Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2 Collector's Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)As a big fan of real-time strategy (RTS) games, I found this game to be a bit more than the average base-building, resource-collecting fare. To be sure, there is a lot of this kind of activity required in the game, but it is presented in a way that does not seem bland or too conventional. The game does not break a lot of new ground for the genre like, say, Dawn of War or Rise of Nations, but it does offer an interesting spin.
Gameplay: There are a few options here that should keep most players preoccupied for a while. First, there is the campaign mode that allows for play as either the good or evil side. Each of the campaigns have eight scenarios which for the most part are your standard base-building, land-conquering variety. Overall, the missions are well done and are a great introduction to the other gameplay options. Another gameplay mode is the War of the Ring. This is a mix of turn-based and real-time gaming in which factions try to take over a map of Middle Earth by moving armies around. It is a very well-done gaming mode that should allow for a lot of replayability. Thirdly, there is a skirmish mode as well as online play. The game comes with several maps, but unfortunately there is an overabundance of 2-player maps and a shortage of larger maps (only one 8-player map).
Each of the six playable races (men, elves, dwarves, Mordor, Isengard, and goblins) feels unique enough to offer a range of gameplay options. Each has several units, many upgrades, unique powers, various heroes, and other perks. Also, the game ships with a "create-a-hero" template that allows you to create your own in-game hero. This options, while a good idea, is rather limited in regard to the appearance of your hero. Heroes are better implemented in this game than in other RTS games (like Warcraft 3) and can level up without having to hunt down "creeps" or perform other distracting tasks. I assume that a future patch will adjust some of the heroes so that they are better balanced against each other.
The gameplay itself is very frenetic and engaging, and on medium and higher difficulties, the fighting starts early. The game's AI is generally good and will make it a point to destroy your buildings at every opportunity, along with your units. Occasionally, I've witnessed a few lapses with the AI, such as cases in which enemy units were not immediately noticed and attacked. Otherwise, the AI holds its own in most fights. I've only noticed a few flaws in the game, but they are worth commenting upon. First, buildings and walls are far too weak and easily destroyed. Since games are won or lost based on your resource and unit output, it's a shame that a few infantry units can destroy an upgraded fortress in seconds. Of course, lesser structures like farms go down even quicker. Also, the game is not really geared toward epic siege warfare, which was one of the great things about the movies. Walls are not only weak but they are far to expensive to be practical and are difficult (perhaps impossible?) to repair. Additionally, the resource model encourages you to spread your farms apart for maximum benefit, so there is little possibility of having a compact, well-fortified, walled-in base. A patch could correct much of this (such as the strength and cost of buildings and walls), which would allow for more strategic and tactical possibilities such as siege warfare (requiring actual siege weapons) and turtling. There is naval warfare in the game, which is generally done well. However, very few maps allow it.
Graphics: This is a great-looking game. Lots of attention to detail in the environment as well as in the models. Unit animations, explosions, magical effects, weather, and other visuals are very convincing. The cutscenes for the campaigns are based on the game models and some wonderful paintings. The animations are not quite as dramatic and visceral as those of Dawn of War, but they are nonetheless quite good. And there are a lot of them. It never gets old seeing Tom Bombadil punching foes in the face or summoning the terrible wrath of a Balrog. Even common occurrences, such as Roharrim cavalry mowing down infantry, are always good for a smile. The game does require a decent computer to get the most out of the visuals. I have a mid-range machine (P4 3.0ghz, 1GB of RAM, Geforce 6600GT) and still get a bit of lag when there are a lot of units fighting on screen. However, EA went the extra mile on graphics, and it really paid off.
Sound: Everything is in order in this department. There are a lot of spoken sound-bites for each of the races, along with appropriate sounds for monsters, weapons, building construction, explosions, magical effects, and so on. The epic music from the movies plays in the background to set the atmosphere. All of the auditory elements of the game serve their purpose well.
Replayability/Technical Issues: The game should have a decent shelf life for RTS gamers, assuming that EA supports it with patches and an occasional bonus map. A map editor is available for download at the official website (www.bfme2.ea.com). The manual that comes with the game is decent, but the in-game tutorials are better. The game has been pretty stable for me with no installation issues. It did crash twice between turns in the War of the Ring mode. However, this was no big deal since I had been playing for several hours and had recently saved the game.
Overall, if you like RTS games, this is a good purchase. The Collector's Edition comes with a bonus DVD that has vignettes about how the game was made, cutscenes, the soundtrack, and a few other things. Also, this edition includes a few bonus items such as a dragon and extra maps. It's probably worth the extra dollars for anyone who liked the movies.
Overall rating: 4.25 stars

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In The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, the sequel to the critically acclaimed RTS game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth you now have the chance to experience all that Middle-earth was meant to be.

Given a new agreement with The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises that grants EA the rights to develop games based on the books, in addition to a separate agreement that allows for games based on the New Line Cinema films The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II will introduce players to depths of the fiction never before explored by EA.

With all new content from J.R.R. Tolkien's original fiction, delve deeper than ever before and engage in new battles that go beyond the award-winning movie trilogy. Wage war in the North and assume command of the most storied civilizations in all of Middle-earth history--the Elven and Dwarven armies--or fight on the side of Evil with heroes and creatures that have never been seen in The Lord of the Rings films. Defend or overtake never before seen lands such as Dol Guldur, The Misty Mountains, and Mirkwood as you unleash powerful new weapons and abilities--summon dragons, cause volcanoes to erupt, or bring down a cataclysmic lightning strike.

But beware, with greater power comes greater adversity. Your enemies, commanded by a powerful new AI system, possess a greater tactical edge and more powerful spells. Will your armies have the fortitude to persevere?

New races, places, heroes, and battles from books & films
Command all the races of Middle-earth with three all new factions including Elves, Dwarves, and Goblins.
Win the war in the North single-player campaign with all-new story that takes you to places and battles of Middle-earth previously unseen.
Customization, Command, & Control
Build your own landmark castle with fully customizable and upgradeable fortresses and walls.
Create your own hero with all new customized RTS units that are your avatars in-game.
Control battles with all-new enemy AI, melee combat, and flanking, adding unprecedented tactical fidelity.


This special Collector's Edition also includes:
Exclusive Bonus DVD in High Definition (HD) Mastered in HD for the ultimate high resolution experience on your PC or HD TV
Entire musical score features original music created exclusively for The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II
In-game cinematics and trailers in high resolution and surround sound
"The Making of The Battle for Middle-earth II": The story of the team behind The Battle for Middle-earth series including never before seen videos and exclusive interviews with key development team members
"The Art of the Game": The ultimate collection of artwork created for the game, including hundreds of cinematic paintings and key pieces of concept work
Exclusive In-Game Content. All new fire-breathing Dragon on the battlefield, this impressive unit can only be controlled by players who purchase the Collector's Edition
Special graphic treatment for "create-a-hero" units identify Collector's Edition gamers during on-line play
Multiple exclusive maps including signature locations from The Lord of the Rings films, such as Weathertop and Argonath
Two-sided, 11-by-17-inch Exclusive Campaign Map Poster
Gorgeous high resolution map of Middle-earth created exclusively for the game--"Good" side lists out all the campaign locations from the good campaign while the "Evil" side lists out its campaign locations and descriptions
The perfect companion piece while playing the Good or Evil game missions
A rebate coupon for savings on a new NVIDIA graphics card

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Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 Expansion: Yuri's Revenge Review

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(More customer reviews)Sometimes, the expansion pack is not all that it is cracked up to be, and many times, designers will put out an expansion pack laced with a few new units just to make you pay for their patch because they got so many things wrong with the original game.
However, this time, the expansion pack could stand on its own. Yuri's Revenge would be a stand-alone if the single player campaigns were longer. Only 7 missions per side, but this isn't all that bad, considering that the missions are much harder now with Yuri's side now being the advisary. Needless to say, expect to replay a few of these missions. Even the veterans will have a little trouble figuring out the best methods to defeat Yuri.
Some of the new additions are nice. The Allies finally have a heavy hitting Tank called the Battlefortress that can garrison 5 units. It can even crush other tanks and walls! Floating robot tanks also are new. The Soviets have a new building that will allow their production costs to decrease while their speed increases. The Spy Plane is also back.
But the main feature of the game is the addition of the new side, Yuri's forces. They are mostly mind-controlling units or such as the like. Be warned: If you get into a shooting match with the Allies or Soviets while playing Yuri, you will lose. The key with Yuri's units is to take full advantage of the mind-control technique. You will even have defensive structures that will mind control units that come close to your base. This makes for an extrememly fortified base, though be warned that not all units can be controled.
Overall, the new units in this game are very nice. The new movie sequences are much better than the original RA2 movies. The opening sequence is especially nicely done. The cheesy sequences are also fewer and far between now. Westwood sure did a nice job with this. Very good touch.
This is a great expansion pack, much like what the Brood War was to Star Craft and The Conquerors was to AOE II. If you have RA2, don't even bother playing this demo first. Go ahead and buy it because it will be the rage very soon in the online strategy gaming front.

