me?  Well those of you who didn't read up on my intro should be informed that Turned Based Strategy (TBS) is one of my, if not my favorite genres of gaming.  It just happens that it is one of the worst represented types of gaming, compared to, for example: The colossus genre known as FPS.  This is a reason why I created this blog, to cover games that are often under-developed in the gaming market.  So without anymore filler to waste space..... Here is your:

-Top Ten List of Turn Based Strategy Games- 

(#10-6)

# 10 – Worms (Series)

(Screen from Worms 2 PSP edition)

Ah yes, Worms.  The game of loveable little wormy soldiers killing each other with the use of firearms, rockets, dragon fists and wacky inventions such as the trotting explosive sheep and chorus-packed Holy Hand Grenade of Death.  The action in this Turn Based Strategy is a great mix of black humor and cartoonish effects making for a really memorable game, watching the beautifully drawn 2D castled landscape and zany-alien like planets turned into a messy, scorched, explosion created battlefield that makes it resemble Swiss cheese is something that you can only get if you play Worms.  Also, something has to be mentioned of the game play which is approached with an attitude of 'Easy to learn, tough to master' making it a great pick up and play game for first timers to the genre, parties and multiplayer maythem.

The reason however why this classic only holds the honorable-but still quite low-position of number Ten is because the series isn't very deep and innovative, with many of the games adding little content or worse yet, being a copied port of an original.  It gives a feeling for first timers to the games that you will pick up any game no matter the system and have a good time with it, but the veterans looking for something new are the ones that suffer.  If they were more catered to this would probably be higher.

# 9 - Dungeons and Dragons (and other similar Tabletop games)

 

(When the eye of a Beholder is upon you..)

I consider this to be my surprise pick for the list. "What the hell Tom?" You would most likely blurt out, "Everyone knows that Dungeons and Dragons is a Role Playing Game! It has practically pioneered the genre!" Yes that true, but it also contains many elements of a Turn Based Strategy.  Where you wonder? Well the combat of course! The field is mapped out into tiles where you take turns performing actions with the objective of winning a battle (usually).  The reason it goes on this list is because of the complexity and imagination that you can employ on the battlefield is second to none because of the nature of the game, depending on your GM's patience. 

If you are a halfling rogue in a dimly lit room and you want to stay hidden so you can sneak up on an enemy? Consider extinquishing the nearby torch and lunge on the nearby foe like a natural born caped crusader.  Or if you happen to be in a situation where you want to clear dangerous spiders and the webs in your path for your party? Simply take your bedroll and light it on fire, hurling it like a blazing inferno at them. *cough* Anyways... 

The reason the father of all of role playing isn't higher on this list is the lack of this type of gaming found in modern video games that use this type of system, they usually try to blend a real time action RPG feel into it which makes it quite unlike the real pen and board game. Now if only Wizards decided to deliver on the D&D insider content that was shown before (As in the picture above) things might be different...

Once again, yes it IS a TBS. After all for example: If you would label Bioshock an Action RPG you would have to also consider that it is also a First Person Shooter, right? Jury, I rest my case. =]

(Thanks, but I have things this time, Nick.)

# 8 - Civilization (Series)

(Yeah, I wish.. Oda! Go Samurai Warriors on his ass!)

 

"..No. You fool."

(Fair enough.)

(Okay, okay.. this seems more appropriate for the series.)

Perhaps I'll get some hate for this but I don't find Civilization to be that innovative of a franchise, which is why I label it number eight and just put the entire series for this pick.  It's not bad by any means but personally I feel it isn't the end all strategy game that has devoured many men's lives and souls. There is very little I can say that hasn't been said about this series and although it IS a bit overhyped, the series has consistently strong games; which you can't say about other games on this list. If you are unfamilar the set up is this:  You select a nation based on real world nations and select opponents and a map type, just like a skirmish like game type in a Real Time Strategy. You play the game like others using war to dominate over other nations, however you can use other means to win such as improving your technology to send a rocket into space, or gaining the world's heart by building as many world wonders as possible. 

