Austerlitz
Austerlitz allows you to replay the battle of Dec 2nd 1805 between Napoleon I and Alexander I from the viewpoint of the two commanders. 75,000 French troops v 95,000 Russian and Austrian, battling over a map of 104 sq miles. This game is CERTAINLY NOT RECOMMENDED FOR MOST GAMERS, if you consider yourself a casual gamer. Simply because the interface is old and there’s tremendous amounts of off-PC record keeping and documents to view (this game was made before interfaces could keep the type of data required).
– Real player with 19.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Retro Historical Games.
Bombuzal
I can’t get the game to work at all. Level codes don’t seem to work and can’t determine what keyboard controls do what. Was very much looking forward to playing this classic from the past.
Keeps reverting to map view, which then doesn’t allow further game play. Only command that works is space bar which then restarts the game.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Retro Isometric Games.
Old school classic. Rather unforgiving, and some parts are rather trial-and-error because you often can’t tell what a switch is going to do until you flick it, then you realise you’ve made part of the map inaccessible…but that’s just how games were back then.
A nice, cerebral puzzle game from the late 80s. Hundreds of levels guaranteeing plenty of gameplay time.
I’d only ever played the Atari and Amiga versions before this, and whilst I do still prefer them because they have better sound and graphics…the DOS version does run a little slower which is arguably a good thing.
– Real player with 0.4 hrs in game
Command HQ
This game is an ancient DOS-era RTS where you basically have to dominate the whole world, and you can do so through production of power. You fight people using your army and you can gain allies through diplomacy and positive foreign affairs. You can also do a one on one through a modem of some sort, I’m not sure if any newer ones will do the job but an old serial modem sure will. Good luck finding an RS-232 port on your post-2003 computer.
It reminds me a lot of Shadow President, however this game is 2 years older. TBH Shadow President is better, but this game isn’t bad and I get the same feel when I play this game as I would in Shadow President.
– Real player with 301.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Retro Classic Games.
No problems on my win 7 laptop. Another game I bought since I haven’t fixed my main computer yet. A classic strategy game, though the AI is average at best. It’s great that you can rewatch the whole game you played, through a film session and see how the AI played. I didn’t notice any difference between the hardest difficulty and the 2nd easiest. You do have the ability to speed up or slow down the game. From playing the game and watching the films, you notice that the AI doesn’t priorities oil fields or air superiority, doesn’t organize its navy into a fleet, and also leaves its unit outside of the city for some reason. These flaws in the AI cause the game to be easy. However playing the allies in WW1 and WW2 can be challenging. There is multiplayer, but for most people it is too much of hassle to set it up. The game against the AI can be relatively short, probably 1 to 2 hrs at most. I would recommend the game a lot more if the AI was better, but can’t expecting much from a 17 MB game. I do think it is a good fun casual strategy game. I give the game a 6.5/10 for this version.
– Real player with 27.9 hrs in game
Conflict: Europe
Finally, the threat of an atomic nightmare seems to be over. The equilibrium of terror that has held mankind under its spell for too long is about to lose its power. In CONFLICT: EUROPE we examine the diverse “what if …” scenarios that have dominated world history for the past forty years.
In this gripping simulation, the player experiences seven different conflict situations. A comparison is made between the effects of nuclear and conventional weapon systems and the relationship between NATO and the Warsaw Pact is examined. The careful and realistic study of these scenarios in CONFLICT: EUROPE clearly shows that everything must be done to prevent such a nightmare.
FEATURES:
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Represent either NATO or the WARSAW PACT.
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Seven different conflict situations.
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Full use of AWACS and reconnaissance.
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Ground, Air, and Naval Forces included.
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Range of nuclear and chemical fire plans
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Special Forces raids.
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Complex FSM based strategy system.
Final Frontier
The design brief for this game was quite simple: ‘Create the most advanced strategy game yet seen on a home computer’.
The scenario was unimportant - game play was all that mattered, the computer opponent had to be the most intelligent.
The controls: Total simplicity.
The players learning curve: Steep.
Addiction factor: High.
Visual appeal: Vital.
Possible strategies: Endless
The result: FINAL FRONTIER.
Quick to learn but hard to master, FINAL FRONTIER is a fast, full icon operated 1 player vs computer strategy simulation not unlike a real time chess game where the player can design his own pieces and structure his own moves.
