We received the following: Cary, NC, 06 January 2004 After an unfortunate production delay due to the recent Christmas holidays Stormcloud Creation's fantasy gladiatorial management simulation, Coliseum, has begun to ship worldwide. Shrapnel Games would like to apologize for the unexpected delay, and thank everyone for their patience and understanding. Coliseum retails for $24.95 and is available for the Windows OS from Shrapnel Games' online store, the Gamers Front. A text-based simulation engine powers the experience, which sees players taking on the role of managing a team of gladiators in a bloodthirsty fantasy world. Gameplay revolves around taking your team to the top of the bloodsport arena circuit by any means necessary. As manager you have a wide range of options at your disposal for this, whether it's mundane physical training to pump your fighters up, or something more exotic like magical potions. How far you want to take your men is entirely up to you, but be warned, as every action has a potential consequence. Speaking of consequences, the world around you comes to life through news stories detailing world events. Hopefully these events don't include any of your men behaving in ways unbecoming, and if they do there's always the choice of firing them, but if you do, watch out! As one day your team may meet up with them again, this time on the wrong side of the blade. With thousands upon thousands of vivid combat outcomes, a realistic aging system, a host of managerial strategies to contemplate, and endless replayability, Stormcloud Creations' Coliseum is the ultimate gladiator game for the PC. Both fans of hack-n-slash D&D and sporting sims will get a kick out of managing a team of professional fighters on a quest to become the ultimate killing machine. For more detailed information on Coliseum, including the chance to experience the game yourself via the demo, please visit http://www.shrapnelgames.com/stormcloud/coliseum/1.htm Back to 1st Quarter 2004 List of News Items Back to Master List of News Items Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com