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Thursday, 31st May
History Today: The Battle of Jutland
The largest naval battle of WW1 – the Battle of Jutland - started on this day in 1916. The Battle of Jutland website on my History Links page provides a very good introduction to the battle. If you would like to listen a podcast about naval warfare during the age of dreadnoughts (including the Battle of Jutland) go to the Military History Podcast blog and look for the episode entitled ‘The Third Naval Age.’
I’m looking forward to the Jutland PC game being produced by Storm Eagle Studios. You can find out more about it at the Storm Eagles site.
HPS Simulations have produced a PC game about the battle called Naval Campaigns 1: Jutland. You can find out more about it here.
Computer Games: John Tiller’s Campaign Series Screenshots
Matrix Games and Campaign Series Legion have released a pack of screenshots showcasing their upcoming compilation of strategy classics, John Tiller’s Campaign Series. This compilation combines the popular WW2 turn-based tactical games from Talonsoft’s Campaign Series (West Front, East Front, East Front 2 and Rising Sun) with all of the official add-ons and expansion packs in one package. You can see the screenshots and find out more about the games on the Campaign Series web page at Matrix.
Computer Games: Making History: The Calm and the Storm Review
IGN have published a review of Muzzy Lane’s WW2 grand strategy game Making History: The Calm and the Storm. The reviewer (Steve Butts) wrote that the game was: “A nice attempt to recreate the whole war but it falls short of the complexity of Heats of Iron.” Click here to read the review and see 40+ screenshots. The game’s official website can be found here.
Wednesday, 30th May
Computer Games: Free Fantasy Strategy Game Released
Shrapnel Games have released Conquest of Elysium II, the precursor to their Dominion Wars series, as a free game download. Conquest of Elysium II is a turn-based strategy game set in a fantasy world. It looks pretty retro, but then it was originally released back in 1997. As one of up to eight players (human, computer controlled or both) your goal, as suggested in the title, is very simple: total subjugation of all that do not fly your banner! Players can create a random fantasy world to play in – or customize the world creation to suit their own tastes. The game is playable in Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. To find out more - or download the game - visit Shrapnel here.
Computer Games: Harpoon 3 Updated
Matrix Games and Advanced Gaming Systems have released another update for their venerable simulation of modern naval warfare operations, Harpoon 3 - Advanced Naval Warfare. Having gone through multiple iterations and improvements over the years, this latest incremental update brings dozens of changes and improvements in addition to multiple new features. These new features will please gamers with an even more streamlined game interface and further tweaked and improved gameplay. Get the new update (patch 3.80) and further info from the Harpoon 3 pages at Matrix.
Computer Games: Forge of Freedom Updated
Matrix Games have released a major update for their American Civil War (ACW) grand strategy game, Forge of Freedom, updating the title to version 1.9.23. Get the update and further info about the game from the Forge of Freedom pages at Matrix.
If you’re interested in the ACW you should check out some of the sites on my History Links page
Tuesday, 29th May
Computer Games: Battle of Britain II (v2.06) Review
SimHQ have published a review of Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory, post-patch (i.e. Update 2.06). The reviewer (Jens Lindblad) wrote: “Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory is not only a first class simulation set in a very interesting historical period, but it’s also a time-machine, an immersive flight experience with up-to-date graphics.” You can get the rest of the review here.
To find out more about the game visit its official web page at Shockwave. It can be purchased from Amazon.
Scroll down to my Battle of Britain II entry on the 12th May to see a fan-made gameplay video.
Board Games: Ran and Gergovia Released
GMT Games have released two new games: RAN: Samurai Warfare in the Sengoku Jidai, which is the 12th volume in the award-winning Great Battles of History series, and Gergovia: Gaul 52 B.C., which is a module for Caesar: Conquest of Gaul (ownership of this game is required). Visit GMT for more details.
Computer Games: Combat Mission: Shock Force Preview
The Out of Eight PC Game Review blog has published a preview of Battlefront’s upcoming game Combat Mission: Shock Force. The reviewer (James Allen) wrote: “Combat Mission: Shock Force is poised to be the premier tactical strategy game and I, for one, can’t wait for the release on July 27th.” You can read more on the blog here (under May 29). The game’s official web page is here.
A beta video for the game.
