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A Different Perspective On Charles S. Robert's Passing

S.R. Krol — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:41:47 GMT

Found out today through Consimworld that legendary game designer and father of Avalon Hill, Charles S. Roberts, has died. Considering the past couple of years it has been a rough time for the Old Guard of gaming.

What I found interesting though was how his life was viewed. To anyone who has played a wargame the name instantly conjures up memories of classic wargames, along with the knowledge that without him there may have never been a large wargaming hobby. Yet the Baltimore Sun obituary only gives his gaming background a couple of sentences and instead focuses on his love of the railroad. To us gamers the man was Mr. Wargame but to the rest of the world he was apparently Mr. Railroad.

Chewing on this I have to wonder if the author was someone who never had an interest in games and therefore dismissed his gaming background. I just can't help but think that essentially creating a hobby that still exists decades later should at least share an equal word count with his other pursuits. But maybe that's just the gamer talking.

With A Rebel Yell: Battle Cry 2nd Edition On Its Way

S.R. Krol — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 01:29:27 GMT

Apparently the news leaked out a month ago but I just saw it this week. WOTC is releasing a new edition of Battle Cry later this year.

Battle Cry was the first game in Richard Borg's Commands and Colors system (though technically second, as there is an unpublished Revolutionary War game using the system that predates Battle Cry) and really opened up to my gaming group the idea that light games can be just as enjoyable as the heavy lifting games. The addition of new scenarios is great to hear, and hopefully the rules will now reflect the current systems such as more flexible cards (e.g. in later games special cards usually allowed one to move a single unit if you can't meet the card's conditions while in Battle Cry you're just stuck) and varied victory conditions.

Between this, his upcoming Nappy game, and the fact that Fantasy Flight Games has been doing a great job releasing expansions for Battlelore, this is a great time to be a C&C fan.

F*ck MS Surface

S.R. Krol — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:24:15 GMT

Some thoughts over at RPS of Settlers of Catan running on Surface.

Me? Not so impressed.

In yesterday's blog post I mentioned how we played a thirty-nine year old game over the weekend. Didn't have to worry about operating systems, patches, DRM...just plopped it down on a table and played. You're not playing a game on a Surface or one of those precious iPads thirty-nine years later. I suppose you could keep buying the latest edition of a game as systems become obsolete, but that's pretty stupid. Especially when that game in your closet will still be working fine in another thirty-nine years.

And D&D on Surface? Pfft. Talk about missing the point. One of the reasons role-playing games have always been popular in the military is because of their portability. A book or two, some dice, and you're good to go wherever. They exist in the imagination, not on the table. Well, unless you're playing WOTC's version of role-playing game.

Sorry folks, you'll have to pry my dice (which don't need to be combined with some sort of hybrid electronic version of whatever game I'm playing) from my cold, dead hands.

The Wayback Machine: Jim Dunnigan's Barbarossa

S.R. Krol — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 02:09:24 GMT

Over the weekend we pulled out the old 1971 wargame, Barbarossa, designed by Jim Dunnigan and published by SPI. This is the second edition version, the first being published in 1969. There is also now a Ty Bomba redesign as published in World At War.

Covering the entire war in Russia Barbarossa is a rather basic game even though it depicts such a massive subject. The rules are straightforward, the map rather small, and the units are all one-step units of varying strengths.

In most games on the invasion of Russia a typical game goes like this: Germans attack. Russians suck and get wiped out in massive numbers. Russians come back in huge numbers and squash puny Germans.

In our play experience with Barbarossa it went like this: Germans attack. Russians suck and get wiped out in massive numbers. Germans keep on attacking. Russians come back but can not mount a meaningful counter offensive.

We randomly chose sides and I ended up as the Russkies. Looking at the reinforcement chart it looked like I would be an unstoppable juggernaut. From map edge to map edge practically every turn I would be receiving hordes of Reds to wipe out the fascist devils. The German player was pretty much stuck with his initial (though powerful) forces for the entire game. A few more units popped in every so often, but for the most part he would only receive attack supply units (like many SPI games of the time supply units were “consumed” when making attacks).

