Good, involved online games which are excellent for short play periods? (Example: Tactica Online)

Thinman

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone can point me to an online game which has the following:

Player against player gameplay.. whether this means PvP in a MMOG, or match-based play similar to the Civ series, or RTSs (though I must stress that I'm a dyed in the wool turn-based gamer.)

Short to medium length "matches" in the game - One person wins, the other loses, and that round of the game or match of the game is complete. (Having a ladder system in the game would be interesting as well.)

In-depth gameplay.. I'd prefer a thinking person's game similar to Civ4 or something like that. A game that rewards excellent tactical play.

The thing is, I only have so much time these days, but I'm needing a game to play for when I do have time to relax. MMOGs in general require too much time, and commitments (to groups, guilds, etc) which don't fit with my time constraints. Tactica Online looks like it's got a formula which could work for me, but of course it's not out yet.

I like FPS's as well, but my rig is quite ancient, and can only play the graphic intensive games on the lowest settings, if they even are playable at all. (There's no way that I could run BF2, or HL2)

But the 3 areas listed above are what I'm looking for in a game.

Does anyone know of anything which would fit the bill? I'll give feedback to any answers, and hopefully someone out there knows a great game!

Cleffy

Im not really a fan of EVE but it might just be the game your looking for.
The graphics arent that intensive despite looking good, and you can easily drop the game.
I would try its trial though.

You also might wanna try Planetside. There is also Guild Wars and Rakion.

There really isnt going to be a good turn based mmo until Tactica Online.

Imperatorian

Perhaps take a look at Time of Defiance.

http://www.nicelycrafted.com/todc/

Thinman

I played Eve awhile back.. enjoyed it for sure, but never felt like I was actually headed anywhere in the game. But yes it could be a good choice, in terms of time usage.

I tried out ToD awhile back too.. I'd need a game that doesn't have the style that it has. I only have at most 2-3 hours a day, and so wouldn't be able to play if someone was attacking my empire during the other 21 hours of the day. If it were based just in match play, it would definitely be a possibility.

Games like those card-trading games would be a possiblity.. if they didn't require huge investments. They have the match-based play, as well as interesting gameplay elements, like designing your deck and so on.

There's got to be something out there that would work.. but I've been searching for the last while and haven't come up with anything. TO looks promising though.

Thinman

Planetside may work.. I might end up giving it a try.