(YouTube video tip: To see a full-screen video double-click on the video image to open its page at YouTube. Then select the full-screen button)
There are 20+ more gameplay videos in Battlefront’s Combat Mission: Shock Force gallery at YouTube. You can find them here.
Saturday, 26th May
History Today: The Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, was born on this day in 1650. He was the best British general of his generation and one of the greatest commanders in British military history. Marlborough made his name during the War of Spanish Succession during which he defeated the French and their Bavarian allies at a series of battles: the Schellenberg, Blenheim, the Lines of Brabant (Elixheim), Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet. Sir Winston Churchill was very proud of being a descendant of Marlborough. Being challenged once that the Battle of Britain was his Waterloo, he replied, “No, it's my Blenheim.” There is a Wikipedia about Marlborough here. Most of his battles are covered by the Spanish Succession website listed on my History Links page.
Podcasts: All About Miniatures Episode 10
John and Dan have released their 10th podcast (mp3 format). In this show they take a look at Warhammer: Legends of the Old West and review several lines of Wild West figures. You can find their podcast (along with its associated links and photo) here.
Computer Games: Combat Mission: Shock Force Preview
The Wargamer has published a preview of Battlefront’s upcoming wargame Combat Mission: Shock Force. You can read it here.
The game is a tactical-level military simulation that depicts a hypothetical near-future conflict in Syria. It’s not just an evolutionary advance from the earlier Combat Mission games, but a revolutionary jump. The game’s official web page is here. It is due to be released on the 27th July.
Friday, 25th May
Computer Games: Campaign Chickamauga Unveiled
HPS Simulations have announced that they have produced a ninth game for their American Civil War Campaign series: Campaign Chickamauga. The game covers the entire Chickamauga campaign in Kentucky, Tennessee and northern Georgia from 1862-63. There are some 170 stand alone scenarios and 80 campaign scenarios. The scenarios include the battles at Perryville, Stones River, Frankfort, Nashville, Chickamauga, Greater Mill Springs and Chattanooga. Gamers can also create their own scenarios. The game is scheduled for release on the 1st June.
Thursday, 24th May
Computer Games: Making History: The Calm and the Storm Patched
Muzzy Lane Software has released a patch for their WW2 strategy game Making History: The Calm and the Storm. In response to player feedback the new patch includes several new features such as the ability to play as any nation (it was originally restricted to the U.K., Soviet Union, Germany, Japan, Italy, France and the U.S.), an upgraded AI and improved diplomatic and economic game play. The patch brings the game up to version 2.0.1. For further information about the game or to download the patch visit the official Making History website.
Board games: Soldier Kings Reprint
Avalanche Games have produced a new edition of their classic Seven Years’ War game Soldier Kings. Go to the Avalanche site to find out more.
Computer Games: Steel Fury – Kharkov ’42 Trailer
Russian games company Discus Games has released another trailer of their upcoming Eastern Front tank simulator: Steel Fury – Kharkov ’42. See below. To find out more about the game and see some screenshots visit the game’s web page at Discus.
Computer Games: Squad Battles: Soviet-Afghan War
HPS Simulations have produced a new Squad Battles title - called Squad Battles: Soviet-Afghan War - which is set in Afghanistan during the nine-year Soviet occupation of the country. The game is a tactical level simulation of the conflict and features some 57 standalone scenarios and three campaigns. Its 39 different maps - ranging in size from 1900 hexes to 59,000 hexes - will provide ample ground for scenario designers to create their own actions. The game will be shipped from the 1st June.
Computer Games: AGEOD’s American Civil War Patched
AGEOD have released a patch for their very popular American Civil War strategy game. You can download it from the game’s official website. This patch brings the games version up to 1.3.
History Today: Kamikazes at Okinawa
On this day in 1945 nine U.S. Navy ships were damaged by Japanese kamikaze attacks near Okinawa. Many U.S. ships were sunk and damaged by kamikazes during the Okinawa campaign.
A video clip of kamikazes from the classic TV series ‘The World at War’.
Wednesday, 23rd May
Computer Games: Great Invasions Review
Worthplaying.com has reviewed Philippe Thibaut's Great Invasions: The Dark Ages 350-1066 AD. You can read what they think here.
Great Invasions is a turn-based strategy game set in Europe during the Dark Ages. It’s a complex game, with over 80 playable nations, 22 different ethnic groups and numerous religious, political, economic and territorial entities.
