09/6/13

Germany at War: Barbarossa 1941 – PC Game Review

Developer: Phobetor

Publisher: Slitherine/Matrix

Author: Jim Cobb

Panzer General has engendered many sequels, add-ons and clones over the last twenty years. All have kept the original interface’s feel and most have been interesting. Yet, historical accuracy has taken second place to ease of play and fun. With Germany at War – Barbarossa 1941, Slitherine/Matrix and developer Phobetor have refurbished their earlier Operation Barbarossa – The Struggle for Russia and have brought the genre to a higher level.

Dusty Steppes

Players used to the somewhat verdant fields of Panzer Corps may find the summer and fall terrain of the game a bit plain. Brown and tan are the dominant colors but nobody said Russia was Eden. Winter scenarios have the usual white landscape. Any aesthetic loss is made up for in clarity. Village and city names are printed on the map and terrain features including pillboxes are easily identifiable. Objectives are encircled by a gear-like symbol. Vehicle icons are slightly murky even when zoomed in but can be seen as their types. Action points determine the amount of activity possible in a turn but are distinctive enough. Infantry and artillery are portrayed well. Aircraft look fine except spinning props like a CD stuck on the plane’s nose. The strength of each unit is clearly indicated on the icon and the selected unit’s screen yields more details via tool tips. Players turned off by the icons can opt to use NATO symbols. Weather is displayed very well with sheets of rain and snow while heavy clouds swirl in the air. Animation is adequate with tanks and half-tracks moving smartly, infantry turning to meet challenges, and horses galloping.

The monotony of the steppes can cause agoraphobia.

Typical winter near Moscow.

Panzers ready to roll! Continue reading →

09/5/13

Allied Corps – AAR Part 3

When we left off with Part 2 of this AAR the Germans had pulled out everything but the kitchen sink. There weren’t a lot of German forces, but what we ran into was quality. Neberwerfers, tank-busting aircraft, Tigers, V-2s…the list was pretty long. Almost every piece of high-tech equipment the Germans could field late in the war had made a showing and I was the guy having to beat it up. As you may recall, dear reader, I was pushing my way into the Netherlands. I had to take objectives in the north, west, and south. Thus far I had chosen to focus on the west and south, leaving the north until later. Through some kind of luck – simply having troops occupying some rail hexes, I inadvertently captured a train with some hot cargo. That was a pleasant surprise.

With that, let’s pick up the story at Turn 9.

Allied Turn 9

I start by hammering on the troops around Leiden. I don’t need to attack them as I hold the objective, but I take them on for good measure. Note the captured train next to my jeep in the middle of the screen:

Then I move to attack the Nashorn. My Sherman 105s gives it a good shot and inflicts some decent hurt. Then my Hellcats move up and attack some more. The Nashorn drops to a single point left. I send my Sherman 76s to finish it off. They do. Continue reading →

09/2/13

Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol

Developer: Firaxis

Publisher: 2K Games

Author: Boggit

click images to enlarge

Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol is a game about aerial combat on the Western Front during the First World War. As my prayers so far for a re-release of an updated, and revamped version of Achtung Spitfire, Over the Reich, and Flight Commander 2 have so far gone unanswered, I picked this one up as it seemed somewhat reminiscent of them.

The Interface is intuitive and easy to learn. The game also features a “Baron-o-pedia” for extra information.

For a game about the First World War, it is a surprisingly very “PC” game for the PC. You can’t die, and you can’t kill your opponents. Following the suspension of historical accuracy is that half your pilots are women, you can play the US in 1916, and you don’t seem to have any limits on ammunition. Your opponent pilots seem to acquire combat victories at a surprising rate, even after you shoot them down several times, so that by the late war they often have more kills than your own aces – weird! That’s about the worst of it. It’s definitely NOT a “Grognard game”, but in my opinion it’s fun, and light relief – a good “Beer and Pretzels” game. As to gaming challenge, it offers five levels of difficulty from “Rookie” to “Legend”, which gives victory point multipliers for successful missions.