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Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, Yuri's Revenge sets a new standard for expansion packs in both what it adds to the game and how it changes the way you play it. The world is once again on the brink of apocalypse. Yuri, the brilliant and powerful psychic warrior, has rebelled against his former Soviet masters and launched his own scheme to control the world. He's armed with cruel technologies, exotic weapons, and mind-controlling devices that have enslaved entire cities.
In single play, gamers can choose to command the Allies and crush this new threat to freedom, or choose to lead the Soviets and punish this would-be usurper of the Soviet global vision. In multiplayer mode, you'll command Yuri's devastating army using devious weapons based on forbidden technologies: psychic thought, genetics, and cloning. See your brutes flip over tanks with their bare hands, unleash your dominator and control scores of enemy troops, or use a virus to infect opposing forces foolish enough to resist you. With 10 new cooperative missions, gamers have more interesting options than just fighting head-to-head. An improved multiplayer and tournament interface will make it easier than ever to find opponents and allies.
Both the Allied and Soviet armies get new, powerful weapons. The Allies boast aRobot Control Center and Chrono Prison. Amongst the new Soviet weaponry is the Siege Chopper and Boris, a machine-gun-toting commando that can call down laser-guided bombing strikes. The high-quality in-game movies tell the story of Yuri and his insidious plot. The popular characters of Red Alert 2, such as Tanya and Romanov, are back to wage war in cities around the world, including London, Cairo, and San Francisco.

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The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle Earth II: Rise of the Witch King Review

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(More customer reviews)Since the conclusion of the magnificant Lord of the rings film trilogy, those of us who are fans of this fictional world have to turn to whatever sources we can to enjoy it. Well, there's the books and movies of course, but we do crave other things, such as high quality video games. EA, who has had a stellar record with creating great video games based on this universe, now brings us thier latest adventure, (takes deep breath) The lord of the rings: The battle for middle earth II expansion pack: The rise of the witch king (whew!).
Rather then replaying the classic adventure from the books, EA takes us way back in time for this expansion back, back to the time period just after Sauron was defeated by the last alliance. His most trusted servant, the witch king, has managed to flee destruction and now hides in the North of Middle earth, with only his trusty horse (who is never given a name), his big sword, and his small, three pronged scepter. Now dark lord-less, the Witch king does what any most trusted servant of evil would do...build up his own kingdom! And so, for the next 500 years (not really mentioned in game), everyone's favorite nazgul will attempt to destroy the kingdom of Arnor in the north and claim it for his own.
With the stage set, the game begins. You control the Witch king, his various allies, and the new game faction, Agmar. Your goal is to conquer the kingdom of Arnor by any means necessary, including standing on graves, gathering crystals, and destroying magical eleven trees, among other things. Oh yes, you'll be doing a lot of fighting. Because TLOTRTBFME2EPTROTWK takes place approximatly one thousand sixty years or so before Sauron began rebuilding Barad-dur, the player gets a nice backstory on some of the history of middle earth, including finding out what what the witch king was doing before the events in the films, what happend in the collapse of Arnor, and learn the backstory behind Glorfindel's famous line, "Do not pursue him! He will not return to these lands. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall." The new faction of Agmar is introduced, which is a big mix of foot troops, mounted troops, and the new class of sorcerers (but from my experience, they are pretty much useless). In addition, we get to see some famous locations in thier heyday, such as the Barrow downs (before they were corrupted and had nasty wraith things), and we even get to see Aman-sul before it was turned into rubble.
Furthermore, this expansion pack features a respectable amount of new content. We have the new faction, Agmar, a new campaign, a revised war of the ring mode, and an updated create a hero mode.
But with all this new content...just exactly how fun is the game?
While the previous two games in the battle for middle earth franchise have been fun with a respectable level of challenge, the new campaign in TLOTRTBFME2EPTROTWK is without a doubt, the hardest yet in the series. The difficulty level here is high, so high that, with the exception of the first and last missions, it's pretty much gauranteed that you're going to have to re-try each mission at least once. On some, five or six times. For me, this is the biggest flaw of TLOTRTBFME2EPTROTWK. It's just way too hard. I played through the campgain on easy difficulty, and on some of the later missions I was having my rear end kicked and punched non-stop. Several times my teeth were gritting and grinding against each other in frustration. And at one mission (the second Barrow downs), at one point I was howling and screaming like a banshee in sheer frustration and anger (on the fifth retry no less). Why? Very commonnly, you're going up against very well armed and armored troops during the missions. And not only are they fully upgraded, they frequently outnumber you, sometimes coming out of nowhere on the maps, overwhelming you and making you re-play the mission all over again. Why did it take the witch king 500 years to conquer Arnor? I think it was because he kept pressing the "Restart mission" button over and over again. And keep in mind that I was playing the game on easy. I triple dog dare anyone to play this game on hard difficulty. If you manage to keep from smashing your moniter and taking a sledgehammer to the CD, then you have the nerves of a god.
The best way I can sum up my feelings about the new campaign is that it feels more like a chore to play it, rather then an experience to be enjoyed. Rather then looking forward to each new mission, I found myself slightly dreading each one, only to find my fears confirmed as I was faced with seemenly impossible mission objectives, overwhelming numbers of vastly superior troops, or moments of "How the hell am I going to do that?!" By the time the climactic siege of the campaign comes by (which took me an hour and twenty two minutes to complete) , I was more burned out then anything else, and simply wanted to get it over with so I could see how the game ended. Rather then the exciting siege of Dol Guldor, or the battle of the black gates from the previous two games, the end of TLOTRTBFME2EPTROTWK is a slight burnout. The final mission, which I won't reveal here, does bring back some of the simple enjoyment of the previous two games, but overall, the new campaign is, for me, too hard, too irritating and most of all, just not very fun. That's not to say however, that it isn't all bad. The first Barrow Downs mission is an absoloutly chaotic "King of the hill" mission that, while hard, is exciting to watch as you desperatly try to keep control of a hill while being assaulted again and again.
With the campaign out of the way, what else does TLOTRTBFME2EPTROTWK offer? Skirmish and multiplayer return, but since I cannot play online, I can only comment on skirmish. For this mode we get several new maps, including ones that were previously only avaliable on the collectors edition of the battle for middle earth two, such as the argonath, amon sul, a perfectly balanced snow map to see who truly is the better duelist, and even the paths of the dead.
All the factions in the game, with the exception of Agmar, get various tweaks and upgardes. Men for example, get rohan spearmen and mounted knights. Elves get noldorin warriors (the elven warriors seen at the last alliance), Dwarves get prince Bard of Dale as a new hero, so on and so forth. New berserker units are introduced in this expansion, who are basically very powerful units that can cause a lot of destruction to anything or anyone they come across. In a nice touch however, each faction can have only a few of these units on the field at any given time to help balance things out, so that Isengard can't overrun the field with an army of uruk-hai death bringers (who are armed with gigantic swords). My favorite tweaking is with mordor (who now gets Gothmag the orc as a hero), where instead of individual nazgul, you now get to control eight of them as a single unit, meaning that there are eight black horsies and thier riders galloping across the field (but I do wonder why you recruit the fearsome nine from the seige works? That doesn't make much sense). Tolkien fans will also appreciate how one of the nine is now named as Khamûl.
War of the ring, a risk/boardgame style strategy game, gets various tweaks and upgrades too. more territories have been added, meaning that players can finally cover all of middle earth for the first time (with the exception of the mysterious, cloud covered lands to the very far north and east, of which we know nothing). Buildings, units, and heroes no longer take a few turns to complete, all being finished in one turn, which is a very nice touch. In addition, units can move across two friendly territories in one turn (which, according to the game, allows you to re-create Theoden's frantic charge towards Minas Tirith!), but in a minor gripe, create-a-hero's cannot move as normal hero units, which is odd considering that they are, you know, supposed to be heroes. They have to be attatched to other heroes in order to invade new territories, which is a gripe, as I'd like to see my hero forging out on his own, rather then tagging along with other heroes. As a final note, the AI has gotten tweaked as well, meaning that they will retreat when they cannot win a battle (which saves a LOT of time during turns), and you can, at last, keep all the units trained during the battles, and they no longer vanish when you return to the world map. Overall, War of the ring is now definitly nicer with these upgrades.
So what about the final feature, create a hero? Sadly, this is a bit of a dissapointment. Players are supposed to be given even more freedom in creating thier hereos then ever before, but that is only true to a very slight degree. You still get the same default, non-changable voices as before, you can't alter faces, and there is only one real new category (a new type of troll), but because I don't care for trolls, that does not affect me. You do get a few new items and pieces of clothing, but it's usually only two things per category. For example, the man of the west gets two new helmets, two new shoulder pads, a new outfit (chain-mail), and a few arm and leg pads, but that's it. No new swords, no new shields.Wizards get two new staffs (Gandalf the white and Saruman's), a face with a very long beard, and that's pretty much it. This pattern is repeated for all the other hero categories. You get one or two new additions in some of the apperance categories, but that's it. While I do appreciate the ability to create a digital version of myself, the possibilities here just seem, in concept, limitless. Why not add capes? Capes make people look even more bad-a**. Why not add outfits from the common soliders from each faction? Why not add...Read more›

