Hi all,
My first post…
I haven’t played the game in years, but I played pretty much every weekend for several years in my teens, and I have treasured memories playing the original. Can’t believe the number of games that have sprung up, but with this new “monster” game (when both 40’s are combined) has got me to get back into the fold. Hopefully, I’ll get mine before Christmas.
Having said that, I would like to comment on strategic-level Pacific games. The strategic position of Japan is similar (in fact, if not for the same reasons) as the South in The Civil War, and presents tough design choices. In both wars the strategic position of both guaranteed an uphill battle against an enemy who was more numerous, and had access to vastly superior resources and infrastructure. Therefore, these types of games are very hard to model with realism as it’s main goal because the fact is both underdogs had little chance for a favorable outcome. In other words, where is the fun in playing a country who has no chance of victory without resorting to laughable gaminess in order to achieve a sense of hope?
I am very interested in seeing how this design handles this tough obstacle. I don’t want over-complication which is why I have stayed away from some interesting titles (like Empire of the Sun, Asia Engulfed, War in the Pacific) because I have a family and job that keeps me very busy. I would like to have FUN, too, along with a design that gives a nod to actual historical believability.
What I have seen so far looks good, but I don’t think the game will see it’s full potential until it mates with it’s brother next year. Now, I can hope to finally have my World in Flames-lite, and not have to spend weeks (or years, in the case of WitP) playing out my warlord dreams.
Jim