Tag: Matrix

03/4/15

GrogHeads Previews Vietnam ‘65

Boggit, 4 March 2015

Developed by Every Single Soldier and published by Matrix/Slitherine

 

Vietnam ’65 is a single player, tactical-level game, focused on the American involvement in Vietnam in 1965. You play as the commander of the American forces allocated to a province somewhere on the Cambodian border.  Playing as the Viet Cong (VC)/North Vietnamese Army (NVA) is not presently an option, but may be a possibility for a future expansion.

The title screen captures the image of Air Cavalry in Vietnam. I can also hear the sound of helo’s and radio chatter in the background.
The title screen captures the image of Air Cavalry in Vietnam. I can also hear the sound of helo’s and radio chatter in the background.

Setting up a new game is easy. Click on New Game, and a random map of 10 villages is created. The game then plays out in a ‘Skirmish’ mode, as there are no ‘historical’ maps as such, so there is no replication of specific actions like Operation Silver Bayonet (Battles of LZ-Xray and LZ-Albany), or Operation Long Reach. To be fair, that is not really what the game is about as it provides a more general Vietnam ‘search and destroy’ gaming experience, and the randomly created maps ensure variety in the battlefield. Given the way the game is designed it would probably be difficult to properly replicate the historical actions meaningfully, as the games victory conditions are not focused specifically on winning a battle in conventional wargame terms.

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02/21/15

GrogHeads Reviews Gary Grigsby’s War in the West

The epic struggle drags across Europe

Michael Eckenfels, 21 February 2015

Scratching the proverbial wargaming itch is a difficult proposition. Often, that itch is in the most hard-to-reach place, where only the right combinations will relieve it. I’ve found that most 2 by 3 Games’ products are very akin to the perfect backscratcher…at leastfor me. Some sizes may not fit all, and not all 2 by 3 Games’ products will likely be popular with all wargamers. And yet, with Gary Grigsby’s War in the West (hereafter referred to as WitW), they’ve managed to craft a really good wargame back-scratcher.

PRESENTATION

Covering major campaigns from 1943 on in Western Europe and North Africa, WitW is all about the struggle of the Western Allies versus the Germans and Italians. The earliest scenario, and conveniently the introductory one, is Operation Husky. With a fairly small number of counters, this simulation of the invasion of Sicily is a great way to get introduced to the system without being overwhelmed. However, there is plenty of detail under the hood (and even quite a bit that spills out from under the hood), which makes the frame in which it is presented so much the better.

 

Hapless Sicily, the eve before the Allied invasion.
Hapless Sicily, the eve before the Allied invasion.

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11/26/14

GrogHeads Interviews OTS on FlashPoint Campaigns

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The guys from On Target Simulations swing by GrogHeads and chat with us about the latest developments in the FlashPoint Campaigns series.

Brant Guillory, 26 November 2014

What’s the biggest difference that players are going to see with the new FlashPoint Campaigns release?

Without a doubt it will be all the brand new maps.  We had a forum member named William who was doing a brilliant job creating new map art and so we just sort of recruited him and added him to the OTS team.  We went back and forth a few times on colours and elevation treatments and then he created new renderings of all the maps.  This seems to be the first thing people are noticing and the consensus is that they are a distinct step up.  Cap’n Darwin (creator of the original map art glyphs) and Mad Russian (who then assembled them into the maps we distributed) manned up admirably and got behind the change.  I still hear a bit of a quiver in the Captain’s voice when we Skype about it though…

Other changes include a number of tweaks and improvements to the combat model.  Artillery fire is more effective now and that is pretty noticeable.   The What’s New document runs to 12 pages with the various changes we made.

Best of all, we have a whole new campaign (Wolves) to play thanks to Mad Russian plus a new standalone “Eyes, Ears and Teeth” scenario which we believe will be a new classic.  It’s small, fun and intense like A Time to Dance.

FPC-Int-1

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09/20/14

Grogheads Reviews Battle Academy 2: Eastern Front

Vance Strickland, 20 September 2014

So how does the newest installment of Battle Academy stack up to the reputation set by its predecessor? Let’s find out…

Never in the history of mankind has there been such a titanic struggle as the one played out on the Russian Front during World War II. The German army, already veterans of the new mobile style of combat with highly trained and for the most part well led troops. And the Russian Army, gutted of its leadership by years of purges, highly motivated by fighting for they very own homes, villages and cities. Locked in combat that took place across vast stretches of open farmland, or through tough urban battle grounds where every corner could bring swift death. Now you get to lead parts of the huge warmachines that clashed in Russia.

Battle Academy 2: East Front is the follow up to the very successful Battle Academy that took us through the fighting in West and in the desert of North Africa. Here you will be challenged in fighting that lasted for almost 5 years. From the opening acts of Operation Barbarossa to the death throes of Army Group Center in Byelorussia, you get to plan and execute your own tactics against the computer and other players. Are you game?

Main menu screen
Main menu screen

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