Your Best Tactical RPG (for real, the best ones )

[Fargus]

Jagged Alliance 2. No other game can really scratch that itch for me.

 

[zaper]

I am doomed by my very specific fetish of tactical RPGs in grimdark settings with 0 magic. The last title which resonated with my tastes was Battle Brothers, although I would prefer if it didn't had undeads and orcs in it.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I am doomed by my very specific fetish of tactical RPGs in grimdark settings with 0 magic.

How many times have you replayed Dungeon Rats now, you poor sod.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Circuit thanks for the infos about open x-com, checked a video of piratez gameplay and the main website and mod forum, not sure i have it in me to replay it, it's just more of the same and i UFO was one of the game i spent hundred of hours on (solo games on superhuman + games with friends where we shared soldiers ), i can't remember how many times i played it nor how many hours, that wxas nice but i'm not sure i can stomach more of it.

I mean, at some point, we were using psi-amps to control every alien, you know, you control the first one you spot, you remove his weapons and grenade, you turn him around, he spots more, you control them and so on.

Then , you group them or something, you hide your guys with laser rifles or better laser pistols and you grind reactions points ;-)

Extraterrestrial, though, rings a bell but i checked the main website, i'm not sure i played it, might try it, does the stats work like in ufo (wiz8 style) increasing when using it, not sure about character dev after checking those screens.

Strange Fellow hmmm, i checked ToEE and the circle of 8 mod, sounds amazing, are you still saying Temple + is better (didn't check further for compatibility or so )?
Thanks about the spoiler tag, can't edit though but now i know, didn't notice the spoiler button either

Ranarama interesting "The game was designed and developed by Julian Gollop and Nick Gollop, the brain trust behind the classic turn-based strategy game, X-COM: UFO Defense."
Looks like a good find.
Laser squad : http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/laser-squad-nemesis -> anything more you know about, mods, patches ?
Rebel Star : http://www.metacritic.com/game/game-boy-advance/rebelstar-tactical-command -> seems nice as well

Goromorg V_K Those two seems amazing, definitely on my list, checked their steam pages and doesn't seem very popular so i guess they deserve some love
Alvora Tactics & Voidspire Tactics

Swampy_Merkin thanks, i played Expedition conquistadors and Vikings, the latter having some loading issue on my computer, was even better than conquistadors in my opinion but i dropped it eventually after vandering and loading too many times in the "big" city

Chaotic_Heretic Eternal poison seems interesting, review are mixed but i like some games with mixed reviews so i'll keep this one in mind if / when i'm going to dive into ps2 emu.

Gregz Thanks ! Finally a constructive answer about JA2, i'll check it out. ( "1.13 mod from The Bear's Pit" )

Taka-Haradin puolipeikko
Dungeon Rats : No, no and no ! No ! No ! No ! Nooooooooo !

Low Magic Age : checked this one, didn't try it yet, lot of mixed reviews and the bad ones kind of convinced me, why do you like it ?

Chaos Gate : doesn't seem like there is any character dev, is there any ?

SausageInYourFace i enjoyed playing Blackguards, Templar Battleforce character dev is a bit light/weird for me (plus the remarks i made earlier )

 

[Ivan]

Dungeon Rats : No, no and no ! No ! No ! No ! Nooooooooo !

why?

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Low Magic Age : checked this one, didn't try it yet, lot of mixed reviews and the bad ones kind of convinced me, why do you like it ?

Basic systems are good enough, but like I said content is generic. It is still in early access so there's a change that some handcrafted stuff will be added to the game.

Chaos Gate : doesn't seem like there is any character dev, is there any ?

In campaign you have some 40 Ultramarines that collect exp and could be killed in action, there's also psykers that have a bit more character development (mainly in choosing their permanent psychic powers)

 

[Citizen]

Chaos Gate : doesn't seem like there is any character dev, is there any ?

