Me and my friend were discussing the artistic and cultural value of video games and while we could agree on many points and milestones concerning other genres and identified many games which we would consider major achievements, there were no strategy titles among them. I didn't mention Civilization 4 as I find that its flaws are too detracting and I'm too unaware of its context and evolution within the wider Civilization series, but would anyone else make a case for its recognition?
Frankly my issue is with the fact that no strategy game has presented us with a fantasy world that was engrossing and original enough to deserve appraisal. The genre tends to be insular in its scope as it becomes so easy to rely on human history rather than story-writing which always took a backseat to the impressive mechanics and scale being used. No series has really emerged, imo, that can be held to the same standard as say Zelda or Final Fantasy. And no clear individual masterpieces are really apparent (perhaps Starcraft).
Had I not played the Warcraft series I would be skeptical that the genre could even produce a non-derivative storyline (much like how the racing and fighting genres are inherently disabled). And far from Civilization, Lords of the Realm II represents to me most technically brilliant TBS, but I would be very generous to even call its limited plot "nostalgic". Then there's Starcraft, which is really ground breaking in a lot of ways, but so many strategy titles lack any creativity at all. What examples would you use to represent the genre's innovation and originality?
Frankly my issue is with the fact that no strategy game has presented us with a fantasy world that was engrossing and original enough to deserve appraisal. The genre tends to be insular in its scope as it becomes so easy to rely on human history rather than story-writing which always took a backseat to the impressive mechanics and scale being used. No series has really emerged, imo, that can be held to the same standard as say Zelda or Final Fantasy. And no clear individual masterpieces are really apparent (perhaps Starcraft).
Had I not played the Warcraft series I would be skeptical that the genre could even produce a non-derivative storyline (much like how the racing and fighting genres are inherently disabled). And far from Civilization, Lords of the Realm II represents to me most technically brilliant TBS, but I would be very generous to even call its limited plot "nostalgic". Then there's Starcraft, which is really ground breaking in a lot of ways, but so many strategy titles lack any creativity at all. What examples would you use to represent the genre's innovation and originality?