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Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-Earth II: The Rise of the Witch-King expands the universe Tolkiem created. This expansion pack to the fan favorite game series lets you command the rise of evil in Middle-earth while experiencing the epic battles that took place before the films. Become the leader of an evil faction and lead an invasion of the peaceful kingdom of Arnor, home of Aragorn's ancestors. To fully experience the evil side of Middle-earth, gamers can now play as the all new Angmar faction in skirmish, multiplayer, and War of the Ring modes.

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Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour Expansion Pack Review

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(More customer reviews)Although Generals added a new standard of graphics and several new and interesting departures from the original C&C game design, it was something less than revolutionary. Zero Hour goes a long way toward addressing this issue, and really turns Generals into a completely new game.
The expansion adds a new campaign for each side, with about 5 missions each. The campaign is interesting, and adds a few new elements, but is actually not the best part of the expansion. There are full motion video cutscenes (reporters talking about what's going on) to add some depth to the story, which is pretty straightforward stuff that could happen sometime in the near future (though we hope not). The missions add unique buildings and locations, all well done, as well as objectives that are pretty fun to carry out. Some of them are quite difficult, and there are a few stealth commando missions that Generals sadly lacked. There's also some campaign-only powers, such as the ability to call in battleship artillery and carrier strikes in one of the USA missions.
The real meat of the expansion starts with the new units and upgrades. Each side has new things, some of which go a long way toward filling holes in the armies' capabilities. China, for example, gets some much-needed surveillance by way of the Internet Center, and a worthwhile stealth detector in the Listening Post. Frenzy, a new general power, increases the firepower and armor of units for a brief time. China also gets added airborne firepower with the Helix and the ability to carpet bomb. The GLA gets several low-tech solutions, most of which are still geared toward outmaneuvering rather than outgunning the opposition. The Battle Bus, however, can pack quite a punch in a frontline role. Fake structures, a sometimes-useful throwback from Red Alert, can also be purchased. More interestingly, they can be upgraded into real ones, which is a nice way to play with an opponent's mind. The USA gets a powerful base defense with the Fire Base, which is garrisonable, effective against infantry, and doesn't need power to shoot. They also get a mobile anti-air unit in the Avenger, making it unnecessary for you to bring weak Missile Defender-packed Humvees along in future battles. Three new tech structures are also added- the Repair Bay (repairs all your ground units), Artillery Platform (shoots at enemies with a howitzer), and Reinforcement Pad (produces a tank on a countdown).
The upgrades and units are standard expansion fare, but Zero Hour adds something else- new generals, each with their own combat styles, units and powers, and personalities. There are three for each side- Air Force, Lasers, and Superweapons for the USA; Toxins, Camouflage, and Demolitions for the GLA; and Nukes, Tanks, and Infantry for China. Each of these has a doctrine that you must adhere to if you wish to use them effectively, and have weaknesses that hold you to it. For example, the US Air Force general cannot make tanks, but has aircraft cost reduced, unique and better air units, and a point defense laser on all airplanes that along with the standard countermeasures upgrade makes them practically immune to missile fire. China's tank general can build the Emperor Overlord, which is the newest and baddest vehicle on the ground. The GLA camouflage general can make literally everything invisible to the unaided eye, and turns the GLA into a real guerilla army (his Scud Storms are especially scary). All of these generals can be used in skirmish or multiplay, and there is a special 'generals challenge' campaign in which you pick one and play against all others. Your opponent is always on territory that favors their doctrine, and it can get pretty tough. This is a great way to accustom yourself to the various generals and pick your favorite, and is also quite fun since your opponents continuously taunt you during the games.
It's worth mentioning that several nice tweaks have been added to the engine. For example, fighters on an airbase will automatically attack nearby enemies, and both superweapons and scouting powers (e.g. radar van scans) appear as a sidebar icon with a number indicating how many are ready, if it's more than one. This makes it no longer necessary to separately hotkey practically every unit you have. Multiplayer options have been added, such as how much cash to start with, and no superweapons. The already excellent graphics have been improved, with even more fantastic fireballs, flotsam and jetsam, and better water effects. The result is undoubtedly the most graphically appealing RTS out there, though you might need a new video card if you want to run at max detail.
In summary, Zero Hour is for all intents and purposes a completely new game. Some have argued that it is what Generals should have been from the start, but I'm glad EA took the time to do a good job on this rather than rushing it for release. I honestly have no complaints about the expansion- it's one of the best ones I've seen for any game. It's a definite must for any Generals fan, and even if you weren't overly impressed with Generals, Zero Hour might just change your opinion.

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Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour challenges you to face off against other military leaders using the most advanced arsenal in history!

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Rise of Nations Gold Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great game, but this particular edition is not what you should buy if you want to play with others (LAN or Internet). Despite the product image, this is the Ubisoft gold edition, which has version mismatch problems with other gold editions. It will not auto update to the same version as the normal Thrones & Patriots, so if you try to join a game you will get an error saying you need something like version 07.25.00.15705, even though the in game versions match.
There is a way around this which involves creating an ISO without the patch on the disc and using a No-CD executable, but it's a hassle and not worth it.
If you're going to play by yourself, this edition is fine. If you want to play with friends, look elsewhere (unless they all have the Ubisoft edition).

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Dominate 6,000 years of history from the Ancient Age to the Information Age. Which forces will you deploy to lead your nation to global prominence? Trade, espionage, diplomacy...war? Whichever path you choose, you'll experience the pulse pounding thrill and speed of real-time gaming combined with the epic scope and depth of turn-based strategy games â?" brought together for the first time ever in Rise of Nations.Secure victory through military or quasi-military strategies.Expand your Nation and play on a real world map.Hours of additional gameplay with Rise of Nation: Thrones & Patriots Expansion Pack.

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Prison Tycoon 3 Lockdown Review

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(More customer reviews)This is easily the worst game I have ever played. There are many games that are as bad, but none that are worse. Constant crashing, 90s graphics, horrible repetitive sound effects, and an overall lack of strategy make this game an embarrassment to the tycoon game industry.
What's worse, the game is almost exactly the same as Prison Tycoon 2. The graphics are not improved (in fact almost every aspect from furnishings, to guards, to the inmates themselves ARE exactly the same as #2). Don't expect a "new and improved" game from its predecessors. If you hated either of the Prison Tycoons previously released-like 99% of the gamers who played them, you'll hate this game also.
So what is this game all about? You are in charge of running a prison. You must build housing, chow halls, hospitals, guard towers and similar buildings. A security fence and gates help keep the inmates captive (although they do jump the fence and escape on occasion). Once you build a structure, you must furnish it with appropriate items; beds in the cells, tables in the kitchen, etc. The inmates freely rome the prison grounds, most adhering to the schedule you create (one of the few new features in #3). Your guards also must be scheduled to cover the three shifts each 24hr period. Once everything is built, just sit back (for hours) and wait for the prison to build up its population. There is a lot of sitting and waiting in this game, so don't expect to spend much time actually playing.
The game is seriously glitchy, and tends to crash often. To combat this, you learn to save the game every few minutes, or your gonna have to do everything all over again. As of this review, an update has been released, although it doesn't seem to help the crashing. This same problem was common in #2, and despite 6 updates, never fixed.
The idea of a "Prison Tycoon" game is great, and the potential high, however I don't think Valusoft intends to run with this. Instead they updated their glitchy Prison Tycoon 2 game and released it as Prison Tycoon 3. With so many other fantastic tycoon games on the market, I suggest saving your money and buying a game that's...well...a game.


