[Wiking]

20 years for me, if you count my first SP game (Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles) which I got at CompUSA the summer before I started Middle School. I got Steel Panthers the following year when mom went on a business trip and picked up the original for me while she was out. Between this and Close Combat for Windows 95 I was totally hooked. Steel Panthers III was a bit of a disappointment to young me about to start High School. Why did I suddenly have 5 tanks for one icon? Why was everything so small? The second game was my first love, but the original was an amusing diversion despite its primitive state, because I loved WW2. Still do.

SPWAW came and went in the early 2000's with me fiddling about with the free version, but I never much liked the SP III engine as much as I liked the SP II one. Imagine my absolute shock when I found out someone was doing a free SP II engine with WW2 content! That was around 2005 I'd wager? Maybe 2006. I only ever played the Windows version of SPWW2 and MBT, so it must have been around that time. I was totally hooked, have been ever since. Even Close Combat has not been able to fully scratch the itch that I have for epic battles, but SP always delivers. And it continues to do so thanks to Andy and Don.

Maybe Gary's Steel Tigers will be a welcome diversion but I suspect that as much as I respect Mr. Grigsby, I'll still come back to his original modded creation more often than not.