What Was the First Computer Wargame You Played?

[MartyWard]

You can still buy East Front, West Front and Rising Sun as a bundle. It is still being updated and improved. I've been playing them a lot lately. There is a big update due in 2016. If you like the game system you can check out the forum at Matrix for info.

[Uhu]

I also played tons of hours with Talonsoft's East Front/West Front series! It had it's flaws, but it had superior graphics, compared to any other wargame of it's time. The upgrade, support, leader system was also very good. The xp system was a little weak, and the AI was also not very clever, but still it was big fun. When the Linked Campaigns came out, the campaigns got also more interesting. I think, the best linked campaign was the "Hohenstauffen's armored fist" one, with nearly impossible missions and campaign overall.
I started with that game to make Hungarian mods: I made linked campaign for the 2nd Hungarian Army (winter of 1942/43) and put also several Hungarian units in the game, what was quite difficult, because the files were mostly coded. I left the game only, when the Combat Mission series came out.

With Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin started the second era of playing wargame all over the time (= playing it for hundreds of hours). There was no campaign, xp development system at all. But fans made a "roleplay" system, with very complex rules. The player had an Excell sheet, where all rules were and the data of his force. The circumstances of next mission/scenario was calculated from dice throwing, while you could alter it, using your "prestige", what you gained from victories. That meant, the preparations of a mission was at least half a hour, but it was really exciting! I played the almost to the end with a Waffen-SS Kampfgruppe, when I realised, with a Hungarian *harccsoport* would be much more interesting for me. So I started to modify the rules for it and started the war again...to leave it also almost at the end of the war...because Panzer Corps came out!

And to answer on the basic question: my first wargame was Panzer General.

My big brother actually have put me on Talonsoft Western Front and Eastern Front at .. 6 year, i was trying to get better german medals than him, obviously failing. Though these 2 wargames created even more of passion about war history and WW2.

I think that were very good games on the tactical level, and I enjoyed them more than Steel panthers. Its the only games where I had 20 hours + sessions. There were just two things I did not like, that vehicles would only be supressed or destroyed and could not be just damaged. And one major AI flaw, that they would not do, unlike the player, combined attacks. I remember in Eastern Front II there was such an awesome scenario where you would lead two Panzer Corps in Russia with everything down to the truck. And the AI turn would last 20 minutes because it took so long to move everything.

[danijocker90]

War, Strategy, Turn Based Games...well hard to think on a pure Wargame that catched me above the rest...mine is like an evolution of gaming...

Metal Slug > Worms Armageddon > Patrician 3 > Advance Wars > Commander: Europe at War > C:NaW > Panzer Corps

[IttoOgami]

You can still buy East Front, West Front and Rising Sun as a bundle. It is still being updated and improved. I've been playing them a lot lately. There is a big update due in 2016. If you like the game system you can check out the forum at Matrix for info.

I did, and played it the last week. I like the linked campaigns the most, but I am feeling I am still as bad as it as 15 years ago. I did the Guadalcanal campaign lately and got to the 4th scenario with an insane night attack by the Japanese. After that, my bataillon is practically wasted though I still won all scenarios at least with a minor victory. I wish they would give a little more reinforcements between the scenarios. Even with good results, you can never replace all you have lost. Never got so outraged by a game since a long time ago. Anyway, I have yet never finished a linked campaign. I advanced into five - six scenarios when I played the one with the Afrika Korps recon, Kampfgruppe Peiper and had the biggest advancement with "Big red one" on Sicily, where I managed to survive all the attacks on Gela and was on the way to Troina. I know you could look up in some files the campaign briefings and see what else there will come, but I forgot how to do this. Unfortunately, there are no guides for this game.

I think I will stop playing East Front/West front/Rising Sun soon again. It is like the works of Sisyphos. With no other game I had this feeling that I will never beat at least the larger part of the campaigns/scenarios even If I would live hundred years more. And I even started playing a complexity 9 scenario for real only one time.

[IttoOgami]

I also played tons of hours with Talonsoft's East Front/West Front series! It had it's flaws, but it had superior graphics, compared to any other wargame of it's time.

True. Its still the strategy game where I like the maps the most. I love to go over the map and recall what happened at Hill 173 and son.

[Egogunner]

My 1st computer war game was in 1986. I can't recall the name. It was in Hercules monochrome. It simulated operation Barbarosa and got me addicted to games. I was on vacation in Denver and my cousin had a computer. Everyday after skiing,I was on that computer playing that game all night long. Dang if I can't recall the name. I think it was by SSI.