Muhreenes have levels and stats. Librarians unlock spells when they level-up. Inventory system is more simple than in UFO (separate weapon/ammo slots). But the game is cool, like a linear UFO with some plot, magic, SPACE MUHREENES™, Space Muhreen Dreadnaughts™ and Khorne Berserkers™. Soundtrack is a 10/10 gregorian chorus.

Spoiler

Edited: Taka-Haradin was faster

 

[Strange Fellow]

Strange Fellow hmmm, i checked ToEE and the circle of 8 mod, sounds amazing, are you still saying Temple + is better (didn't check further for compatibility or so )?
Thanks about the spoiler tag, can't edit though but now i know, didn't notice the spoiler button either

I haven't played through the whole game since Temple+ came out, but as far as I could tell it was basically Co8 but better (or Co8+ if you will). I found that it ran much better than Co8 too. IIRC it's made by some of the Co8 guys. Here's a thread about it.

I'll also echo recommendations for Gold Box. It's less tactical than ToEE, and the character building is extremely limited, it being AD&D 1e, but the campaign for the first game, Pool of Radiance, is excellent. Much better than ToEE in that departement.

Also,

Go fucking play Jagged Alliance 2, you little bitch.

1.13 is terrific, but not a must have.

And I don't think Ranarama is talking about Laser Squad Nemesis, but rather the original from 1988.

 

[Darth Canoli]

why?

(about dungeon rats)
Because !

Well, going back and forth, and back and forth and back ...
No story ...
Battle system was ok (even good as far as i remember) but the rest was generic, non-existent or boring to tears.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

No story ...

Do you want tactics or a story?

 

[Strange Fellow]

No story ...

Do you want tactics or a story?

I agree with him here, I tend to get bored of a game if there's no structure, like Battle Brothers, or if there's nothing but fighting. As I understand, Dungeon Rats is just a gauntlet.

 

[Goromorg]

Also, Underrail wasn't mentioned in this thread, right? It is a definition of a turn-based tactical RPG. There are many playstyles (and all are viable and can be mixed together): stealth, heavy armor, melee, psionics, sniping, assault rifles, throwing, traps, etc.

 

[Ivan]

No story ...

Do you want tactics or a story?

I agree with him here, I tend to get bored of a game if there's no structure, like Battle Brothers, or if there's nothing but fighting. As I understand, Dungeon Rats is just a gauntlet.

Correct.

 

[Freddie]

I didn't see Valkyrie Chronicles mentioned. It's bit different take on the genre, which is I probably liked it so much.

 

[Johnny Pneumatic]

It seems all of the obvious turn based titles have been mentioned, so here's a few real time suggestions.

Myth 1 & 2 - Fun rtt games, though not much in the way of rpg elements. Sadly, they are not available for sale digitally.

Freedom Force 1 & 2 - RTwP comic book themed tactics with character customization.

SWAT 2 - A RTT with a SWAT team and terrorist campaign. Units have stats and can be trained and outfitted as you wish. Like SWAT 3 or 4, going in hot is not always the best course of action (even as the terrorists). This one is a hit or miss. You'll either enjoy it or you won't. Also you'll likely need to find a fanmade patch floating around out there to get it to run on modern OSs.

 

[Chippy]

Jagged Alliance - Back in Action was shit wasn't it? Am asking as it's currently £3 in a Steam sale until July 5th. Most reviews point towards bad design decisions, a lack of mechanics over the original, and game effecting bugs that were never fixed...

 

[Darth Canoli]

Johnny Pneumatic I think i enjoyed freedom force back in the days so i gave it another shot month ago, what a mess, you really have to love action games and super-heroes to play it and play in normal mode, in hard mode, micro management is extremely boring, well, i hate RTS and it kind of plays that way.

As for SWAT, i know about it, never played it, the setup doesn't trigger anything for me, if there was different units (shapes, eventually aliens or in a different setup with aliens with a kind of M.I.B. background (the movie) )and a good character development, it'd catch my interest but for now, it just doesn't.

