First (after) words: this is NOT a game of diplomacy. I don't know if they plan to update and add it, but there's little to no diplomacy whatsoever. The AI does diplomacy sometimes (Finland announces it has joined the Communist Bloc! O_o), but you can't. If you play Sandbox with the pre-set alliance disabled (neutral, Allied, Axis), everyone fights everyone. It's still really fun, but I thought I would warn you. This is a combat game, not a diplomacy game!

There isn't any other reviews yet, as far as I can see, so I thought I'd write a super-quick 10 minutes first impression on launch, so you might be spared the hassle to refund if you don't like it.

First things; graphics and sound is very dated. The game does not look pretty in the least. There also is no sound slider, but with the rather sad quality of the audio you might as well mute it.

Now for gameplay. I haven't played enough to find the real depth or tactics yet, of course, but I can say that altough the UI is a bit clunky, the game works well. It seems to be the straightforward WW2 sandbox game I've always wanted. Hearts of Iron is too complex and slow for me, while Risk has too much luck. This is a middlepoint between the two extremes, more towards RISK but without any stupid dice.

Would I recommend it as of now? Yes, yes I would. It's clunky, and looks bad, but you probably already saw that from the pictures. There's a specific type of gamer that would enjoy this, and if you are already looking at the reviews, you probably are that person.

((45 Minutes later edit)) - the AI is pleasingly competent, and I feel there's more than enough depth and content already to justify the price. If you are looking for a milsim game, this is not it. If you want to play Risk with no luck against AI that's surprisingly skilled, this is it.

Strategy & Tactics: Wargame Collection is a collection of three turn based combat war games including two campaigns and a massive sandbox mode.

Looking at the screenshots Strategy & Tactics looked a little complicated at first and I wasn't sure if it was something I'd love but I gave it a try and I have no regrets. The game is actually easy to learn and the tutorial is very in depth and talks you through everything as you play so you can properly understand what you need to know.
There are three separate parts to Strategy & Tactics: World War II, World War II Sandbox and Medieval Wars. World War II has a campaign mode where you battle your way across Europe via multiple missions. Additionally you can play multiplayer skirmishes against the computer or hotseat with a friend with rules which you set yourself. There are also various scenarios for you to try, each with different objectives, map sizes and bots so there is plenty of variation. World War II sandbox mode seems to be the same as World War II skirmishes but on a much grander scale. The whole world participates in one large battle where you can choose your country and whether or not you want to play with alliances. You can then set your objective and start playing. I've actually found this mode to be very intense and exciting rather than the smaller scale battles. In the Medieval Wars you'll take part in the Excalibur campaign where you defend, defeat, and reconquer you way through The War of The Roses. The gameplay is almost identical to World War 2 with the exception of names on areas of the map being different, having different units, different music and a nicer looking in- game interface (though this is just my preference).

In the campaign modes you'll start with a tutorial which will explain all about units and movements, attacking and supporting, defending, unit health and objectives. I've not found anything important whilst playing that wasn't explained. Once completing the tutorial you'll be faced with your first mission. Each mission has objectives, optional objectives, defeat conditions and the how many turns you can take to get the gold or silver medals for the said mission. You must use your units to secure victory by conquering key points on the map or clearing out enemy soldiers. Some missions have different ways to win and some have just one. Strategy & Tactics is a very combat based game. There is little to no diplomacy in the game and it centres around military victory. You'll start with some units, which vary from ground soldiers, to air support to boats and armoured cars (WWII), and a small amount of territory. Some pieces of territory grant resources whilst you own them and those resources are used to call in reinforcements. These reinforcements can be chosen and dropped at any of the key locations you hold and are very pivotal to winning a game. Though there aren't masses of unit types, what you have gets the job done and stops it from being overcomplicated. As you play through missions you'll earn 'Research points' which can be spent upgrading either your military or science research which in turn will improve things like your soldiers strength or health adding some nice progression and an added incentive to complete the missions within the allotted turns.

The sandbox mode is a lot more intense choosing to focus on large battle. This time instead of playing on small areas of the map the whole map is opened and every country is involved and starts with multiple units and a section of owned territory. You can choose to have alliances turned on for everyone, off for everyone or off for just the player so you can experience battle three different ways. You can also select one of many different end objectives which vary depending on which country you so it doesn't feel repetitive. There are tons and tons of different scenarios you can set up for yourself by combining these different variables. I would recommend playing some of the campaign modes first so you aren't completely overwhelmed but there is still a tutorial here for those who want to dive right in.

The graphics and music themselves are very reminiscent of older games and although this doesn't bother me some people might be looking for something a little more refined. The in-game interface is nicer in the Medieval Wars game mode in my opinion at it just looks a little more modern but there isn't much difference.
I should also mention though having a good amount of campaign/scenarios the developers are planning to add more so the current content will actually increase.