Quickly I discovered that the Russians were going to have a helluva time repeating history. The problem is that there are several game mechanics that really make it tough for the Russians.

First, there’s the fact that units in cities are not automatically in supply. In order for a unit to be in supply it must be able to trace a line back to its general supply map edge or to an attack supply counter. If these cannot be met then the unit is out of supply and within one turn eliminated.

Remember your WWII history? Remember the siege of Leningrad? In this game Leningrad fell pretty damn fast. Not wanting to tie up an attack supply counter (there are only four in the Russian countermix, with only two initially available for many turns) Leningrad had no inherent supply, and thus was quickly surrounded and the units within decimated.

Moscow? Moscow fell in the winter of 1941. Stalingrad, which I never garrisoned after it became apparent while cities did provide some defensive benefits they were still far too vulnerable, could be put OOS just as easy. That’s right, unless you stack an attack supply counter actually in the city (and thus waste 25% of your attack capability) there is no way to replicate its historical holdout.

The combat result tables offer a lot of retreats, and with the Soviets unable to stack more than two high early in the conflict against the German three high stacks (with better combat values) it takes an awful lot of units to bring to bear against one German stack. Even then you’re probably looking at 1 to 1 odds with only retreats as results.

Speaking of retreats, get this, when the Soviets retreat if they enter a German ZOC they are eliminated. Retreating German units don’t suffer from this and can freely retreat.

So wonderful, all those retreats on the CRT turn into elimination. We’re talking entire armies and corps getting wiped out while the Germans suffer absolutely nothing more than a minor setback. Oh no, they had to move back one hex, boo hoo hoo. Considering that ALL units can move twice in a turn this means little.

That’s right, two moves a turn. Usually a second move phase only includes a mech move, but not here in Barbarossa. The amount of ground that can be covered has to be seen to be believed.

Winter and mud hinder attacks by forcing units to be next to their attack supply units (normally there is a range for them; six hexes for the Germans but only three for the Russians) and reduce German movement but neither is as big of a hindrance as you’d expect, especially since the Russians also have to be next to their supply units to attack.

There seems to be a fair amount of praise online for this design but honestly my initial impression was rather unforgiving. Barbarossa sure seemed like a dud. Perhaps we missed some sort of subtle nuance, a bit of genius game design that is only unfurled after repeated plays, but it sure did seem like Barbarossa was sorely in need of more modern mechanics. Cities providing inherent supply, multi-step combat in which losses could be taken as step loss and/or retreats (which would also necessitate multi-step counters), and the elimination of a second move phase with the exception of adding armor exploitation would be a good start.

I have a feeling that when designed the fact that the Germans begin the game with 90% of their available units is meant to be the balancing factor. The German player cannot afford to take losses, as they will not be replaced. Unfortunately thanks to the limiting attack supply counters, stacking limits, and poor combat numbers the Germans don’t have to worry about losses until much later in the game. And by then a competent German player will already have captured all the cities in Soviet Russia and begun the countdown to extinction.

Anyone have their own experiences with the game? Does the Bomba redesign address any of these points?

Back To The Front: 2nd Edition Sergeants From LBG

S.R. Krol — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:47:19 GMT

In 2004 Lost Battalion Games tried an interesting experiment with the release of Sergeants on the Eastern Front. Created by veteran wargame designer S. Craig Taylor, Sergeants was a skirmish level game of tactical combat on the Eastern Front using only a handful of troops on a small map. The core game consisted of the rules folders (about four pages), a single 8.5 x 11 map, a single scenario, and a sheet of counters. I can’t remember the exact cost but I think I paid six bucks for it.

