Cossacks: European Wars Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm an avid AOK:Conquerers player and I NEVER thought I would find a game that would blow it away. I've found it!!! The graphics are stuning. The detail in the buildings is extreme. The trees really look like trees. The peasants and military units perform their tasks with an almost lifelike grace.
Rifles, cannons mortars etc. all have different sounds and all produce puffs of smoke when they fire. The artillary bombardments are spectacular; actual explosions and clouds of smoke and flying debris when they hit a target.
The ships are very lifelike, especially in their movements.
Forget the 200 maximum on units... I just finished my first run thru on this game and had a maximum population limit of 1000 and could have gone higher. There are also LOADs of unit upgrades.
On a scale of 10 I rate this one a definate 12!!

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Cossacks: European Wars is a historical real-time strategy based on events of the 16th through the 18th centuries in Europe, when nations and states were created and demolished, and wars shed seas of blood. There are 16 nations or regions in Cossacks: Algeria, Austria, England, France, the Netherlands, Piemonte, Poland, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and Venice. Each has its own original graphics, economic and technical development peculiarities, military advantages and drawbacks, and unique units and technologies, providing vast choices of tactics and strategy in war against any enemy. Thus, England is the mightiest sea power, Austria has powerful light and heavy cavalry, and Cossacks are the pride of the Ukrainian army.
Battles of up to 8,000 units may be conducted on single or network game maps. One can carry out lingering city sieges, wage guerilla wars, capture commanding heights and arrange ambushes, deploy landing forces on enemy shores, and conduct sea battles. The game system is arranged to reduce per-unit control and resource micromanagement, and to turn to global goals of powerful economy formation, science development, the capturing of new lands, and defending borders.

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Panzer General II Review

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(More customer reviews)If survival is a measure of quality, then PZG 2 must stand with the greatest computer games ever made. It was a great example of "brilliance in simplicity" when it was released and time has not in any way diminished its laurels. In an age when even thinking-man's games are often judged on bells and whistles rather than user-friendliness and enjoyability, it's refreshing to have one at hand that combines the ease-of-play of an action shooter with all the mental challenges you'd demand from a game of strategy.
Simply described, PANZER GENERAL 2 is a tactical-strategic game set in WW 2, which allows the player to choose either individual, one-and-done scenarios from various points between 1938 - 1945 or fight out whole, multi-scenario campaigns that took place during the war. (Individual units are at the regimental level, which allows the player to fight corps or army-size battles). Gamers may select from any of the five campaigns:
British: Follows a British army in NW Europe from 1943 - 1945, with special emphasis on the Normandy battles. A fairly short campaign, maybe five scenarios.
American: Follows the American army in NW Europe from 1943 - 1945. Another short campaign, beginning at Salerno and ending at Dessau. (Closely mirrors the British campaign.)
Russian: Follows the Soviet Army from winter 1941 to the assault on Berlin in 1945. Five scenarios or so.
German: "Blitzkrieg" - follows the German Wehrmacht from the Spanish Civil War in 1938 through most of its victorious campaigns in Poland, Norway, France, Greece, Russia, Africa, etc. This is by far the most detailed of the campaigns, and can go up to or past 17 different scenarios, including some great "What-Ifs" including the invasions of Malta, England and America (if you do really well). "Defending the Reich", on the other hand, is a defensive campaign which begins at Stalingrad and leads you through battles at Stalingrad, Salerno, Kursk, Normandy, and Hungary. It offers the German player the challenge of saving Hitler's empire for him, against overwhelming odds.
PZG 2 is built primarily as a campaign game, meaning that the player starts out with a corps or "family" of units which follow him from scenario to scenario (assuming they survive), and also allows him to acquire new units as time goes on. A very impressive and well-researched array of aircraft, tanks, armored fighting vehicles, artillery pieces, infantry units, and so on are available for every side to draw upon. In addition, a detailed requisition board synced into the game's play-clock allows you to upgrade your weapons as time goes on, so that units fighting in 1944 don't have to use 1939 weaponry. Tough combat situations add experience to your units, and extraordinary feats on the battlefield produce "leaders" who lend elite qualities to their units such as tenacity on defense, double attack, etc. In addition, a scenario-builder allows you to design your own games using not only the major combatants but also Hungarians, Poles, Finns, etc. Once you have the game down, this can be a hell of a lot of fun (say, America vs. USSR, 1946!).
PZG 2 was designed to be intuitive, and requires very little in the way of brow-furrowing to master. Movement, fighting, supply, etc. are all very fluid and idiot-proof, allowing you to concentrate on your battle tactics. Unlike many "strategy" games which favor mindless use of brute force or crazy speed, this one demands that you pay some homage to Clausewitz - concentrate your forces, stick to your objective, mind your clock and guard your flanks (failure to do so may result in embarrassing side effects, such as a*s-kicking). While the game's AI isn't exactly on the Brianiac level, it is more than clever enough on defense to give you fits, and has an eerie knack for finding your weak spot and driving a few regiments of tanks through it.
A last benefit: the engines used to power PZG 2 are so simple that numerous downloadable campaigns, with upgraded weaponry and sound, are available for free on the Internet, once you've exhausted all the possibilities of the game itself. But since that takes a couple of years, don't feel rushed. This classic has stood the test of more than ten years in a market where most games are forgotten in a month. It can wait.


