The act of aerial combat between two or more fighter aircraft. A common occurrence in many combat flight games, it is the equivalent of a firefight in a first- or third-person shooter. Mar 10, 2017 - Top Mac War Games: Renowned Franchises. Total War: Attila. War is all-encompassing and to give you the taste of blood you crave, the Total War series relies on a dual-engine approach. Wargame: Red Dragon. Company of Heroes 2. Hearts of Iron 4. The Banner Saga. COD: Modern Warfare 3.

Update: At number 8, we've added Total War: Warhammer to our list, the latest entry in a long-running tabletop franchise, perfected for the PC. Strategy games make you think. They're not like most shooters that offer mindless gameplay, or the adventure game that has you leaping off cliffs and driving boats.

Strategy games require your brain juices at all times to plan each move carefully and analyze what the opponent will do next – quickly. They require you to develop armies, build civilizations and gather resources in the process. But strategy games aren't just about the gameplay: they typically offer sprawling, geopolitical stories too that hook players and keep them focused on the campaign. That said, what makes a strategy game great is how it pulls players into its mythology and allows them to carry out missions without overcomplicating it. Here is a handful of strategy games on the PC and Mac that achieve this balance perfectly. Prev Page 1 of 9 Next Prev Page 1 of 9 Next 1.

StarCraft II. Blizzard Entertainment launched the first StarCraft sci-fi military strategy game back in 1998, and while it was extremely popular, the game wasn't the mammoth product StarCraft II has become. With the sequel, Blizzard has released three installments that span one huge campaign: Wings of Liberty (2010), Heart of the Swarm (2013) and Legacy of the Void (2015). Each of these releases focus on a specific protagonist group: human exiles called the Terrans in Wings of Liberty, the Borg-like insectoids called Zerg in Heart of the Swarm, and the telepathic alien race known as the Protoss in Legacy of the Void. The overall campaign takes place four years after the Brood War expansion pack for the original StarCraft, beginning with Jim Raynor's quest to take down the tyrannical Terran Dominion. StarCraft II succeeds by combining sharp strategic gameplay and balance with an immersive story and scenery.

The game also comes with its own level editor, allowing players to share their maps and mods via the Battle.net online community. Of course, StarCraft II can be played online – it's one of the widest-played eSports worldwide – but currently it does not provide local LAN play. StarCraft II can only be purchased from Blizzard Entertainment digitally and in boxed versions. Prev Page 2 of 9 Next Prev Page 2 of 9 Next 2. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Here's another popular strategy game from Blizzard, though with a decidedly fantasy theme. It was released way back in 2002 and features a single-player campaign story that's told through the eyes of four races: Humans, Orcs, the Undead, and the Night Elves.

As with StarCraft, players are typically faced with a map covered in a black fog, which is slowly removed as you explores the area (Diablo does this, too). You begin by mining resources, building settlements and establishing troops in order to protect your assets and take control of other parts of the map. A day/night cycle keeps players on their toes, too. There are a total of five campaigns in Warcraft III that center on a specific race: one for the Night Elves, one for the Undead, one for the Humans, and two for the Orcs. Objectives are labeled as 'quests' and are rolled out as the player explores a map.