Now why it was an interesting experiment was due to the fact that once players bought the initial set Lost Battalion was going to release new maps and scenarios for free online. Additionally, they would release other core sets featuring other campaign fronts and then proceed along the same path with them. Essentially, for the cost of a hamburger and soda one would be able to have an extensive tactical game to play, with the majority of the content being free.

At first they made good on their promise. Maps and scenarios came out on a regular basis. Then, another core game was released set in North Africa during the Second World War. And then…nothing. The experiment was apparently dead. I don’t know what killed it, whether just a lack of interest in the game, a lack of even knowing about the game (Lost Battalion has never been a well known company), designer boredom, or all of the above. Which is a shame because I really liked the idea of a highly manageable, almost microgame (and I have a soft spot for anything resembling microgames) WWII game that was mostly free.

Recently Lost Battalion has released a second edition of Sergeants on the Eastern Front. So there must have been other fans after all. Eschewing the bare minimum content followed up by free online content of the first edition, the new edition is an absolutely gorgeous full featured game.

Retailing for thirty bucks, which is still a great deal in today’s gaming world, second edition Sergeants is game that upon opening begs the players to play. The manual and all play aids are in full color and the counters are big, thick, and easily punched. Though I will warn that for some reason they leave a black, newsprint like residue on your hands. The dust comes from the edges of the counters and so be sure to wipe down the counter sides before playing. I have no idea where the gunk comes from, other than it may be a byproduct of laser cutting the counters.

Pulling out my first edition copy and comparing the rules showed that for the most part the gameplay has remained the same with a few tweaks. Besides the core rules the game has added a few advanced rules, along with vehicles, towed guns, and various battlefield accessories. The new higher page count manual allows for some illustrated examples which is helpful.

Unlike edition number one the game ships with two maps (a double-sided thick puzzle-construct mapboard) and eight scenarios. An expansion pack adds more maps, scenarios, and units.

I’ll go into a full play review in the next edition of our newsletter, but I will say for now that if you’re looking for an easy tactical wargame in an ever-increasing crowded market, Sergeants is a very worthwhile and economically sound choice.

Medieval Higgins Boats?

S.R. Krol — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 02:04:12 GMT

Over the years I've come to accept that Hollywood doesn't place too much emphasis on historical accuracy and as long as the inaccuracies aren't too prevalent I can roll with it in a movie. But wow, I just wanted to bang my head against the seat in front of me on my last theater outing when I saw the trailer for the new Russell Crowe flick, Robin Hood.

At one point you can see a beach assault using what appears to be--and if you've seen the trailer you know I'm not making this up--wooden Higgins boats! If you're not familiar with a Higgins boat it was the most familiar looking landing craft used by Allied forces during World War II.

The WWII style landing is bad enough but putting LCVPs in the middle ages is just painful. What next? Viking AmTracs?

Hmm, actually that sounds like a great idea for a game. Through a time-space continuum distortion your motley band of warriors have discovered an AmTrac and are now going aviking with it. Burn the villagers! Kidnap the town! Rape the livestock! Or some combination like that. Just don't run out of gas and watch out for the English longbowmen armed with RPAs (rocket propelled arrow)!

A Really Bad Game Marketing Idea

S.R. Krol — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:43:42 GMT

"Hey, here's an idea. Let's have you run around the bar district waving a gun around."

"How is that going to get people interested in the game? And won't someone call the cops if I have a gun?"

"Well, it's going to be fake of course."

"Fake? Like obvious bright orange fake?"

"No, that would look stupid. It'll look pretty real."

"Umm, couldn't I end up getting shot by the cops?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I'm pretty sure they have to give you a chance to surrender before opening up. Besides, they can probably tell it's a fake gun."

"Really, how?"

"Surely that's part of their professional training."

"But..."

"No buts, just get out there and start waving the pistol around. You'll do fine..."

