Publisher: Slitherine Software
Developer: Firepower, The Lordz Games Studios
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP; Intel Pentium 4, 1.4 GHz or fully compatible; 512 MB RAM; 300 MB of free space on hard drive; Java
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Release date: Available now
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

The Napoleonic Wars seem to be a never-ending source of gaming inspiration. Whether it’s tabletop war games with their cardboard counters or computer games with the latest graphics, it’s hard to go wrong by picking this turbulent period in European history as a basis for strategy gaming. It had been quite some time since I had played a game set in this specific era until Slitherine’s Commander: Napoleon at War came across my virtual desk, and I confess that I looked forward to correcting the historic mistakes made by famous generals.

From the moment the game is installed, Commander: Napoleon at War clearly shows its allegiance to old-school tabletop games. CNW is a turn-based strategy game played on a map of Europe, parts of North America, North Africa and the Ottoman Empire. The game ships with a variety of scenarios, some of which cover individual campaigns such as the invasion of Russia or the Peninsular War, and a mega-campaign that highlights the political situation in Europe from 1805 to 1814. The map is divided into hexes, each of which covers a sizeable amount of land (there are 6 hexes between Paris and Brussels), giving the game a grand scope. Armies feature the kinds of troops you might expect, from light cavalry scouts to siege guns that break down fortifications quickly. However, given the scale of the game, these different kinds of units appear in large divisions rather than in smaller groups. Thus, the Grande Armée that invades Russia in the 1812 campaign includes only 16 individual units. This style of organization keeps the game manageable while giving it the room to encompass so much territory.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Taleworlds
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Pentium 766 MHz or compatible processor; Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista; Direct3D accelerator
Genre: RPG
Release date: September 16, 2008
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

A short time ago, I stumbled across Mount and Blade quite by accident. My editor let me know that I would be previewing the game and sent me the associated materials before I even knew anything about it. Considering that it’s been in development for years, I was surprised that I had never heard of developer Taleworlds and their flagship title. I was unprepared for what awaited me, but I was impressed with what I saw, even under the limited conditions of the preview version. Now I sit at my computer desk with the full version of Mount and Blade installed on my PC. I’ve spent the past two weeks being both a benefactor and a scourge to the land; my weapons have feasted upon many enemies. My mouse is probably as tired as my character’s horse, as they have both had quite a workout.

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Publisher: Gamecock Media Group
Developer: Crackpot Ent.
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Pentium IV 1.5 GHz or equivalent; 256 MB RAM; 64 MB video memory; 600 MB hard drive space
Genre: Action adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

Troi is a messy city. Crime, corruption, and discarded soda cans litter the landscape, turning a once gleaming city into a grimy, film noir metropolis. Chrys Liszt, rookie detective, has been recently assigned to one of the few uncorrupt police precincts in the city and partnered with Roachy Caruthers on a new case. While this might not be the most compelling plot for a computer game on the surface, it has a wrinkle which the developers use for all its worth: insects are now the dominant life on Earth. The few humans that remain live out their existences in hazmat suits on the fringes of the new insect culture that comes complete with skyscrapers, commercials for consumer products, and homicide, err, insecticide. Yes, that’s right; there’s been a murder at the Nectarola plant, giving Chrys and Roachy their newest case, with all of the zany one-liners and parody you would expect from mixing insects with detective work.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Paradox Interactive
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Windows Vista/XP/2000; 1.9 GHz Intel Pentium or similar AMD; 512MB RAM; Direct X 9.0c; 128MB video card with support for pixelshader 2.0
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

The economic forces that drive the computer gaming industry work in mysterious ways, but occasionally to the average gamer’s benefit. This seems to be the case with the Europa Universalis franchise. Paradox Interactive has followed up the financial success of its previous expansion pack with the release of a second add-on, Europa Universalis 3: In Nomine. Listening to compliments, complaints and suggestions of all types, the designers have made an attempt to improve and expand upon many aspects of the original game. The most obvious examples are an extended timeline, with an earliest starting date of 1399, and new troop types and technologies. As in the previous expansion, Paradox capitalizes upon what makes a strategy game of this depth and magnitude fun: options, options, and still more options.