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Do you have what it takes to run your own prision?

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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Review

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(More customer reviews)This package contains both the "Game of the Year" edition of Dawn of War plus the Winter Assault expansion pack.
This "Game of the Year" edition of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War (DoW) contains new battle maps, online features and an observer mode to enhance what was already a terrific RTS computer game. Each of the four races in the game look and behave as one would expect from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 (aka 40K) universe. The Eldar are graceful and cultured in their speech and appearance (think High Elves in space), performing marvelous acrobatic moves in combat. Orks are brutal, awkward and ramshackle in their appearance and gait, Chaos Marines and their demonic minions are dark, cruel and monstrous while regular Space Marines (enhanced humans) are very industrial and all business. The animations in combat are so good you'll want to play some skirmishes on easy difficulty so that you can take your time looking close up at the individual fighting using the fully moveable 3D camera. There are even special "sync-kill" animations when certain creatures destroy each other. For example, when the Space Marine Commander kills a gigantic Bloodthirster (huge winged demon), the animation sequence is one of the most spectacular in the game!
The skirmish option offers both single and multiplayer modes with many different battle maps from which to choose. This offers near limitless permutations, providing tons of replayability. The campaign is a wee bit linear and not overly challenging, but is loads of fun, has an entertaining story and can be completed by all players regardless of skill level. Difficulty level settings can be used in both campaign and skirmish play to make the game more or less challenging as desired.
The voice acting and music are quite good in DoW and enhance play enormously. The game is highly evocative of the dark, gothic feel of the 40K miniatures game produced by Games Workshop (GW).
Resource gathering is used as is expected in an RTS game, but it is very simple and does not occupy an enormous amount of game time. The emphasis of DoW is all on the action and combat! Resources are gathered by capturing strategic points and critical locations on the battle map. Capture more territory and more resources will be available to you to complete your research and build your army.
Note that the expansion pack for this game, Winter Assault, provides players with even more maps and options, as well as a new fully playable army, The Imperial Guard. The Winter Assault campaign can be played from either of two points of view, "order" or "chaos," and involves a war against CPU controlled Necrons! Skirmish mode, as in the original Dawn of War, adds a lot of replayability value to the game, with many different battle maps and play combinations. Play any of five armies, play with allies or play free-for-all, and that's not counting multiplayer mode!
Between trying to hear all the fun voice acting, see all the great animations, and actually playing the game, Dawn of War Gold Edition will keep you busy and enthralled for many hours. "Let the galaxy burn!"

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"Ten thousand years have passed since the treasonous acts of Chaos toppled the Golden Age of mankind. Fires burn brightly throughout the galaxies, illuminating carnage and slaughter as mankind defends itself from ancient enemies. Hardened forces collide with one goal in mind, the complete extermination of their opposition."Game of the Year" developer, Relic Entertainment, brings the world's most successful table-top war game to the PC. Control one of five unique races in head-to-head or cooperative multiplayer action, where faith, skill, and strategy are requisites in ruling the universe.Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Gold Edition presents the most exciting, visceral, frontline battlefield ever seen in a Real Time Strategy game with "Game of the Year" Dawn of War and "Expansion Pack of the Year" Winter Assault combined in one package."

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Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The game is fun, but it had the potential to be amazing, and fell short. Originally I said to wait before buying, but the bugs have been ironed out, and now it's a good time, specially at the discounted prices.
Things to know:
- Requires Games For Windows Live (GFWL) account
- Steam installation and account required
- No base building (departs from traditional RTS)
=== SUMMARY ===
I just realized the review has gotten pretty long as I've added other information, so I wanted to write something for those people who want a quick overview:
If you don't mind few units, Steam, Games For Windows Live and lack of base building, you will enjoy the game a lot. The loot/items, unique characters, combat right from the start, persistent troops throughout the single player campaign, and an engaging and different 4 races make this game a great departure from traditional RTS. All wrapped up with great graphics, sound and animation to boot. The single player campaign does become very very repetitive after mission 30 or so. (there are probably 80 plus missions - I'm on 75 and counting)=== THE BAD STUFF ===
- Steam (more details below)
- You need to be connected to the internet to play the single player campaign.
- You need to be logged in to Windows Live to play the game... ugh...
- [[EDIT February 27: While the game crashed quite a bit when I first got it, it has been very stable with the last 2 patches, improving things dramatically. I only have 1 BSOD right after a February 23 major patch. So it looks like the crashing issues have been ironed out. But it was a serious issue at first]]
- Single player campaign ONLY for marines... This is just plainly a bad decision. There are 4 fun and distinct races, with multiple heroes each, and they just do 1 (albeit quite long) campaign with only 1 faction, involving just 1 hero. Very disappointed. I hope they add more campaigns for cheap, like 9.99 for a long campaign for the Eldar or Tyranids.
- Can't restart a mission. Got distracted and lost your units? Too bad, you can't restart it to get that reward you wanted. The game goes on even if you fail, which means you have to always be careful of what you're doing.
- [[Edit: My wireless internet connection dropped while I was playing, and the game didn't stopped, just a little pop-up came up for a second letting me know the connection to GFWL was dropped - this is just a sigh of relief, as I didn't really know what would happen]]
== Steam (why I don't like it) ==
1. No resale value. Period. The software is attached to your steam account upon installation, and you cannot transfer the software or your steam account per the agreement you need to accept. (Kills the second game market - also a word of warning: Do not buy this game used - if someone is selling you one, it either won't work, or it's somehow a cracked version.)
2. You have to log in to Steam to play the game. (offline mode is there but pointless for the game, since you need to log in to windows live anyhow, still needs to run steam though, even in offline mode).
3. SLOW. Opening a game takes forever, since it first has to load up steam, then it needs to connect to steam online, then it starts launching the game. (At least 5 times as long as non-steam games.)
4. You can't play your games if the server is busy (unless you do the walk around every boot up to set it to offline mode). This was a most unpleasant surprise, I did not know Steam would actually go that far, and honestly I cannot think of a worse thing, not even DRM is that annoying. I click on my game, then after about 30 seconds trying to connect to steam, it just tells you something like: "Our servers are busy, try again later"... I could go on and on about how dumb this decision is, but I digress. How hard can it be for them to do implement the logic: "If server is busy, launch the game in offline mode". Note, this wasn't for a minute, I couldn't play it for about half an hour of trying to connect to their servers. Also, if there is a patch, you cannot run your game. My internet connection is not blazing fast so a 150MB patch also leaves you without playing until that's done.... This is unacceptable, period. It is a single player game installed in my local computer, I don't want your server to tell me when I can play it or not.
Note: Steam is not securom or a rootkit or malware like some reviewers are suggesting. It's just an extra software layer, some people love it (you can buy games online, it keeps track of your friends, so you can see who is online and play with them, etc. So there is stuff to like about Steam.
=== THE GOOD STUFF ===
- Co-op single player campaign. You can progress through the campaign online with a friend.
- Graphics are really good, animation is great.
- Loot. (there are white, green and purple 'drops' to powerup the crews from the campaign. So you can customize your characters with new weapons.
- Leveling. You level up both in the single player and the multiplayer games. In the campaign you even get to enhance your stats by spreading those points around. In multiplayer it just increases your attributes, making a veteran squad much more powerful than a new one.
- Tactics are all about combat. (Even though I like base building, it was nice to depart from it - more info below).
- Smaller number of units - (you cannot just outnumber your opponent to victory, you need to plan and use your units accordingly)
- 3 levels of cover (standing behind rocks makes you harder to hit/damage at a maximum level, while standing behind say, a fence gives you only a medium level of cover protection.
- Destructible environment
- The 4 races play very differently, making the game more unique.
- Even though I am disappointed the campaign is only for the Marines, I have to commend the developers, because it's actually a long campaign. I haven't finished it yet, and played through at least 35 missions, if not more. Granted you have the option of finishing it sooner, but I am doing all the optional missions too.
=== NO BASE BUILDING ===
Since these 3 items are new for RTS games, I wanted to expand on Relic's implementation as far as the single player campaign goes:
- I have come to really, really enjoy not having a base. It works superbly along with the small number of units. In typical RTS I found myself building a well defended base, while "teching" so I could unload lots of powerful units and overwhelm the enemy. So basically, it took a while to complete a mission, and most of the time was spent building defenses and teching up, while the actual battle took very little, since the enemy was outmatched. In this game, you start fighting right away.
=== SMALL NUMBER OF UNITS ===
Most of the time you control 4 squads (in single player, multiplayer is 100 units per race, which depending on the unit type can be 12-15 squads)
What I like about it:
- You learn to care more about your units. (you cannot afford to lose squads in an important battle) You get to experience each squad's personality through their leader, and they are always with you - they are with you through the entire campaign.
- War tactics become most important. Using cover wisely, using the special items wisely (like a grenade to quickly clear units inside a structure)
- And what I like the most: I know my squads 1 - 4 hot keyed, so I can call upon each squad when I need them. I am not managing 100 units where I just select all and click attack - in order to be successful, you need to plan out your attack, heal your quads when needed, and basically be able to quickly call upon any squad when the need arises. (My sniper squad is being attacked by stronger melee units, I need to quickly hit the hot key of my jump squad to jump there and save them)
=== LEVELING ===
Commenting only on the single player campaign.
Do I want my hero to be melee based, or do I want him to be a range damage type? (through the levels and experience points you can choose a path). Do I want my all purpose squad to be stronger in melee? Or do I want to make it into a range squad? Do I want my sniper team for this mission, or should I go with my melee team?
=== BOSS FIGHTS ===
They are fun, and a lot of them really hard. They can quickly wipe out your squad if you are not careful. They drop powerful items some times, which you can then use to bolster your squad. I think they did this very well, since bosses have special abilities, all the boss fights (so far) have been different from each other.
=== LOOT ===
I like having to make decisions as to how to equip the squad, which squad should get which powerups, which armor is better suited for x, y or z. However, it also suffers the same problems of most loot systems:
- An item will drop that I can't use for 2 more levels (which could take about 4 missions to do at the latter stages).
- Right now I have 6 extra pretty good armor drops level 6-9 green drops (sit unused, or switched in for some missions). While my commander has a level 0 gun, and a level 4 sword (there just haven't been good weapon drops for me). My supression squad meanwhile has like 4-5 great guns to choose from. Basically, it is what it is with random drops. I just wish my hero had better weapons at this point, my sniper team is also pretty weak in the weapons department, as is my all-purpose squad.
- The reward items for completing missions stink at first (white items, and the random drops from the mission are better). In the latter stages the reward items become very powerful. On a side note, a lot of blue drops seem worse than green drops...
- One annoyance is changing the...Read more›

