tiem fer stratergy! Haven't made additions to this thread in a long while.
Good games already out:
*The Corporate Machine - Old-timey strategy sim by Stardock from around 2000, in the tycoon games category. Reminded me a lot of stuff from Nino Arndt @ Velocigames. Was/is in dire need of mods.... it has the potential for greatness even today, I think, but WYSIYG.
^
http://www.stardock.com/products/machine/order.html ($5)
*Seven Days to Die - Billed as a "survival horde crafting game." It has similarities to Minecraft, but it looks a Hell of a lot better and's actually enjoyable. It has my brain working more like if I were playing Dwarf Fortress, and you'll be rewarded more with enjoyment by taking riskier approaches to survival rather than building a big block castle and dropping a thousand wooden stakes around the perimeter. It's in alpha and has a long way to go, but it's worth a buy & play now with Alpha 6, I think. When they get through the pathing and AI goal (particularly spawning), I think it'll be a real gem. Worth noting this game is hard and there's no pause button (I think there may be a console command, but I just boot up CheatEngine and pause the whole process).
^
http://7daystodie.com/ ($35 - special alpha price) ETA: Maybe I was wrong. Since forging was introduced, the game's taken a heavier veer toward Minecraft's ease and seems to further encourage users to go underground and be boring unless they just want to build things (and then why bother having zombies?)
ETA: Shit... there was another good one I played recently. Turn-based Roguelike with decent graphics and solid content. Was very much like Nethack. I think the game was something like "Dirge of M'eye," and I think the dev company started with a "K." They released the game seemingly more as a demo of the engine which hasn't had many good mods, tbh. Game's free, too! Hey, here we go!
http://te4.org/ "Tales of Maj'eyal"
ETA2: The Walking Dead, Season 2 is also out. First episode wasn't particularly exciting.... I'm thinking I should wait until the rest of the episodes come out before buying any more. I didn't play Season 1 one-by-one... I didn't hear about it until later, and I think it may be a superior way to play. I'm not a big fan of long pauses between doing something, especially playing games. While mentioning non-strategy games, Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons also features phenomenal story-telling in the same vein, though with more Sierra-like puzzles (reminded me a bit of the insane asylum game from... I think it was the late 90's.... damn, my memory's malfunctioning, today... maybe even had "asylum" in the game name ETA3: Sanitarium -- good job, brain!).
Disappointing new releases:
*Desktop Dungeons - Basic turn-based roguelike, but severely lacking in content. The graphics are relatively pretty (and by that, I mean they look like a good 2002 sprite-based game) and the UI's fairly easy to grasp. The key feature is supposed to be a "semi-casual" roguelike you can play in short bursts. Not really my thing, but maybe palatable for you.
^
http://www.desktopdungeons.net/ ($15, or play the alpha version for free)
*Card Hunter - I didn't enjoy it, but if you like collectable card games, this may be for you. You play in a kind of scripted "story mode" where you go around doing various quests and whatnot. You play as three characters (which all play simultaneously in matches). It's presented as a kind of RPG, where you win or buy (with real money or in-game money) various equipment which act as sets of cards. These sets of cards all put various cards in your deck when you equip, which you draw from during a match. For example, maybe you equip a Sword of Badassery which has two "Badass Slash" cards, a couple "Badass Parry" cards and a couple unique ability cards attached to it. These, along with your other equipment sets, become the deck you play with. Character classes are done by only allowing certain characters to use certain equipment.
^
http://www.cardhunter.com/ (free, p2w [though you definitely don't have to pay to complete])
Upcoming releases:
*Tropico 5 - Supposed to be a massive overhaul of the series with a ton of experimentation. Excited about it.
^
http://www.tropico5.com/us/info.php (ETA: April 2014)
*Nothing else on my radar. Give me something to look forward to!
