Re: the first-person & strategy game: Urban Assault did this fairly well. Several years old, made by some obscure German developer and marketed by (I hate to admit it) Microsoft, it was actually pretty good. I give it extra credit for actually modeling helicopter flight basically correct right down to the reversed collective, which is amazing for an action game.
Battlezone is pretty ‘blah’. I give it good marks for the engine, the atmosphere, and the backstory, but the gameplay is total crap. BZ2 still had crap gameplay but killed the atmosphere and backstory.
For a more serious game of this nature, I could also recommend Steel Beasts, a recent wargame/tank simulation. Play it as the company (or batallion) commander, work out your orders in the planning phase, and then run the mission as a platoon leader, giving orders to others during lulls in your own battle. Works well, but if you’re looking for a Starcraft-style mindless clickfest, it’s not for you.
KKBattousai: There’s not much to say to someone who praises that piece of trash Apocalypse but rags on Terror from the Deep. Sure, TftD was pretty much just an expansion pack, but it made a few key improvements, upped the game length and difficulty and generally said don’t screw with a good thing. I try to forget that X-Com games were ever made after TftD, they’re all so horrible…
panamajack: for modern sub simulations, Red Storm Rising has been far outclassed by the more recent 688(i) Hunter-Killer and its successor Sub Command.
As has been said, Fallout Tactics is okay but not up to the spec of X-Com or Jagged Alliance.
Now, as for my wishlist:
A combat flight sim…based on dragons!
No, don’t mention Drakan, I’m not interested in a bad Tomb Raider clone with a flying horse, who flew in looney ways anyway.
A remake of Aliens Online. I might eventually make this one myself. Fun game, I always enjoyed playing mindgames with the marines (hiss!) No, don’t mention Aliens vs Predator (piece of crap)
A first-person tactical combat simulation, not just some dressed up shooter game like Rainbow Six.
A good PC version of Harpoon. With multiplayer.