Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: Nikademus

I spent 80$ on 8-bit War in Russia back in the 80's.

with paper boy money.

boo hoo on the cost of WitP

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ORIGINAL: Terminus

YOU were a paper boy?

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ORIGINAL: irrelevant

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nikademus

I spent 80$ on 8-bit War in Russia back in the 80's.

with paper boy money.

boo hoo on the cost of WitP

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ORIGINAL: Terminus

YOU were a paper boy?

No, he just knocked one off his bike and took his money

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ORIGINAL: Terminus

Nonononono, wait... YOU were a paper boy???

How'd you make your rounds, on a flatbed? Or did your customers have to come by your house to pick up their paper? You don't seriously expect us to believe that your fat ass ever sat on a bike seat?

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ORIGINAL: irrelevant


No, he just knocked one off his bike and took his money

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ORIGINAL: bradfordkay

Yep, since I have only a very slow dialup connection and wanted WITP as soon as possible, I sent Xargun $100 to buy a copy on the first day of release (at Origins gaming convention) and mail it to me. I had to make sure that I sent enough to cover shipping, and all the rest could be considered to be a gratuity. Later I learned that this allows me to say that mine was part of the first purchase of WITP...

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ORIGINAL: Feinder
Do they still print the buyer's name on the CD? I thought it was interesting that it actually had my name on the thing.

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War in the Pacific
Computer Gaming World, November, 2004 by Bruce Geryk


War in the Pacific is the long-awaited update to Gary Grigsby’s landmark Pacific War, released in 1992. Two years ago, war gamers were treated to a preview with Uncommon Valor, a smaller-scale game depicting the battle for the Solomon Islands that used essentially the same game system. Preview or not, there is nothing that really could have prepared you for this.
The premise of the game is nothing less than being able to refight the battles of the Pacific theater of WWII in single-day turns, using just about every ship, plane, and ground formation that fought there. The map stretches from India to the west coast of North America, and units of battalion strength are rated for number and size of individual guns. Each turn cycles through numerous subphases, and you can find detail down to the individual commander level, with inspiration and leadership ratings for squadron commanders and ship captains. It even keeps track of kills on an individual pilot basis. The whole thing screams one design philosophy: detail �ber alles.
The problem with the game as a game is that while the important decisions are generally metastrategy (which bases to build up, how to construct your logistics network, etc.), the game also plunges you into a lot of detail that is unavoidable unless you turn entire sectors over to the A.I. That’s not necessarily a problem if you see this more as a self-contained virtual world where you can completely immerse yourself in WWII’s Pacific theater. Even so, because strategy takes game-years to take shape, you can expect to get hundreds of turns into a game only to find you’re doing it all wrong. It’s an unforgiving game that demands dedication unlike anything seen before.
Grunt Work
War in the Pacific isn’t really so much a game as it is a project. The longest campaign scenario lasts almost 1,500 turns, and before you’re anywhere near ready to handle that, you’re well advised to spend time with several of the smaller scenarios. It will take you more time to read and absorb the material in the manual than it would to complete some other games. The familiar Grigsby interface is back—and comes up short time after time—but in a game of this scope that’s almost irrelevant. If you make the decision to learn the game, you’re going to have a lot more to overcome than just nonmodal windows and inconsistently placed Exit buttons.
This title is essentially an MMO game for dedicated, hardcore war gamers, not in the massively multiplayer online sense, but simply because it lends itself to complete immersion on a time-sink scale similar to EverQuest’s. To dismiss it as an impenetrable chore is to miss the point. The $70 price tag is a clear warning sign: Casual players need not apply. For war gamers, the game requires total commitment. If you invest enough, you’ll be amply rewarded.
Verdict * * * 1/2
War in the Pacific answers the prayers of hardcore Pacific war reenactors.
If you’re serious about getting into the game, don’t just read the 62-page tutorial (50 pages of which are devoted to describing just two turns). You can find additional help, including an intro from producer and codesigner Joel Billings, in the Unofficial WITP Strategy Guide at Unofficial WITP Strategy Guide at mathubert.free.fr/ witp_files/witp_tips.doc

PUBLISHER: Matrix Games DEVELOPER: 2by3 Games GENRE: Turn-based Strategic War Game ESRB RATING: None REQUIRED: Pentium II 600, 128MB RAM, 900MB install RECOMMENDED: Pentium III 800, 256MB RAM MULTIPLAYER: Hotseat, PBEM (2 players); War College
Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Computer Gaming World.