Divided Ground Brings Tabletop to the Desktop

Divided Ground is the latest iteration of Talonsoft’s long-running East Front/West Front series. It covers the Arab-Israeli wars from 1948 through 1973, focusing on the forces of Israel, Jordan, Syria and Egypt. Like its predecessors, it is, in essence, a tabletop miniatures game adapted for the computer. It plays much like an advanced version of Command Decision or Spearhead with a scale of 200 meters per hex and 5-10 minute turns. If you’ve ever played the old Avalon Hill PanzerBlitz derivative Arab-Israeli Wars, you will feel right at home with this game. In general DG plays much like the previous … Continue reading Divided Ground Brings Tabletop to the Desktop

Merchant Prince II is One for the Books

Merchant Prince II is a way to take the reigns behind one of the true powers in Renaissance Europe. No, not a King or Queen. Not even the Pope, but one of the rich merchant families of Venice. People tend to forget that while the Charlemagnes and Richards roamed around ruling the world, it was the Fuggers and Medicis who actually moved it. This is now your job. The basic premise of the game is simple enough to grasp – buy low, sell high. You look at what Venice has a lot of, buy some of those, and go off … Continue reading Merchant Prince II is One for the Books

DESIGN and BUILD Your Very Own Mechs!

Yes you heard it right! Not only fight with these bad boys, but now you can design and build your own Mechs to play with. Plus, the ability to steal technology from your opponents and apply to your Mechs makes Metal Fatigue a winner. These are just a few of the things that make Metal Fatigue stand out from the vast armada of "Real time strategy" games to flood the market in the past months. The premise of this latest release from TalonSoft is the conquest of the latest ‘new’ planet to be discovered with vast quantities of resources that … Continue reading DESIGN and BUILD Your Very Own Mechs!

Lemmings Revolution is Puzzling Fun

If you are a fan of Lemmings games from the 1980’s and ’90’s, stop reading. Go buy Lemmings Revolution. Now! It’s more challenging, more visually appealing, and easier to operate than the earlier incarnations, and the Lemmings are still unbearably cute. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the history of the Lemmings games may have heard of real live lemmings, rodents that have been known to plunge off cliffs in communal suicide. The digital Lemmings aren’t any smarter, and it’s your job to guide them to the waiting hot air balloons that will carry them to safety without allowing … Continue reading Lemmings Revolution is Puzzling Fun

Dogs of War is No Litter Runt

I can’t decide if this game is outstanding or infuriating. Perhaps it is both. Dogs of War, published under the Talonsoft label but developed by Silicon Dreams, is a real-time strategy game in the mold of Microprose’s MechCommander. It features three different armies battling for control of Primus: The Mantai, an indigenous dinosaur-like race, the War Monkeys, a human mercenary group in the employ of the planetary government, and the Imperials, representing the military might of humanity as a whole. The game has a number of things going for it. The most apparent is the versatility of the camera, which … Continue reading Dogs of War is No Litter Runt

Stay Alone – Stay Alive with Martian Gothic: Unification

"Stay alone, stay alive." As a member of a rescue team to Mars, you have just crashed landed on the Red Planet and as you head for your assigned airlock, these last words from the previous mission ring in your head! TalonSoft’s recent release of Martian Gothic: Unification puts the gamer into a world full of horror and suspense. Set in the year 2019, you are one of three members of a team sent to Mars to find out the fate of the previous mission that had set up Vita Base to see if life really did exist on our … Continue reading Stay Alone – Stay Alive with Martian Gothic: Unification

Century of Warfare has war covered

Century of Warfare (CoW) is the latest iteration of the The Operational Art of War series, widely considered the most comprehensive wargaming system ever created for the computer. CoW combines the original TOAW, TOAWII and their expansion packs in a single game. The attendant scenarios (with several exceptions) are updated to the current version of the game engine. Additionally, CoW includes a variety of World War I (and pre-WWI) scenarios, rounding out the great conflicts of the Twentieth Century, hence the name. For those of you unfamiliar with the TOAW series, it’s the modern version of the traditional board wargame, … Continue reading Century of Warfare has war covered

Flying Heroes is a pleasant diversion

I know that I shall meet my fateSomewhere among the clouds aboveThose that I fight I do not hateThose that I guard I do not love.— Yeats Flying Heroes is a 3D combat game that mixes science and magic in arena-style combat scenarios. The game brings to mind the air-to-air duels found in games like Sierra’s Red Baron, only instead of a biplane, you ride to battle mounted on top a dragon or other fantastic creatures. Players start the game by joining one of four leagues that compete in various combat arenas dispersed throughout the known fantasy world. The plot … Continue reading Flying Heroes is a pleasant diversion

West Front makes up for the mistakes of the East

The West Front of World War II is one of the more interesting theaters of the war. TalonSoft’s latest edition to their ‘Campaign Series’ explores this theater of War, which includes the deserts of North Africa, Sicily, the Bleak landscape of Norway and the march across France after the Invasion of Normandy. West Front is TalonSoft’s sequel to the ill-fated premiere game in the Campaign Series: East Front. Those familiar with this type of wargame will probably recall the volley of complaints that were leveled at TalonSoft after the release of East Front. Releasing ‘unfinished product,’ releasing ‘buggy games’ etc., … Continue reading West Front makes up for the mistakes of the East

Jagged Alliance 2 is locked, loaded and ready for action

Jagged Alliance 2 gives armchair mercenaries the ability to travel to exciting places, meet new and fascinating people, and kill them. Jagged Alliance 2 is actually the third in the mercenary-for-hire series on the PC, and by far is the best one yet. I love turn based combat games, especially the ones where you can maneuver in real time till the shooting starts. This gives you the ability to wander around and explore without having to worry about your characters annoyingly running out of action points. It was this type of interface that was missing from the second game in … Continue reading Jagged Alliance 2 is locked, loaded and ready for action