Click Here to see more reviews about: Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II transports players into Games Workshop's vast Warhammer 40,000 universe, where an intergalactic war between ancient races has raged on for countless millennia. Featuring vicious front-line combat, destructible environments, a fully cooperative multiplayer mode, four unique playable races and an epic single-player campaign, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II delivers the ultimate sci-fi fantasy Real-Time Strategy (RTS) experience.
The Story Continues It is the distant future and the Imperium of Man has spread across the entire galaxy. But our days of expansion are long past. Once, when the Emperor of Man led us in battle, we were unstoppable, but no longer. The Emperor has withdrawn to Earth to rule from his Golden Throne, leaving us to fight a thousand wars of attrition in his name where our defenders die by the billions. We have little hope for support from Earth and we are losing the battle for human survival. Our only chance lies with the Space Marines, genetically modified warriors of superhuman ability and the pinnacle of human potential. But the Space Marines are few, the galaxy is large and our enemies are countless. The situation is most dire in Sub-Sector Aurelia. It is from this cluster of worlds on the very edge of the Imperium that came the Blood Ravens, a chapter of the Emperor's own Space Marines. Now savage aliens seek to overrun the sector, and break the Blood Ravens once and for all. Captain Davian Thule and a handful of Space Marines lead the raw recruits defending these worlds. Yet, another Space Marine prepares to join this desperate battle, a newly promoted Commander, ready to lead in our darkest hour. You are this Space Marine.

Playable Factions

Key Game Features:

Simplified Entry Point - Whether you're new to the genre or a seasoned veteran, Dawn of War II gets you into the action quickly and easily. Learn the game at your own pace and get ready to save the galaxy.
Brutal Frontline Action & Tactics - Get straight into the action and experience intense melee & devastating ranged combat. Use vicious melee sync-kills to obliterate your enemies. Outsmart your opponents - using dynamic and destructible environments to suppress, flank and destroy your foes.
Epic Single Player Campaign - Command an elite strike force, developing the skills and abilities of your squads and commander as you progress through the game.
Persistent Long-Term Goals - Customize your Space Marines with persistent leveling and unlockable special abilities. Equip them with the hundreds of unique weapons and items you earn through mission rewards and battlefield drops.
Co-Op Multiplayer - Play through the entire single player campaign co-operatively with a friend, at any point in the game, anytime.
Next Generation RTS Engine - Utilizing Relic's proprietary Essence Engine 2.0 to deliver cinematic visuals, detailed graphics & special effects.
Gameplay Dawn of War II is split between campaign-based gameplay playable as a Space Marine, supporting singleplayer and co-op action, and skirmish gameplay in which players can play as any of the four playable factions in singleplayer or multiplayer battles. In the case of these multiplayer conflicts, gameplay and matchmaking is supported via the Games for Windows LIVE gaming service. In addition, unlike previous Dawn of War games or expansions, Dawn of War II features an increased and more realistic acknowledgment of the importance of cover. To that end players will notice that some environments in-game are now fully or partly destructible by certain units in their arsenal, adding to the battlefield carnage and the need for players to plan their strategy and choose their playable units and battlefields wisely.


System Requirements:

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Company of Heroes Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Company of Heroes Game of the Year is a great game. However, I didn't realize that the first game would be trying to get it to recognize the DVD. After installation I kept getting a disk validation error. If I happened to be online when I started the game, it would try to log on and update and said I needed a 115MB patch. This is not the correct patch! I contacted THQ and got back an Email about turning off anti-virus software and any virtual drives. My anti-virus was off and I don't use virtual drives, so that didn't help, however they were nice and trying to be helpful. Finally, after endless searching and investigating, I found out how to solve the issue on my own. If you happen to end up with the same issue, I think I can save you a lot of grief with the following:
Locate and install the patch en_2101_2102_patch.exe manually (This must be done first. If you just try to install the second patch it will give you an unrecognized version error and exit.)
Locate and install the second patch EN_2102_2103_patch.exe manually.
After this I was finally able to get the game to recognize the disk and run. After that it was smooth sailing. Good luck.


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From the studio that brought you the blockbuster Game of the Year titles Homeworld and Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War comes the next revolution in action strategy. Company of Heroes is a WWII real-time strategy game that brings to life the journey of the brave men of Able Company as they fight across Europe in the greatest war mankind has ever known.From the opening shots of the D-Day invasion of Normandy players will find themselves immersed in a rich single player campaign. Experience the cinematic intensity and the courage and bravery of the heroes that defined a generation set against the backdrop of the most dynamic battlefield ever seen in a game. Essence Engine: Relic's next generation cutting-edge engine provides graphics quality and a physics driven world that is unprecedented in an RTS game.Environmental Strategy: Real-time physics and a completely destructible environment guarantee no two battles ever play out in the same way. Destroy anything and re-shape the battlefield in your image! Use buildings and terrain to your advantage or deny them to the enemy.Living Soldiers: Advanced squad AI brings your soldiers to life as they interact with their changing environment take cover and execute advanced squad tactics to eliminate all enemy opposition.2-8 Player Competition Via LAN or Internet: Go online with friends and join in the ultimate battle of Axis versus Allies. Format: WIN XP Genre:ENTERTAINMENT UPC:752919493304 Manufacturer No:49330

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Empire Earth Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I can still remember when I played the original AGE OF EMPIRES, wondering to myself if they would be able to make the same general strategy game using modern weaponry. As I loved the original AE, I held out hope that they would someday be able to pull it off.
Well, there is no reason to wonder anymore: our friends at SIERRA have done it. EMPIRE EARTH and its expansion set (both included in EE GOLD) takes us all the way from the dawn of mankind up thru the modern age and even into the future with spaceship and robotic battles and the like.
For myself, the most satisfying component of the game is being able to play with modern-day weapons. Build tanks, artillery and various troops for huge land battles. Build air-forces with fighters and bombers. Build navies with submarines, aircraft carriers, battleships and frigates.
Your civilians form the backbone of your military apparatus as they're the ones who collect the necessary resources (i.e.: wood, food, gold, stone, iron, etc) for your campaigns. You're the one in charge; how you utilize your resources is up to you. If you fail, you're the one who is accountable. If you are victorious, you're the one who deserves all the accolades and glory!
The most remarkable thing about the game for me is its symmetry. There is no one single "unstoppable" weapon in your arsenal. The most powerful weapon is the B-52, with which you can nuke your enemies. However, you had better protect it with great care; send it by itself on long-range bombing sorties and it's sure to be shot down by enemy fighters, anti-aircraft batteries or soldiers with STINGER missiles.
You may create TRIDENT submarines with powerful cruise missiles that can strike targets deep inland. However, these submarines are also the easiest for your enemies to sink: protect them at all costs!
Apache helicopters are devastating against tanks and other land targets, but are highly vulnerable to STINGERS and are downright helpless against enemy jet fighters. Jet fighters are susceptible to the fierce fire of anti-aircraft batteries. However, anti-aircraft batteries are hapless against tanks.All units have their strong points, and all units have their weaknesses, be they ground, sea or air.
If you like strategy games, I cannot recommend EE enough. If you like building armies, blowing stuff up and upgrading the prowess of your military, this is certainly the game for you. Just beware: it's about the most addictive game you will ever play!