Things that could have been improved are: I think there needs to be a button to move to you unit that still have moves. This isn't an issue early on but as you play more and more and the maps get larger you have to do a lot of looking around to make sure you haven't missed something. It is most prominent in the Sandbox mode where there is a lot going on at once. It'd also be nice for difficulty settings as right now the bots just have one difficulty and it can get pretty challenging, especially if you've not played something like this before. I think steam achievements would be a great addition to the game as there are many different scenarios and campaigns to choose from, it'd be nice to be able to track your progress like that. Lastly I can find no way to move into allied territory in sandbox mode. It may be me doing something wrong but I tried everything. I was playing as Great Britain and ended up trapped on the island because France was an ally and I couldn't move into anywhere they owned.

Overall I think Strategy & Tactics is an awesome combat TBS with plenty of content and very fun gameplay. I've already sunk 3 hours into the sandbox part alone. $10 is a great price for what you get and I think any casual turn based strategy fan should grab it, especially on sale.

Developed and published by HeroCraft, Strategy & Tactics: Wargame Collection is just as its name suggests, a collection of three wargames focusing mainly on European warfare during the Middle Ages and World War Two. I was surprised to find out that this is in fact a PC port of games developed for mobile platforms initially. They are very well polished for a Steam debut.

Strategy & Tactics: Wargame Collection has plenty of replay value considering we have three distinct open-ended campaigns. Medieval Wars: Strategy & Tactics, of course sets itself apart from the other two, Strategy & Tactics: WWII (story-based) or WW2: Sandbox, which as the name implies offers more freedom to players, who can choose from 28 nations to steer through the war. All three are anything but static, since the AI can give you an enticing challenge should you select a higher tier difficulty setting. The games contain multiplayer options in the form of hotseat mode but I found the playerbase to be severely lacking and I stuck to fighting the AI, most of the time. I was never bored but then again, grand strategy is an aquired taste.

While the game’s graphics aren’t really something to brag about, they serve their purpose fair enough as this is the standard interface to this type of strategy. You’re supposed to stare at a map and plan ahead. The 2D unit icons have sufficient diversity and the hundreds of regions presented to us, seem accurate as far as I can tell from my hefty experience with such games.

It is almost a golden rule for strategy games of any given subgenre, to have a very good musical score and this title doesn’t fail to impress either. The songs and themes are fitting well within the game modes and settings.

+ Balanced difficulty scale and eloquent tutorial
+ Pleasant soundtrack
+ Steam Trading Cards

- Many gameplay and interface similarities between the three scenarios
- No Steam Achievements

As I become more mature from an intellectual perspective I began to try out and actually enjoy grand strategy games. This subgenre relinquishes any form of eye-candy in the name of pure strategic thinking. Consider yourself in a war room, surrounded by maps and constant reports about troop placement. Would it be considered fun by you? If the answer is “no”, you should still give it a chance. Use the tutorial and keep an open mind about it all. Such strategies do contain a steep learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, I’m certain that the experience shall be a breath of fresh air. Stop being just a follower of orders and issue them yourself!

Rating 8/10

This review was submitted for Elite Giveaways, check us out for more reviews ranging from Indie games to AAA titles.

A bang for the buck for turn-based, strategy fans as this collection features three games in one buy!

Strategy & Tactics - Wargame Collection is a package of three turn-based strategic games namely "Strategy & Tactics: World War II", "Strategy & Tactics: World War II Sandbox", and "Strategy & Tactics: Medieval Wars".

In Strategy & Tactics: World War II, you can play as one of the three forces prominent during the World War II which are the "Axis Powers", the "Soviet Union" (USSR), and the "Allied Forces" in each of their respective campaigns.
The skirmish mode features tons of maps for you to choose as well as seven (7) scenario-based maps. It also has a hot-seat mode available for you to play 1v1 with either an AI opponent or with your friend.

The gameplay in Strategy & Tactics: World War II - Sandbox is quite similar with "Strategy & Tactics: World War II", however it showcases a rather single-player style skirmish with AI.
In this one, you can pick on the main objective for you to priotize in order to win the game, which of the 39 countries you are going to play as, and the alliance settings for the session.

Medieval Wars: Strategy & Tactics also borrows the game mechanics from the first two games in the pack, but is executed with a different period as it is set on the medieval ages.
Campaign mode has three (3) armies for you to play as which are the "English Armies" (England), the "French Troops" (France), and the "Crusader Forces". It also has skirmish, hotseat and scenario mode that is similar of the first two games.

All in all, the games seems to focus on a more combat-oriented strategy rather than a combined gameplay with diplomatic aspects.

• Detailed Tutorial - Having a detailed tutorial is a pretty important aspect especially when it comes to strategic games, may it be new players of the genre or the seasoned ones. Every game of the genre has something that is differently executed than the others, and learning the ropes easily depends on this.
  
  
• Atmospheric Soundtracks - The soundtracks made for this game really gets the feel and presence of going into a war, which adds to a wholesome game experience and more importantly, the tracks aren't the annoying type that makes you mute them after hearing it repeatedly.
  