The game map is clear and informative. Note the different manoeuvre options, cloud, and “Archie” cover (red hexsides). The front line is clearly evident, and can determine the fate of shot down aircrew.

Continue reading →

08/30/13

GARPA 26 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

Authors: Dan Pinkham & Lloyd Sabin

Ahh…there is almost a chill in the air and the children are being herded back to school. That means football season and fall must almost be here. Unfortunately that also means pumpkin in everything you can eat and drink but never fear: GARPA shall remain pumpkin free but still contain all the gaming nutrition you expect.

Board and Tabletop Games

A War of Kings –Playing Cards by Andy Fischer

$8,056 pledged of a $10,500 goal funding ending September 7^th

To be honest I am getting off easy with this entry but it is too cool looking of a project not to feature here at GARPA. It is a deck of cards. That’s right, 54 playing cards. However, “each suit is a distinctly different set of fantasy characters, featuring White and Dark Knights, Fire Mages and Barbarians.” That’s the project, that’s all there is: a card deck with some sweet looking fantasy art. We’ll post some pictures here but make sure to check out their project page for even more art samples.

Fantasy Frontier by Gamelyn Games

$5,187 pledged of a $25,000 goal funding ending October 8^th

There is something so very intriguing about airships. Perhaps it is the well-known disaster of the Hindenburg and the idea of what could have been had it not happened. Maybe it is just the notion of slowly drifting through the clouds in your very own dirigible. Whatever the case may be I thought most of us, if honest, find the idea at least interesting.

Since we can’t all go out and buy an airship, we have to keep dreaming and game with them. Fantasy Frontier is here to help with “a 2-4 player game of airships and exploration” that brings the airship fantasy alive on a tabletop.

Designed to be played in about 90 minutes this will make a great game for the coming winter months. “Each player controls a unique airship with a crew of pioneers. Players manage the actions of these pioneers each turn in an effort to scout the land, gather resources, construct townships, and even battle it out in aerial combat.”

To create the game world over which the airships fly, players develop “geographic patterns via tile placement, the players will develop a new world each time they play.” Each turn players use their workers to perform seven actions: piloting the airship, R&D, scouting the land, gathering resources, constructing a township, aerial combat, or repairing ship damage.

The game comes with over 200 components and looks to be a very unique experience. Combine the possible turn strategies with the geomorphic playing surface and players get lots of replayability options. If you want to see some cool game art, components, or an early gameplay video then make sure to check out the project’s Kickstarter page.

Continue reading →

08/29/13

Allied Corps AAR – Part 2

When we left off my intrepid heroes were had finished Turn 3 and were heading toward a 50 mm PaK, A Wurfrahmen, an SdKfz 234/2, and two units of Pioneer infantry. Because several of my units were open topped I was giving that Wurfrahmen a healthy distance. But at some point it would need to be addressed.

The German AI, on the other hand, had the opportunity to take some shots at my advancing force, but mysteriously held its ground and did nothing.

Allied Turn 4

I’m more shocked by the lack of initiative by the German Pioneer and Wurfrahmen. They just sit there. That seems crazy. I decide to focus on the Wurfrahmen first. My P-51 makes a pass and does some damage.

Now I have some choices. Along my line of advance there is a river, the Nederrijn to my south. The way the Panzer Corps engine works friendly units cannot move if adjacent to an enemy unit. So no matter how weak that 50mm PaK is, I won’t be able to squeak past it. I have to destroy it. The Chaffee fires but does no damage while taking a beating itself. The P-47 does a little more damage and then I pull it back to base for refueling. The Wellington, now refueled moves up and eliminates the PaK. That’s good news. Now I can advance. I pull the Chaffee back and move the Airborne up to take the airbase that the PaK had occupied. Their chances of taking on the Pioneers don’t look good so I just let them hang. We’ll figure out what to do with the Pioneers shortly. Continue reading →

GrogHeads

Keep Calm and Grog On!

Author: Jim Zabek