The Wargamer

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 February 19th

With February off to a roaring start, we return this week with a wargame and a space strategy game.  For the week of February 19th, two games of note will be published: Galactic Civilizations II and Birth of America.

We'll start with the wargame first, as we imagine most will be interested in the title.  While The Revolutionary War and The French & Indian War have been covered in previous wargames from John Tiller and others, French developer AGEOD expects to put a new twist on these musket-era conflicts with its release of Birth of America.  This new operational-level, simultaneous turn-based wargame has numerous familiar characteristics: turns are points driven, the game map is divided up into geographic regions, movement is based on a number of carefully calculated factors, and historical authenticity is the name of the game.  To add to this familiar formula, the developers also worked at adding more attractive visuals, a wide range of scenarios from both wars, naval combat, and much more.  Birth of America will first be released via digital download from its web site before being boxed up for store shelves in a few weeks' time.  As one of the few Revolutionary War titles in a few years, it may be well worth a closer look.

Stardock will release this week its second major title, the 4X strategy title Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords, a game we first saw at E3.  The GalCiv franchise has long been described as a direct competitor to the original Master of Orion games, as players use resources to expand and conquer the known galaxy.  The turn-based strategy occurs in the vast emptiness of space, but the developers have spared gamers a boring black backdrop and instead offered a staggering degree of colorful customization.  Even before things get ugly with user-created hexagonal spaceships, the game still offers the diplomacy, strategy, and economic trade elements which made the original such a hit with space gamers.  This new title has some favorable buzz surrounding it, so later this week we'll find out if that Stardock lived up to its billing.

By the way, The Apprentice - The Video Game is being released this week, too.  $20 seems like a lot to donate to Donald's hair fund, doesn't it?

The Volunteer Recruits

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

• Battle for Middle-earth II [1.4 GB] - This 3D RTS is based on Tolkien's literary works rather than Jackson's movies.
• Panzer Elite [330 MB] - It's not a simulation like the 2000 game, instead it's an action game, tank bustin' style!
• Rainbow Six: Lockdown [500 MB] - The third counter terrorist FPS from Ubisoft is now in demo format.
• Star Wars: Empire at War [742 MB] - Hoth, Tatooine, and Dagobah!  Star Wars is back, this time as a 3D RTS.

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