Space Empires III
Despite the glitches and bugs, this game has that beautiful blend of design your own units and turn based strategy that I do love so much, but be ready for the eternity each match takes (on large with multiple players).
– Real player with 547.1 hrs in game
Absolute nostalgia. Wonderful to see this again, haven’t seen it since the mid 90s. A few gripes about UI and UX and the tutorial but those are minor. 7/10
– Real player with 17.2 hrs in game
Trapmania
Trapmania is one of those ‘I can’t stop playing’ games for anyone who enjoys comedy, strategy, or action games. The music is pretty good, and makes each map seem even more unique. The graphics are great. Lot’s of comical animations and sound effects. Would recommend for anyone looking for 10-15 hours of intense and challenging strategy.
– Real player with 7.0 hrs in game
Wager
I really want to give this a good review but I have only been playing for a bit (5h or so of play) and I think I am done? No progression, unlimited cash, most runs. If it goes no where then what is the point? I have done a few runs and it seems very limited in variety. ALso, fix the numbers, add notation or something to that at least we can see the big numbers. This game needs some work to be worth paying for.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
Fun little game, needs lots more items and has some balancing issues and bugs
On my first game I have found Assembly Line + Stacking Use ‘em is very broken, add some above and below 10 free money and you can catapult into the stratosphere very quickly.
I ended up getting so much money I caused a buffer overflow plunging me into negative coin values XD
Would like to see more than 28 items, as you get to know all of them and which ones are useful and which are not very quickly.
Needs some more work to make the gameplay interesting for much longer than half an hour or so
– Real player with 1.4 hrs in game
Betrayal
A WEB OF INTRICATE POSSIBILITIES – BUT FAIR PLAY ISN’T ONE OF THEM!
A new barrel of fine Welsh ale had just been broached. The royal palace’s smoky dining hall resounded in cheery voices. To one side of the top table a harpist and a minstrel were struggling to be heard above the commotion caused by two dogs snarling over a bone in the corner.
Eating slowly, I leant forward to catch the breathless whisper of a rival knight.
“They came in at a run, baying like wolves, four wild-eyed barbarians ready to cut, gouge, pulverize and kill anything that moved.”
That news was indeed music to my ears. My forces’ attack on his wealthiest town had met with success. Financially weakened, militarily broken, and politically bankrupt, he could no longer hold influence at Court.
So long as no evidence of my wrong doings remained. So long as the Gods blessed the crops of my harvest. So long as the rumors of the capture of my brother were true. The throne was mine.
I’ve cheated, lied, spied and slaughtered. The fruits of Betrayal are mine.
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The West Marches is a corrupt land ruled by immoral leaders. You are one of four Knights with a lust for power, and in the pursuit of power, the end justifies the means.
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The bloodiest battles yield the greatest spoils. Strategically extend your domain, reduce your rivals’ resources, and tighten your stranglehold on the peasants of the land.
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Betrayal involves a long, hard, ruthless struggle, starting with the economic management of your towns and cultivation of your lands, culminating in the honing of your military strategy and execution of political subterfuge.
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The towns provide your power base. Manage the successfully, and harvest the wealth needed to buy, bribe and fight for ultimate power.
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Develop a mastery of political subterfuge, gaining places for your Courtiers at the palaces of the King and Bishop, ready for the coup which will make you the master of Betrayal.
Firezone
With the break up of the Superpower blocks, colonial wars ravage the world.
The development of powerful beam weapons and defensive energy shields have revolutionized ground warfare giving a new lease of life to the concept of the Armored Fighting Vehicle.
Propulsion systems have advanced beyond recognition. The development of the GRAV engine means tanks can skim across a battlefield at the speed of todays helicopter gun-ships.
FIREZONE simulates this new style of combat. It can be played as a solo game against a tough computer opponent or as a two player game. The player can control either of the two main protagonists - the EUROPEAN LEAGUE or the PACIFIC COMBINE - in any of the set scenarios. Victory is yours when the opposing forces are either wiped from the map or forced into mass retreat. Also incorporated is a scenario editor program allowing the player to design his own battles.
FIREZONE is a phased game and incorporates the latest in Artificial Intelligence techniques.
Features
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Phased game
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Highly intelligent computer opponent
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9 pre-set missions on disk
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Unique scenario generator
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Hidden or open movement
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1 or 2 players
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Multiple terrain types
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Hex based scrolling maps
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Variable unit types