1 Like Crusader Kings II's gameplay and replayability is far superior than the other candidates. I've put close to 300 hours into it so far.
Strategy Game of the Year: Nominees 2012
Show Episodes
- December 10, 2012
- Strategy Nominees
- Dec 10, 2012
These are GameSpot's Strategy Game of the Year Nominees for 2012.
73 comments
1 Like 
First playthrough of XCOM on Normal Ironman was some of the best videogame time I've ever had in my life.
Judging from what I've read on multiple websites, there's broad consensus that the AI players cheat brazenly in Endless Space, even to the extent that they can simply ignore the game's economic constraints and give themselves huge fleets that seem to materialize from nowhere.
Shame on GS for even giving Endless Space a good review, let alone a Best Strategy Game nomination! As long as games like Endless Space can win accolades instead of criticism, developers have no real incentive to design and implement sophisticated AI algorithms, so they'll just keep churning out crappy games with cheating AI.
1 Like @Stesilaus This proves that you should not judge a game before you play it yourself. I've spent over 150 hours in Endless Space and there is no such issue. There used to be a problem like this - but it was during the beta, hardly something you can judge. Right now, if you select a higher difficulty level the AI does get some bonuses to help it, but it's by no means game breaking.
Also, the devs of this game keep updating it post-release with tons of improvements (including AI improvements); they already released two free add-ons and are about to release a third one. So in my eyes, you have no right to say that "developers have no real incentive to design and implement sophisticated AI algorithms" as it's just insulting.
Please think twice before you make more posts like this, calling games "crappy" when you have never played them and complaining about issues that has been resolved long ago. I mean no disrespect to you, but it's something you should consider.
@PANCZASU Your point is well taken. The AI-related criticisms that I read online were directed at the release version of the game (not at the Beta), but I was not aware that the AI had been subjected to substantial revisions through post-release updates. And I'll concede that it wouldn't be fair to single out this particular game when virtually all other games of its kind also resort to some kind of cheating to boost the challenge.
At the root of my annoyance is the frequent failure on the part of reviewers to draw attention to AI that cheats so obviously that the AI players don't even seem to be playing the game by the same rules that are imposed on the player. (Another example: In every Total War game, AI players pay no maintenance fees on their armies, yet I don't think I've seen a single GS review of a Total War game that mentions this.)
A game that cheats in such a manner needn't be dismissed as "crappy" if it's still fun to play, and I regret using that adjective. However, IMHO it IS reasonable to expect that that level of cheating be mentioned in a professional review.
Tough one, XCOM EU is strategy lite and much more mass market. The others are hardcore strategy and PC exclusives. Does Gamespot reward the popular game or the hardcore deep strategy of a game like Civ V.
If only Xcom EU wasn't that short, if they didn't took away some of the gameplay from the original Xcom (more bases && base invasion), and added sandbox mode... i would have voted for it to be the game of the year! still Xcom best strategy game for me ^_^
why are put Turn base strategy with Real time strategy in a generic strategy games, it like combining the fps with action games. why gamespot don't split strategy games in RTS and TBS? are to few genres, shooters for FPS and Third person Shooters, Role-playing for rpg and mmorpg, racing for arcade driving and simulation driving,
@Leon_aditzu We would get many categories with just one or 2 games, and some other games would be very hard to place in a category.
CK2 for example is a real time strategy game...that you can pause and still play, it's very different from your regular RTS like starcraft.
I think coming into the Civ series with 5 was a bad idea since it took away many things and simplified the whole ordeal. I liked it at first, but the endgame got really boring and repetitive.
Civ 5 with Gods and Kings is my favorite, but since G&K is only an expansion I'll vote for Endless Space.
My vote would go to Crusader Kings 2, but all of these games deserve to win in their own right.
Oh man X-COM was pretty awesome, can't say for the others because i don't really play strategy games.
I've only tried XCOM. Somehow I feel like these didn't get enough attention for me to even notice them. Now I'll have to look into these a bit.
Damn... People need to make more strategy games if this is the year's shortlist. XCOM is a brilliant game tho, it wins this category hands down for me.
@thomaselderton GameSpot has a problem with the categories and the games that belong in them. ME3 is not an RPG, Dishonored is not action/adventure, Max Payne 3 is not an FPS, and Diablo 3 belongs in strategy.
1 Like @IGFGAThrawn @thomaselderton I agree that Max Payne is not a FPS, but ME3 is an RPG and Diablo 3 is not a strategy game!
Gods and Kings is a medium size expansion pack (not even standalone) - it doesn't deserve to be on this list. GS just doesn't follow strategy games market, which is... yeah, mainly on PC.
1 Like What's odd is that I thought Wargame: European Escalation did strategy better than any other game this year.
But I'll go with XCOM. Loved it for its tension and atmosphere.
@illmatic87 W:EE needs a lot more of love, so far is the only new RTS I have been playing this year and it represent a very different approach on strategy, for people who want stuff other than SC/C&C steamrolling/rushing tactics this is a must-have.
Wait...no Shogun? but yeah i'm agree with most of the coments, X-Com should take it without much problem.
A shame you left SoaSE: Rebellion and Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai off the list; should have been on here, considering I hadn't heard if Crusader Kings 2, FTL, or Endless Space.
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