I have been bitten by the strategy gaming bug and I am looking at a couple of new/newer games but I cannot decide what to get. The games I am considering are:

Crusader Kings II
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Elemental: Fallen Enchantress

My taste in games is pretty broad so I think I would enjoy any of these and I will probably end up getting the other two around Christmas when they go on sale. But which one should I get now at full price for that will keep me busy until then?

I would really appreciate any feedback from anyone who has played any of these titles and hear what you did and did not like about them.

I'd pick Crusader Kings 2, but I haven't actually played any of the games suggested. As much as I would like to play it, my brutally outdated graphics card doesn't support it, so I haven't taken the plunge. Someday though. Someday. *Shakes fist.*

I have not played any of those but I've heard the new X-COM was the best out of that bunch. A ton of people have said it is good but really I'm happy with the original X-COM still. From what I can piece together that one seems to have a longer play cycle and if it is like the original in any way there should be re-playability out the Wazoo.

Edit: I would say just go with Crusader Kings 2 after looking some stuff up. Even though I don't know much about it myself it looks pretty fun and a ton of people seem really into it. Also if you want to look into other stragegy titles A Game of Dwarves came out today, that game looks pretty fun and I liked Dwafs! the other game made by the same team so that might be worth looking into.

Crusader kings 2 is incredibly deep & rewarding, with a near limitless amount of replay value. Also, unlike Paradox's earlier title, this one is not that hard to get into. I've only played the demo for X-com, but it was quite fun, but judging from what I've seen from the game and from my experience with the demo, it does not seem to be quite as good as Crusader kings 2 (though it is a very different game, so it is hard to directly compare the two). I have no experience with Elemental yet.


Crusader Kings 2 allows you a good amount of flexibility in regards to how you want to play it. You can pick a regular landed noble, all the way up to king, and depending on what you play, the game plays in a very different way.


Also, I have a spare copy of CK2 (steam)+some DLC that I could trade away.

Crusader Kings II is definitely the best of that bunch, though XCOM is also really terrific. Crusader Kings is super easy to get into for a Paradox game, but is still amazingly deep and addictive. Plus it does emergent stories so well, I don't think I've ever had a game that was so much fun to talk about and compare with other players thanks to the shenanigans created by the simulated nobility system.

XCOM hews pretty close to the original, but it skews more towards Jagged Alliance 2 in the actual combat. Still, it's a pretty tense game that's one of the few AAA games out there where it is very possible to lose through dumb mistakes and bad planning. An excellent remake.

Elemental I simply can't see myself picking up until I read a ton of reviews or it hits a heavy discount. Too much bad buzz around the franchise and Stardock themselves.

Thanks for the feedback. It looks like CK2 is the favored one here. I have one question though. Lately most of my gaming time has been in small chunks. Because I have a small kid I generally am only able to play games for 30 minutes or less at a time. Is CK2 well suited to playing in small intervals?

Never played it, but I played the first, and that one isn't. Maybe consider a HOMM game? Also, buy Sacrifice, it's not a typical strategy game, but it's one of the best.

Yes. All your strategy is usually very long term. Therefore, while you have the "only one more month draw of CKII" it can be stopped at any time.

Those are three great games, although I only own (currently) CK2.

I am currently watching multiple Let's Plays of XCOM and just started one of Elemental. They are both amazingly good games.

In terms of replayability, I would go with CK2 or Elemental. I can see a few run throughs of XCOM to be enough to see everything the game has to offer.

Elemental got a bad rep because of the first release. Nothing I have seen now however says that it is buggy or incomplete. I think they have done an admirable job of releasing a complete product (or as complete as anything nowadays).

Anyway you go, you will get a good game. For the money though, CK2 is cheapest (followed by Elemental at $40) and will last a long time.