We received the following press release.--RL
February, 2001: Four hundred years ago, mainland Europe resounded to the sounds of bloody battles, as nations were created and fell, fortunes made and lost, and new military tactics were developed. It was war on an epic scale - and European Wars: Cossacks is the story of these wars and the men who waged them.
CDV Software Entertainment, fresh from its success with Sudden Strike, which recreates the battlefields of World War II, has now turned its attention to the colourful chaotic state of European allegiances in the 16th to 18th centuries.
Cossacks uses a real-time strategy game engine to pit 16 nations against each other, forming alliances, playing one off against the other, and employing mercenaries to do their dirty work. Each country has its own individual type of fighting units and specific characteristics - Britain rules the waves, naturally - so you can choose which state to play according to your own preferences.
When playing Cossacks, you will need to balance the demands of economic management with military prowess. While resource management at the micro-level is kept to a minimum, you will need to develop your community and acquire new technology in order to survive in the fast-changing post-Renaissance Europe.
Out in the field, territorial expansion will be your primary objective. Each nation has a full complement of land and sea forces and basic weaponry, and the 3D contoured terrain means that capturing high points is important and ambushes can be highly effective. The graphics show units in fine detail and the smooth animation means that the battles are stunning - if not terrifying - to watch as events unfold. Cossacks portrays battle on an epic scale - you can play with up to 8,000 units with no loss of game speed.
In single player mode, you can choose to play single missions, a full campaign or tackle the unique challenge thrown up by the random map generator. Mission scenarios are based on real historical battles and campaigns - how you plan your strategy is up to you.
The multi-player game supports up to seven players via a modem, local network or Internet and enables players to recreate actual battles, using realistic maps and authentic troop numbers and formations. In multi-player mode, you can also play a more loosely structured game on the random map.
Cossacks: European Wars includes representations of over 85 battles from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, encompassing the English Civil War, Thirty Years War, and War For Spanish Succession among others. The wealth of historical data incorporated in the game has led the game's developer, the Ukrainian GSC Game World, to include a full encyclopaedia about these turbulent times and military background to the game on the CD-ROM.
For more information visit www.cossacks.com
The game has been given a 30th March release date.
Game features
Founded in 1990, CDV is one of the leading publishers and distributors of PC software in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, having published over 300 games in total. The company launched on to the Neuer Markt in Germany (equivalent to the USA's NASDAQ index) in 2000 and also set up its UK division last year. Its first UK-published title, Sudden Strike, was successfully launched on PC CD-ROM in autumn 2000.
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