Computer Games: War in the Pacific Updated
Matrix Games and 2by3 Games have released another update for War in the Pacific (WitP). The incremental update brings a handful of changes and game play improvements, especially with air detection devises. Note that this update is currently only incremental with a comprehensive release expected to follow shortly.
Based on the award winning Uncommon Valor game engine, WitP is a comprehensive WW2 wargame set in the Pacific Theater. With a 60 miles per hex scale and realistic loss calculation, it gives gamers the chance to play either side of the Pacific Theater with unprecedented accuracy and detail.
To find out more about the game or to download the patch visit the official WitP web pages at Matrix.
Computer Games: Theatre of War Review
The Out of Eight PC Game Reviews blog has published a review of Theatre of War. The reviewer (James Allen) writes: “Theatre of War is a sound real time strategy game and its smaller focus and solid AI make it stand out against the wealth of competition.” Read the rest of the review on the blog (under May 23, 2007).
Computer Games: Campaign Vicksburg Review
The Armchair General website has published a review of HPS’s Campaign Vicksburg. You can read it here. Visit HPS for more info about the game and additional screenshots.
History Today: Sergeant William H. Carney
On this day in 1900 a former slave, Sgt. William H. Carney, became the first African American to receive the Medal of Honor - nearly 37 years after his heroism at the Battle of Fort Wagner. Sixteen other African American soldiers and four African American sailors eventually received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their bravery in the same tragic engagement. There is an article about Sgt. Carney on Military.com here.
A video tribute to African-American soldiers of the American Civil War.
History Today: The Battle of Ramillies
On this day in 1706 an Anglo-Dutch-German army under the Duke of Marlborough defeated the French and Bavarians under the Duc de Villeroi at Ramillies-Offus -driving them from the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium) during the War of the Spanish Succession. The battle and the war are both covered by the Spanish Succession website on my History Links page.
Here’s a 360˚ degree view of the battlefield today – which hasn’t changed much in 301 years.
Tuesday, 22nd May
Board Games: Blackshirt: The Italian Invasion of Egypt Review
The Shrapnel Games Blog has published a review of the BSO game Blackshirt: The Italian Invasion of Egypt, 1940. It can be found here (under 5/22/2007). The reviewer (Scott Krol) concluded: “All in all, Blackshirt is a good game on the war in North Africa. The fact that most games on the subject start off after the events portrayed in Blackshirt, also makes the game welcome. Fast, fun, and playable, there are worse ways to drop twenty bucks.”
Computer Games: Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway Trailer
Ubisoft have released a short video of their upcoming squad-based shooter Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway. Set during Operation Market Garden the game puts the player into the boots of a U.S. paratrooper fighting his way up the infamous ‘Hell’s Highway’ into Germany.
Computer Games: New Screenshots of Commander: Europe at War
Slitherine have published four new screenshots of their upcoming WW2 strategic level game - Commander: Europe at War – on the game’s official web page. To see the screenshots and find out more about the turn-based game click here.
Computer games: New Screenshots of Carriers at War
Matrix Games and Strategic Studies Group have released an after action report (AAR) with screenshots to showcase their upcoming real-time naval warfare title, Carriers at War. You can read it here.
Carriers at War is a WW2 naval combat and strategy game set in the Pacific Theatre. It Focuses heavily on carrier fleet command strategy. There are seven basic scenarios for the game (with several variants for each): Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, Coral Sea, Midway, East Solomons, Santa Cruz and Philippine Sea. Find out more about Carriers at War on the game’s official web pages at Matrix.
If you’re interested in the Pacific War you should check out this site about the U.S. Navy and this site about the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Military History: New Indian Mutiny Book
Osprey Publishing have started to ship their new title The Indian Mutiny (Essential Histories 68). The book, drawing on the latest sources as well as numerous first-hand accounts, explains why the Indian Sepoys rose up against the world's leading imperial power and details the major phases of the fighting, including the massacres at Cawnpore and the epic sieges of Delhi and Lucknow. It can be purchased from Amazon.
Monday, 21st May
History Today: The Battle of Iquique
The naval Battle of Iquique took place on this day in 1879 during the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru. It would make an interesting wargame. There’s a Wikipedia about it here.
A video about the battle (in Spanish).