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So, a good friend of mine accidentally gets an Xbox 360. I say “accidentally” because he received it as a gift. If he had his say so, he probably would’ve gotten a new PC; however, he’s pleased with his gift because he has Call of Duty 4, which keeps him more than occupied. Of course, the sad part is that my PC version and his Xbox version won’t play together online, so we’re still stuck either playing at my house on the PC or at his house on the Xbox, either of which devolves into drinks, telling goofy stories and wondering why we both keep getting killed. It also leads to the occasional rant about why the PC and Xbox version of the game aren’t compatible and how this should be patched/fixed/updated, despite the fact that we’re probably members of a group of gamers comprising one-half of one percent of the Call of Duty population.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Paradox Interactive
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Intel Pentium IV 1.5 GHz or equivalent; 256 MB RAM; 64MB video memory; 4GB hard drive space
Genre: Sim
Release date: July 15th, 2008
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

Cities: centers of urban blight, traffic, pollution, crime, and corruption. Also, the bastions of high art, dance clubs, employment, 24 hour services, and restaurants selling food from every conceivable cultural group, past or present. While you end up taking the bad with the good, cities are complex entities that never remain static even when the number of people living there remains constant. Of course, this doesn’t stop anyone from wanting to take the reins of power and try to build their own utopian metropolis, whether it’s real life politics or gamers playing the Sim City series. With Maxis dominating the city simulator market for almost 20 years, you’d think that maybe the genre is played out, but Monte Cristo thinks otherwise. Challenging the dominance of Sim City and its descendents is City Life 2008, an expansion pack for City Life.

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No doubt the news that Jack Thompson has been censured by a Florida Court for 27 Bar rule violations will be greeted with a rousing chorus of acclaim by the gaming community. That’s to be expected, as he has been no friend to our community. But we shouldn’t get too excited just yet, as the fight isn’t quite over. While the judge’s decision has been made public, Florida’s Supreme Court still gets their say in the matter before Thompson actually loses the ability to practice law for up to ten years. Given his antics at the latest hearing, not to mention previous sanctions for inappropriate conduct, I suspect the Florida Supreme Court will revoke his ability to practice law.

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The folks over at The Glorious Cause, a new video game developer focusing on historical games, have announced the development of their first title, Civil War General. Looking to combine military strategy and national policy, the player is given wide latitude in how to fight the war. Do you wish to free the slaves as the South or bring in European assistance to help you supress the Confederacy? It sounds good to us, as it’s been awhile since we’ve played a game with the entire Civil War as its scope, not just individual battles. Oh, and they’re hiring, too.

Publisher: cdv Software Entertainment USA
Developer: Fireglow Games
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Windows XP or Vista; Nvidia 6600/Radeon 9800; 1 GB RAM
Genre: Historic real-time strategy
Release date: Available now
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

Back in 1945, who would’ve thought that the next 60 years would’ve seen the production of millions of dollars in entertainment based on one of the bloodiest and widest ranging conflicts in the world’s history? Between movies and television, hundreds of hours of entertainment have been generated using World War II as a backdrop. It should be no surprise that the video game industry has followed suit for the past two decades, producing innumerable titles in almost every genre from strategy to first person shooters. Adding to this very fertile and profitable field is the latest entry in the Sudden Strike series, Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory. Capitalizing on their previous titles, Fireglow Games has created a tactical combat game allowing the player to take command on battlefields as diverse as Omaha Beach and the Crimea. The outcome of some of the most pivotal battles of the war is in the hands of the player, and victory will not be easily won.

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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Paradox Interactive
System: PC
Minimum requirements: 1.9 GHz or equivalent processor; 512 MB RAM; 128 MB video card with Pixelshader 2.0; DirectX 9.0; Windows 2000, XP or Vista
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

In this list of great military leaders, pick the one name that doesn’t fit: Julius Caesar of Rome; Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt; Hannibal of Carthage; and Polysperchon Ptolemy the Great, king of Macedonia. The answer is, of course, Polysperchon, conqueror of all Greece, Thracia and Illyria, because he never existed in real life. He did, however, exist for a few hours last night on my computer, ruling Macedonia with an iron fist with me, the gray eminence, guiding his actions toward victory. But he was just one character in a long series of rulers, advisors, generals and other colorful personages that paraded down the alternate paths of history in my most recent game of Europa Universalis: Rome.

