I’ve written hundreds of reviews, previews, and retrospectives during my twenty-odd years as a games inspector. As many of these appeared in the British version of PC Gamer magazine and nowhere else, now and again something from my archive may appear as one of THC’s daily posts. In 2011 the (then) thirteen-year-old Battlezone persuaded me to shelve Shermans, Spitfires, and Sten guns for a spell.
Scanning the 712 pieces of Train Simulator DLC currently available on Steam you wouldn’t think Dovetail’s aging stalwart had a big following and a burgeoning third-party development scene in India. I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping the likes of SRv2 Tamil Nadu and SRv1.5 Kerala eventually turn up in marketplaces friendlier and more familiar than fastlinegames.com.
Last night I paced the Bismarck’s bridge as she swapped broadsides with The Mighty Hood. I endured Swordfish attacks, and braved mountainous seas in the Denmark Strait. I watched the plucky Prinz Eugen vanish beneath the waves achingly close to the safe haven of Brest.
Ezra Sidran’s latest General Staff: Black Powder video lets us read the thoughts of the game’s silicon McClellan as he prepares to do battle outside Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17, 1862. Impressively, none of Little Mac’s thoughts are prefabricated. They are the dynamic products of battlefield analysis, military science, and an RPG-style ‘leadership’ variable.
Using the following clues (the map above is purely decorative) in combination with Street View, MAPfrappe, and other aids, work out my location.
If there was a Hundred-style win predictor at the bottom of the above screenshot, I reckon the red German section of the bar would be at least 50% longer than the blue Soviet one. Outnumbered 3 to 2 (3 to 1 if you’re counting turrets) the Soviet team will need plenty of guile and luck in coming turns to level the slaying field.
This week’s handmade co-op puzzle won’t defox itself. If you’re a dab hand at quizzes, lateral thinking, and search engine sleuthing, why not help out.
A is for Abbreviated A2Z. My mammoth monthly news round-ups are on hold, but short, scattergun versions like this will appear from time to time