Nice Panzer General-like Turn-Based Strategy

From Slovakian developer Lonely Troops comes a well-conceived turn-based wargame with something of the feel of the Panzer General series, but set on a Dune-like desert planet in the throes of an emerging war. It features a nicely intuitive interface (and a good tutorial to teach you to use it), well conceived missions, and good quality music. Fans of games like Massive Assault will find a lot to like here--and gamers who like thoughtful strategy rather than the frenetic action of the RTS will enjoy it, too.

Homage to Galagalonia

As George Orwell might have said but did not:

"What joy it was to be there in 1981, with the Revolution yet young! When one came straight from England the aspect of the arcade was bracing and startling. Attendants and gamers looked at you in the face and treated you as an equal. Nobody said 'Senor' or 'Don' or even 'Usted'; everyone called everyone 'Comrade' and 'Thou,' and said 'Salud!' instead of 'Buenos dias'. From every machine blared the sounds and sights of this new revolution. I had come with some notion of writing newspaper articles, but I had joined the game at once because in that atmosphere it seemed the only thing to do. Our training was cursory, almost comical in its ineptness, but soon I found myself on the front, commanding a small craft against the Fascist alien onslaught..."

The Game for Birders

If games are to become what we hope of them--the predominant popular artform of this century--it is, of course, essential to expand the palette of the possible and address subjects and audiences of all kinds. Games are dominated by bombastic, dark, and often violent products aimed at a particular audience--and while we, of all people, have no objection to such games, we're also thrilled when an attempt is made to reach a different audience, with a different style of play.

Venture Africa is a Hoot. Also a Roar and a Neigh.

Yes, Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa is a "tycoon" game--but quite different from others of the genre. The objective isn't to build a business, but a balanced ecosystem. For example, one level's objective is to have some number of lions in play--but to get that many, you have to build up your zebra population so there's enough prey to support your lions. And to support that many zebra, you need to plant enough bushes to sustain them.

Yet it also isn't a hard-core simulation in the style of Sim Life (and thank goodness); it's a simple, straightforward game with pleasantly animated African wildlife, and a tutorial system that anyone who can read (and this is a good game for kids) will find good and sufficient. Contrariwise, it's a tougher game to win, even on "Easy" setting, than most casual games (many of which can be won by a monkey clicking randomly).

It's World War II and you are a commander of an M4 Sherman tank in the Fourth Armored Division, Patton's best and most elite division. From France to Germany, you will destroy opposition from the war's most fearsome tanks such as Panthers, Tigers and Hummels. Land on Utah Beach, cut off enemy forces at the Brittany Peninsula, smash Germans forces across the Moselle, relieve the besieged 101st Airborne at Bastogne, cross the Rhine and chase the German forces into Czechoslovakia. Engage in nonstop military arcade action with authentic weapons. Multiple mission styles are included with objectives such as Assault, Escort, Defense, and Rescue.

Good abstract strategy games are very hard to design, because they depend at their core on a small number of easily learned mechanics that breed a high level of strategic complexity--think Chess and Go. Wu Hing is a nicely polished such game--reminiscent of the work of Sid Sackson and Alex Randolph (the finest American boardgame designers of the mid-20th century).

Wu Hing is played on a hexagonal grid; each player (you and the AI) has a "hand" of tiles, replenished as tiles are played. Each tile represents one of the five classic Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). A mandala displayed at the upper left of the screen explains that each element can "create" one other element, and also "destroy" a different element. (Think of this as a variant on rock-paper-scissors, with five rather than three elements, and with two outcomes--"create" or "destroy" rather than a single one--"beats".)