Goromorg underrail is a turn-based RPG, i played it, i know there is fans out there, i think they tried too hard to make different builds (chemist, psionic ) and not hard enough to create playable, interesting NPC to join the battle, as far as i know, you can't have companions (i stopped after the visiting the first town) managing your inventory is a pain, traders don't buy shit and it lacks fast travel options, it's good but lacking in comparison of Fallout 1 & 2 or even Wasteland 2.

People keep talking about Gold Box, i have no idea what you're talking about, any link ?

 

[Strange Fellow]

People keep talking about Gold Box, i have no idea what you're talking about, any link ?

The series of D&D games developed by SSI in the late 80's/early 90's, so nicknamed because of their characteristic golden covers. If you've got an aversion to old graphics you might want to stay away, but that's your loss, because they're excellent combat-focused RPGs. There's 11 in total, so if you do try them and like them you've got a lot of games to play.

 

[deama]

There's Evil Islands, it's RTWP though. Character progression I thought was good. Story was.... ok.

Would divinity original sin 1/2 fit into this category?

Spellforce series is a mixture of RTS/RPG with squads, I recommend starting with the 1st one, I didn't like the others much. Again, RTWP.

Dungeon siege 1/2. 1st one allows for up to 8 squad members. 2nd one is 4, but you can mod it to 6. This series is a diablo-ish series, so RTWP, check out some gameplay and see if you like it?

Tale of Wuxia, a mixture of a visual novel and a tactics game, might be interesting for some people. It's turn based, but you only play 1 character, though depending on the story, you'll get different ally support.

 

[sser]

This thread is actually the new Vice op-ed.

 

[Slimu]

Telepath Tactics is also a good game, you can check the review posted on this site.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Strange Fellow Thanks, well, MM3 is as far as i can go, that pixelated stuff makes me sick.

I tried Alvora tactics by the way and i don't like it, i mean, i can't say it's a bad game, it just doesn't make it for me, i can overlook some aspects i don't like but there is just too many of them here
- Pixel "art" (i find it extremely ugly)
- Roguelike-ish (plays like every other rogue-like out there and i'm not a fan) turn-based, plays a bit like Cardinal Quest (which is single player but far better) except this one's ugly, with a clumsy interface, you slowly get used to it but still, it's a pain.
- limited character development (well, you can change classes at will and stuff, still, it's just skill "trees"
+ Good ideas, bosses, secrets (the good part)

Slimu i played telepath tactics, can't say i finished it though, played it on kongregate or armors games years ago, was nice, i think they made a standalone, still, it's also quite simple, as i recall, good tactical battles, thought.

deama interesting, i took a look of their steam page, is there an extremely fast forward button to cut the visual novel bullshit ? (i don't mind a good story, which is rare but i can't stomach stupid dialog you can't skip )

I know the rest and RTwP doesn't fit.

I might try ToEE with mods soon, i think i have the boxed version hidden somewhere.

 

[V_K]

Roguelike-ish (plays like every other rogue-like out there and i'm not a fan)

Voidspire doesn't have any roguelike elements. But on the downside you get fewer races and only 4-character party.

limited character development (well, you can change classes at will and stuff, still, it's just skill "trees"

That's a weird take on that, character development is IMO one of the main strengths of the series - it's very flexible, allows for many interesting builds, but at the same time doesn't let you get too overpowered.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Thanks, well, MM3 is as far as i can go, that pixelated stuff makes me sick.

Outrageous

 

[deama]

[USER=16773]deama interesting, i took a look of their steam page, is there an extremely fast forward button to cut the visual novel bullshit ? (i don't mind a good story, which is rare but i can't stomach stupid dialog you can't skip )

I know the rest and RTwP doesn't fit.

I might try ToEE with mods soon, i think i have the boxed version hidden somewhere.[/USER]

From what I remember, tale of wuxia didn't have all that much dialogue (at least compared to something like sengoku rance). Anyway, you can probably just spam click the mouse button and skip the dialogue or maybe there's a fast forward option, I didn't look for it.

Also, what are you looking for in a tactics game? Does it just need to be an RPG with decent character development, some story, and turn based combat with a party?