Strategy Game Recommendations

[Turkishjade]

Any ideas on a good Real Time or Turn Based Strategy Game that isn't too dated, but will run on a non-internet connected PC II-400/128MB Ram/4MB 3D Video Card?

I have Age of Empires II, Age of Empires II The Conquerors and Empire Earth. I want something that is semi-realistic ( meaning, I tried Heroes of MM 3+4, Warcraft, Starcraft, etc. but Magic/Mana/Monsters are not my cup of tea,)

I'm looking for something similar in terms of graphic quality (circa 1998 or better,) depth of play and preferably a way to extend the life of the product via campaign/map/scenario downloads.

[Turkishjade]

Oh, and I tried the Command and Conquer series, but I'm looking for something that goes back further in time. At the very least, to ancient Rome.

[SingaBoiy]

Wow, looking for something that will paly on a 400? I have 667 and its hard for me to find games. One of my fav all time is Lords of The Reals II. I cant wait for III. Age of Empires is good. Dont try Empire Earth, lol, my system was way too slow for it i dont think yours has a shot.

EDIT: Ceaser II was a good one but they did come out with a 3rd, i havent played it before though.

[SingaBoiy]

Oh and Cossacks is pretty good too.

EDIT: One of the best board games is Risk so if you want a turn based game get Risk 2.

[Turkishjade]

Whoa...Singaboiy, I just tried and you are right. That machine takes 3 minutes just to get to the Main screen of Empire Earth. 3 more to load a campaign. It runs fine once you are in one though. Still, 6+ minutes.... I'll pass.

I tried Cossacks and even though the graphics were immaculate, the gameplay itself just felt like your units were moving through molasses. I tweaked the game speed a little, but it just felt...heavy. And it's not a graphics or cpu thing....I just can't describe.

Risk is too "high level" for what I want (some of us actually like to micromanage) so I'll check out Ceaser's. Thanks for the tip.

[Keikan]

Wow more people getting pentium 2 or something? Tried Empire earth?

[james_bond_rulez]

how about you do some serious upgrading first then talk about games?

if you wanna play games that runs on that shit of urs i suggest looking for games published before 1995

[Dark Ride]

Originally posted by james_bond_rulez@8 February 2004 - 23:32
how about you do some serious upgrading first then talk about games?

if you wanna play games that runs on that shit of urs i suggest looking for games published before 1995

and I thought my P4 (2 GHz), 256 RAM, GeForce 2 MX/MX 400 64 MB is gettin' out of date

[Keikan]

Originally posted by james_bond_rulez@8 February 2004 - 17:32
how about you do some serious upgrading first then talk about games?

if you wanna play games that runs on that shit of urs i suggest looking for games published before 1995

so crude...

[Turkishjade]

Hey Bond...easy now! It's not my only machine, I mentioned the "non-internet connected" part as a clue.

I have a good main machine. I have a better than decent laptop. It's a third machine that I don't want to throw away. I got it in a poker game 5 years ago and I refuse to get rid of it. I'll use it till the Government starts taxing old PC users because it's the first big ticket item I ever won gambling. ( PC, 21" CRT, Jazz, CDR, DVD )

And having a RTS or RPG that has user submitted campaigns/scenarios/maps makes it theoretically possible to use that "piece of shit" for the next 2 or 3 years until my main machine is up for retirement. Even then, I might try to find a way to get that old clunker to run the lights in my house or something. ( How long did you keep your 1st car past the point where you should have junked it? )

And they were still making games by early 2000 that ran on a 4MB 3D ATI video card. They didn't run well, but they ran. And a strategy game doesn't rely on a game running well....it's like chess.