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 9th & 16th

I'm a bit behind this week.  Let's get right to things, shall we?

For the past week of October 9th, a few games of note were released to the gaming public: Serious Sam 2, FEAR, Anglo-German War, and Moscow '41.  Since we covered Schwerpunkt's Anglo-German War in our previous edition of the Raw Recruit, we'll just remind our readers that this classically-designed operational-level wargame is now available from such fine retailers as Chips 'n Bits and NWS-Online.

In HPS' usual style, they announced and released Moscow '41 on practically the same day, making this the 14th game in the long-running Panzer Campaigns series.  Since the game will likely be purchased by those who already intimately familiar with John Tiller's longest-running computer game series (and probably not by those who have never heard of it), we'll just quickly the cover the highlighted features: John Tiller, 150,000 hex map, operational-level, 27 scenarios, Operation Typhoon circa October 1941...and that's about it.  Buy it from HPS Sims and the usual other outlets.

In the mainstream world of game buyers, the game making perhaps the biggest splash with reviewers this month is F.E.A.R.  Developed by Monolith (No One Lives Forever, TRON 2.0) and published by Vivendi, this game is a horror/action-shooter just in time for Halloween.  Normally, us cynical game reviewers would never actually admit to being frightened by something as silly as a video game, but F.E.A.R. has been getting boisterous praise for exactly that.  Plus, this is actually a good game, probably one of the better shooters of the year: it features not only run-n-gun action, but also Matrix-style "slo-mo" AND hand-to-hand fighting that's really only been done in the overlooked Chronicles of Riddick video game. The standard version of F.E.A.R. can be found at retailers across the country for $50. If you decide to stay home for Halloween, here's your game.

I'm quite sure that the developers behind Serious Sam II would say their game is equally good, and at a $30 price point, I'd say they have an excellent argument.  Like the original Serious Sam, this sequel doesn't waste energy with superfluous things like plots or campaigns or character motivation: rather, the game is all about shooting and destroying ugly enemies.  So, if it's anything like the original, it'll be a blast to play and a great stress reliever.  The demo is linked below, and the gents at 2K Games are dangling a $30 MSRP for the PC version.

For this current week of October 16th, strategy fans are now officially overwhelmed with choices.  After some minor production delays, ProSim and Shrapnel will release The Star & The Crescent, 2K Games is publishing Shattered Union, Microsoft is putting out Age of Empires III, and Activision is throwing Quake 4 into the ring.  Since we previously covered The Star & The Crescent, I'll just point our readers to the release announcement, demo, and purchase link.

Depending on your perspective of strategy games, there's at least on really solid game being released this week: either the turn-based Shattered Union or the RTS Age of Empires III (and of course, Civilization IV will be out next week...).  Age of Empires III will likely be the popular choice, and for good reason: The Wargamer has consistently awarded Ensemble Studios with awards for their terrific work in past Age of... games.  This third game in the historical strategy franchise is set during the Age of Exploration, covering most of the major expansions into the New World up until 1850.  The team behind the game seems most excited about the new Home City feature, which gives players a European base for funding new explorations or a capital for funneling new found treasures.  For those of us excited about pretty graphics, Age of Empires III has this in spades.  It probably will be the best-looking RTS released this year.  As for price, the standard version will set customers back $50, while a more elite version is priced at $70.  Reports have confirmed the game is available at the time of this publication.

The other significant strategy game this week is Shattered Union, an intriguing merging of classic wargame design and modern console strategy games.  Frankly, we're surprised such a large publisher like 2K Games would take a risk about this game, but then, that's part of this game's appeal.  It has a certain underdog feel to it: Shattered Union plays much like a classic wargame (turn-based on hexes), but has certain concessions designed into it for more mainstream gamers, such as colorful 3D graphics, simple unit combat, and quick turn resolution.  In addition to the mechanics, PopTop's creation also throws players into an appropriate, modern-day plot for the U.S.: following a deadly terrorist attack, the country divides itself into regions, and the Europeans come play peacemakers.  Oh, that's good.  Price?  A steal at $30.

Finally, Activision has saved FPS fans afraid of complex RTS games with a new shooter, Quake 4.  It may be cynical of us to describe this as DOOM 3's engine ported to Quake 2's storyline and Quake 3's multiplayer, but the early review scores have backed this up.  After getting absolutely panned in PC Gamer, this derivative DOOM 3 game is getting stronger scores from some outlets, but not with significant caveats.  The storyline is at least interesting, with Marines fighting ugly-looking Strog species who make it clear that resistance IS futile before sawing up captured space Marines to make them new Borgs, err, Strogs.  The graphics are certainly quite good, but it's very similar to DOOM 3's, and uninventive multiplayer have ticked off the hardcore FPS fans.  For those still not turned off by my biased writing, Activision is selling Quake 4 for $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] - Ensemble's latest revives the classic RTS formula.
• Call of Duty 2 [655 MB] - Hollywood-meets-video games, scene: World War II.  Take 2!
• 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.
• Legion Arena [235 MB] - Slitherine says, "Eat your heart out, RTW."
• Serious Sam II [250 MB] - This game has a simple concept: shoot stuff!
• The Star & The Crescent [47 MB] - ProSim's latest is set in the volatile world of the Arab-Israeli conflicts.
• UFO: Aftershock [282 MB] - X-Com's second cousin, so to speak.
• Vietcong 2 [440 MB] - Relive the Tet Offensive in 1968 in this FPS sequel.

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