  
• Great Value - Presenting a price of three (3) games for one is a very enticing offer, and even more if the games deliver to what they offer as advertised. Seeing through the game, it seems that there are more contents to come and it'll definitely be a plus for the game.

• Similar Gameplay - Though there might be differences in terms of period setting and some gameplay mechanics that differentiates each of the three, there isn't really anything that makes them standout from one or the other as a whole.
  
  
• Crude Interface - A thing that really bothers me in every game is when it doesn't have a clean interface to deliver. The font style used for each of the game are somewhat hard to read and is confusing to the eye at the very least.

In terms of overall features, this game goes about what a standard strategic game offers. However, it is good to note that it'll be still updated with more content in the near future and is atleast worth the try to get.

If you like to see more recommended games that is worth the value you are paying, please visit my other reviews, or follow our curator group at Good Games Giveaways & Reviews.

WWII Sandbox is the only one I liked. No turns limitation, huge map with zoom in/out, lots of units and yet there are specific missions you can accomplish although you can continue conquering other countries in free mode after that (actually whole gameplay feels like free mode anyways, which is good). Took me like 2 hours to play one tough round to accomplish mission and... I did it and am very proud of that as it was hard and lots of thinking involved! Would do that again, really, highly recommended!

Btw learning curve is not steep, without any previous grand strategies experience, you can understand how it all works in 10 minutes by following basic and advanced tutorials and starting your first scenario.

If you ever played the old Axis and Allies board game or on Gametableonline (now defunct) and liked it you should enjoy this game. It is a simple to learn but fun to play strategy game.

Ok, here's my take on the game. I'm used to playing Axis and Allies, both the Milton Bradley board games as well as the old Nova Games, which was the best...I also play the triplea version, which is excellent. This game is much more in line with the Milton Bradley games. A relatively simple game, simple mechanics. That being said, there are some very nice features that I enjoy. You can plot out moves in a step by step fashion. Moving infantry to take the first territory, then "relocating" mech units into the newly taken territory, and then launching an attack with them into the next. You are not required to to plan out every move for all your troops, they can be executed one at a time. This is definately a "beer and pretzels" kind of game.
There are, of course, things that I feel need to be addressed to make this a truly awesome game. And I do believe the potential is there. One of the issues that I saw in other reviews was that there is no diplomacy. Since this game is based on WWII, the sides are pretty much determined. Don't let that stop you from buying this game. However, it is true that you are unable to move your troops through an allies territory. This is quite problematic. England is pretty much handicapped until Germany makes the mistake of taking a coastal province. As long as you don't do that, and there is no compelling reason to do so, you've effectively blocked any invasion from that front. As Germany, you are completely unable to send troops to aid Italy. English and French navies will never combine. Spain is pretty much on its own. Think of it as a first come, first serve kind of war. If I get there before my allies, they are going to have to figure out another way around, and if they get there first...oh well. This is the one thing that I feel needs to be addressed. The war was Axis and Allies...oh, and Russia. Axis and Allies and Russia. Not Germany, an independant state that promised not to attack Italy, Italy, an independant state that promised not to attack Germany, France, an independant state that promised not to attack England, England, an independant state, Romania...etc. Once that gets fixed, I would definately recommend this game. As is, it's enjoyable, just could be better...

Yet another example of trash on steam, i had hopes that this was Risk with alittle bit of depth, its neither

- Its a mobile port
- Tutorial that fails on the most basic level
- No sound sliders
- Unit resolutions are horrible
- Feels more like a puzzle than a wargame, you have to attack in an exact order to accomplish bonus goals
- No diplomacy (Devs have said they will add this, i don't see how it can save this game tho)

This has no place on steam, and should have remained a mobile game

Solid basic design and art can't take this insufficiently developed set of games far enough to let me recommend them. They play like ported mobile games with an extrtemely grindy attrition-based system, ideally designed to wear down your patience and make you want to buy purchase points for real money. The UI is awkward and everything is very unstable; minimizing a window might lock the screen, and there seems to be a 50/50 chance the game will crash on launch.

A fun enough game in it's way, but sadly it falls far short of expectations and only seems to reflect the era's of WW II and the middle ages in the shapes of the units and the maps.

For starters, there really is very little in the way of Strategy or Tactics going on. It is mostly about building big units, as evidenced by France vacating the Maginot Line on turn one of a scenario where my task was supposedly to go thru Belgium.
And this is only one example of many that make this game so odd.
Heck, Spain is an active fighting nation, what the heck? Even my eight year old grand-daughter scoffed at how unrealistic it was.
In one scenario, my German fleet blocked the channel unopposed, because every nation seems to have equal (and impressive) shipyards!
It doesn't help that when you have an an ally you can't go on their land, meaning the British are unable to support France at all on land.
I can think of numerous simple ways it could have been improved without breaking a sweat, and the makers of this game should have too.
To make matters worse, there appears to be no community left for it, which doesn't help much at all.
Cannot recommend unless you find it offered for free.