06/17/15

Classic Simulations: Jane’s AH-64D Longbow

Andy takes a look at one of the most influential attack helicopter simulations in PC gaming history

Andy Mills, 17 June 2015

Those were the days

A boxshot of the original Jane’s AH-64D Longbow

Back in 1996 the competition for air supremacy in the attack helicopter sim market was intense. Publishers like Domark, Digital Integration and EA/Jane’s Information Group were all homing in on gunship simulations for the PC. Digital Integration had already released AH-64 Apache and was in the process of finishing up HIND for release in 1997. Unfortunately, Domark’s title, Flying Nightmare’s 2, never saw the light of day, leaving EA/Jane’s AH-64D Longbow as the most significant rotary-wing sim release of 1996. Longbow did not disappoint. Built on the solid heritage of the Gunship franchise, Longbow became the benchmark by which all other helo sims would be judged for many years to come.

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06/13/15

Grogheads Reviews YAAH! magazine issue #1

Flying Pig’s new magazine is out there. We’ve already interviewed the editor. Now see what Vance thinks about the finished product.

Vance Strickland, 13 June 2015

Click images to enlarge

I usually don’t read magazines. Not sure why, but the format to me seems to never have enough information on any particular story contain therein. Books are great and for fast information I usually prefer the interwebs or radio or TV. Wargame magazines are different however. I love to pick one up and devour the articles about games that I might be interested in or have never even heard of.

When I heard that Mark Walker’s new company, Flying Pig Games, was putting out a new magazine as well, I had to pick it up. mark stated early on that the magazine was not going to be a mouth piece for his game company and that it would be about more than just “war games”.

YAAH! comes with a right bold cover and in a very large ziplock bag

Just inside the front cover Tom Russell introduces himself as the editor. Now I had never heard of Tom before this moment, but it appears that he is an accomplished writer and creator of board games. In the EZOC, Editor’s Zone of Control, he lays out that YAAH! is striving to be a magazine about all type of conflict based game not just war games in the traditional sense. This, to me, is great because it will expose me to a variety of new games that I normally might miss because of my usual narrow focus on traditional hex and counter “War Games”.

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06/12/15

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #70

After a hiatus, GARPA is back, and has some great new pre-orders for you to totally cave into your game lust with.

Urban Operations (Nuts! Publishing)
€59.00 preorder (MSRP €75.00)

The long-awaited modern urban warfare game from the artistic geniuses over in France, the guys at Nuts! have finally put Urban Operations up on preorder. A combination of blocks and cards, with over a dozen scenarios to keep you challenged, Urban Operations is looking to fill that modern tactical niche that ranges from Cold-War-goes-hot through the 90s world of “peacekeeping” up to today’s counter-terror operations. Why are you still reading? Go order it already.

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06/11/15

A Distant Worlds AAR – Part 9

Back to space, and Distant Worlds

By Brandon “Kushan” Johnson, 11 June 2015

Click images to enlarge

Time to take back what’s mine from the Yirphunea. No real surprises in my plan, 1st fleet with 6th fleets transports will move to attack Faltir, while 2nd strike group and 3rd fleet will be set defend the Furmus and Dhayu systems from any counter attacks.

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06/10/15

Star Wars Imperial Assault – First Look!

Michael Eckenfels, 10 June 2015

So the shrink-wrap is cracked and pieces are out. Is it Jar-Jar Binks, or Boba Fett?

It was with GREAT anticipation that I received a copy of Star Wars Imperial Assault by Fantasy Flight Games. This and Star Wars: Armada are two of three games I’ve really wanted for the last year or so (Fortune and Glory being the third), and when the heavy box arrived from Amazon, it felt like Christmas morning. Don’t get me wrong – I love getting games, and goodness knows I get lots of them in the course of the reviews and AARs I write, but this is Star Wars, man.

The box, in all its shrink-wrapped glory. It is almost six inches thick and weighs a ton, which just testifies to the goodies loaded inside.

The back of the box. Hard to believe that there used to be a time where this backside of a box was pretty much your only source of knowledge when you came across a game on a shelf somewhere.

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