Introduction

Welcome to The Wargamer's feature article series, "The Raw Recruit." This weekly feature offers release dates for upcoming computer and board games. The list doesn't include every computer or board game being released, however it does include almost all of the games we believe The Wargamer's audience will enjoy. The release dates presented in this article are for North American releases only and indicate "shipping" dates, not necessarily guaranteed in-store dates. Most major PC titles are released on Tuesday or Wednesday and are widely available across the country by Friday. These release dates are provided in association with The Wargamer's affiliate merchant partner, GoGamer.  Please send any new game release announcements to news@wargamer.com.

The Raw Recruits for the Week of October 2nd

The week's list of releases is as good as any to demonstrate just how crazy game publishers have become (mainstream publishers and small wargame publishers alike).  While it's not quite the Week of October 16th [emphasis added] in which players will have to choose from Age of Empires 3, Quake 4, F.E.A.R., and Shattered Union, but this week's releases will quickly start to stretch the dollar of even the most well-to-do gamer.

To quote Dennis Miller here, I don't want to go off on a rant, but this is absolutely freakin' ridiculous.  When gamers are bombarded in one month with all sorts of different wargames (Diplomacy, Anglo-German War, The Star & The Crescent), several stellar strategy titles (Age of Empires 3, Civilization 4, Shattered Union), an army of FPS titles (Day of Defeat, Call of Duty 2, Vietcong 2, F.E.A.R., Quake 4), and a smattering of other great titles, we've all got to tell the publishers: STOP.  Slow down for just one minute.  There are too many great games being released at the same time, making it almost impossible for gamers to buy them all.  Sacrifices will be made, and tough choices will be argued on The Wargamer's forums: Civilization 4 or Age of Empires 3?  Diplomacy or Shattered Union?  Day of Defeat or Call of Duty 2?  Quake 4 or F.E.A.R.?  Please, to all the publishers and developers of the world, please stop doing this to us, your loyal cadre of fans!  Stagger your releases!

While corporate types consider my plea, let's take a look at the new releases expected this week: Anglo-German War, The Star & The Crescent, Down in Flames, Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood, Black & White 2, Diplomacy.

Last week we spent considerable time discussing Anglo-German War, Schwerpunkt's new World War II wargame.  Hurricane Rita threw off the release timetable for the game, but it looks like Ron Dockal & Crew are preparing for release at any point now.   For more on that game, check out our overview presented last week.

Another wargame that should be released this week is The Star & The Crescent, the latest efforts from ProSim and Shrapnel Games.  S&C (as we'll call it) is a real-time simulation of combined-force combat in the Middle East from the past fifty years.  Included on this week of Rosh Hashana are a number of important struggles faced by the Israelis, including the Yom-Kippur War of 1973, among others.  This new simulation, built on the engine which powered Armored Task Force, provides meaty new material for ground-pounding fans.  Yours for $45 from The Gamers' Net.

Dan Verssen's long-awaited entrance into the PC market came this month with the release of Down in Flames, his first conversion of card and tabletop game to a PC game.  While some may not immediately get the idea of a turn-based game about World War II dogfighting, rest assured that Dan didn't become one of the foremost tabletop game designers with bad ideas.  If there's still doubt, a demo was graciously released (see below) to convince those remaining Doubting Thomases.  Once convinced, gamers can purchase the game directly from Battlefront for $35.

For me, the new Diplomacy PC game is an ambitious project.  On the one hand, this classic board game about forming allies and breaking truces has never really translated into a good PC game.  On the other hand, Paradox has long been a developer who evokes hot and cold reactions.  Some gamers loved Hearts of Iron 2, for example, while others despised it.  But through and through, gamers have still found themselves extremely interested in this new version of Diplomacy, which blends not only Paradox's famed historical grand strategy format, but also an intriguing graphical negotiation language to mimic the exchanges which made the board game so enjoyable to play.  Diplomacy should be released this week, priced at $40.

Redefining the expansion pack, Ubisoft and Gearbox Software will release this week Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood, the pseudo-sequel, pseudo-expansion pack to this spring's Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30.  While it apparently cannot be called Brothers in Arms 2, Earned in Blood will be selling a full retail price of $50 and doesn't require Road to Hill 30.  We suppose this is an excellent marketing strategy for the busy holiday season, but players should be warned that not much has really changed from the spring release.  Still, the addition of an all-new campaign in an otherwise solid game should appeal to World War II FPS fans, so look for it this week in stores, priced at $50.

Finally, for those who seek to play god in with their sandbox civilizations, Black & White 2 will be released this week.  As a god of a burgeoning civilization, players can choose to either be loving and caring with their people, or treat them like dirt and watch them fight and eventually go to war with their neighbors.  The game is similar to the original Black & White, and so like the original, we'll have to see just how much these choices influence gameplay.  Even if that doesn't hold up, the sadistic pleasure of toying with people does still exist for those interested.  Watch for Black & White 2 this week, priced at $50.

The Volunteer Recruits

Here's the current crop of game demos released in the past few weeks (some links may expire over time):

• Age of Empires III [345 MB] - It's here, download and play it!
• Bet on Soldier [541 MB] - Shooting and betting: a predictable FPS?  Find out for yourself.
• Blitzkrieg II [276 MB] - The original was a solid game, and we expect much from the same from this new title.
• Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood [575 MB] - This pseudo sequel takes up where the WW2 FPS original left off.
• Call of Duty 2 [655 MB] - Hollywood-meets-video games, scene: World War II.  Take 2!
• Codename Panzers: Phase Two [518 MB] - Play it again, strategy fans!
• Down in Flames [122 MB] - See how Dan Verssen's card game to PC game turned out.
• F.E.A.R. [647 MB] - 2005's DOOM 3, in demo form.
• Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion [220 MB] - RTW's expected expansion pack is nearly upon us: try it now!
• Serious Sam II [250 MB] - This game has a simple concept: shoot stuff!
• The Star & the Crescent [47 MB] - ProSimCo's latest is set in the volatile world of the Arab-Israeli conflicts.
• Vietcong 2 [440 MB] - Relive the Tet Offensive in 1968 in this FPS sequel.

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