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 23rd

A friend and I were trading emails this afternoon, discussing what games we needed to buy.  "Well," I said, "there's Call of Duty 2, Vietcong 2, and Civilization IV all coming out this week."  I sent him a link to the glowing review of Civilization IV on another game review site, and he responded with a link to a review of Call of Duty 2.  To that email, he added "...and I was thinking about Age of Empires III or Quake 4."  While the readers of The Wargamer might focus on a few different titles, my mainstream gamer friend and our readers are suffocating under the same delicious avalanche of games, games, and more games.  

Worse yet, this week's column won't help much.

For the week of October 23rd, four new games will be placed on store shelves here in the U.S.: Civilization IV, Vietcong 2, Heroes of the Pacific, and Call of Duty 2.  To add some perspective, I've also included all of the games left to be released this year, as far as we can guess. 

The big game this week, and perhaps of the year, is Civilization IV.  Of course, this is the same turn-based strategy series that's sold over six million copies in 14 years, developed once again by Sid Meier and his team at Firaxis games.  To be frank, we were a little worried that the "it's in 3D now!" hype would detract from the game's overall design or play, but the first five reviews published online, all from reputable sources, have scored it a 9 out of 10 or better (that doesn't happen much, by the way).  If those publications don't sway your opinion, you can expect The Wargamer to weigh in before too long.  In the meantime, the game is selling for $50.

Switching to first-person shooter games, two sequels are hitting store shelves this week, each with their own setting.  The Call of Duty series is back this week after a brief two-year hiatus.  Call of Duty 2 is powered by an all-new 3D engine (finally!), but otherwise keeps much of its winning formula intact.  Expect to find missions taken straight from Hollywood scripts stretched across British, American, and Soviet campaigns, just as they were in the original game.  Infinity Ward has worked to improve some of the areas of criticism from the game, including the AI and squad mechanics, so we have high hopes for improvement.  Whether or not the World War II backdrop has begun to wear on our nerves will be tested when we invade the beaches of Normandy for the fifth time.  For those undeterred by beachheads and those damned Nazis, Activision is selling Call of Duty 2 for $50.

For those tired of the zillionth game set during World War II, 2K Games has an answer this week in Vietcong 2.  The sequel to a thoroughly underappreciated tactical FPS, 2003's Vietcong, this series is much more than the usual run-n-gun shooter titles that save the world from Nazis.  Vietcong has a very important tactical element to it; the deliberate pacing of the game, tense atmosphere, and the difficulty of its missions all combine to force gamers to play much smart.  As a hardcore fan of Vietcong, I'm hoping Vietcong 2 can recreate that unique gaming experience again this year.  The changes in the sequel aren't major, just the addition of a new campaign set in the city of Hue amidst the Tet Offensive, but the game is competitively priced at just $30. 

If killing Nazis isn't your thing, may I recommend downing Japanese fighters over the Pacific?  Ubisoft should release Heroes of the Pacific this week, a straightforward arcade flight game featuring an astounding 35 fully-detailed fighters from the period: the Corsair F4U-4, P38F-15, the Tempest MkII, and the Bearcat F8F are all included.  But beyond the game's predictable campaign, the most intriguing part of Heroes of the Pacific has to be its multiplayer dogfighting mode, which can be packed with dozens, if not hundreds of fighters at once.  The MSRP on the game is $40. 

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!
• Diplomacy [94 MB] - Stab your friends in the back in Paradox's PC interpretation of this classic board game.
• F.E.A.R. [647 MB] - 2005's DOOM 3, in demo form.
• Heroes of the Pacific [314 MB] - Dogfighting in the Pacific.
• Legion Arena [235 MB] - Slitherine says, "Eat your heart out, RTW."
• 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 this FPS sequel.

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