I think I really should have entitled this particular Games Corner 'All Our Yesterdays' since most of the content is about past games which have been bundled to form collections or have been re-issued by budget publishers.
You will doubtless remember that Talonsoft produced a whole series of Battleground games which were published by Empire Interactive. Well now Empire have released two Battlefield collections:
- Collection 1 is for all the Napoleonic buffs out there and consists of: Waterloo - Reviewed in LW117; Napoleon in Russia - reviewed in LW121; Prelude to Waterloo; Age of Sail - reviewed in LW118. The last one intrigues me just a little since as far as my memory goes it seemed whenever Napoleon's Navy did venture out to engage the British Navy it somehow managed to end up on the losing side courtesy of Admiral Lord Nelson and his associates. Still it could give all the budding Napoleon's out there a new target of history to change and of course you can read the reviews first. The collection retails at £ 39.99 but you should get it cheaper if you scout around.
Collection 2 is for all the ACW fans out there and consists of: Gettysburg - reviewed in LW116; Bull Run; Shiloh - reviewed in LW118; Antietam - reviewed in LW119. The pricing is the same as the 1st collection and again you can read all the reviews first.
For all you Civilisation fans out there {Kenn are you reading this} there is now a Civilisation II Classic Collection. This deluxe package includes Civilisation II, Civ II scenarios, and the strategy guide. So if you want to lead your primitive tribe from humble beginnings into the Space Age, conquer rival nations, build the wonders of the world and so on here it is all in one box. Remember shop around for a good price as its RRP is £ 44.99, but its sure to be discounted.
My thanks to Michael Tarrant for the following three snippets:
Do you remember 'Fields of Glory' which allowed you to command the French, Anglo-Allied or Prussians in a series of Napoleonic conflicts from skirmish to Waterloo and Ligny. Well it has re-appeared on the budget label Sold Out at the incredible price of £ 4.99. Okay it could be said to be dated now but its still a good game with a reasonable AI and for less than a fiver its excellent value.
Panzer General, a Game of the Year, really put SSI on the map but it is Steel Panthers, the squad based game which covers all theatres form 1939 - 1945 with a wide choice of tank and battle, which has now been re-released. It is now available on Gold Reserve budget label for £ 9.99 and, in my opinion, gives you an excellent hex-based war game for less than a tenner.
Now just to end on a forward looking note. Your Ancients fans are probably well aware that computer games for the period are somewhat scarce {closer to almost non-existent}. First came Great Battles of Alexander {review in LW coming soon}, next came Great Battles of Hannibal {see review in Lone Warrior 122} and now a third which coming soon, Great Battles of Caesar. The official title for this is 'Great Battle Series' and they are all released by Interactive Magic who have a web-site 'www.imagicgames.com' with lots more stuff on display. If success continues we may just see some more titles which is no bad thing after all. [How about a Samurai one! Kenn]
I will end this editorial with a big 'THANK YOU' to all those who have contributed to this column over the past year. I hope that even more members will write to me in the coming year. This column is here to publish your views, opinions, news and reviews on all periods and types of computer wargames. What you have to say is important because you are Wargamers who invest your time playing the games, and your hard earned cash in purchasing them. You are excellently placed to express clear honest opinions on what you think of the games. Happy Soloing, Graham.
Related
Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #123
Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Magazine List
© Copyright 1998 by Solo Wargamers Association.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com