This creates a varied way to play the game; however the fault with this game is that the nations all feel too similar, generally the only exception being unique units and leaders. The unique design here overall; that this game offers is the idea that you can start at the dawn of mankind, the age of stone and work your way up to the futuristic times.  This does create some terrible disbelief sometimes as your nation rises way ahead of others.

While the idea of Conquering Ghandi with the threat of armed nukes and giant robots while he attempts to fight back with horsemen is awesome, I think I'm a tiny bit above this and will not substitute the places of the other top games.

#7 - Battle for Wesnoth

 

(You might not be able to see it, but those specks are your soldiers)

What? You've never heard of Battle for Wesnoth? It's a Turn Based Strategy PC game, the remarkable thing is though, that it is a freeware game. Yeah. It's actually pretty damn good too. (Else it wouldn't be on this list, ha ha.) Besides the fact that it is a free download game it has a number of different campaigns to play through, hundreds in fact. Because it comes with a map and scenario editor which many fans have breathed life into.  It's also easily assessable because you can download them right off the multiplayer mode. 

As you can see it is traditional tile based, but the combat has a lot of varibles that make strategic thinking a must. Environment, time of day, type of enemy and ally alike as well as who is standing by your target are all things you have to think about to succeed.  It has a RTS feel to it also, since you have to control resources and you can spawn as many allies as you have gold and room for.  But the trade off is you need your campaign hero inside of the base in order to do it, so you have to balance leveling your hero with getting out enough troops to succeed, very clever.

Speaking of which there is a nice level up system in place which powers up your troops, speccing into different trees depending on the type of character you want to make.  Do you want your novice page to be a reliable, offensive swordsmen or a far reaching, defensive spearmen? Most games like this are a bummer though since you lose all those troops after ending a map. But in Wesnoth you can recall old troops to a new map, as long as you have the money and they didn't die along the way.

The blunders that keep this from a higher ranking are the freeware feel which makes things sometimes unbalanced, as well as the battle clock that makes you have to beat a map within a certain number of turns.  This personally erks me and causes me to rush getting my troops killed, though thankfully it has a turn rewind button which is handy.  Still you can't really criticize free entertainment (can you, readers?) and this game is one of those shining stars among the darkness.

#6 - Disciples (II and III)

 

(This is Disciples 2, beautiful graphics, nothing could possibly top these!)

This is one of those series that feels ignored in favor of other games to me.  I myself only picked these up recently and it feels like a crime, shame on me! In fact, shame on you too! (Unless you bought this, of course) This series is very like another game series, Heroes of Might and Magic which is also great and deserves to be on this list, however that game and the one on this list are in fact TOO much alike and I had to decide between these two and Disciples is a winner, why you ask? Because Disciples combat simply feels better. 

In HoMM, your army is composed of stacks of units which doesn't feel as personal as your small powerful squad in Disciples.  Also the map exploration is more fair and about map control than collecting resources, in Disciples you actually see the map regions morph and change as you conquer them.  If you are the Humans the map becomes bright, pretty, green and full of life.  However if you go with the demons, the land is stripped barren and becomes red, hellish, demonic, other races have their own custom look as well.  And finally, HoMM is a spinoff of the main series – Might and Magic.  You should really have some creativity, HoMM! -Ironic meters start to crack-

I actually prefer BOTH Disciples II and III to be honest even though most fans love the second one but hate the changes to the third; they both have their own things that interest me. The second game has more content, classes and races, including the wicked undead storyline which is just so awesome; in fact the whole storyline game is pretty good.  However, III has great things too, a much better way to controlling the map, an improved RPG like setup for your main heroes where you can equip items and gain skills from level ups.  Also, don't let me forget some of my favorite artwork I've ever seen in a game, it's just stunning.

(However.. This is Disciples III.. wow!)






Stay tuned for the last 5 games on this list!