Yet Another "Evil Wargame" Story: A Rantful Dissection

S.R. Krol — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:04:20 GMT

Funny how in the past two weeks we've seen wargaming mentioned more in the general news than we have in the past two years. Of course neither one of these articles is trying to put a positive spin on wargaming, but they do say any publicity is good publicity, right?

So the AP posted a story today about the upcoming (possibly; current pre-order count is at 382 with 560 needed to go to print.) consim King Philip's War from MMP. The game is about the rampage several Native American tribes went on during the 17th century against local colonial interests. So yeah, no NATO, nukes, or Nazis. No wonder it hasn't reached publication status yet. ;)

I read it at the office this morning and thought I'd fire off a quick post tonight about how the world is still filled with dumbasses, the same dumbasses that I grew up with in the '70s and '80s who thought AD&D was really instructions on how to become a Satanic mass murderer. But rereading the article tonight I've become more fired up and think it deserves more than just a snarky line or two.

Here's the original article in whole.

Immediately the author, Eric Tucker, tips his hand.

Quote:

One player racks up points by defeating Native American tribal leaders, the other by snuffing out settlements of English colonists. Capture Boston or Plymouth Colony? Victory is yours.

That's the gist of "King Philip's War,"...

I suppose you can boil down any wargame to "you get points for killing the other guy" but really, who thinks of them like this?

The main thrust of the article is to report on how some Indians find the game offensive.

Quote:

Tribe members protested the game in Providence last month, and a Facebook group with more than 260 members urges a Millersville, Md.-based company, MultiManPublishing, to halt production.

"From what I've seen right now : totally inappropriate, highly offensive, nowhere near ready to be in production," said Annawon Weeden...

Emphasis is mine as I wonder if they've seen anything more than the publisher's blurb or entry at BoardGameGeek? I'm thinking probably not.

This reminds me of the flap over ProSIM's The Falklands War: 1982 (which is on sale this month, you can grab it here). A British veteran's group was upset over the game even before it was released as trivializing the conflict. Unfortunately for many members of society "game" still means something for little kids, which seemed to be the problem. Of course if I remember correctly when offered a copy of the game to make a true assessment the offer was rebuffed. Funny how that works. I'm betting if anyone protesting King Philip's War was asked to actually play the game they'd have the same reaction. After all, let's not have reality interfere with our righteous hysteria.

Quote:

O'ta'mah Harjetta, a member of the Cheyenne tribe who lives in Shawnee, Okla., also opposes the game. She said the lack of tribal input was troubling.

"There is a potential for it to be a learning experience, but there needs to be more history taught," she said.

First of all, isn't a consim actually you know, teaching history by its gameplay? Second, since apparently you need to have input from the belligerents involved how would using former Waffen SS troops as consultants go over if you're doing a WWII game?

Quote:

Julianne Jennings, an adjunct professor of anthropology at Rhode Island College and member of the Cheroenhaka Nottoway tribe, helped organize last month's protest to provoke a response from the company. She said she was initially concerned about the game, but has since discussed it with the creator and believes it can be a proper educational tool if it adequately incorporates the viewpoint of tribal members.

Again, emphasis mine. Again, does she mean then that we need to start incorporating more of the Nazi viewpoint in WWII games? I mean, if this particular game needs everyone's input, shouldn't all consims need it?

Oh, and this line from the author really tickled me...

Quote:

MultiManPublishing, which specializes in games that simulate violent combat,...

Violent combat? Sorta redundant, eh? Since there was no real need to use the adjective it's obviously placed there to color the reader's view. Yep, these are games that are violent, you know, like those videogames that cause kids to shoot up their schools!

What rubbish.

Wargames Are The Root Of Anti-Government Sentiments

S.R. Krol — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:30:51 GMT

Or so implies The Detroit News.

Feh.

[Army Group Kitchen Table] Incursion

S.R. Krol — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:23:12 GMT

Incursion (Grindhouse Games)

What if you took the basic gameplay of the classic game Space Hulk and mated it with a Weird War II theme? You’d have something amazingly awesome. You’d have Grindhouse Games’ Incursion.

