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Two new games worth checking out - 10/5/2009 8:13:43 AM

Rosseau

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If you're like me and just can't get enough of good war and strategy games, I'd like to suggest a couple of diamonds in the rough:

First, "Gratuitous Space Battles" over at Stardock. Ignore the name and the fact that it's published by Positech (Democracy, et al). There's some deep game play here and a lot of potential. With the Stardock "survey" discount, I got it for $16, and felt like sending the dev another $20. It's also easily modded. Check out the Positech forums for an in-depth look.

Second, "War Leaders: Clash of Nations." Published in Europe last year, with version 1.3 available here. It's a grand strategic/tactical RTS hybrid that actually works--for me at least--and I hate click fest RTS games, which this is not if you use the options right.

Graphically, the RTS portion looks somewhat like Battlefront's CM Shock Force, but in lower res and more traditional RTS interface. Hundreds of historically accurate units. No scenario editor, but you really don't need one with all the options they give you. If you can ignore the bad voice acting and the hokey graphic integration of the "leaders" on the campaign map, this game may surprise you with its depth. Sort of like HOI3 "light" without the bugs. And it's got a 161 page PDF manual to boot.

You can pick up a new copy at Amazon for around $22 including shipping. I got a slightly used version delivered in two days (a record for an Amazon reseller) for $18. Two DVDs and 7.5 gigs of good stuff.

Bottom line is the bang we get for our hard earned bucks: I paid $35 for Matrix's Op Barb, and would buy the game again if I had to. But for another $5, I get both of these? It's no contest! Also, in terms of replay/depth, comparing Op Barb to War Leaders is like comparing Risk to Empires in Arms, respectively. And I'm not knocking the Matrix game here.

And to those who bought the latest Slitherine offering here at Matrix, I offer my condolences...

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/5/2009 10:40:29 AM

Alan Sharif

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Mmmm, I have read bad things about 'War Leaders:Clash Od Nations'. Has version 1.3 sorted out some game stopping bugs? If so I may well take a closer look.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/5/2009 12:45:01 PM

killroyishere

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I saw the letters RTS and that was it for me. No Sale. I also already have a million strategy space games and nothing is going to be as good or compare to Orion II or GalCiv2 so why bother? I'd be more interested in shelling out the $39 for the Elemental game and getting into the free Beta. Just my 2fers.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/5/2009 4:26:15 PM

Greybriar

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I bought War Leaders: Clash of Nations from Newegg for $19.99 + Free Shipping. The biggest problem I have had with it is advancing the game to the next [AI] player after I end my turn. So I am puzzled as to what the RTS portion of it is--is that the battles? I am still learning the game, have only fought one battle, and let it play out instantly without my input (I won plus I got a new general and a hero!).

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/5/2009 5:59:50 PM

Arctic Blast

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quote:

ORIGINAL: killroyishere

I saw the letters RTS and that was it for me. No Sale. I also already have a million strategy space games and nothing is going to be as good or compare to Orion II or GalCiv2 so why bother? I'd be more interested in shelling out the $39 for the Elemental game and getting into the free Beta. Just my 2fers.

GSB is actually more of a tower defense style game than a big space strat game...looks like lots of fun if you're in to that sort of thing. Set up your fleet, equip them, give them preliminary orders...then watch the fireworks.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/5/2009 6:30:27 PM

Hertston

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quote:

ORIGINAL: killroyishere

No Sale. I also already have a million strategy space games and nothing is going to be as good or compare to Orion II or GalCiv2 so why bother?

As Artic Blast said, it's nothing like either (I'm playing the pay-to-beta). Or really, 'tower defence', although I see the similarity. The basic idea is that you construct spaceship designs, combine them into fleets, give them orders and sit back and watch the explosions. It's an interesting idea, but to be honest it hasn't really grabbed me as much as I expected and I've already put it aside, at least until the final release. AI War is a lot more fun.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/6/2009 2:11:29 AM

Rosseau

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I was considering AI Wars, Hertston, but was afraid it would be one of those frenetic RTS games. And with thousands of units, no less. Is there some deeper strategy to it, etc?