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Developer: Telltale Games
System: PC
Minimum requirements: 1.5 GHz processor; 256 MB RAM; 32 MB 3D accelerated video card; Windows XP
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

Note: Sam and Max Episode 205 is a shorter, episodic game in a larger series. As the game uses the exact same engine as previous installments and seasons, this review will be similar in length to our XBLA reviews.

Following up on their success with Sam and Max Season One, Telltale games has been busy producing their second season of Sam and Max. In television terms, the final episode of Season Two brings the series to a climax. Bosco has died prematurely, and our two heroes must go down to Hell and try to free their friend. But Hell has been updated since Dante took us there in the Divine Comedy, and now Sam and Max must fight Hell LLC, a corporate entity whose CEO, Satan, is interested in efficiency. If this sounds like another wild and zany Sam and Max adventure, that’s because it is. The first season of Sam and Max was known for its crazy humor and absurd plotlines; season two is no different.

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It’s probably not news to those who play, but smart folks who are involved in the counter-terrorism industry are looking at how bio-terrorists in the virtual world operate. It seems like you could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars developing your own computer simulation and model, or pay the current subscription rate and get some time in leveling a character while doing your research. There seem to be enough players who have nothing better to do with their time than spread plagues and curses, so there’s no shortage of stuff to look at.

Blizzard isn’t real keen on having the words “terrorist” and “World of Warcraft” in the same sentence, though, and they’re adamant that World of Warcraft is just a game.  This should come as no surprise, seeing as how, well, it is a game. Of course, who decided to put these curses and plagues into the game? Well, Blizzard did. Whether it’s a complement to their franchise to have this kind of attention or not remains to be seen.

However, an annual “World of Warcraft Counter-Terrorism Symposium” is a long way off.  As Stuart Gottlieb points out, “I wouldn’t base a new counterterrorism strategy on the nuances of a videogame.” That’s probably wise. Just like the Martyrdom perk in Call of Duty 4, it’s an interesting game mechanic, but in real life, you can’t wait 10 seconds and respawn. Nor do your victims, for that matter.

Publisher: 3000AD
Developer: 3000AD
System: PC
Minimum requirements: Pentium IV 3.0 GHz or equivalent; 1 GB RAM; 256 MB video card with pixel and vertex shader 2.0; Windows XP or Vista
Genre: Simulator
Release date: Available now
Review by: Jason Pitruzzello

2007 was big year for first-person shooters, along with the attendant increase in graphics and system requirements; however, it wasn’t a year with any space combat simulators worth mentioning. This was a bit disappointing, as this category of games, much like FPS titles, benefits from high-end machines and the latest DirectX. Indeed, the genre seemed to have been on hiatus until the release of Galactic Command: Echo Squad in March of this year. Coming to us from Derek Smart and the experienced designers at 3000AD, who brought us such classics as Battlecruiser 3000AD, Galactic Command: Echo Squad aims to be the solution to revitalizing this underserved genre.

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So it finally happened a little while ago. My computer, a top of the line custom built rig from four years ago, finally went to the great computer desk in the sky. One too many cords being unplugged and chewed on, and one too many things being dropped on the tower resulted in the death of my computer. I’ll mourn that machine for a long time……….

Okay, mourning time is over.

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Those familiar with my debacle with NetGear Wireless Garbage will no doubt remember the ultimate cause of that technological fiasco and my subsequent invective of discontent: my cat, Iago. Despite his fascination with destroying all cords, all the time, I still love him, much as a parent can love a child who destroys hundreds of dollars in household goods. But I’m not blind to his terrorism of electronic components. He is, after all, the reason for wireless networking, wireless keyboards and wireless mice. If someone would invent a cheap way to rig a monitor as wireless, I’d do that too, although he has some difficulty chewing the monitor cable; it’s a bit thick for his jaws.

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