Strategy games, whether turn-based or otherwise, are a huge time commitment. The momentum present is largely based on proficiency and awareness, and even then, players can have lengthy amounts of downtime and planning, especially in systems-rich titles. This is partially why finding the right entry point for the genre is a difficult task, and also why real-time strategy is more inviting- it is far more active and challenging, not to mention spectator friendly. But real time strategy often involves resource management on a larger scale than that of more traditional strategy games, as unit production is a major aspect of thoughtful strategy and execution. While some strategy games utilize weapon durability and unit movement as "resources" to manage, very few games are able to neatly and straightforwardly communicate the importance of this kind of gameplay, let alone implement it so that it takes a central focus. This is why Code Name S.T.E.A.M., Intelligent System's thi...

The title of this series is Really Passionate Gaming, and with initials like those, the most obvious subject of my analyses would probably be “action-adventure games,” which, you know, is what Nintendo likes to call Paper Mario nowadays. There are some who would argue otherwise, however, as the first two installments of the series were structured more like light Role-Playing Games rather than puzzle-solving-centered, superfluous combat exercises in tedium that evoke nothing but disappointment... Sorry. I got a bit ahead of myself, there. See, the Paper Mario series in general is one that I consider to be “good,” and yet, its best installment has one of the most satisfying turn-based combat systems I have ever encountered. Sadly, this combat system appeared in the second of the five games released, The Thousand-Year Door (TTYD). Before I get into the features of TTYD's combat system, I'd first like to talk about Paper Mario's identity crisis. I'm not just talking ...