tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56655428686053621402011-12-18T23:31:45.318+11:00Wrote on the Ground<a href="http://wroteontheground.blogspot.com/">One computer wargamer's computer wargame reviews</a>Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.comBlogger751100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-31611230016999942702011-12-18T23:15:00.000+11:002011-12-18T23:15:34.952+11:00Tactical Studies Series: Tigers Unleased
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A place holder - I have a yen to start this blog thing up again, and this game deserves a review. When I get around to it.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-31796268427734403442011-12-18T23:12:00.000+11:002011-12-18T23:12:07.703+11:00Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy
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A place holder - I have a yen to start this blog thing up again, and this game deserves a review. When I get around to it.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-18383258037226983722011-12-18T23:04:00.001+11:002011-12-18T23:05:49.725+11:00Game of the year 2010OK, this is a trifle late - but what the hey.
In 2010 I thought we were going through a computer wargaming drought... then I got to 2011 & experienced the drought for real.
Panther's games are outstanding, this one included. The stand out game of 2010, even if it has taken me a while to say so: Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-74040409635266899502011-12-18T22:59:00.001+11:002011-12-18T23:31:45.338+11:00Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge
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A place holder - I have a yen to start this blog thing up again, and this game deserves a review. When I get around to it.
The stand out game of 2010.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-26976640895179998982011-12-18T22:55:00.000+11:002011-12-18T22:55:48.059+11:00Gary Grigsby's War in the East: The German-Soviet War 1941-1945
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Bells & whistlesN/A
A place holder - I have a yen to start this blog thing up again, and this game deserves a review. When I get around to it.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-91741532213187607222011-09-16T18:30:00.001+10:002011-12-18T23:08:11.507+11:00The pause that refreshesLast night I gave up on Matrix's War in the East ever getting patched to a final, playable state, after struggling with it all year; so for the first time in a very long time I'm not playing any PC games at all at the moment. My brief mentions of board games here earlier were the thin edge of the wedge it seems. After a boardgame pause of 15 years or so while I played wargames almost exclusivelyMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-16811690009405033742011-01-03T17:19:00.005+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.175+10:00El Alamein – October’s game of the monthLate – late and out of timetable order. I know, I know. Here’s to a more frequent posting schedule in 2011, and of course a Happy New Year to all!This is the first in my game of the month asides – posts about games about battles that happened during a month. In these I plan to roam a little more widely than I would in a game review. If you’re just after computer game reviews don’t fret, they’ll Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-51355267959728006662010-10-04T14:35:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.176+10:00Decisive Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg from Warsaw to Paris I quite liked Advanced Tactics, Victor Reijkersz’s last game, so I was looking forward to this; but I was disappointed. So disappointed that I could barely be bothered to play it, much less to write about it. It’s not a terrible game, not at all. It has some quite nice features, but there are just so many better games to play. First the good things: What first intrigued me about the game Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-45799308284502234292010-09-19T11:31:00.003+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.176+10:00Game of the month projectI’ve been thinking of different game related projects to keep myself amused, and I’ve decided to go with what I’m calling a game of the month project.No, nothing to do with the newest and latest games each month, though I still plan on playing & reviewing those if they seem noteworthy; but rather I also plan on playing and writing about games each month that focus on a particular battle that Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-37111905981260075902010-04-05T17:44:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.176+10:00Rise of Prussia, Fredericus Rex Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This review is based on a complementary review copy – I did not pay for this game. Review copies After the disaster that was Ageod’s WWI game I was reluctant to go back to Ageod for more. I didn’t pre-order Rise of Prussia though I Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-54731473176871435932010-03-08T18:55:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.176+10:00When is a game drought not a drought?There have been quite a few wargames or demos of wargames released recently, some of which I’d at least look into if I had a bit more time on my hands. Listed here in case you happen to have that luxury, or in case you’re a fan of the battle, or of the series, are: Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943, with a demo, coded by Graviteam but being published by Paradox. Naval Campaigns: Midway, by HPSMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-33142657881220754972010-03-03T22:25:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.177+10:00Silent Hunter V Requires a constant internet connection to run – which makes this officially the worst DRM scam yet. I don’t think so Ubisoft. Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-1593938758447086162010-01-25T18:12:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.177+10:00Game of the Year 2009 It’s that time of year again, it’s award time. As ever on this site the Game of the Year is based solely on the scores already given, and in 2009 those scores were easier than usual to compare. The award for 2009 goes to the standout performer of last year: NWS's Warship Combat - Navies at War. It would have been a prize well deserved in any year but in 2009 there was very little by way Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-19517242300099319532009-11-03T18:51:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.177+10:00Warship Combat – Navies at War Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles Finally! A new wargame that doesn’t suck – and a naval game at that. WC-NAW is a small, and while not quite perfectly formed, it’s a pretty fine game. It would be selling it short to say that if you were to imagine just the naval Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-6376917326239201132009-10-12T12:18:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.177+10:00Gary Grigsby’s Eagle Day to Bombing the Reich Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A What you probably already know is that Eagle Day to Bombing the Reich is an update of two old Talonsoft games: Battle of Britain, and 12 O’Clock High: Bombing the Reich. What you might expect would be that the crabby old interface of theMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-91914610523223054672009-04-06T11:03:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.178+10:00Supremacy At Sea WW2 Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A In SAS you get to build a fleet either from the ground up or with some starting assets, and then take it into combat in the Med, Atlantic or Pacific. It’s as simple and as complex as that. Now if that sounds tempting then this could be Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-17339511968349667482009-03-14T14:01:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.178+10:00Empire: Total War Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A Periodically, probably every year or so, I try out some of the alternatives to the things I’m used to using. I’ll download a copy of Linux for my desktop just to see where they're up to. And I’ll buy an A list “strategy” game from a Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-36277423896395645932009-03-09T10:15:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.178+10:00Crown of Glory: Emperor's Edition Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A Crown of Glory Emperor's Edition (COG:EE) is the second sequel to the original Crown of Glory. Sadly the improvements although they’re promising at first glance turn out to be mostly minor, and one or two major things are now just Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-65133177881152249072009-02-02T21:52:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.178+10:00My 10 most anticipated games for 2009Because Gamesquad’s published a list of their ten most anticipated games for the year without including any wargames on the list, and because it’ll be interesting to see whether the level of the thrill or disappointment I get corresponds in any way to my anticipation, and because it’ll be interesting to see which hits come out this year that I didn’t know about at all … and just because I like Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-12962222245195869312009-02-01T11:16:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.179+10:00War Plan Pacific Total score Game play Nuts & bolts If it wasn’t for its one or two minor flaws this game would be very, very close to being my perfect beer & pretzels game, and save for those would have been my pick for game of the year for 2008. I love it any way, I’ll say that up front. Nuts & bolts The single worst feature of Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-27400609332816453562009-02-01T08:51:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.179+10:00Panzer Command: Kharkov Total score Game play Nuts & bolts I reviewed this game in comparison with the Combat Mission: Shock Force Marines module, and you can read all about it there. Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-52951558424398317062009-02-01T08:50:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.179+10:00Combat Mission: Shock Force Total score Game play Nuts & bolts I reviewed this game in comparison with Panzer Command Kharkov, you can read all about it there. Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-8604721922067418892009-01-20T07:48:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.179+10:00Game of the Year for 2008There were some OK games that came out last year, and some games that might eventually aspire to being OK when they're patched enough that came out last year, and there was the usual mixed assortment of games that were downright awful that came out last year. But I think you and I can both admit that 2008 was a distinctly subprime year for computer wargames, and that there were no outstanding Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-4945299157043081532009-01-19T20:58:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.179+10:00Panzer Command: Operation Winter Storm vs. Combat Mission Shock Force Marines Module Total score Game play Nuts & bolts (Update: Whoops. Panzer Command Kharkov! Not Winter Storm. Kharkov. Sigh.) I have to admit the idea of comparing these two game franchises isn't original, there's a comparison of the old Combat Mission & the current Panzer Command by Kevin Prouty that's an interesting read Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-40525070861645023382009-01-19T20:41:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.180+10:00The