Games similar to SPWAW

[Charles22]

Tombstone: You have described SS as 'awesome', while I have called it 'rubbish' and 'stinks to the heavens'. What we have at least in the case with me, and probably you, is an overemphasis of it's good or bad qualities.

While I agree with another poster that it's arcadic and somewhat FPS or RTS for wargaming, those are very negative qualities for me. For the game falling into those categories I would be more inclined to call it 'fair', but the whole point is that I was having wargaming glasses on and I'm fairly disappointed at the lack of depth in RTS, and even more so in FPS, so that when I somewhat expected at the bare minimum a 'lift' beyond the least detestable of the two (RTS), it surely didn't do that. I have the AOE series representing RTS, and since I threw away any Doom/Doom II I once had, I'm unlikely to buy any more FPS; they're just not worth my time, time I could be using in using my brain a bit more for the likes of SPWAW etc.

For FPS/RTS fans, my critique must seem a bit harsh, but I'm sure some of the really super-fans of both categories are severly disappointed as well, though they are putting on their respective different glasses. I don't think many FPS fans expected it to add to their interest in the genre, but that it favors FPS is largely just my observation, I sure didn't expect that going in.

Now if I liked the game as you have, I might well have resorted to calling the game 'awesome', but context is quite important, we are in a turn-based environment after all. I wasn't attempting to sway you, indeed, I've had enough years to realise that when someone describes anything as awesome, particularly if they don't parrot that word every chance they get, and it would appear as though you don't, that there's no chance to sway them as only the game can get them down to something more resembling reality.

My attempt is to dissuade others from wasting their money, money which in large part would seem to key towards turn or phase-based play. I also take into account that most people don't buy every game that comes out, so that, like I, they're discriminating. If they feel that having more than one visual feast like AOE is not too much icing on the cake, so be it, but at least RTS does have some strategy. I would have to have a hole in my head to be on an FPS forum, and to a lesser degree an RTS one, but if I were I would take that viewpoint in perspective when describing the game, in which case I would likely call it 'fair', but I'm not in those forums. I say if you just "have to" have 'one' RTS WWII game, that "maybe" Empire Earth could be the one (though one may spend almost no time in the WWII era - I'm not sure). That's easy enough for me to say, because Empire Earth from the distance, looks to be so much like AOE, and indeed it's unlikely to actually be considerably worse in RTS aspects, than what the market has been putting out for the last year or two.

What the real shame of the game is that I think it's very unlikely to be a crossover game for RTS people, but only make the idea of wargaming in it's current and recent past, more abhorent to them. Unfortunately even Empire Earth, for as good for RTS as it might be, is unlikely to do crossover on RTS fans to WWII wargaming as well, simply because WWII isn't the primary era.

So, in the foreseeable future, perhaps the most attractive aspect of RTS, that being upgrading and the strategy involved in that, in WWII form, will be, strangely enough, SPWAW (I now take off my campaigner WWII glasses).



[This message has been edited by Charles22 (edited January 01, 2001).]

[Major Tom]

I have had Steel Panthers on my computer for years, but, unfortuantely haven't yet had the 3 days to download SPW@W

If you are looking for a comparable game, I would suggest that you have found probably the best in its genre here for SPW@W.

I wouldn't really place Combat Mission in the same area as SPW@W. It's focus is different from SPW@W, it sports the latest in AI and 3D Graphics suitable for mainstream computers. It looks great and plays fantastically. Its campaign system isn't quite as lengthy and connected as a Steel Panthers type scenario. It is more remaniscent of an improved Age of Rifles campaign. The length of the campaign, or operation, is restricted to just one segment of a battle (ie. the Battle for Arnheim bridge). You keep your 'core' or surviving starting troops througout the game, and sometimes gain reinforcements. I would recommend downloading the Demo. It is't quite as good as the current patched version of the released product, but, it gives a good impression on how gameplay goes.

It does take a while to get used to

[AmmoSgt]

Major Tom to download SPW@W i just logged on to AOL and started the download using get right anytime i left the house or went to bed ... sure at some point AOL disconnected me ya know it is going to and i usually meant having to restart the puter from a cold start to get things cleaned up and running right cuz Getright will even try to log ya back on ans that can mess things up but ... This IS a painless way to do it .. and the game is worth it

[lnp4668]

I seens advertisement for SP4 for a while. Do anyone knows what it will be like?

[Randy]

I don't think I've seen anyone mention the
game Perfect General! It's weak by todays standards but for me it was a top notch game back in 91/92. All the equipment was generic
but at the time I thought it was advanced. Then came along SP in 95/96. With the exception of Art of War, the SP series is the only set of games I've ever played.
Semper Fi
Randy

[Charles22]

AmmoSgt/Major Tom: When downloading, if you leave one of your windows at this address (and doubtlessly other websites will work - but not just any, but I know this one does) following, AOL will not knock you off: http://www.saint-mike.org/

Excuse me, but it may not work anymore, and considering I have a cable modem now, I cannot test it. I used to think the news ticker it had, kept a seeming activity so that AOL wouldn't log you off, however, I've noticed the news ticker is no longer there. Whether it was the news ticker or not I cannot say, but it may still work, but again, I cannot test it here. If the site will no longer protect you from AOL, I would suggest finding a site with a news ticker (though all of this is a complete guess on my part, all I know is that with news ticker it used to protect me).

[This message has been edited by Charles22 (edited January 01, 2001).]

[Blackbird]

Perhaps someone here played General? http://newgame.agava.ru/eng/g_news.html
OK, it's far from similar to SP, but it's great strategy.
Warning: it's about 1Mb to download, and it has almost no graphics. I use it a when I need something different.

[Paul Vebber]

And now we are working on Combat Leader...we need you SP grogs to come over and balance the Close Combat types We want this to be a game you guys will want to play too. IT will have either real time like CC or WEGO turn sequences, so you can pick your poison...