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Rewrite history with the ultimate strategy collection!Mastermind a civilization's glorious rise to power throughout any period of human history.This is real-time strategy on a truly historic level.Includes:Empire Earth,Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest Expansion Pack, and Empire Earth: Gold Edition Prima Official Strategy Guide/

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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War -- Dark Crusade Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The kind of review I like to read tends to be full of all sorts of info on new units and how they do in the game. I guess we will find out if anyone agrees.
So far in my Dark Crusade career I have beaten the game with the new T'au race and the Space Marines. This is what I have learned.
First the new style of campaign play. Many have equated it to the board game Risk not unreasonably. But it's both simpler and more complex. The "board" is the planet of Kronus blocked into about 15 "provinces," each with a unique property/special ability. However, unlike Risk, the only unit that moves is your commander. And although some provinces provide units you can buy to take in with the commander for each attack/defense, essentially each time you attack a province it is a skirmish game. You must destroy the other's command building to win.
Pros: Because of this style, players can actually pick which race they want to fight against and how hard it is likely to be. Most provinces allow players to buy "honor guards" who start the mission with the commander and give an early advantage. The maps are universally fun, ranging in size from tiny to massive. A few other provinces come with "special abilities" that enhance your game, like the star port that allows attacks anywhere (almost) and the industrial section which starts you with more money. These special maps, as well as the race specific "strongholds" or starting points, are more than simple skirmishes. Various objectives are given, like having to kill 140 enemy units to gain the "rage" special ability. These maps tend to be a good escape from the simpler head on matches and require skillful unit management.
Cons: It's great to run amok on the Risk style board but so does everyone else. Having taken a Chaos province early in the game, I was forced to defend it against an attack every turn until I finally took their stronghold. This meant essentially replaying the same map at least 6 times. Since buildings built while taking the province or defending it stay on afterwards, I could field top tier units immediately while my enemy had only its honor guard. With little effort I could "usually" rush their base and just kill the main building. Still, it grew boring.
Furthermore, the special missions one goes through to win unique abilities, while fun, were questionable. If I had been Orcs fighting Space Marines, could I have achieved the kill ratio necessary to get 140 guys before the computer? In another mission one side gets only units and the other gets only its buildings. The attacker has to kill all buildings but can't get more men. Fine... except the attacker gets a VERY powerful line up. Playing as Space Marines I got 3 Predators, 6 Dreadnoughts and 2 Land Raiders. Plus a bunch of infantry. That's pretty overwhelming.
Finally, while the strongholds are the FUNNEST mission to play, they are also decidedly easy compared to most others. By this I mean besides an initial rush of units, players are given plenty of breathing room to slowly develop a base, gather units, and overwhelm sections of the enemy defense. Rarely does one have to face the overwhelming sorts of attacks that can be found in regular skirmishes.
The New Races:
So now that that is covered, time to move on. The two new races in Dawn of War are both visually stunning and tastefully different from everyone else. Having now played the Necron, I can speak about playing them.
Necrons(REVISED): By and large the advantage of the Necrons is in their infantry. These tough little units take a pounding and keep going. The base Necron Warriors alone can stand up against a determined attack. Added to that the ability to be revived by other units and a Necron player can literally storm through anything. As a plus, the Flayed Ones, the Necron close fighter units, can be dropped anywhere on the map. This means, not unlike the Space Marines, that Necron players can disrupt unit formations when up against large numbers of ranged units. Equally important, the Wraith, a Necron scout unit, is an actually useful "true sight" unit that is difficult to kill. It comes at a cost though. Necron vehicles are universally underwhelming. They have no tanks with multiple guns or siege units to blast stuff from afar. Only getting a mobile Monolith going seems to equal this out and that takes a bit of doing. So while I suspect the Necrons will be played by plenty, their online usefulness is suspect.
As for the vehicles themselves, they are not entirely without merit. Necron counter grav vehicles move faster than most other races stuff such that a strong force can cross large distances in time to make an impact. As a final note, the Lord Destroyers ability to posses enemy vehicles is nice... but smart players can easily defeat this with infantry support. Be that as it may, the Necron Tomb Spyders offer an interesting problem. Each Necron player gets 4 max and they are sitting inert in his/her base at game start. If one dies, it lies in its place of death until it is bought again. So if you lose your spyder in the middle of a turret field... it could be hard to get it back. By the same token, let a tomb spyder die in the middle of a big lost battle, move the fight elsewhere, then use its special ability to ressurect some of the lost Necrons lying on the field. Suddenly you have a second attack force built nearly instantly.
But it is the Necron buildings that are the show stoppers. Necrons only get one unit production building. The Monolith covers all your bases for production. Thats both nice and not. Its an expensive building so if you need men faster, its a chunk o change to double your production. But if you get the Monolith mobile, it can build men as it moves about the map breaking stuff. As well, all Necron stuff only costs power. And there is no limit(such that I have hit) of how many generators you build. With enough time on map, Necron players can get enough power to buy anything. If the Monoliths get moving, you would not even need to worry about holding strategic points as much, since they only increase unit cap.
The T'au Empire:
In the first game, most people I talked to decided the Space Marines were unquestionably the best. They hit harder, lived longer and could teleport stuff all across the map. Now... the Tau are in a position to challenge the champs.
Tau units are all awesome. The initial unit, the Stealth Suit, requires no research like Marine Scouts to be invisible and can take flags while cloaked. They have good firepower and can EMP vehicles, stopping a vehicle rush. Beyond them the Tau have units to fill every gap. Close in is covered by Kroot Carnivores and Hounds who can tackle enemy units and do good melee damage, though less than some of the other melee units in the game. Long range has the Tau Missile Hovercraft whose ability to plaster an area with a missile barrage destroys defenses quick as well as breaking up infantry concentrations. But most important, the Tau have three units which are nearly impossible to kill. Their top unit, a giant dino bird kinda thing can be sent into an enemy base, ignored, and when you come back to it it will have killed most the buildings, wrecked the infantry and still it will be in the green. Behind the "Greater Knarloc" in damage but not in toughness are the Krootox. These ape like things tear through infantry and vehicles alike and are nigh indestructible. Plus a total of 5 can be fielded, making them unstoppable as a unit. As well the Tau can field a tank not far under a Marine Land Raider in damage potential but faster as well as being able to build two instead of just one.
Besides being indestructible, the Tau have a good line up of stealth units, the most important being a stealth troop transport that can carry three infantry units. Since the Tau commander can also get stealth, it is possible to field a totally stealth unit with enough firepower to take on a determined assault. And probably kill any sensor units quickly.
An equally devestating (read cheap) tactic is to load the new XV88 Broadsides into the transports. Not unlike Dreadnoughts, XV88s are the mobile turrets for the Tau and as such, can dish out massive damage to vehicles OR infantry. And three units of three can be places in a stealth transport. So it is possible to sneak in just one vehicle and suddenly have 9 "turrets" built in an enemy base. Add more transports for greater effect.
What are the weaknesses? They are pretty small actually. Tau cannot build turrets, relying instead on the walking turret Broadsides. However, with three to a unit and coming equipped with uber powerful guns, this is not much of a weakness. It can actually be a strength since the transports can carry Broadsides, allowing a player to quickly move them to where they are needed.
The Tau also suffer a lack of tough Hero units. Unlike the walking meat tank who is the Space Marine commander, your Tau commander is actually a soft target. The secondary commander, the Ethereal, is even softer and losing him cuts the damage and moral of ALL Tau units. But again, this in no real handicap. The Tau commander can gain stealth, making him hard to find and target. And the Ethereal's special benefits are global, meaning there is no reason to take him along for attacks.
Finally, though I don't know how much of a weakness this will be, the Tau must choose what top tier units they want. One way is big tanks and armored suits somewhat like Marine Dreadnoughts. The other way is the afore mentioned Krootax and Hounds. Either way works fine but a special building must be built and a 400 requisition + 400 energy research is...Read more›

