Ground based tactical combat games

Try out the Myth series.

WWW Link

RTS game that is absolutely not LACKING in tatics- Company of Heroes. May be my favorite RTS game ever played. WW based though.

Actually I did play some Myth, that was pretty awesome.

I haven't played company of heroes, I'll have to check that out, thanks guys.

"Tactical" as opposed to "RTS", in my mind, means "pause and issue orders, resume" games...else you would have specified turn based strategy. Unless you just mean pure battles without resource management and teching. In either case, I think youre looking for the Total War games, Rome or the recent Medeival 2. Both are great after patching.

company of heroes is really good for what you're looking for. there's no attack moving, and it isn't really an option not to micromanage all your units.

warcraft 3 and its expansion are also really suitable for what you want, I think. the difference you can make in a battle by unit micromanaging (with even the weakest footmen, grunts, ghouls, etc.) is huge.

Civilization 4 is a pretty good game for turn-based or as you say, "tactical" game.

Jagged Alliance series

Silent Storm

Best for the ps1 and now the psp - Final Fantasy Tactics (yes, its a TBS strategy game, squad based tactical combat).

Also for the ps1 - Tactics Ogre, Vandal Hearts, and more I can't remember.

Also for the psp - Jeanne d'arc, d&d tactics (haven't tried this one yet).

For the ps2 - Disgea 1 and 2. If you like 'em, the same company has several others, also for the ps2 (of varying quality). Also - Suikoden Tactics.

And many more, but those ought to get you started. =>

I may be biased a little about it, but when it comes to tactical level battles (ground based strategy) there is a single reference in my mind; X-Com_UFO-Defense or even its follow-up version Terror from the Deep.

Now you'd certainly feel waaaaaayyyy off the high quality technical graphics of recent games since these are, afterall, old & use very low-res type of isometric battlefields (running in a DosBox quite well, in fact)... but, actually, the Tactical effects are extremely well balanced and rendered by the engine and/or the gameplay elements in such a way that i defy anybody to find a BETTER_MORE_SATISFYING ground combat experience in any other games.

When Aliens invade and start terrorizing cities & ports, the context is truly amazing and the indirect process of "soldiers" movement as **Hidden** & at times during darkened nights where the tilesets really do add mystery to the whole activities -- must be one of the most fantastic context i've ever been into.

Want TRUE tactics and a clear shot at pretty swift and smart squads of numerous Alien races? Plenty of weaponry, Bases to conquer, UFOs to shoot down with Interceptors_Firestorms, Dispatch the ultimate aircraft to investigate & capture enemies, Manage Scientific research & Manufacture stockpiles of armements, Develop a slick network of Earth defensive bases... name it, it's all there.

Simply, get yourself a copy of X-Com.

Oh, and Blizzard' Warcraft (not the MMO, world of... the original_initial two versions) is another fairly good top-level conquer the battleground tiles sort of Tactical gameplay worth trying.

Armageddon Empires has some great strategic capabilities. It doesn't cost much, there's a demo, and it's an indie game. I wish they'd get together with Stardock. System requirements are also very, very low.

Here's a link from a satisfied buyer (me).

http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/AE/armageddon_empires.html

Gee, i went to that Armageddon site to have a look around and this thingy sure reminded me about 'SSI_Panzers General' with its tileset of hex-grid based battlefield.

Do a search for Ufo Afterlight although the game is more than just ground combat.It is strategy as well.

Here is a link.
http://www.ufo-afterlight.com/pages/hq.html

It's ten years old, but this is one if my favourite of that type of game:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhammer:_Dark_Omen

You don't need to have any knowledge of the Warhammer universe (and, in fact, I do not) to enjoy it.

Talking of X-Com: What would it take to get Stardock give us a similar game, possibly with different tech trees depending on earth area to defend, possibly multi-player - think individual cells earthwide that struggle together to get the mounting alien invasion under control, a story-line expanding through downloads, missions that are randomized so every time you play a mission it feels new, making it challenging to keep your characters alive, and great advancement options for your characters.

Oh, and instead of burning money on graphics, make it run on "normal" PCs, too.

A new X-Com in Stardock/GCII quality? I'd immediately pre-order with the next three expansions.

I'd love a squad based tactical game for the pc, not nearly enough of them except for x-com clones. But please, somethin' other than x-com, got enough clones of that out there. UFO:ET is fine for me on that front. Maybe somethin' fantasy based, a la final fantasy tactics, tactics ogre, disgea, etc.. (don't remember ever seeing such a game for the pc, but there have been many for the consoles. don't forget to also sell it in japan as they have quite the market over there for such games).

that Armagedon game looks simply amazing, are there any more like it that people would care to share?

I'd also suggest the Combat Mission series (http://www.battlefront.com/). They are simply fantastic tactical wargames. They also have a sci-fi genre game, but I heard that was quite mediocre.

GGGGGGGROUND CONTROL, BITCHES!

Seriously, though. Ground Control was a freakin' great 'tactical'-ish strategy game. Tactical in the sense that you do control your characters on a very close level, and tough as nails in that you only get a certain amount of backup soldiers - you don't have an academy or the like where you can spawn the suckers out as quick as you can. And hey - it's even sci-fi. :CONGRAT:

Man, I really want to play that game again. As in right now.

I think you'll really like Stellar Forces.  It sounds like just what you are looking for.