Sunday, 20th May
Board Games: Web-Grognards’ Game Review Links
Web-Grognards has been updated with a variety of new links and files, including eight game reviews: Battlelore (DOW), The Longest Day (AH), Onward Christian Soldiers (GMT), PanzerGrenadier (Avalanche), Triumph of Chaos (Clash of Arms), Twilight Struggle (GMT), Vietnam (VG) and War of 1812 (Gamma Two Games/Columbia Games). Click here to go to the Web-Grognards home page.
Saturday, 19th May
Podcasts: Meeples and Miniatures Episode 11
Neil Shuck has released his 11th podcast (mp3 format). He muses about recent developments in the world of miniatures gaming and board games. In this show he looks at wargaming the Vietnam War with miniatures. You can download his podcasts from here.
Friday, 18th May
Computer Games: New WW1 Naval Game Announced
Storm Eagle Studios have just announced that they are working on a new naval combat game called Jutland that utilizes the Distant Guns 3D combat engine. In addition to covering the largest clash of battleships in history, current plans for Jutland include many additional North Sea battles and a huge 1916 North Sea naval campaign which pits Kaiser Bill’s mighty dreadnoughts against Britain's glorious Royal Navy. You can read more about it on the Storm Eagle site here. Jutland is due to be released in the late Summer or early Autumn.
Computer Games: Age of Empires III Expansion Announced
Microsoft has announced the second expansion pack for their real-time strategy game, Age of Empires III. Called The Asian Dynasties it will introduce gamers to new playable Asian civilizations, a host of new game play features and a new developer (Big Huge Games) that will provide a unique spin to the game. You can read more about it on the Age of Empires III website. The Asian Dynasties is due to be released this Autumn.
Computer Games: Medal of Honor Airborne Trailer
EA have released a new trailer of their upcoming FPS title: Medal of Honor Airborne. Visit the official website for more information about the game.
Computer Games: HPS Release Three Patches
HPS have released patches for three of their Panzer Campaign titles: Budapest ’45, Market Garden ’44 and Sicily ’43. These patches can be downloaded from the HPS website.
Computer Games: Supreme Commander Review
The Wargamer has published a review of Chris Taylor’s Supreme Commander. You can read it here. The game’s official website is here.
Thursday, 17th May
Computer Games: Expansion for Strategic Command 2 Announced
Battlefront and Fury Software have announced an expansion pack for Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg. Called Weapons and Warfare it incorporates new features asked for by the game’s fans, including a bigger world map, new units, naval movement and combat rules, an improved weather model, additional terrain types and resources, the simulation of roads and railways and an extended editor. This expansion will be made available for download this Summer from Battlefront.com. To find out more about Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg visit the games official web page.
Wednesday, 16th May
Computer Games: Theatre of War Review
The Wargamer has published a review of Battlefront’s Theatre of War – a realistic yet playable 3D RTS WW2 tactical-level wargame. The reviewer (Jim Cobb) concluded: “Theatre of War with its present scope may be fun for a while but is, in the long run, stagnant.” You can read the full review here. The game’s official web page is here.
Here’s a very short clip of Theatre of War gameplay.
... and this is a fan-made funny.
Computer Games: First Eagles Additional Aircraft Released
A group of modders (the SFP1 Dev A-Team) have created another additional flyable aircraft for my favourite WW1 air combat game: Thirdwire’s First Eagles: The Great War 1918. It is the late war British Sopwith Camel. It can be downloaded from the Downloads section of the CombatACE website (it is listed under Thirdwire Series > Add-On Aircraft > WW1 Aircraft). You will need to be registered with CombatACE to download the files. There are many other additional planes, skins, missions and other mods available on the site.
First Eagles can be purchased from Amazon in the UK.
If you’re interested in WW1 aircraft you should check out a couple of the links on my History Links page: ‘The Aerodrome’ and ‘WW1 Aviation’.
Monday, 14th May
Miniatures: Historicon 2007
The pre-registration for Historicon 2007 (July 26-29) is now open. It will close on 14 July.
Historicon is the largest miniatures convention in the eastern United States. Full details of this year’s events - games, seminars, tournaments and painting events/contests – can be found on the convention’s website. There are over 600 games – up 50% on last year. The special theme for this year’s convention is “The Wars of South Asia – Afghanistan, Burma, India and Pakistan, 1800-2007”.