Incursion is a board game set in the world of Grindhouse’s miniatures game system, Secrets of the Third Reich (which is also awesome). It is 1949 and thanks to German dark science and occult practices World War Two continues to wage on. The fortress of Gibraltar fell during the war and the Allies are now attempting to reclaim it. US troops wearing armored exoskeletons forged from the knowledge gleaned from the UFO crash in Roswell ’47 enter the fortress tunnels facing German zombie hordes, werewolves, and diabolical Nazis.

The game uses a scenario system, and while there are only a handful of scenarios in the core game (expansions adding more forces, such as British occult commandos, are planned), the scenarios can play out dramatically differently each session thanks to the game’s use of Command Points and Battle Cards.

Like a miniature game (and it should be noted that metal miniatures are available for the game in lieu of the included cardboard standup figures) the scenarios don’t feature set orders of battles. Instead each side has a certain number of points available to purchase units from their overall pool. Additionally, the number of initial points dictate how many Battle Cards a player may have and the number of Command Points available each turn.

Units are varied and interesting, although the German forces are much more colorful than their US opponents. The US, representing the “Lucky” Seventh, can be compared to the Space Marines in Space Hulk. You have your basic troopers, then those with heavy weapons such as flamethrowers and heavy machine guns. The two troop types in the US arsenal that have special abilities is a Sarge trooper, which has the cool ability to transfer action points (AP) from himself to an unactivated trooper, and Slugger Murphy. Slugger is armed with a nasty pistol (Bambi) and an equally vicious baseball bat (Thumper) for close up dirty work.

The German forces all have some special ability. The Big Daddy-esque Hans the Hunter has a harpoon that can be used to impale foes and drag them across the board. The Blitzhund is an extremely fast moving werewolf that can rip foes apart. Bomberzombies have naval mines implanted in their torso. Don’t be around them if they get shot, though. Rounding out the Kraut units are the twin sisters Gretel and Ilsa (one is good for controlling zombies, the other is a two-gun shooter that gives the German player a bonus Battle Card to his hand) and Sturmzombies. Sturmzombies just keep on coming (every turn more zombies appear automatically) and are particularly bad to be surrounded by.

The basic gameplay is pretty standard. It’s an IGOUGO affair. Each unit has a set number of AP which is used to move, shoot, activate items, et cetera. Even those unfamiliar with tactical games will be able to learn the game in a few minutes.

It’s in the use of Command Points and Battle Cards that Incursion really shines and becomes much more than a Space Hulk in WW2 clone. As mentioned earlier the number of Command Points and Battle Cards that players are able to possess is determined by the size of the scenario. Smaller scenarios with less units equal less Command Points (CP) and less Battle Cards. Bigger scenarios mean more.

CP is used in three ways. First, players use CP to bid on who gains initiative for a turn, although once per game the Allied player can automatically declare that he goes first (at the cost of no bidding, which provides the German player with a full complement of CP then). Whoever bids the most CP wins initiative with ties going to the Allied player. Since it’s a IGOUGO system there is no simultaneous combat, so getting the drop on your opponent can be important. There is reaction fire though in the game, so it is possible for the non-phasing player to take potshots at the opposing forces at a reduced chance.

Second, CP can be used on an activated unit to immediately provide more AP on a one-to-one basis. Unlike Space Hulk there are no interruptions, so the AP is used on the player’s turn, and only on an activated unit.

Third, CP can be used to “kill” (discard) Battle Cards.

Battle Cards are either events (e.g. the power flickers on and off in a turn, reducing line of sight to a few spaces) that are global or individual effects. The effects can be positive or negative and affect individual units. Obviously those that are positive would be cards that you’d play on your units, while negative Battle Cards would be ones that you’d play on your opponent. There is no limit to the number of effects an individual unit may have, although hand sizes are kept fairly small so rarely will you see one unit with a massive number of cards attached.

