09/9/12

PC Game Review of Panzer Corps AfrikaKorps

Review by Avery Abernethy, 9 September, 2012

Developed by Lordz Game Studio and Published by Slitherine

The Battle for North Africa was characterized by dramatic swings of fortune. GrogHead’s Avery Abernethy examines how the spiritual successor to the great Panzer General games takes on the subject.

The North African campaign in World War 2 represents one of the great “what if” moments of the war. Italy attempted a quick assault into Egypt from their territory in Libya in and were repulsed. The British seemed poised to conquer all of Italy’s African territories in early 1941 when Hitler sent Rommel and a small force of armor, infantry and air units ordering a holding action with very limited offensive actions. What followed was several years of see-saw warfare with large swings in momentum. Rommel’s Afrika Corps generally suffered from very poor logistics, was usually heavily outnumbered, and had little in the way of air support. Yet Rommel almost managed to cut the British supply lines by capturing the Suez Canal.

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07/13/12

GrogHeads Reviews Empires in America

Designed by Joe Miranda for Victory Point Games

By Brant Guillory, 13 July 2012

A perfect blend of size, simplicity, and skill, Empires in America challenges players with an interesting variation on a tower defense scenario, well-blended with a nice dash of history.

Victory Point Games is still considered by some to be a “small” publisher. If so, I’m curious what the definition of “small” is. These guys churn out a game a week – and excellent games, too. One way they’re able to do so is by relying on some well-tested basic mechanics, such as the solo game rules known as the States of Siege series. These card- and track-movement-driven games provide a player with a significant and well-balanced challenge, in a variety of genres, including the Israeli War for Independence, and the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Empires in America, the third entry in the States of Siege series, covers the French and Indian Wars in North America. A precursor to the American War for Independence, the French and Indian Wars were the battles in New World as a part of the larger Seven Years’ War across the globe between various European powers.
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05/2/12

PC Game Review of Naval War Arctic Circle

By Jim Zabek, 2 May 2012

Developed by Turbo Tape Games and published by Paradox Interactive

The world has needed a good entry-level modern-era naval wargame. Now we have one.

Planned Obsolescence

Any review of a game published by Paradox is going to be obsolete in short order. Why? Simply put: patches. Whether you are a fan of Paradox or not, it is indisputable that they have an outstanding record of publishing patches for games. These often go far beyond fixing bugs. It is not unheard of for Paradox to release a patch for a game years after its release and long after the major bugs have been killed. The goal of these later patches is simply to improve on the gameplay. With that kind of record, any review is in danger of becoming obsolete with the next patch. Not only is it likely that bugs will be killed, but gameplay may change (for the better) along with any fixes. So as of this writing everything is correct – but readers are advised to check in on our forums as well as the Paradox forums for changes…because change will come.