Computer Games: Rise of Persia Mod for RTW
The Rise of Persia mod team have released a new beta version of their mod for Rome Total War 1.5. I played an earlier version of this mod and it was superb. This 2.1 Beta version should be even better. It is set during the 6th Century BC and players can control a variety of ancient civilizations – including Athens, Babylon, Egypt (Kemet), Kush, Kyrene, Lydia, Media, the Persians, Sparta (Lakedaimon) and India (Magadh). For more information and to download the mod visit the Rise of Persia section of the Total War Center Forums here.
Indian standard bearers from RoP 2.1.
Sunday, 13th May
Board Games: Web-Grognards’ Game Review Links
Web-Grognards has been updated with many new links and files, including a dozen game reviews: Battlelore – Call to Arms Expansion (DOW), Combat Soldiers (Lost Battalion), First Alamein (Lou Coatney), Monsters Menace America! (AH), Napoleonic Wars (GMT), No Prisoners: Campaigns of Lawrence of Arabia, S&T #237 (DG), North Sea Campaign, Panzerschreck #15 (Minden), Onward Christian Soldiers (GMT), RAF (WEG), The Sedan Campaign 1870, S&T #224 (DG), They Died with Their Boots on 2: Mad Anthony and Pershing, S&T #243 (DG) and A Victory Lost (MMP). Click here to go to the Web-Grognards home page.
Saturday, 12th May
Computer Games: Battle of Britain II Patched
Shockwave Productions have released a patch for their WW2 air combat strategy and simulation game, Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory, updating it to version 2.06. It can be downloaded from gamershell.com. To find out more about the game visit Shockwave’s BoB web page. It can be purchased from Amazon.
Here’s a fan-made video of BoB II gameplay:
If you’re interested in the Battle of Britain you should check out the Royal Air Force’s Battle of Britain site. It features some great videos.
Friday, 11th May
Miniatures: The Ultimate Skirmish Game Review
Neil Shuck has updated his website (Meeples & Miniatures) with a review of The Ultimate Skirmish Game - Steve Barber’s rules for skirmish games with 28mm or 42mm figures, from Ancient times until the Napoleonic Wars. You can find it in the Articles/Reviews section of the site.
Thursday, 10th May
Podcasts: The War of the Fifth Coalition
The Napoleon 101 podcast blog has been updated with an episode (#21) about the War of the Fifth Coalition and its decisive battle - the Battle of Wagram in 1809. You can find it here.
Military History: British WW1 Fighter Ace Article
Historynet.com has published an article about Edward ‘Mick’ Mannock –an RAF fighter ace during the First World War. You can read it here.
Wednesday, 9th May
Computer Games: Medieval Total War II Expansion Trailer
Sega have released the first part of a four part movie that shows off their first expansion to Medieval Total War II: Medieval Total War Kingdoms. This expansion will feature 13 new playable factions, new hero characters, over 150 new units and four new campaigns: Britannia, the Teutonic knights, the Crusade to the Holy Land and the conquest of the New World.
Computer Games: Space Empires V Patched
Strategy First has released a patch for Space Empires V - their 3D real-time Expand, Explore. Exploit and Exterminate space strategy game. This new patch will update all previous versions of the game to version 1.35. To download this patch or find out more about the game go to the Strategy First website.
Tuesday, 8th May
Computer Games: winSPWW2 Updated
Shrapnel Games have released a patch for their turn-based WW2 tactical-level game winSPWW2 (Steel Panthers WW2 for Windows). Find out more about the game here and get the update from here.
Monday, 7th May
Computer Games: Medieval Total War II Updated
Sega have released an update for their popular medieval strategy and war game Medieval Total War II (MTWII). To download this patch and find out more about the game visit Totalwar.com. If you fancy trying out one of the mods for MTWII visit the Total War Center forum.
Board Games: Epic of the Peloponnesian War Review
The Armchair General website has published a review of Epic of the Peloponnesian War by Warhorse Simulations. You can read it here. The game’s official webpage is here.
Saturday, 5th May
Welcome!
Well here goes! This is my first entry in my ‘blog-like’ site about computer games, wargaming and history. I hope to update the site on a regular basis … real life permitting.
First I would like to kick off with an ‘off-topic’ music vid. Here is the ‘Gamedias’ marching band. I wish!
Please support this site by supporting my advertisers: Amazon (in the UK and U.S.) and Google.
Cheers,
John
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