As some have said, this game is clearly the successor to Panzer General 2. A tight, small quarters puzzle strategy game with little room for error. It's sequal, Panzer Corps, was much broader and more forgiving - allowing for looser strategies, and adding more detail to command. This game is the perfect balance of the two. It has dragged its foundation back to the tight puzzle like feel, but added and expanded on much of what Panzer Corps brought to the table. This game will certainly not be for everyone - while it has been a bit overstated, this game is not as forgiving as so many titles these days. You will need to fight through some bad situations and start from square one on many occasions. For those up for the task, it is well worth it.
This game is going to get a fair amount of negative press, as it will draw in a lot of people with its artistic style and fans of the developer, who may quickly find themselves deep in no mans land. This game looks and feel like it's from the Into The Breach and Advanced Wars realm. Very acccessible, a bit cartoonish, small scale. But as you get into the gameplay it is far from it. While those were rather open and agressive in how you could approach each level, this is more of a conservative grind. Attempting to embody a slightly more realistic approach, like what you find in more serious hex based grand strategies. Which lands this game in a bit of a tight niche - perhaps not serious enough for those looking for Gary Grigsby, and perhaps a bit too unrelenting for those looking for more casual gameplay. If you enjoy both ends of the spectrum, I think this game is definitely worth taking a look at. Though I do hope that further updates and perhaps a dlc can open up the viable tactical approaches.
I would have to put LoG as a 3.5, but have no problem rounding up as this genre is intensely under represented these days. I'm a huge first person dungeon crawler fan, so without a doubt I was happy to play through LoG, but it does have some glaring problems, that largely seem to stem from being made by such a small company. Character developement doesn't really fill out, if you intensely speacialize, putting all your points into literally one skill, you will have only made mastery in one field with a few points to spare. So there is really no room for exploring more nuanced character builds (in vanilla that is). My other problem is combat, while it starts off quite fun, by the end you are just doing the same little dance with every single monster, over and over - move to the left, turn, strike, move to the left, turn strike, move to the... right (ohh), turn, strike. This becomes quite tedius, and it is really a shame that each new monster, even the final boss, is limited to this little dance. With this said, if your a fan of a genre, you have to go through LoG, it is a true throwback dungeon crawler with a lot of fun to be had, and some decent puzzles. There is also a rich modding community, which adds all sorts of dimensions to it if you choose to go down that path. Cheers!
Primordia stands almost alone in the last decade of retro point and click adventures, and is one of the few that could have come out during the mid nineties and really stoodup to and in ways surpassed its peers. The world building is wonderful, from the color palette to the personalities and writing, the outstanding pixel art. The puzzles are highly logical for a point and click game, which is a rather notorious aspect of the genre, and there are choices to make that do impact the flow of the game. With all that said I am not so foolish to say that this game is for everyone. The nature of these games require some puzzle/item grinding at times, and there will likely be moments where the people putting the puzzles together don't necessarily think in the same trains of thought as yourself, and of course you have to enjoy retro graphics and post apocalyptic settings. But for what it tries to be, it trully exels in, and I I couldn't recommend it more to fans of the genre.
The new era of Strategic command games consistently take flak in GOG reviews. These are all high end strategy games well worth the money. Each one is quite unique, not tailored to the masses, yet all fill a niche that is completely untouched by other modern products. Do you want to play a great WW1 Grand Strategy game that is accessible yet deep and engaging? This is damn near the only one. So well worth the price. If you are interested in WW1 you will spend a dollar an hour at most... I am guessing it may come out to 10 cents an hour given the quality of the game. I'd never give a review on price in general, but this series gets unfairly blasted over and over again. Do a bit of research, then jump in head first and have a blast!
Come on now. This is straight Business.
I have never played this game before in my life. I have a history in 90's PC Games. This game is hilarious. You find yourself in some old school battles beaconing of Quest For Glory 1, with those same epic Midi tunes. Then after the long abstract battle, you take two steps and fall down a bit below a random tile and are doomed. Little more you can ask for if you want some old school dungeon business. Geet it.
One day.. I will take charge of Gary Grigsby's armies and charge my way through the eastern front... some glorious day!! In fact I have given it a try more then once. Until that dream is fulfilled, Strategic Command will continue to dish out some of the most enjoyable tactical combat I have experienced. This is one of the few games I have played that just leaves me utterly satisfied. There are flaws, but I will skip over them as they don't hinder the gameplay, just a few under utilized aspects (*cough* diplomacy *cough*) But the decisions you make have lasting, interesting effects. The key statement I will say is that if you want a to play freely, and break the chains of history, go to Startegic Command: World At War. This game will take you down the paths already charted by the past. If you are Germany and don't invade Russian, even with great relations.. they invade you, as the game would be easily beated if you had any sort of friendship with them. If you want a joyous experience tromping through World War 2, and don't have the time or capacity for the giants as Grigsby's masterpieces, please, have a go at Strategic Command. These games are a joy to play.
This is a six star game that I put four on as an olive branch to modern gamers. There are comical flaws here. A few turns in you may try to hit escape to see a menu and boom - your sitting on your desktop with any progress erased, having to reboot your way back into the game. There are plenty of things of this nature, but they won't be what stick with you once pressing forward into the experience. What we have here is the man who created one of Nintendos most endearing sagas, rising from the ashes in a comeplete indy format backed by volunteers to thrust his vision through the dark clouds of corporate gaming (which has taken him to court for his attempts). Give this game a chance if anything of this genre interests you. The music, the story, the characters. This is true art, fighting it's way from from the depths.
