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Hertston -> RE: HPS games (1/24/2007 8:19:02 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Tomus
My only worry is that they look very old school, are they DOS converted games from the old school kept alive for nostalgia purposes?
No, they aren't DOS games. Their pedigree goes back to the Talonsoft 'Campaign' and 'Battleground' series, and those familiar with those games will find the interface very familiar. Gameplay, though, is much improved.. more so than many Battleground players like to admit.
Graphically, they suck, no doubt about it. The reason is simply that HPS are a small publisher, the games are essentially the product of one one man, and they just don't have anyone who 'does' graphics. The UI is just fine, a mixture of the usual Windows pull-downs and hot-keys. The good news , though, is that virtually all are modded with much better ones.. especially unit portrait stuff. Volcano Man's alternative art is superb. The 3D maps/unit graphics are the worst, but the 2D is acceptable enough, and that's what you'll be using 95% of the time, anyway.
I'm a big fan of the HPS stuff, especially Squad Battles and the ACW games, but some things do nark me. They are too expensive, particularly direct (buy from NWS instead for a good discount), and many of the PzC series in particular are far more 'scenario pack' than 'new game'. The lack of a map editor is also annoying (particularly as it is so obvious that Tiller is using one himself), the only reason for which seeming to be that the community would end up churning out new scenarios just as frequently, and just as good as the 'official' ones. AI has an undeserved reputation for being poor.. it certainly isn't brilliant, but name a similar sort of game where it is? As usual, PBEM is best, though, and there is a healthy PBEM community for most HPS series.
Worth trying one or two to see if you like them. I'd recommend one of the Vietnam 'Squad Battles' games (which do helicopter ops really well, for some reason) and Campaign Gettysburg or Waterloo, depending on preference. I prefer the 'Modern Battles' to 'Panzer Campaigns' because, in all honesty, games like the SSG 'Decisive Battles' series really do WW2 rather better.
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