Knights of the Chalice is quite tactical, in my opinion. After seeing the OP mention the Disgaea games, I don't think he/she might like it, but there is a demo available for KOTC.

No one mention Gorky 17, or am i blind? http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/gorky_17

Why do you think it screws with the lore?
I understand that you mean that FT is not a Fallout game, saying that it's not a pure rpg and that is more a spin-off than a sequel, but it had the Fallout atmosphere while for example Fallout 3 was pretty bland for me.

Hidden & Dangerous Deluxe (Free Full Version)
http://www.hidden-and-dangerous.net/deluxe/download.php

Battlefield Academy
http://www.matrixgames.com/store/387/Battlefield.Academy

Myth Series
http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/myth-series

Definitely games that make good use of the saving/loading feature. Not use being overly proud about it, when you need it, you need it :).

Unless I misread, the original poster said tactical, not RPG (doesn't mean it can't be, but it doesn't have to).

Frankly though, the characters have their own set of ability that puts them in niche roles so it definitely has an RPGish element to it there.

Fantasy Wars is not bad. It has issues, but it has enough going for it that imo, it deserves to be played.

I found it a refreshing change from most of the fantasy strategy games I played so far (which either borrow heavily from MoM or HoMM or both).

You are right. My mistakes. Then Commando is a good game (even though I don't like it for other reason, I have to recognize it is a good game and was innovative back then). It is not bad, - it is average. Good enough to be played "to see", true. But I believe there are many games which are "better".


I respect the developer which created a full (AI) faction with all the types of units in the game for ... 2 levels (out of 30 or so).
It is not so innovative either, being a copycat of Fantasy General (which it completely recognizes).

It not that it wasn't a Pure RPG, it wasn't really much of an RPG at all, other than the whole leveling up thing.

As for the lore, it's been a while, but I know they mucked with it. It's kinda sorta tied in to the Lore by I think 3 mentioning a 'renegade BoS troop' or something.

Am currently playing through Deus Ex, that's got quite a bit of tactics in it - you get multiple alternate methods to solve each problem. Thief forces you to rely on stealth, but the level design means there are always multiple approaches to a problem.

Well, my judgment is affected by the fact that I have not played Fantasy General, so if it is disturbingly similar to that game, I am unaware of it (and will have to take your word for it until I play it).

I liked the fact that Fantasy Wars took the tactical portion of games like Age of Wonders/Master of Magic and basically extended it to on continuous segment spanning to the entire map.

I also enjoyed the non-linear troop level development and the special abilities of various troops that make use of the terrain.

You are right that in many ways, it doesn't stray far from popular fantasy fare (tolkienesque races, persecutions of mages by priests, etc).

For me however, the main pitfall of the game remains it's interface.

Camera manipulation is clumsy as is troop selection and generally targeting a map square.

I found myself accidentally giving the wrong order to my troops more than a handful of times per mission on average (and thus, I made copious use of the save/load feature as I didn't trust the interface to understand my bidding).

I don't know why so many strategy games are so darn eager to jump to 3D given the messy interfaces that so often come with it.

Well, listing the differences would be quicker than listing the things they have "together".

- Units are differents (more original, but not cohesive within a faction, by "cohesive" I mean that in FW you only have orcs in a faction, whereas in FG there are orc riders, orc archers, orc warriors, and it is over with the orcs - you switch to another race as your opponent).

- Only one (huge) campaign in FG (50 or 75 maps ? I remember the game was awfully long)

- You have some research to do to have new units in FG

- Your general (i.e. you, the entity not on the map) has special powers, like casting spells once a turn, or summoning at the beginning of a battle, ...). You choose your "general" at the beginning of the campaign among 4.

- Heroes could only have 1 magical object, instead of 3. Magical items (and magic) worked exactly the same way.

- Units did not gain perks with experience.

- AI was significantely better in my remembering, and would use all its units on the map, and not only the units "unlocked" because you came close.

- Artillery could give "supporting" fire when attacking a city.

And, well, that's all. The rest of the rules were the same. The types of units was the same. There were ranged/melee/skirmishing attacks. There were supporting fire in defense from archer. There were the same rules for hunters and bomber units, etc. The games were extremely similar, and if you liked FW, you will like FG.

Icewind Dale

Turn up the difficulty to Insane and turn on the auto-pause options. Now you have near turn-based tactics wargame. Trust me, it's awesome. You have to think and plan a lot before every battle and save often.

I can't believe that only one person has mentioned Frozen Synapse. It's an amazing game, and I highly recommend getting the soundtrack with it. :)

What I would really recommend is Age of Wonders or Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic that both are available here.

There is a deep hexagonal tactical game in the battles where you have to consider the placement of your units (up to 56 in each battle, including those of your opponent(s), though there is usually something between 2 and 48 units involved), their different active and passive abilities, heroes, magic, terrain, advancement of your units and heroes, chances to hit or miss, unit statistics and more.

In addition there is a deep strategy game on top of this where you explore and try to conquer a fantasy realm with cities, resources, dungeons and much more. The unit abilities works on the main map, mostly like they do in battle and you are free to move your units individually or together in one stack (up to eight in each stack) moving at the speed of the lowest common denominator. You will find that troop movement on the strategic level has many similarities to tactical games. Some units can swim, some have mountaineering, some move quicker in forests while others are able to conceal themselves there and some can even fly.

The strategic game also consists of researching spells and managing two resources, mana and gold. The first game, Age of Wonders has a more interactive character development for heroes, giving you great control over how they develop their skills and statistics. The third game AoW: Shadow Magic has simplified your options on this so you have much less control over how your character turns out.
On the other hand AoW has a shallower city system where you have less options on how you develop your city compared to AoW: SM.

Age of Wonders has great atmosphere and a serious feeling, even if you don't play any campaigns. Every unit has a description and almost every unit has a unique painted portrait. The civilizations and creatures do seem more believable than in many other fantasy strategy games.
It is certainly tolkienesque, but in a good way that not many games are able to. It is certainly inspired by AD&D and Master of Magic but it is made with love and great care.

Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic is not as good as the first on this but it is miles above games like Fantasy Wars and King's Bounty.

Fantasy Wars is especially terrible. This is the type of fantasy game that pisses on the fantasy genre. The art ,unit design and story is horribly unimaginative, stereotypical, generic and uninspired.

Sure if this doesn't matter to you there is probably a good tactical game underneath it, but I would rather play a good tactical game which is also able to capture my imagination, rather than one that tries to rape it.

The game that inspired this game, Fantasy General looks very interesting. I hope it comes to GOG soon. Since Panzer General II is already here, mayhap it will. If not, it could be possible to get by means of Ebay or the Jolly Roger.