Xbox 360
Did you ever look at a chess set and think, "if only it was more exciting"? Digital Seed Entertainment has taken the world's foremost tactical diversion, combined it with a traditional fantasy setting, and created a uniquely challenging, yet easily understood multiplayer game.
Much like chess, Tactics Arena Online is played on an isometric grid, but includes a variety of fantasy troop types in addition to the traditional medieval figures. Units range from fantasy archetypes like dragons and golems to creatures from the developer's own imagination, such as the bear-like Furgon. To play, players must create an account and choose their army colour, as well as select which units they wish to place where on the battlefield.
Battles are turn based, and on each turn players select one unit to either move, defend, attack or wait. Each troop type has a primary attack, which can vary from a one-square-wide physical attack to magical techniques that allow the unit to attack from farther away, hit more than one enemy, or bestow bonuses on the player's units. Some units also have special attacks, but these deal too much damage and cheapen the overall strategy. However, if a player perseveres and wins a battle, they are rewarded with a stat increase reflecting their level of prowess.
Players are initially only given human units, but there are "Unit Drops" at regular intervals throughout the day. Any player in battle during these drops has the chance to gain a random additional unit if they win their encounter. Certain units are restricted to Gold Accounts (users who have donated money to the developers) and sadly, these high-level players tend to pick on the lower level users.
Thankfully, the incentive for preying on lower stat players decreases over time, as players do not gain many points from bullying lower level players. This promotes effective matchmaking: good players musr seek out similarly skilled foes to maximally increase their points.
With a unique gameplay concept and great presentation, TAO is more than just a lunch hour distraction. While it lacks the story of contemporaries like Fire Emblem or Shining Force, its gameplay is just as good as any retail offering.