First let me thank all those who contribute to the column with snippets of news, views and especially the reviews. Remember all donations are gratefully received in whatever format, the more you send the better I like it. The column is at last taking on the format that I envisaged when I started it with the majority of the information being supplied by members. {With Secretary hat on}.

It is, after all, your Lone Warrior, your Association, and will only survive if you, the members, actively participate. We are all solo wargamers but we are not, I sincerely hope, isolationists. Remember that the spreading of knowledge, sharing of concepts, the expression of views were the principles upon which John Bennett founded the Association. {Secretary will now put the lectern away change hats back to Games Editor}.

Now on to computer games matters. I have spent the last few weeks searching through my correspondence trying to come up with likely candidates to watch out for in 1997. I have to say that in terms of planned new games the cupboard seems remarkably bare at the moment. It seems to me that the wargames segment of the computer gaming industry is now suffering a famine after the previous mass of releases.

The industry it seems has switched its budgets to another area and new wargames are suddenly very thin on the ground. There are a few major players like TalonSoft and SSI who are still committed, together with the specialist firms like Schwerpunkt who continue at their own pace, but a number of the others seem to be just consolidating on last years releases with Mk 2 versions, add-ons etc. It seems the focus is shifting now into the RPG, fantasy arena so any fans of these will doubtless let use know what the good stuff is..

What follows are the planned releases for 1997 which I have spotted and thought worthy of a mention but as always if you find others which you consider just as worthy then let me know and I will put them in the next issue.

Battleground 6: Borodino / Napoleon In Russia by TalonSoft. (Out Now). The next in the prize winning series of Battleground games. This game switches back to the Napoleonic era building upon Battleground Waterloo and covering the Battle of Borodino. It contains all the expected features and an improved AI engine thanks to customer (that's you) feedback. The video footage is taken from the Russian film 'War and Peace'. I am told that upgrades will be available shortly on the world-wide web for the European version of Waterloo to bring it closer to the Borodino standard.

Battleground 7: Bull Run by TalonSoft. (Due Summer). This game will cover both the epic battles fought near the strategic town of Manassas, Virginia and named as Bull Run by the Union and Manassas by the Confederates. It will be building on the excellent Antietam. I for one can't wait and before anybody says it 'No I do not have undue influence' it just happens that TalonSoft have excellent taste by choosing ACW.

Battleground Prelude To Waterloo by TalonSoft. This could be classified as 'in the pipeline' and will game the twin battles of Ligny and Quatre-Bras two days before Waterloo. Can you smash the British and Prussian armies making Waterloo into a none event? Can you succeed where Napoleon failed. As soon as I get release details I will let you know.

Age of Oars by TalonSoft. (late 97). From the early Triremes to the rampaging Viking Longships you control naval warfare from 3000BC to 1200AD. As you have no doubt guessed from the title this is the second in the new TalonSoft series 'Age Of' using the same real time combat engine as Age Of Sail which Kenn reviewed in LW118. Again when I get more details I will let you know.

Imperialism by SSI. (June ). This is a resource management strategy game set in the 19th Century with either random maps or a real earth map. You must develop your countries infrastructure, manipulate diplomatic and military resources, and manoeuvre your country to the dominant position at the council of ministers to achieve a unified world under your benevolent leadership. You can attempt to control all matters yourself or choose to delegate to ministers thus offering varying levels difficulty.

Ambush by SSI. (working title) (Due late 97). This is set in W.W.II with you controlling a squad of soldiers starting in North Africa through Sicily into Italy thence to the beaches of Normandy and onwards to Germany. Your troops improve with experience and gain new equipment as well as interacting with other characters. SSI, as usual, are making sure that the weapons and their effects are accurately detailed so this should be an interesting game.

Pacific General by SSI. (Due Late Summer). This will be the last in the General series and covers the pacific campaign. Because of the importance of ships in this campaign they have been detailed with incremental damage and ocean depths affect submarine's and how close ships can get to land. Detail is pretty sparse at the moment but if the previous titles in the series [Panzer General, Allied General, Fantasy General] are anything to go by this must be worth looking out for.

Rebellion - Star Wars Strategy by Lucasarts. (Due Summer) This is based in the Star Wars Universe but unlike the previous games it places the player in the role of a strategic commander in charge of all the resources, planets and forces of either the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance. It is a character driven game and can be played solo or head to head with the players being placed in a variety of strategic and tactical challenges. This caught my eye as an unusual progression of a games series which intrigued me enough to warrant a mention. Any member who is into this type of gaming, spots a demo or even buys this please let me know what you think of it.

BATTLESHIP by Hasbro. (Out Now). Depending on your age you may, or may not, remember the old classic game of Battleships which was two boards with marker pegs and you attempted by grid reference to destroy your opponents fleet before he destroyed yours. This is the next generation enhanced to include land, sea and air units, specific missions and multimedia as well. It even comes with two CD's for playing with a friend. So if you really fancy a trip down memory lane to your long lost youth - this could be just what your looking for. Well I think that about covers the news snippets so its on to the full reviews.

More Computer Corner

Battleground Antietam
Age of Rifles
Happy Birthday MagWeb
Flying Corps