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Guild 1400 Gold Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This game appealed to me for several reasons. One, I'm studying medieval history, so the time period the game covers was appealing. Second, I love historical role-playing and civilization building, and the game promised to combine the best of both genres in one box.
In the box I found two CDs and a very thin instruction guide/quick start manual (which was quickly lost). I assumed, the full manual would be on one of the two CDs, so I installed the game and started it up.
No manual. And unfortunately, the maunal available for download leaves a LOT of questions unanswered -- like HOW do you send out trading carts to other cities when you're a trader? This was the only disappointing aspect to the game.
The first thing I look for in a game is a good tutorial, so that's where I started. The tutorial gives a great introduction to the game, but left some things out that I really wish I had known - things like hiring a master to run your businesses for you (very handy when you've got a bunch of buildings up) and planning your children's' education and career. But it covered the basics - just plan on playing a throwaway game on "Very Easy" mode to really get a grasp on the game dynamics before you go hard-core.
The game is entertaining, and addictive. You choose your career and try to make money and advance socially while sabotaging your opponents and competition. You can run for office (anything from town servant all the way up to Pope), trade with other citizens, add on to your home and business, and even build new buildings. Micromanaging everything takes a lot of effort, so you will want to hire a master for some of your businesses.
At this point, you can start to get political. Make friends with people, spy on people, smear the reputations of your enemies. Kiss up to the right people and you will get cushy government jobs that pay well for little effort. Declare vendettas on people that you don't like. Just like real life.
The graphics in the game are quite good, though seem a bit dated. They remind me of the graphics in Dungeon Seige, actually. The combat system is a simple point and click interface, but wasn't used that much in the games I played. The sound is also good.
That said, I found a few drawbacks to the game. The choice of religion doesn't seem to do much for you (Cathar vs. Catholic), and isn't realistic for all areas. There weren't many Cathars in England, for example, but there were Lollards. You can't be Jewish or Muslim in Spain, though both were present in the middle ages.
You can pick your character's gender, but that doesn't seem to affect much in the game either. Women can hold political office (including Catholic bishop!), and own more property than their husbands do. This is hardly realistic for the time period, but I can understand why it was put in the game - marketing rule #1 is don't make the customers mad at you. Historical realism in this instance would have really offended a lot of people.
The game has a big online fan base that is eagerly awaiting the release of The Guild 2, which promises even better graphics and story variations. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll be able to play that one until I upgrade my video card. Thankfully, The Guild Gold will hold me quite nicely until I can upgrade.
If you don't like civilization building or role-playing, don't get this game. There are times when nothing happens at all, especially if you've got masters running things for you. But if you've always wanted your own Medieval village (and, really, who hasn't?), this is the game for you. Get it, and practice - The Guild 2 is on it's way.

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Panzer General II Review

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(More customer reviews)Panzer General is the fountain head for WWII gaming! I realize that this game does not have the "rockets red glare" of other simuation games; however, one can play hours upon hours and not get bored. Further, you do not require a Ph D to understand the instructions nor do you need three hands to play it!
Generally speaking, this game is accurate as it relates to the kinetics and capabilities of the weapon systems found in the game. Further, the rules of combined arms apply as do the principles of war... i.e. security, massing, counter fire, intelligence (via scouts, etc,.
What makes PG even more enjoyable is that there are PG groups on the web that have created more units, equipment,scenarios and campaigns to include non-historical ones that let's one fight hypothetical battles... I recommend that you go on the web and search the sites - this will give you a feel of the game and graphical representations... this should add to your decision cycle further...
The bottom line is that it's an easy game to play, fun and addictive!


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