Tag Archives: Tactical
What’s Gus Playing? Field of Glory 2 – Part 1
Ancient antagonism with the armored army ant ~
Lloyd Sabin, 30 April 2018
Field of Glory 2 is an ancient PC gamer’s fantasy made real.
Spring has sprung and so have I…I’m in love! I bought Field of Glory 2 after missing out on the first PC iteration and regretting it forever, so I was hell-bent on not missing out on this new version. And I am ecstatic that I got it, because I have to tell you, Field of Glory 2 is something else.
Simple, fun, chess-like rules, a massive amount of single epic battles, custom battles, multi-battle campaigns and multi-player, along with content that spans history (as of this writing) from around 600BC all the way to around 500 AD (when the Immortal Fire and Legions Triumphant DLCs are included – not to mention an as-of-yet undisclosed third DLC coming soon)…Field of Glory 2 is an ancient PC gamer’s fantasy made real.
There are literally dozens of different factions to play as – name one and most likely it is included here. Fancy the Seleucids (I can’t blame you) – they’re in. Thebes? In. Illyrians? Also in. More of a world-destroyer? Try out the Persians or if you are more into the fall of Rome, try the Huns. There are so many factions to choose from that most players will probably never play them all.
And Field of Glory 2 is accessible enough for newbies – but with six different difficulty modes, wargame pros will definitely enjoy it when the challenge is ramped up. I kept my difficulty on the second setting, sometimes moving it up to the third setting, which often became too difficult for me. The second tier became my sweet spot, if occasionally a little too easy. Most of the time it offered a consistent challenge.
Car Wars – A Trip Down The Memory Fast Lane, (the lost) Part 9
Remember that whole series from over a year ago? Yeah, we missed one… ~
Michael Eckenfels, 18 April 2018
click most images to enlarge
THE AADA ROAD ATLAS AND SURVIVAL GUIDE
VOLUME ONE: THE EAST COAST
The AADA Survival Guides, of which I believe there were seven, were essentially campaign game starter books that gave Car Wars-centric information for various regions of the United States. Or, at least, what was left of the United States. Further, it should be pointed out that these Guides are built to be used with the GURPS system (more specifically, the Autoduel GURPS rules).
What’s Gus Playing? Endless Space 2, part 2
The famous fun-sized phantasm of flight fights fearlessly ~
Lloyd Sabin, 15 April 2018
I totally forgot that I was supposed to focus on the combat of Endless Space 2 last week when I wrote up House of the Dying Sun. It happens. Our own BayonetBrant had to ask me ‘WTF happened to the 2nd part you said you were going to write up on Endless Space 2 combat?’
My response? ‘Well f– me, I totally forgot.’ Until now. Even if it is a dayweek late.
Endless Space 2 combat is liked by some, disliked by others. I enjoyed it because it had a lot of options that I had not seen it 4x games before, like your force’s offensive/defensive disposition, formations, etc. And again, I only scratched the very shallow surface of this game, including the combat component, and will be back for much more in the near future.
Battle engaged!
Raiders of the Deep – First Look!
Michael… ahem, “dives” into the Compass Games sub warfare box ~
Michael Eckenfels, 7 April 2018
It seems that the solitaire wargame market for submarines is picking up steam (a harr a harr) in the last few years. Silent Victory, Silent War, Target Bearing 023 Degrees, Operation Drumbeat, The Hunters…there’s plenty of options, including this title, Raiders Of The Deep from Compass Games.
Based on the same system that The Hunters and Silent Victory use, Raiders Of The Deep puts you into the role of a German submarine commander in World War I. This is a very intriguing prospect to me, being based in World War I, when submarine warfare really came into its own. Some of the German submarines at the outbreak of war were tiny things that could hold maybe 15 sailors and two torpedoes, but they evolved quickly over the following years of The Great War.
What’s Gus Playing? House of the Dying Sun
The lord of lilliputians launches some laser-like love ~
Lloyd Sabin, 2 April 2018
House of the Dying Sun not only sounds like the title of one of the great rock songs of all time (that’s House of the Rising Sun for the uninitiated) – it is also a great arcade space sim with VR support. I don’t have a VR set yet but I can vouch that House of the Dying Sun is just as fun and intense to play on a regular PC set-up as it may be in VR.
This game is about revenge and the cold termination of your enemies and not much else.
The basic story behind House of the Dying Sun is that your emperor has been usurped by a cabal of bloodthirsty rebel overlords. And you and what’s left of the past regime’s military must take power back for the throne, eliminating a total of a dozen of the new regime’s collaborators without prejudice.
House of the Dying Sun has a minimalist graphical style as well as a spartan UI which somehow produce an atmosphere of dark blood lust…I can’t explain it much more clearly than that. Rebel Galaxy this is not – if you are looking for a arcade space game with a sense of humor, look elsewhere. This game is about revenge and the cold termination of your enemies and not much else.
If you’re skilled at piloting your craft, the single player campaign should probably take you less than 10 hours. I got about half way through it in about 6 hours. Your ship is upgradeable as you succeed in the missions you are assigned and the campaign branches in different directions, giving the player a choice in the missions taken on. They ultimately all lead to the same ending, though – the complete destruction of the rebels and your re-domination of the galaxy. There are assassination assignments, interception, dog fighting and capital ship assault. But you will always be a pilot – you will never exit your ship for any reason.