I should check out the demo again.

Thanks!

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/6/2009 2:54:40 AM

LarryP

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quote:

ORIGINAL: rosseau

I was considering AI Wars, Hertston, but was afraid it would be one of those frenetic RTS games. And with thousands of units, no less. Is there some deeper strategy to it, etc?

I should check out the demo again.

Thanks!

I've been playing AI Wars for a few months. It's a very good value. I hate RTS games, all of them. I have the best ones too but just don't play them. AI Wars has a pause function and you can do almost anything while paused. Chris Park the programmer developer is doing more to that game every week than most developers do in a game lifetime. It has really evolved into a beautiful and well functioning game.

I pause it constantly while roaming around and planning things, building, ordering units, and more. Chris took the pause function and designed it so that players that don't care for RTS can treat it like a TBS game, and the result is excellent. Best of both worlds. It's very different than any other game I own. He is constantly polishing the game and adding new content weekly, it was daily but now it's more weekly. An expansion is now in the works too.

Inside the game there is a control guide that explains every key and mouse command. It's perfectly done. Tooltips everywhere that are very detailed.

For the price of $19.95, it's a very good deal.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/6/2009 3:27:43 AM

V22 Osprey

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This "AI Wars" looks awesome.Downloading demo now.At $20 this will be a definite buy if I like.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/6/2009 4:11:31 AM

LarryP

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I know you will be impressed. It's also the kind of game that you can minimize and do email, surf the web, work on documents, and come back and no problems. I have email going while the game is running. Chris is an excellent programmer and it shows in every detail of this game.

The tutorials are very good too. Great support at his site also at Arcen Games.

Let us know how you like it.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/6/2009 5:01:15 AM

V22 Osprey

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One word:WOW

Battles are awesome and massive, and the option to have anywhere from 10 - 120 star systems is incredible.The game totally beats Star Wars: Empire at War, as that game only has less than 50 star systems max.Battles in this game are also much bigger and epic.At $20 it's going to be a steal.Definitely on Xmas list.Can't wait to play around a little bit more with it tomorrow.

Edit:Geez guys, my Xmas list is starting to get a little big.I should take a quite a few things off.Between this and Harpoon, I'm going to have to really decide on what I really want.

< Message edited by V22 Osprey -- 10/6/2009 5:06:09 AM >

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/6/2009 6:08:38 AM

Rosseau

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Well if two guys with your experience like AI Wars, I am in.

Unfortunately, a bug/virus in my quad core won't allow me to download Net framework 3.5 or whatever it is. So I'll check the specs and see if it will run on my P4 2.8.

Thanks for the info.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/6/2009 6:27:51 AM

Rosseau

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I had the same impression, Alan, and then read a post from some guy somewhere with a strong wargaming pedigree and he was very high on it. And yeah, I have not run into any bugs, etc. so far with 1.3.

It's a big game, but more manageable than HOI3. You can auto resolve the RTS battles in the campaign, and there's also an RTS skirmish game with a huge number of units and options. 43 maps, but no map editor.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/6/2009 9:02:13 AM

Alan Sharif

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Thanks Rosseau. For the right price I might take a look. I am in Worcester, in the UK, later today. Miht see if I can pick up a used copy cheaply from the gaming shops there.

< Message edited by Alan Sharif -- 10/6/2009 9:03:10 AM >

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/7/2009 4:54:45 AM

Rosseau

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Let me know if you have any trouble, Alan, and I can probably help getting you a copy or shipping you a "demo."

I assume there is a 1.3 patch for the game in the UK. The devs are Italians by the way!

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 10/8/2009 1:04:21 PM

maharuf65

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I just get to know about this 2 Games I am going to buy them for sure Cause I cann't live without playing Games and is there any one who finished God of War ???

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/25/2010 10:14:38 PM

LarryP

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quote:

ORIGINAL: basudec1509

hello guys ...

its really nice post....

i just liked it....

thanks....