Each Battle Card has a kill value, which is how many CPs must be spent to discard the card. You can kill cards on your units, or kill effects on your opponent.

CPs are not saved turn to turn, but are regenerated each turn. Deciding what to spend them on is one of the pleasures of Incursion. How much is initiative worth to you? What will your opponent play in terms of cards? Should you use your CPs to boost that one unit’s AP this turn or hold off to see if the CPs are needed to kill some Battle Cards?

There are numerous Battle Cards and many stack in unique ways, especially on certain units. Some card combinations can make for some really powerful units, but remember, humbling those units is just a few CPs away…

Good strategy games are those that both allow players creative freedom in their strategies and also spark the imagination for future sessions. You know a game is excellent when after you lose your first thought is not on blaming the dice, but rather what you can do in the next session differently. Card combinations, choice of troops, and use of Command Points all contribute to making every game a unique experience.

Incursion is also one of those board games that naturally encourages story telling. The lone trooper surrounded by zombies going down in a Blaze of Glory (actually a card that allows a player to activate a unit that was just killed for its full AP)…the charging werewolf that shreds through trooper after trooper until being put down by Bambi…Hans the Hunter sending Sarge screaming across the board after being impaled on a harpoon…This is a game that fires up the imagination. It’s not number-crunching, it’s an experience.

Whether you’re a fan of the Weird War genre, a Space Hulk vet, a tactical gamer, or someone just looking for an easy-to-get-into game that doesn’t take all weekend to play, Incursion is an amazing gameplay experience exploding with creativity, replayability, and excitement. Get it. Get it now.

Dominions 3 Not A Top PC Game?

S.R. Krol — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:24:13 GMT

Baffling how Dominions 3: The Awakening can be overlooked at PC Gamer in their list of top 100 PC games of all time (apparently "all time" = last decade or so, if even that for most of the games on the list) and yet Tetris Friends and Solitaire make the list.

And We Were Young And Dorky Once...

S.R. Krol — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:10:31 GMT

Tip of the pickelhaube to Troy Goodfellow's Twitter.

Is A Love For Reading Tied To A Love Of Historical Strategy Gaming?

S.R. Krol — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:49:00 GMT

As I browsed through the nearly 300+ entries for this year's IGF awards I noticed that there were very, very few historical strategy games. Granted, it's not like there has ever been a huge number entered, but I suppose the massive overall count just made their scarcity even more obvious.

Many of the folks entering in the IGF tend to be on the younger side, honing their coding skills with their entries. As such you just don't see a lot of 18 year olds that just learned BlitzBasic using their newfound skills to make a turn-based historical consim on the Crimean War.

Something that I've been thinking about recently is the role of reading in the generation gap, and how it has affected historical gaming.

I began reading at a young age and my parents encouraged it not only with the usual books but also books on military history. My father would travel a lot and would bring back some book for me on WWII aircraft, or naval battles, or tanks, which made a perfect companion to the weekends of watching World at War or black and white war movies.

Wargaming provided another companion, as I could read about a battle and then actually play the battle. As I met others with similar interests of mine in elementary school I noticed we all shared another common interest: reading.

We were bookworms. We hung out in the school library (yeah, I know...). We traded books amongst ourselves, we spent money at the school book fairs, and our parents would get rid of us on the weekend but no dropping us off at the movies, but at the used book store.

While it was not true that everyone who was a bookworm at our school was into wargaming, it was true that everyone who was into wargaming was also a bookworm. I don't think that was a coincidence.

Amongst schoolkids today are there still bookworms? Considering how information seems to be spiraling down into dumbed-down sound bites, does anyone under 21 still read?

Even our industry is guilty of killing the joy of reading. No one wants manuals anymore, they just want an in-game tutorial.

