Disciples. A turn-based strategy game in which you rule over four kingdoms; - The Empire (Humans) - The Mountain Clans (Dwarves) - The Undead Hordes - The Legions of the Damned (Demons) Disciples centres on the clash between four distinct factions. The game features a main saga that forms the core of the story. However, in addition to this, the other factions also have their own sagas and additional storylines. You begin the game with one of these four factions. You always have a party ready on the map. You can add members to this party or send them into battle to gain experience. The best part about gaining experience is that each party’s hero unlocks different skills. With skills unlocked at specific levels, you can carry a book, a flag or an artefact (which provide specific buffs), or increase the number of warriors in your team and strengthen your hero. Of course, these come at a certain cost. Gold is the main currency used in the game. In addition to this, there are Life, Infernal, Runestone and Death Mana stones. You’ll either capture and control villages to obtain these, or send out your scout to seize them. You can also cast spells on the map using these four mana stones. Whilst buffing yourself, you can summon creatures, nerf your enemies or deal damage. You can also summon a scout to explore buildings whose interiors are hidden. One of the most interesting aspects of the game is attacking the enemy’s castle. Let’s say you’ve maxed out your defence and evasion to 99 per cent. Once you’ve eliminated the final defences in the castle, the game is complete. So you don’t actually have to complete the main quest. However, reaching 99 per cent is difficult. That’s why you die instantly if you’re attacked. Don’t try it :) By the way, the game’s soundtrack is brilliant...

Seven Kingdoms is one of the most significant titles in the genre of mythological strategy games. Firstly, there are 10 nations in the game: the Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Japanese, Maya, Mughal, Norman, Persian, Viking and Zulu. The variation in buildings found in other strategy games is not present in this one. In other words, when you select a different nation, their buildings do not change. For each civilisation, only the human type, attack type, deity and the deity’s blessing change. The human types in the game do not vary. For example, if you have chosen the Japanese, the appearance of your warrior, factory worker and miner will all be the same. Only their areas of expertise differ. Let’s say you want to train a warrior. You have two options: firstly, you can produce them from a fortified village, or you can station any of your citizens at a fort commanded by a commander. Each nation’s soldiers also have different attack styles. For example, once Japanese soldiers have over 60 experience points, they strike with flaming swords. Vikings, on the other hand, raise their axes and polish them, dealing damage with a stun effect. The biggest difference in the game is the gods. Whilst playing as gods in Age of Mythology may seem like a major revolution, Seven Kingdoms had already done this back in 1998. Each nation’s god is different; some kill your enemies, whilst others strengthen your own troops. The game’s economic system, however, is very challenging. You must mine resources, sell them via the market to villages with high populations, and maintain a high population to produce food (automatically). In the game, apart from the enemy nations, there are the Fryhtans who we could actually call monsters. Each type of Fryhtan attacks in a different way. Don’t attack them at the start of the game. It’s no use :)

I’ve completed every game in the X-Com series and I can say quite clearly that *Apocalypse* is the best game in the series. X-Com is by far the best strategy game. Firstly, the game features a three-pronged gameplay system. One is turn-based, another is real-time, and the third involves vehicle combat on an open map outside of engagements. Turn-based and real-time battles are fought on foot only. In open-world battles, however, you need to use aeroplanes, cars, motorbikes or trucks. The details of what you can do on the game’s open world map are my favourite aspect. Firstly, you can attack every single building on the map. You can demolish every building. Almost every building belongs to a faction. The actions you take on the map (clearing out buildings overrun by aliens, rescuing people from buildings under alien attack, killing opponents, looting items, etc.) determine your relationship with the factions. Your relationship with the factions, in turn, affects the entire game. For example, you can barely manage to win over factions that worship the aliens. They can give you alien items. I recommend you play the game to discover many more details like these.

We could describe Raptor as a classic flight shooter. It doesn’t have any major differences or features compared to other flight shooters. However, what makes it stand out is that, ever since ’94, it has adapted to every innovation in the gaming industry. For example, it can now be played seamlessly on Steam :) However, there’s one bug that hasn’t been fixed since ’94: if you blow up a spot on the map and loot a weapon, head straight back to your hangar. You’ll see that weapon in your inventory. This only applies to weapons; it doesn’t work for health, shields or money. This means you can get rich after the fifth section of the first map :)

As someone who has given Anno’s other games a go, this is the version I’d most highly recommend. The main reason for this is that the game is genuinely challenging. Apart from the difficulty of production in the game, the productivity levels of the islands you settle on, the ever-increasing demands of the islanders, and the in-game events that put pressure on the player are all very frustrating, yet they still keep you engaged. However, the moment your opponents start producing ‘tools’, there’s a 70 percent chance you’ll lose the game. That’s why you need to develop very quickly. Also, perhaps because it holds some sentimental value for me, but the music is really excellent.

Vampire: The Masquerade is a game that will appeal to anyone who loves vampire mythology and RPGs. The ‘Age of Redemption’ mod, in particular, takes the game to a whole new level. Thanks to this mod, you can play as a vampire, a ghoul or a human. At its core, VTMR actually tells a love story spanning almost 1,000 years. The game’s story is set in both the 12th and 20th centuries. This is one of the things that makes the game so enjoyable; whilst swords and shields are the order of the day in the first half, the second half sees a shift to firearms. Different dynamics and combat strategies keep the game fresh. A perfect game for those who want to fully immerse themselves in Whitewolf’s vampire mythos.