MissionForce: CyberStorm is why I love turn-based strategies. It was one of my first, and 23 years later, I still love playing it. The game somehow awkwardly is supposed to fit into the Metaltech universe alongside the Earthsiege games, the Tribes games, and Hunter Hunted, of all things. Despite its awkward lore, the game has a fantastic standalone story, excellent animations, and some of the best TBS gameplay you're going to find. HERC customisation options abound. Different armour, shields, batteries, reactors, life support, legs, sensors... and then you get to the weapons! Energy weapons, missiles, cannons, rail guns, oh my. That tactical side of the game is great, too. Lots of trade-off decisions, like how the weapons will use reactor power if you have it, and battery power if you don't, but movement can only draw from the reactor. The battery takes many turns to fully recharge, too, if you drain it. So the more you move before shooting, the less reactor power you have left for that turn, the more battery your weapons will use that turn. Your HERCs have shields, which are arranged hexagonally. You can shift power in any direction, strengthening that shield, but reducing the strength of its opposite shield. If you do that and an enemy gets behind you... it's all over! If you like turn-based strategy, you owe it to yourself to play this game. It's one of the first, and still one of the best. PS. Never play the sequel, CyberStorm 2. It's very bad.
MoO1 is, to this day, one of the best 4x TBS games set in space around. This purchase is worth it just for that. Have a look at Jon Sullivan's site (Google it) for tips on playing that are quite useful. MoO2 is a bit of a catastrophe. It's overly complex and hard to understand how to do everything. There's a game called Galactic Civilizations II, and that's what MoO would've been if it was done right.