Spambot jerk.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/25/2010 10:30:12 PM

sabre1

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Hey Larry

It seems they hit the Matrix forums quite a bit. I don't recall these bots over on the Wargamer forums.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/25/2010 11:55:23 PM

martok

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Oh, they show up on the Wargamer too. (In fact, I just reported one earlier this afternoon.) I'd say both sites get hit by them with about the same frequency.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/26/2010 2:31:52 AM

LarryP

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quote:

ORIGINAL: sabre1

Hey Larry

It seems they hit the Matrix forums quite a bit. I don't recall these bots over on the Wargamer forums.

Hi Lance! I've seen a bunch of them here. I don't go to Wargamer much to know.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/29/2010 7:30:23 AM

ilovestrategy

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Gratuitous Space Battles got pretty good reviews in PC Gamer.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/29/2010 2:58:24 PM

LarryP

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A 72% is good? It's not for me. I would have given it a 52% at most. Besides, I have the game and I will never play it again, after just an hour.

The battles in Gratuitous Space Battles are retarded.

< Message edited by LarryP -- 1/29/2010 3:01:01 PM >

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/29/2010 3:59:48 PM

Hertston

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I don't know about 'retarded', but GSB certainly seems to be one of those love-it-or-hate-it games. At least there's a demo so folks can try before they buy. It didn't float my boat, as I said before, but I've also seen very mixed reactions to both AI War and The Void, my current gaming obsessions, so I wouldn't knock that score.

To be fair, I think mixed reactions are inevitable for most games that do try and do something truly different. I'd rather take the chance on a love it or loath it original game occasionally than stick to endless repetitions of the same formula of FPS, RTS and MMOG. And if folks don't take that chance on indie stuff now and again, endless repetitions of 'what sells' will be all we ever see, at least outside the 'hardcore' strategy market that just about has enough genre fans to support it.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/29/2010 4:58:08 PM

Scott_WAR

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This is the BEST reason I have heard to buy from a small game developer that makes something unique. Even if you only like the game a little,...if you can afford it, buy it. Small developers that do good work sometimes turn into big developers that do good work,.....and man oh man, the way the big companies have been dropping turds lately, we REALLY need some big developers with some capital muscle that do good work.

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/29/2010 5:34:59 PM

LarryP

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I understand supporting indie developers and I try my best to. I don't understand the theory of buying games I don't like to support them though.

I know of a small developer that continued to make garbage, and they are now out of business. I bought their second game to support them more than anything, and it was a waste of money and time.

< Message edited by LarryP -- 1/29/2010 5:42:58 PM >

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/29/2010 6:11:25 PM

Hertston

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LarryP

I understand supporting indie developers and I try my best to. I don't understand the theory of buying games I don't like to support them though.

He did say buy games you "like a little", not "don't like"! I don't agree with that philosophy either, though.. I have only so much money and so much time and would rather buy games I like and play a lot. It's all about chances though, sometimes you have to risk a few turkeys to find the real gem.

< Message edited by Hertston -- 1/29/2010 6:14:39 PM >

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/29/2010 6:23:45 PM

LarryP

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Hertston

quote:

ORIGINAL: LarryP

I understand supporting indie developers and I try my best to. I don't understand the theory of buying games I don't like to support them though.

He did say buy games you "like a little", not "don't like"! I don't agree with that philosophy either, though.. I have only so much money and so much time and would rather buy games I like and play a lot. It's all about chances though, sometimes you have to risk a few turkeys to find the real gem.

I know what he said, I read it before replying. I made a statement of my own if that's OK?

I've risked too many turkeys in the past and I'm done buying games I'm not sure I will more than like. I bought Gratuitous Space Battles on the premise of supporting the indie developer when it was in beta. I'm sorry I did.

< Message edited by LarryP -- 1/29/2010 6:37:22 PM >

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RE: Two new games worth checking out - 1/30/2010 11:46:18 PM

madgamer2

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another Orion 2 fan? I got this patch I could send you that claims to make Orion 3 a playable game. Have not tried it as did not want to take up HDD space for Orion 3 again. It would have to be some patch. I heard it was not done by the official company who released it.
Madgamer

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