And so if no one is reading about the battle of the Somme anymore, is it any surprise there aren't any games on the Somme? Does television take up the slack? But heck, even the channels that were once purely documentary driven barely resemble their former selves (History Channel, anyone?).

Is the lack of love for reading another nail in the wargaming coffin?

Worst. Enemy. Ever.

S.R. Krol — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:24:57 GMT

Since trading wood for sheep isn't my idea of a fun game I enjoy games that feature conflict. Something that we gamers never think about though is how important it is to have a worthy foe to make a conflict stimulating. Perhaps it's because the vast majority of our foes are the classic opponents: battle hardened troops of the Third Reich, flesh hungry zombies, or grotesque orcs.

On Halloween night I gathered with my friends for an annual tradition of horror gaming/movie watching. I had recently gotten the Something Wicked expansion for the excellent A Touch of Evil board game and was eager to try it out.

A Touch of Evil is essentially Arkham Horror Lite, which makes the Unspeakable Horror villain in the expansion fit right in. All of us being fans of things that induce sanity loss, we played our first session against it and had a rousing time. Our next session wasn't quite so exciting.

I randomly chose the villain from the expansion's new cast and got the Bog Fiend. The Bog Fiend looks sorta cool, resembling a cross between a Saughin and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and has the interesting ability to cause the regions to sink into the countryside. Once a location is sunken no more adventuring can be done there. This creates a race against time as the heroes need to stop the Bog Fiend before too many areas are out of their reach.

Unfortunately the Bog Fiend only has one minion, a Mosquito Swarm.

Yes, that's right, your brave heroes are now reduced to playing the role of Dale Gribble. You fight bugs. Not even giant bugs. Just a lot of bugs.

How about giant man-eating frogs? Or giant alligators? Or giant ticks? Or will o' wisps?

"Foul fiend, I swear I shall track you to your lair and make you pay for evil ways. If you think you can stop me, send your worst!" A moment later a bug lands and is quickly squashed. Yep, epic conflict going on here.

Ah well, at least the other three villains in the expansion have cool minions.

Weird War Done Right

S.R. Krol — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:35:30 GMT

I’m a huge fan of anything in the genre known as Weird War (so named after the old DC comic series combining supernatural/sci-fi/fantasy with military adventure) so I’ve been anxiously awaiting Raven’s follow up to their Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The sequel, simply titled Wolfenstein, has been out for about a week but I’ve only gotten to start into it last night. While not too far along I will say that so far it’s flat out brilliant and by far the best shooter Raven has produced.

What makes it so damn good is the fact that this time around Raven actually embraced the Weird War vibe right from the get-go. The problem with RtCW was that for 90% of the game it felt like a very conventional WWII Nazi killing shooter. Wolfenstein very quickly dumps you into the occult, introducing a parallel dimension that co-exists with our dimension (sorta like From Beyond, right down to nasty floaties, but without a leather clad Barbara Crampton). You can travel into and out of the dimension via a magical amulet, which also provides the player with certain magical effects such as the now requisite slow mo. There’s also some really great anti-gravity effects keyed into the dimensional energy that look great.

Other nice features include a central hub location, mission selection from the hub, and a purchasable weapon upgrade system based around earning cash while completing missions. Health packs have been ditched in favor of the now typical ‘pause that refreshes’ regeneration. Speaking of health I wondered once why Raven didn’t use GHOUL more often and it appears they have done so with Wolfenstein, as enemies can be cut to ribbons and bloody chunks. I think I’ve even seen looping intestines. Interestingly, though id has something to do with it Wolfenstein seems like it was built off the Call of Duty engine right down to how you lob grenades back.

If the occult + Third Reich + massive death and destruction is your bag you will not be the least bit disappointed with Wolfenstein. Amazing, amazing game so far.

Other recommended Weird War:

Secrets of the Third Reich

Incursion

AE-WWII

Airborne/Panzer Grenadier Zombies