Falklands War: 1982 Total score Game play Nuts & bolts The Falklands was my first war. I was alive during Vietnam, but only just, so in one way or another it's being a teenage boy in the days before the Internet & tuning in to shortwave broadcasts to get the latest news that I guess is my personal template for all the wars that have happened or that I've studied ever since. The whole "I counted them all Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-18387420044765753332008-12-14T09:58:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.180+10:00Jutland – demo reviewed Total score Game play Nuts & bolts I got bored enough in the current drought of new wargames for downloading the Jutland demo to momentarily seem like a good idea … All up I played the demo three times and as far as I can work out all the scenarios in the game are in the demo, they're just limited to the first ten Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-82623056456026000652008-11-23T12:31:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.180+10:00Close Combat: Wacht am Rhein No score - cold shouldered A retouched version of the old Close Combat 4. If you never saw the original Close Combat series you might be disappointed by the many (many, many) flaws it has. Or you might spend many a pleasant rainy afternoon with it like I did all those years ago. It's a bit hard to judge. I suspect the ridiculously small maps & braindead pathfinding haven't changed that Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-89636734982044476072008-11-23T12:30:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.180+10:00Birth of America 2: Wars in America No score - cold shouldered If, like me, you already own the excellent Birth of America then I think you'd need to be convinced to buy this newer version; I haven't been convinced. If you don't already own Birth of America it'd be another story, it's a great game. And I really must get around to writing a review of it ... Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-62039501030248831512008-11-23T12:13:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.181+10:00Great Invasions No score - cold shouldered Another cold shouldered game: one I didn't bother buying. Great Invasions is a wargame in the kind-of/sort-of sense that Europa Universalis is a wargame. It's a strategy game with wargamey aspects to it, and as Ageod and Matrix released it, I thought I'd at least mention it. Great Invasions uses the same game engine Ageod used in World War One: La Grande Guerre Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-30086750291426949272008-11-23T12:08:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.181+10:00WW2 - Road to Victory No score - cold shouldered Another cold shouldered game - one I didn't bother buying. I sat on the fence about this game for quite a while, but in the end I went with my first impressions. When a developer releases a grand strategy game about Europe in WW2 and they don't include Malta on the map, or get around to play testing the game far enough in to realise that it's impossible for Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-73191212422367902382008-11-23T12:07:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.181+10:00Commander: Napoleon at War No score - cold shouldered Another cold shouldered game, included here in an attempt to try and make this list a little more comprehensive. A cold shouldered game's one that didn't float high enough above the general malaise of life to get past my fortress of arrogance ... i.e. I didn't buy it, so I can't review it. Here's a note to say why. This game was just silly from the start: a vainMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-69654114949054806682008-11-13T08:51:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.181+10:00World War One: La Grande Guerre 1914-1918 Total score Game play Nuts & bolts The manual's out - so this is it: 1.05f I've seldom seen a computer game this bogged down in boardgame-yness that's tried to hide it so badly, nor rules so verbose which manage to say so little. And I've seen a lot of (sometimes good) boardgame conversions, and a lot of bad (sometimes really bad) rules. I suppose the boardgame-like nature if the game isMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-48872673935761667592008-07-21T22:49:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.181+10:00Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A It took me a few days to bite on this one. I'm a sucker for an Eastern Front game, but I knew this was only going to be one scenario, not a real game. So after bemoaning the lack of value that the game Battlefront represented with its measly four scenarios, when SSG & Matrix offered up just one scenario for the same full boat Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-87185265184015292432008-06-16T13:00:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.182+10:00War Between the States Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A I said in my last review (for World At War: A World Divided) that I had another review of a Grigsby game coming up & that it would be for War in the Pacific ... well, I was half right. Grigsby's War Between the States is an odd fish of a game. It's the World at War engine transplanted onto the American Civil War; while I hoped allMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-88838543544285218052008-05-31T18:57:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.182+10:00World At War: A World Divided Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A Officially the game goes by the unwieldy moniker of Gary Grigsby's World at War: A World Divided. But really. That's a piece of punctuation too far. World at War 1.1 is what it really is. And this is the first of two problematic Grigsby-game reviews from me. (War in the Pacific coming up next). WaW came out in 2006, but I Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-10390687562009517732008-02-25T11:50:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.182+10:00December-January-February updatesThere's something of a drought of new wargames on at the moment (first the flood, then the drought, this is just like home) but that's given me time to catch up on some older games. New posts are on the menu on the right, but in addition there was at least one more spat over an older review, and a few minor updates: Updated older reviews Combat Mission: Shock Force - demoCommander: Europe at WarMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-73976089457933104662008-02-25T11:18:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.182+10:00Panzer Command: Operation Winter Storm Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A I downloaded the demo of this game and played around with it for a while back when Winter Storm first came out, but I didn't buy the game then, thinking at the time that it didn't offer me anything I didn't already own in Combat Mission. With the upcoming release of the much delayed Panzer Command: Kharkov I thought it was time Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-57301043341980615802008-02-18T17:47:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.183+10:00TOAW 3 Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles For anyone who's new to wargaming, or who's been living under a rock these last ten years or so, TOAW is the Operational Arts of War. I don't know why the The got included in the abbreviation, I remember wondering that when it first came out, but it did get included, and it's too famous to change now. TOAW was originally designed &Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-6548697443210831782008-01-31T21:31:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.183+10:00Zero punctuationIn case anyone's missed it, one very humorous source of game information is Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. An example of his work follows: The escapistmagazine.com site says his reviews are up every Wednesday. Here's to many more. Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-11690147323073801432007-12-19T18:58:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.183+10:00Christmas time is here again!'Tis time to down tools for a week or three & get back in touch with my family & friends. Merry Christmas to you all, see you in 2008! Mike Kreuzer Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-17243981629190078692007-12-13T22:29:00.001+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.183+10:00Game of the year for 2007 Introducing the prestigious, the portentous, the premier, the Wrote on the Ground Game of the Year for 2007. (Game of the Year. G.O.T.Y... Goatee. Geddit?) Based entirely on the scores handed out during the year, and therefore losing in surprise what it makes up in scientific rigour and sheer fashionability, this year's award goes to -- drumroll, the envelope please -- SSG & Matrix's Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-75118557930956410682007-12-01T11:05:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.184+10:00Ethics revisitedRumors abound today about GameSpot axing one of their reviewers when he didn't genuflect appropriately at the alter of one of their advertisers. You can read the rumors here, and here and here (click next for the article), and probably elsewhere too. There's a copy of his video review which has resurfaced on YouTube as well. Of course it resurfaced on YouTube. I have nothing to add to the Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-76553314795250700652007-11-30T11:12:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.184+10:00October - November updatesThis month saw the birth of a whole new category of games: the games I cold shouldered. These are the sometimes new, sometimes tragically ancient re-released wargames that I either couldn't review, or couldn't be bothered enough about to review. It also saw the start of Matrix's Christmas sale, and I took the opportunity to snap up two of 2006's more interesting looking titles: The OperationalMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-2794648915371026702007-11-27T13:41:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.184+10:00Napoleon's Campaigns Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A Once again I'm left comparing a game from Ageod to their first English language masterpiece, Birth of America, and once again I find the new game coming up short. So here I go again, praising with faint damns. Game play The Napoleon's Campaigns' engine is a slightly improved version of the original one in Birth of America, Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-36402774213057871592007-11-27T13:19:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.184+10:00Empires in Arms - the screenshots No score - cold shouldered Another game that's only likely to get as far as the screenshots for me. This is a game that I would have crawled through the proverbial to get to, once upon a time, even as late as ten years ago; but it just looks comically old-fashioned now. Computer interfaces have moved on, & so have I. If all of the reviews of this game are pure and unadulterated joy then I Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-58090731663844827612007-11-27T13:13:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.184+10:00Harpoon: Commander's Edition - the screenshots No score - cold shouldered That's right, the screenshots. And that's as far as it's likely to get with me. This game could easily have been called Harpoon: Ancient Edition. The original computer game was released in 1989, and it was a great game at the time. I stress: at the time. As far as I know this is a reworking of the 1994 code, and if all that's happened in the intervening