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Expansion pack to internal THQ studio Relic Entertainment's critically-acclaimed real-time strategy hit Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War. Dark Crusade features an all new single-player experience and 2 new races - The Necrons and The Tau - allowing the gamer to play up to 7 unique races from the Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War universe. Based on the world of Warhammer 40000 - the dark futuristic universe from Games Workshop - Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade offers massive non-linear strategy. System Requirements:Windows® 2000/XP DirectX 9.0c (included on disc)2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent AMD Athlon XP processor 512 MB RAM 3.5 GB free hard drive space (not sure about this one yet) 4x CD-ROM drive32 MB DirectX 9.0b compatible AGP video card with Hardware Transform and Lighting DirectX 9.0b compatible sound card 16-bitKeyboard and Mouse.Format: WIN 2000XP Genre:ENTERTAINMENT UPC:752919492987 Manufacturer No:49298

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Age of Empires 2 Official Expansion: The Conquerors Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)the expansion pack features 5 new civ's, maya, aztecs, huns, koreans,and spanish.each with its own unique buildings type(imagine mayas and aztecs builduings, cool)There are 3 campaigns and one pack of scenarios named battles of the conquerors, the campaigns are atilla the hun where you get to conquer gaul and then maybe even the whole rome, in el cid you must join forces with moors and fight against castilla and fight against fanatical berber horsemen, and last but not least, in montezuma you get to fight off thje invaders that are much better armed and shielded, can they defeat them, or will they fall before the invaders, in addition to that the game will have 11 new units,conquistador,jaguar man,tarkan and 26 new technologies including a special technology for each civilisation. The villagers are now smarter,for example they'll start gathering wood after building a lumber camp, farm queing, you just give enough money to it, and villagers will build farms untill money run off.
Ram's are now transports, garrizon units inside it to increase speed and defend units inside. ship formations,you can also send commands to friendly computer players. and finally new temperature zones including tropics, and ice. That is a very interesting game...

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Age Of Empires II: The Conquerors takes you int the heart of warfare as you fight to buils a new civilization! Several new interfaces and features let you concentrate on tactics and resource managementNew multiplayer games like Wonder Race(see who builds a Wonder first) and Defend The WonderRelive the time of the conquerors with this exciting strategy game!

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Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs Expansion Pack Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been playing this game since it was first released and added the expansion pack as quickly as it came out. I just don't get tired of it. I highly recommend it.
The newest release builds on the past two with all of the fantastic strategy included in the earlier games. The new improvements are vast and I'm sure that other users and reviews will be able to expand on them more directly. However, if you've played AoE games in the past, this one will not disappoint. They've dropped some of the more esoteric and mundane steps (like villagers constantly returning to town center) and have added simplifying features but haven't sacrificed any of the strategy. I think version three finally brings it all together.
There are a few features which are lacking, however, the scenario game play is a little weak in AoE III and I didn't see any addition in the expansion pack. Also, the scenario creator has so much potential for active users to build situations that others might like to play but requires so much time and effort as to be useless.
On the whole, I certainly recommend this game and the expansion pack to anyone who is interested in strategy games.


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MODEL- MS-CD25988WI VENDOR- MICROSOFTFEATURES- Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs Try the new expansion pack for the best-selling real-time strategy title of 2005--Age of Empires III from Ensemble Studios and Microsoft Game Studios.Microsoft Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs--the new expansion pack for Age of Empires III--will engage gamers of all ages and types in epic warfare in the Americas where they will lead the proud native civilizations to expand their empire and fight for control of the Americas.* Playable Native American civilizations Lead one of three proud Native American civilizations. Each civilizationhas its own unique units buildings and a distinct approach to theirHome City feature.* Gripping new single-player campaign Play through 15 new missions with a rich story and a cast of charactersthat interact with real historic figures and events.* Enhancements to European civilizations The expansion pack will also provide exciting additions to existingEuropean civilizations with new Home City content new units and newways to look at your card deck.* Extended gameplay Experience more of everything including new random maps in uniquelocations in the Americas additional native allies and units morestatistics tracking and new ways to play.REQUIREMENTS- 1.4 GHz or faster processor 256 MB of RAM 2 GB of available hard-disk spaceWindows XP

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American Conquest: Divided Nation Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a big fan of Cossacks and the original American Conquest, so I was really looking forward to this expansion. The problem with the game is that it is nothing but battles. There are no buildings to be built, other than a few battlefield tents. There are no techs, no leveling up units, and no linear campaigns. The game has many of the battles from the civil war with a handful of conflicts from the Texas Seccession and The Battle of New Orleans from the War of 1812. While it is pretty fun at first to have these huge battles, it gets boring and repetive quickly. The unit amounts are pre determined, so there is nothing you can do to better your army. It is also incredibly tedious to march thousands of soldiers across the field to line them up across from the enemy troops. You can have way more men in an area getting mowed down standing in marching order by an organized enemy column and unless you spot it and make the fix yourself, there is no AI to assist you. In real life men would not just stand there and get killed because they had not been given the order to return fire. I usually find it effective to just mash charge all of my men straight toward the enemy general. Kill him and you win the scenerio even if you lose 90% of your force just to kill one man. This one could have been better.

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Take on the role of a Civil War general Texasmilitia leader or pirate captainProduct InformationThe 19th century. North America. A time and place of turmoil thatonce the smoke cleared and the blood washed away would leave a nation foreverchanged:Bravely an outnumbered ragtag American militia supported by pirates andprivateers fought off the British in a grueling series of contests duringthe Battle of New Orleans."Remember the Alamo!" was but one Texan war cry as they clashedwith a numerically superior Mexican army each determined to defend theirrespective territorial claims.Brother fought against brother forced to choose the Union blue or theConfederacy gray; meanwhile names like Robert E. Lee "Stonewall"Jackson Ulysses S. Grant Antietam and Gettysburg filled the pages ofhistory their footnotes written in blood sweat and tears.American Conquest: Divided Nation is a real-time strategy game based uponevents in 19th century American history. Building upon the successful AmericanConquest series Divided Nation offers nine historically inspired campaigns thatspan the American Civil War the Texas War for Independence and the Battle ofNew Orleans.Product FeaturesResearch and employ improvements fortify your positions wisely manageresources and lead your troops to victory in furious real-time battles.Nine massive campaigns. Walk in the footsteps of famous Generalsincluding Sam Houston Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant and prove yourmilitary mettle in more than 40 of this nation's dramatic 19th centurybattles.Five playable sides: The American militia forces at New Orleans theUnion the Confederacy Texas and Mexico. Prove your military prowessin single-player mode or demolish the ambitions of would-be armchairgenerals online.All in-game maps troop clothing weapons and insignia are based on theirhistoricall

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Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath Review

