Warparty makes zombies and dinosaurs fight in RTS battles

Warparty is an real-time strategy romp with some pretty radical theories about the Stone Age. A trio of tribes are vying for control of the era and its limited resources, and they're not doing this just by going around clubbing each other. Each tribe has special abilities, like handy dinosaur taming skills or the power to summon the undead. This is a lot more exciting than learning about the Agricultural Revolution.

It looks like a pretty straightforward RTS, with everything being subservient to building big armies and hurling them at the opposition. You'll still need to build a base and harvest lots of resources, but it's all just fuel for the war machine. There are some wrinkles, though, like tricky PvE encounters and magic spells.

Dinosaurs wander around and guard important resources, including the indomitable T.rex. They can be hunted and harvested for the meat you need to recruit more units, but as one of the factions you'll also be able to tame them and send them into battle for you, while another can recruit triceratops cavalry. Whichever faction you play, dinosaurs are key to winning the Stone Age. I've been living in ignorance all this time.

Along with a campaign, skirmishes and multiplayer, there's a survival mode where you pick a faction and see how long you can last against increasingly nasty waves of enemies, fighting for your spot on the leaderboard.

After a stint in Early Access, Warparty is out now on Steam for £18/$22.49.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.