A Matrix Fanboy's Console Strategy Gaming Life

[jvgfanatic]

Culdcept - USPS2 - Put more time into this one than I care to admit. Played the Saturn rev, one PSX rev, the DC revision and finally this PS2 version and it's the most balanced version yet.

Think of Culdcept as a cross between Monopoly and Magic:The Gathering. You have a hand and deck (called a book) of cards that can be placed on a monopoly like board. The board is divided into four elements and one non-element as well as some special squares. There are no button-mashing mini games of the variety you'll find in Mario Party or Gaia Masters, instead combat is with cards and helper cards.

Anyway, the game has a ton of depth for a console title and comes very highly recommended. Very strong multiplayer options with up to 4 players or AI controlled characters. Extensive story mode with many "medals" to earn (most money won, won using only a single creature type, etc...) means some serious addiction if you're into this sort of thing.

Dai Senryaku VII - USXBox - Long running WWII and modern day combat game (traditional hex, ugoigo) out of Japan. Only one other Daisenryaku made it over to the states and that was Iron Storm on the Sega Saturn. While this XBox version doesn't offer as nice a campaign mode (it's more like a giant tutorial than a proper campaign in DS7) it does have a nice map editor (though not a "scenario" editor, with pre-placed units) and a TON of free play maps.

Set in the modern era this fast-paced wargame is a lot of fun if you already have an XBox. It's $20 price tag is awesome for dollar to game value.

Gaika no Gouhou: Air Land Force - JPS2 - Another fast paced modern combat game, this one feels a lot like Nectaris/Military Madness and that is not a bad thing. It doesn't have the support effects that MM is known for but graphically it plays very much like that classic. Anyway, it's a lot of fun, the premise is that Japan was not bombed, instead American forces and Russian forces landed on Japan's shores and divided the country between them.

You play the role (I believe) of an independent force in modern or near-future times whose goal it is to unite Japan under one rule (haven't we heard that story before from Koei?). Despite not having translated any of the story, the game is fantastically easy to play (though basic strategy game Kanji are 2nd nature to me). I've only just beat the first prefecture's battles (you can start your game from ANY prefecture...there does seem to be a balance issue (I'm kicking ass) but I can adjust to any (known, console) AI level when the game is this easy to get into.

The fact that Gaika no Gouhou is published by Koei in Japanese might scare a lot of folks off but it is a) a budget, "Best" re-release so it's price is semi-fair and b)there is not a lot of arcane Japanese Kanji in this game (unlike say, Taikou Risshiden or Nobunaga no Yabou) so it's pretty easy to pick up.

Anyway, that's just three semi-obscure titles that occupy much of what little gaming time I have for consoles. Cheers.

[Hanal]

It is my understanding that there are many strategic wargames for consoles in Japan, which never make it to the states...It is the primary reason that I stopped console gaming.....

[jvgfanatic]

Some more titles.

Iron Storm - USSaturn - I mentioned this game before but it sort of deserves its own space. An epic campaign mode involving many battles of World War II with unit persistence and experience there's a level of involvement often reserved for SRPGs. The Working Designs localization corrected many errors of the Japanese original (Daisenryaku:Kotetsu no Ikusakaze) and most likely (I did not play it for accuracy) introduced a few others. The game makes obtaining a Saturn and Iron Storm entirely worth the effort though Iron Storm itself is somewhat scarce.

If you're gonna get a Saturn then you might as well also track down...

PTO II - USSaturn - Another Koei favorite. My fingers are somewhat tired from having to type "quietly" while the little one naps in the other room. I'm sure someone else will wax poetic about this title.

As to the lack of US Strategy games, indeed. This is the primary reason for my becoming "jvgfanatic" (Japanese Video Game Fanatic)

[Hanal]

Well the whole Koei line was very good and kept me into console gaming from the 8 bit NES through the Saturn....PTO, Genghis Khan, Le' Empereur, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms, Nobunga's Ambition, and Liberty or Death were staples for me...unfortunately, with the exception of the Panzer General series on the 3DO and PS, there was not much after that.........