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(More customer reviews)I generally do not like expansions. They used to be additions only very successful games got to have. Nowadays they are mostly the...other half of the game the publisher withheld when selling us half the original for $50! C&C:KANE's WRATH is a rare exception that brings new dimensions to an already great game!
Story-wise, although an expansion, this is somewhat of a prequel to C&C3-TIBERIUM WARS, as it is set on the history of NOD, starting off just after the 2nd Tiberium War and continuing well past the 3rd.
There is a big campaign comprising of 13 single player missions, new units and upgrades and a new (a la RISE OF NATIONS) Global Conquest mode, that can turn C&C3 into a Turn-Based game! What make this REALLY interesting are the six subfactions, each with its special units, strengths and weaknesses. Not to worry, all GDI, NOD and Scrin get their own off-shooting factions.
On the opposite ends of the spectrum, there is Reaper-17 (a Scrin sub-faction): with hard-hitting and powerful offensive options; and then there is Traveler-59 (also a Scrin offshoot): a much more devious faction that relies on mind control of humans (remember how much fun Yuri's Revenge? was). In between, GDI's (retro) Steel Talons and (futuristic) ZoCom and NOD's (mind-benders) Black Hand and (cyborgs galore) Mark of Kane.
Production of the new epic-units can tip the battlefield scales dramatically. Most are not only devastating but are pretty hard to take down too. GDI gets the MARV [Mammoth Armed Reclamation Vehicle], a souped-up triple-barreled tank; NOD gets the Redeemer, an augmented killer avatar; whereas, Scrin get the Eradicator Hexapod, a impressive six-legged mech.
Revamped units, such as the Shard Walker or the Reaper Tripod, or back-to-the-drawing-board units, such as the Prodigy or the Ravager all add to a renewed experience. Moreover, as a long-time C&C fan, I particularly enjoyed the reappearance of good-ol' units such as Titans and Wolverines on the side of GDI!
The graphics are beautiful, the physics detailed and the explosions and beam-weapons spectacular! Don't forget to turn on the volume on those speakers, because this is a total immersion experience.
As with the original: it misses the 5th star for fun because one cannot hold a battle formation while moving. As most units move at different paces (and although the AI has improved they keep bumping on each other), this results in the more agile, yet vulnerable, units having to face the enemy first - a short-lived sight... May be the next C&C (say, RED ALERT 3) could have some TOTAL WAR infused into it, with battle formations options.
If you are boycotting SecuROM you should know that it is the copy-protection used (nevertheless, it is the usual version used in the original C&C3-TW as well, coming nowhere near the BIOSHOCK RootKit madness!). I usually withhold at least one rating star because of such security inconveniences. However, I enjoyed the game so much that I was willing to overlook it. On the other hand, since it is important for a great number of Amazon customers, I have to mention it for the sake of a well informed decision.
Finally, be advised that this is an expansion and, yes, you do need the original C&C3: TIBERIUM WARS to play it. If you do not have it, take note that there is a pack available, including both original game and expansion (the prices fluctuate so make sure to get the best deal).
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

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In the name of Kane! The Command & Conquer™ series continues to thrive with Command & Conquer™ 3: Kane's Wrath. As the expansion pack to the critically-acclaimed and fan favorite, Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™, this Real-time Strategy (RTS) game returns to the Tiberium Universe with Kane at the center of an epic new single player campaign spanning 20 years – from the rebirth of the Brotherhood of Nod after the Second Tiberium War through the dramatic events of the Third Tiberium War and beyond. This story will be told through a new set of high-definition, live action video sequences starring a celebrity cast including Joe Kucan, playing the megalomaniac leader of the Brotherhood of Nod, alongside new talent Natasha Henstridge and Carl Lumbly. With your help, Commander, the Dark Messiah may rise again!

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Medieval II Total War: Kingdoms Expansion Pack Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay, first off about the multi-player hotseat thingie..don't really know about it and not my cup of tea so in this review I won't touch on it because quite frankly this is a game I really wouldn't want to play with anyone else. It's a "me" game.
With that being said, this is a nice addition to the Total War franchise. Sure, there are mods you can pick up to tweak it, but nobody makes a mod better than the folks that actually designed the game. In each of the campaigns you have cool triggers that add a dynamic flavour such as Richard and Philip II reinforcing the crusades in the Holy Lands and the Baron's Alliance in the Brittania campaign.
I had some preconceived notions about Kingoms, in that I fully expected some dinky little maps and about 5 hours playtime per campaign. Ohhhhhh no sir, these are full fledged campaigns with lots of territories and tons of time to eat up. They are all quite large, but the Americas campaign map is vast and was extremly fun playing the Apachean tribes. Nothing says "yippie" when your apache dog soldiers are charging and doing that Indian war cry you've heard in every John Wayne movie.
There is no big upgrade over Total War II...ergo, there is no major graphic or engine overhaul, it's simply more campaigns to play - a lot more. One of the nicest things I liked on the new campaigns is that you get a few of the top end units to start so you don't have to wait years to see how that Greek Fire Thrower works or get the uberest Templar Cavalry.
I have had no technical problems on Vista 32-bit with Dual core 2.13ghz, 2gb RAM and NVIDIA 7600 video card.
Not much more to say that hasn't been showcased in previews and you can read from the description up top (which is accurate except the multi-player thingie which I really don't care about) other than if you liked Total War 2 then you are going to really love Kingdoms.
Pros:
- Same good looking graphics as Total War 2
- Sound is amazing with new songs for each of the factions and campaigns
- Tons more units
- Very big campaign maps
Cons:
- Ummm...perhaps the multi-player capability which apparently isn't that great.


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Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms is the official expansion to last year's award-winning Medieval II Total War, presenting players with all-new territories to explore, troops to command, and enemies to conquer.Kingdoms is the most content rich expansion ever produced for a Total War game, with four new campaigns centered on expanded maps of the British Isles, Teutonic Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. In Medieval II, players wereonly given a tantalizing glimpse of South America, but in Kingdoms, vast tracts of land in both North and South America have been opened up for players to conquer.All-new factions from the New World are also now fully playable, including the Aztecs, Apaches, and Mayans.Along with the new maps in Britannia, Teutonic, Crusades, and New World Campaigns, there are 13 new factions to play, over 110 units to control, and 50 building types, adding up to 80 hours of new gameplay.Kingdoms also offers new multiplayer maps and hotseat multiplayer, allowing players to play one-versus-one campaign games on the same computer.

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Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts Review

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(More customer reviews)First of all, there are a lot to like about the CoH series. The graphics, the physics and the unit strategy elements of the CoH series of games are by far among the best in the RTS games I have played, and I have played RTS games for almost 20 years starting from a very young age. This series of games present campaigns in managable segments and load them with tons of strategic elements to make them fun and refreshing. The opposing fronts game adds two more armies: Britsh 3rd Army and the German Panther Elite to which you can command (in addition to the original CoH's US Army's 101 air born able company and the German troops).
My interest in the WWII history made this game even more fascinating to me personally as I can engage my computer units in some historically signifcant WWII campaigns. The game does a good job of including bits of actual WWII history to further engage the players. The representation of the units and equipment is also quite authentic, true to the real life. However, this can be somewhat problematic as the Panther Elite troops tend to be very strong (true to real life). In a small skirmish setting, this in-balance leads to some game play problems, as in a multiplayer game, a player commanding Panther Elite units can quite easily over power other players due to the high fire power and the great mobility of the Panther Elite units.
Panther Elite units are heavily armored, fast moving, and the basic grenadier units are good in both fighting and vehicle repair. The Panther Elite also has the best troop carriers, best armor protection and incredible mobility and mobile fire support to provide fast recharge to mobile units. This make the Panther Elite a force that is very difficult to defend against in games against actual human players. The problem with balance is not significant in playing against the computer in campaigns as the balance is well tuned in those missions. But in playing against human opponents on an even play field, a player playing Panther Elite has significant advantage in the game play.
With British units, the mode of play is more concentrated in defense and longe range barrage, as the British tanks are slow, the engineering units are also slow and expensive. The British troops need more leadership guidance, and has relatively weak weaponry in comparison to the German and even the Americans. The artillery units of British is where the action is for this faction, so I guess depends on your prefence in gameplay, the British could be fun. But for me, I prefer a quick and efficient run of armored units, so Panther Elite units are far more entertaining, much to my dismay (as my historitical learning, and dispise of Nazis always tugs at me whenever I play the Panther Elite and lay waste to allied units).
The intallation process was a huge pain however, which is why the game gets 4 instead of 5 stars, the intall from the Opposing Fronts game DVD reverted my patched intallation of CoH to an earlier version, so upon login I had to download patches AGAIN!! What's so insane is that the patches are not cumulative. In order to get to version 2.2 let's say, one has to download and install version 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5... INDIVIDUALLY!! This is the most insane patching scheme I have ever seen. Every other game can handle patching any previous version to the latest patch with just one install, but not CoH series, this just drives you nuts. It tooks over 3 hours overall to install CoH: OF then having to download and install all the patches.
Stability is overall great on my system, with a Dual core proecssor with a Nvidia 8800GT video card on 2 GB of RAM. I did not experience crashing problem many others experienced, but I also didn't get the game until patch 2.2 is released which seemed to fixed a great deal of issues.
Overall, this game is lots of fun to play and a big pain to install and patch. But if you can stand the wait (give you self 3 hours on a fast internet connection) it takes to install, you will be rewarded with an execellent RTS experience as long as you have the right hardware to handle the game (fast video card and lots of RAM for all the eye candy). Make sure to patch the game to the latest version.


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The next chapter in the #1 rated RTS franchise thrusts players into a hellish war torn landscape to command two battle-hardened armies in relentless campaigns for honor and country. Players lead the tenacious British 2nd Army during the heroic World War II liberation of Caen, France, and command the German Panzer Elite as they struggle to repelthe largest airborne invasion in history.

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