decades Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-53125189959871195562007-11-27T13:00:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.185+10:00Harpoon 3 - demo No score - cold shouldered Another cold shouldered game. AGSI has had their version of this version of this long running game franchise out for years, but a demo was released this November. (I checked, the number of times the word version appears in that sentence doesn't even begin to describe how many publishers of how many versions of Harpoon exist, but if you're reading this blog you Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-21177332893256010182007-11-27T12:49:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.185+10:00Montjoie - demo No score - cold shouldered My first "cold shouldered game", games that I didn't or couldn't review properly for some reason. This is a French medieval wargame that's meant to be interesting, but it just wouldn't work on my machine. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt though and try again when the English version comes out, there could easily have been something in the French instructionsMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-55909813070787932042007-11-04T12:05:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.185+10:00Hornet Leader - demo Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A Any game about modern air combat that isn't a flight simulator is something I'm going to be very interested in, but let me put my cards on the table straight up, sooner rather than later that game's going to have to be compared to Flight Commander 2, a game still on my hard drive after many, many years that so far has been king of Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-86548710099428973302007-11-04T11:57:00.002+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.185+10:00Blogger wish listNot a game review, but a list of Blogger's limitations and other things making this slightly harder than it should be, which might all be of interest to anyone considering doing something similar. I imagine these things must be pretty annoying when writing a regular blog too, so maybe they'll be fixed in time. Backing up is laborious. There's no spell checking in comments. I can't move Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-2747844193462596922007-10-29T19:31:00.003+11:002011-05-08T17:02:07.186+10:00Advanced Tactics: World War IITotal scoreGame playNuts & boltsBells & whistlesN/AWhen I first got Advanced Tactics I felt like I could have written a review already. There was so much that was similar to the game's freeware predecessor People's Tactics that I thought, "I'm not going to complain about a free game, but now I've paid for this: The gloves are off." But as so often happens, I was wrong.I was generally underwhelmedMike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-38854040730391930132007-09-28T13:48:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.186+10:00September updatesI've been asked how anybody's ever going to know to look for updates I make to older posts if I don't tell people about them ... Well, now you can either subscribe to this feed with all the latest & greatest in changes & posts, or you can read my new monthly or bi-monthly lists of recent updates. This being the first of those. For some added fun I thought I'd also list the games I've played Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-73888221692435242542007-07-29T18:52:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.186+10:00Guns of August Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A Guns of August was reportedly in development for a very long time, and it shows. But not in a good way. Everything about this game is an unwelcome blast from the past, from the horrible nonstandard interface, to the almost nonexistent manual, and the seemingly endless sequence of undocumented, largely meaningless phases that Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-75995835161935776622007-07-28T18:32:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.186+10:00Combat Mission: Shock Force - demo Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A (Update: This review is out of date. I reviewed a more recent version of this game in comparison with Panzer Command Kharkov, and you can read all about it there. ) (Score changed 1 April, see the update below). There have been a Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-40422230581311232802007-07-28T18:18:00.003+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.187+10:00Hardware setupBecause it's sometimes useful to know what sort of a machine a reviewer's used when comments are made about a game, here are the specs of the machine I mostly use to play games.Updated November 2009 64 bit Windows 7 2TB Seagate HDDOther stuff as below Updated March 2008 Vista home premium 19" wide screen monitor AMD 4600 (2.4 GHz 64 bit dual core) CPU 4 GB DDR2 RAM Asus Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-29171240918413065662007-07-01T17:25:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.187+10:00Commander: Europe at War Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A There's been what seems like a flood of grand strategic WW2 games released over the last few years, prompted probably by the success of Hearts of Iron and it's many increasingly low value sequels. These strategic games taking either the micro-management overload approach of the Hearts of Iron games, or the lighter weight beer & Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-37106915284264318702007-07-01T17:24:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.187+10:00Ta.La.Co.Si - Demo Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A After downloading TalaCoSi -- Tactical Land Combat Simulator, and yes, that has to be the worst name for any game, ever -- and after downloading a very weighty 148MB scenario, and after setting up both the server & the client to play, I discovered that the server part of the equation will only work after I've paid to buy it. Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-57618733340408302072007-07-01T17:15:00.005+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.187+10:00Hearts of Iron 2 Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-12214528526046483252007-07-01T17:15:00.004+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.188+10:00Making History: The Calm & the Storm Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-88865261377049342002007-06-25T13:13:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.188+10:00Carriers at War Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles This game is a remake by SSG of their classic 1980s game of carrier warfare in WW2, and for once enough water has passed under the bridge for a remake not to seem like an exercise in cashing in. A quarter of a century is a long enough time for me to believe SSG's intentions are honourable! I don't remember the original game Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-85674653752429231112007-06-25T13:12:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.188+10:00American Civil War Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-49219743066924637812007-06-25T13:11:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.188+10:00Battlefront Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A Battlefront is a curious beast. It's solid. It's written by an accomplished group of guys. It doesn't do anything horribly wrong. But it just didn't get to me. As someone who regularly plays games I bought ten years ago this game is an oddity. I got it early this year and I'm no longer playing it. In fact I already haven't Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-11968250750916443332007-06-25T13:09:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.188+10:00War Plan Orange Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-88094494554411925402007-06-25T13:07:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.189+10:00Highway to the Reich Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-83549923839649733242007-06-25T13:05:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.189+10:00Gary Grigsby's World at War Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time. See my review of the almost identical sequel for details. Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-88046773059270820462007-06-25T13:00:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.189+10:00Forge of Freedom Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A The one lemon score is for the heavily patched version that existed by 2007. The game as originally released rated the "prestigious" double lemon for being both ponderous to play & highly unstable. The game has been patched again since, but such is my experience of the game that I won't be wasting any more time downloading any Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-54091328829664878532007-06-25T12:55:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.189+10:00Distant Guns - Demo reviewed Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-83134561511165788822007-06-25T12:52:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.190+10:00DefCon - Demo reviewed Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A Zero for game play only because this is most definitely a beer & pretzels game, not a "real wargame". This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-13676682076142657332007-06-25T12:49:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.190+10:00Crown of Glory Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-46293610335312362142007-06-25T12:46:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.190+10:00Conquest of the Aegean Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time. Update 28 October 2007 I'm still yet to write a review for this game, but I've been playing it a lot lately and I'm upping the score here, from three to four stars.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-69065775970808501722007-06-25T12:45:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.190+10:00Birth of America Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-43902337685851205802007-06-25T12:42:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.191+10:00Battles in Italy Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-66297772271688977432007-06-25T12:21:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.191+10:00Anglo German War Total score Game play Nuts & bolts Bells & whistles N/A This is a "seed score" only, to allow a comparison between the reviews & earlier games. It might be fleshed out into a full review in time.Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-5861513786970129832007-06-25T12:09:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.191+10:00Ratings - an explanationThe following is an explanation of the "stars & lemons" rating scheme that I use in my reviews. You'll note that fun is not explicitly on the list of criteria here. I've tried to keep it out of the scoring because my idea of what fun is may not be the same as yours, but of course it creeps in. Some games are a hoot, some just aren't. That'll be reflected in my scores and comments. Total score Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665542868605362140.post-16697215618576669982007-06-25T11:48:00.002+10:002011-05-08T17:02:07.191+10:00Ethics and disclosuresSome web sites are chary about wearing their hearts on their sleeves, especially if they're in someone's pocket. Not here. Advertising Direct advertising is not accepted by this site. Advertising is handled at arms length via Google adds. Nobody adverting on this site has, or can have the slightest influence over what is said here. Most probably an advertiser doesn't even know this is the Mike Kreuzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843792275099743204noreply@blogger.com0