Best Strategy/ Wargame Game?; Like Hearts of Iron III etc...

[Godless Pickle]

Hey,

What would you recommend as some of the best strategy and wargame video games, like Hearts of Iron III or Close Combat? I want something pretty detailed and historic, something that puts you in the shoes of a nation's leader at the time. I've heard Times of Fury is pretty good, but I wanted to get some more opinions before I start spending money

Thanks!

[Kanaric]

i can only think of old games like the Cossacks and Sid Meyers Civil War series. Other companies keep trying and failing, like the Supreme Ruler series for example.

Check out Panzer Corps, it's not a grand strategy game like HOI3 tho

[Pielstick]

Check out the Matrix Games store - lots of stuff there that might be of interest. Pretty expensive, but you do get quite a bit of mileage out of their games.

[Sir Adrian]

Imperialism II fits perfectly with what you are looking for. It's the only game that was deeper than Civ and Alpha Centauri at the time of it's release.

You can get it at GoG for like 5 or 6 dollars.

[Tankfriend]

Both Imperialism games are of the category "oldie but goldie", pretty much. Definitely a very good alternative to Civ and AC if you don't mind the looks.
Even though both games are from the same series and share a lot of common ground, there are some differences in terms of gameplay and the era the games focus on, so it might be worth playing both games if you can get them cheap. If you're unsure, just go with the second game like Sir Adrian recommended - it's covering a far greater time span and more gameplay elements and is generally a lot more polished.

In case you're wondering what eras these games cover: The first game primarily covers the era from the start of the industrialization up to World War 1 (i.e. early-mid 19th century to 1918-ish) while the second game includes all of this but actually starts out at the beginning of the colonial era at the end of the 16th century.