Rod Posted November 16, 2000 Share Posted November 16, 2000 Just read the review for Squad Leader on the PCGamer website. They gave it a miss rating which is fine but along the right side of the review theres a little snippet under "SL Inspired by Victory not Avalon" in which they state that the closet game to ASL the boardgame is Ambush by Victory Games. Whats up with these guys. I went to their review section and they don't even have a review of CM listed. I'm not one to stuff a ballot box or anything but these guys might be long overdue for an email barrage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dirkd1976 Posted November 16, 2000 Share Posted November 16, 2000 The guys over at www.dailyradar.com gave it a miss also.....guess thats one game I'm not going to be coughing up the greenbacks for.. ------------------ Never mistake motion for action - Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Bates Posted November 16, 2000 Share Posted November 16, 2000 On a similar note, this is what Macformat, Britain's biggest selling Macintosh magazine, said about Combat Mission in it's forthcoming games feature: "Set during World War II and boasting some historically authentic weoponary and "armour penetration algorithms", Combat Mission looks to be a game suitable for the more devoted of strategy game fans." Macformat hasn't even reviewed this game yet, tho they are probably lazy bahhstards who get review copies sent to them. Anyways, at least it is a mention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace Posted November 16, 2000 Share Posted November 16, 2000 I suppose it makes sense. Wasn't Victory's Ambush a WW2 skirmish level boardgame, with each piece representing one man? Hasbro's Squad Leader is probably closer to that than to Avalon Hill's Squad Leader, which CMBO more effectively models. Mace btw Victory games *Sigh*, they sure did make some fine games! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomitmeister Posted November 16, 2000 Share Posted November 16, 2000 PCGamer's website links directly to the DailyRadar site. The review that Rod described was probably the same one that dirkd1976 read. Also Rod got it backwards about Ambush. It is the way Mace said. Here is the snippet: At first glance, one may think that Squad Leader is inspired by Avalon Hill's classic board wargame Advanced Squad Leader. In truth, the games have little in common, other than focusing on WWII tactical combat. The closest boardgame match is Ambush! the solitaire game from Victory Games, close cousin to Avalon Hill. In Ambush one leads a unit of ten soldiers into battle. Each soldier is represented by a set of abilities that define the character. Through battle experience players can raise their soldier's abilities. The game interface was a little more complicated than Squad Leader, and player's could only play US soldiers against the Germans, although a later expansion, Gung Ho!, added the Japanese to the list of enemies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted November 16, 2000 Author Share Posted November 16, 2000 Vomitmeister, Yep your right not knowing Ambush I took it that Ambush being a computer game was closer to ASL the boardgame. My bad. Still doesn't excuse the fact that they apparently have not even reviewed CM. Thanks for clearing that up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vomitmeister Posted November 16, 2000 Share Posted November 16, 2000 Actually, PCGamer did review it in their Sept 2000 issue giving it a PCGamer Editor's Choice award of 91%. They even reference Squad Leader in the article saying:"I think Combat MIssion inherited its heart and soul from Squad Leader." However, their web site seems to be managed by the DailyRadar people and doesn't reflect the reviews in the magazine. I haven't looked at the cd that comes with the magazine recently, but they used to have the reviews from the magazine on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted November 16, 2000 Share Posted November 16, 2000 Yup, I used to have Ambush, and when I first saw the squad leader reviews and screen shots, Ambush was the first game that came to mind. It'd been so long ago, I couldnt even remember the name of it till I just read this post. Good board game, but why try to put something that old onto todays computers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaSCa Posted November 16, 2000 Share Posted November 16, 2000 "Ambush!" and "Gung Ho!" are in the game closet nearby. They were a stab at solo play that didn't work too well. You had big cards for each scenario that were slid into a big envelope with slots in it. You cross referenced the hex number with a code on the chart that told you what happened when your men entered any given hex. The enemy actions were pretty predictable, and in fact the design notes said you would have more fun if you didn't stay up late at night figuring out how the game worked. Ignorance was bliss, so to speak. Still, it was fun in those days of no partners and no computer. The scale was down to the individual, and I remember some John Wayne moments with a BAR man. But as far as solo board games go, I think "Pattons Best" was the best I played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts