G2K

G is for Great War game = great wargame? I remember a time when you could count WWI PC wargames on the fingers of one hand and it was rare for a year to pass without a new WWI flight game release. Today, devs seem far more interested in trenches than triplanes. The latest title to tackle the “meat grinder that is the Western Front” without a first-person camera is On the Western Front. Eight quid and studded with numbers, its screenshots shout “dense and desiccated” while its ‘Very Positive’ review ratio hollers something quite different.

H is for Hard as nails

I blame World War II Armored Recon for my recent Fighting Fantasy bender. After IFing my way around North Africa in a Stuart tank, I plucked an unfamiliar FF paperback from my bookshelf, and came within a whisker of beating it first time out (Damn you, Master of Spiders!). This in turn led to some engrossing desktop adventuring courtesy of the labour-saving (no manual mapping or stat adjustment) Fighting Fantasy Classics. The latest tome digitised by Tin Man Games is the notoriously difficult Crypt of the Sorceror. The £3 virtual version of this 1987 dice warmer comes with a welcome additional difficulty setting that reduces the lethality of the titular spellslinger.

I is for Iain McNeil interviewed

As well as waving the flag for upcoming releases such as Battleplan and Stormbinders, Slitherine’s silver jubilee broadcast included some fascinating revelations about the outfit’s origins. Ever wondered why a publisher obsessed with wargaming chose a name and logo that evokes juvenile wizards and wriggly reptiles? Watch the above.

J is for Jumping Jehoshaphat! Deadstick isn’t dead

Rumours that Chris Cheetham had tossed his PC into the River Wey and was now living in a yurt in Alice Holt Forest appear to be untrue. The chap behind Deadstick is still working on his bush flight simulator, albeit at arm’s length since passing ownership of the project to Mythwright, a British publisher with a penchant for medieval quirk

K is for Kick and klobber

Retro shooters rarely feel as fresh or physical as TEXNOPLAZM. With its cyberpunk setting and wall running, this Early Access FPS is sure to be compared to the excellent SPRAWL, but I also found myself thinking of Double Dragon and Kingpin while playing the demo.

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