I am going to state, I am not one of the disatisfied.
TOAW3, what's it worth to a wargamer?
Well, if you have a previous version (I have TOAW CoW), you might think "gee do I really want TOAW3 enough to pay 40 bucks for it?"
The problem with this line of thinking, is, if you already own a copy of an earlier version, yes, it will not be so entirely thrilling to have to pay for it all over again.
But, did Matrix Games initiate the process just to give those that had TOAW CoW an update? I don't think so.
I think Matrix Games wanted to restore a great wargame, to the buying public.
And, if you have never bought TOAW (any version) before, is 40 bucks a fair price for it? Well duh, yeah.
Would it have been nice if TOAW3 was the TOAW that was sold back in 1998? Well, duh, yeah. But it wasn't.
Now, if the game had been obtained as TOAW CoW ie not modified a damned bit before being made available, would this have been ok? Well, maybe, if Matrix Games had made it clear, we are only selling this product, we aren't planning to modify it though.
But, as it goes, Matrix Games routinely does it's darndest to make anything they sell better.
How much was TOAW CoW likely worth as a game unmodified? Likely not 40 bucks. But that is what it was going to cost you from Take2 eh.
So as I see it, you could have had TOAW CoW for 40 bucks, or TOAW3 for 40 bucks. Honestly, it is not defendible saying Matrix Games is asking too much for TOAW3.
Now I am not all the knowledgable with Harpoon. I only know, Matrix Games has released it recently. I am confident they have improved the game. I am also confident, claiming it is unfair to sell it "full price" is no more fair, than claiming selling TOAW3 is unfair.
I expect, when Matrix Games is finished tweaking the Campaign series, it will be a much improved game option. And I won't be annoyed if they price it full price too.
I own the Campaign series. It runs in XP, but it isn't like it runs 100% no headaches. It would be nice if the install was completely devoid of me giving a single thought to the install and running of this series. It likely would be worth a redundant purchase.
I ask myself, aside from new titles from SSG or Panther Games, what other wargames are worth really giving a damn about really.
I'd rather see some proven classics refitted and made fully playable, then take risks on yet another flashy all promises no proven track record title.
I have the V4Victory games here. The cds are in great shape, they are merely worthless in XP. And I have tried to fiddle with DosBox, but it says something about the ease of use of something like DosBox, if I can say formatting and reloading my OS is easy in comparison.
I'd love to amuse myself with the V4Victory titles maybe once more through a revamped release.
Guys, if you already own the older classics, and you resent having to pay the same price as a customer that has never bought it before, please, just accept that that's just too bad eh.
Either buy it, or resort to something like Dosbox, or running a vintage paperweight grade computer with a vintage OS.
You're not required to replace those old games, it's likely just a good idea