Gunner

It was Panzer Strike. http://www.gb64.com/oldsite/gameofweek/ ... strike.htm

[MartyWard]

You can still buy East Front, West Front and Rising Sun as a bundle. It is still being updated and improved. I've been playing them a lot lately. There is a big update due in 2016. If you like the game system you can check out the forum at Matrix for info.

I did, and played it the last week. I like the linked campaigns the most, but I am feeling I am still as bad as it as 15 years ago. I did the Guadalcanal campaign lately and got to the 4th scenario with an insane night attack by the Japanese. After that, my bataillon is practically wasted though I still won all scenarios at least with a minor victory. I wish they would give a little more reinforcements between the scenarios. Even with good results, you can never replace all you have lost. Never got so outraged by a game since a long time ago. Anyway, I have yet never finished a linked campaign. I advanced into five - six scenarios when I played the one with the Afrika Korps recon, Kampfgruppe Peiper and had the biggest advancement with "Big red one" on Sicily, where I managed to survive all the attacks on Gela and was on the way to Troina. I know you could look up in some files the campaign briefings and see what else there will come, but I forgot how to do this. Unfortunately, there are no guides for this game.

I think I will stop playing East Front/West front/Rising Sun soon again. It is like the works of Sisyphos. With no other game I had this feeling that I will never beat at least the larger part of the campaigns/scenarios even If I would live hundred years more. And I even started playing a complexity 9 scenario for real only one time.

Yeah you never seem to get enough replacements. If you are adventurous you can change the number and rate that you receive them. I'm not that adventurous

I think I finished one linked campaign in RS, the one with the Aussies in New Guinea. I have finished some DCG games. The only problem with them is you never get the unique units.

[smashtheaxis]

For me, it must have been Battle Isle for the Amiga.

[captainjack]

Battle Isle was definitely one of the first games I played that felt like a wargame rather than a puzzle or an arcade game.

I did play the start trek themed strategy game in 1980 or 1981 on a 2K Commodore PET. Graphics characters for display, cassette tape for saving games, and a surprising amount of opportunity for strategic thinking to manage fuel and organise combat against multiple opponents, so this was the first actual computer game I played.

[slowgtp]

Operation Europe on the Super Nintendo.
Best combat soundtrack for a ww2 game. EVER.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hcDgXE2bAk

I wasted years of my life on Operation Europe, but for Genesis. Still love that game and it was my first wargame. Genesis version > Super Nintendo version IMO.

Honorable mentions:

Liberty or Death (probably my second all time favorite game. Genesis)
PTO (Genesis)
PTO 2 on PC/CD (all time favorite wargame) PTO 2 on Super Nintendo is very good but a paaaaiiinnnfffffullllyyyyy slow game.
Panzer General (PlayStation)
Allied General (PlayStation)

[alkafluence]

slowgtp - I noticed a lot of the games you chose were by Koei. They made some great wargames, particularly for consoles. I still enjoy firing up Operation Europe and PTO with a Genesis emulator.

[Scholomancer]

LOL, until ottoigoni reminded me of my first wargame (it was Red Baron as well), I thought it was Renegade: Legion, a turn-based space combat game.

My first strategic wargame was Gary Grisby's Pacific War (1994). The scale and the air-sea-land interactions literally blew my mind. I spent close to 10 years playing that game, until he came out with his 2004 War in the Pacific - I spent another few years playing that one as well.

[slowgtp]

slowgtp - I noticed a lot of the games you chose were by Koei. They made some great wargames, particularly for consoles. I still enjoy firing up Operation Europe and PTO with a Genesis emulator.

Yup, and I left out Sierra's Civil War Generals 2. Spectacular game apart from the extreme buggyness.

I'll throw Lords of the Realm out there too which I play on DOSbox. Love that game.

If anybody can help me find the PC version of PTO 2, I'll be eternally indebted. Thanks!

[hs1611]

PTO 2 for PC

Haven't tried it yet, so I'm not sure if it works:

http://www.old-games.com/download/5452/p-t-o-ii

[garlickw]

SSI Field of Fire and SSI Knights of the Desert. Spent the most time with Crusade in Europe and Decision in the Desert until V for Victory Utah Beach came out.

[PanzerPip]

Hi all,
I was starting with Panzer General in 1994 as soon as we owned our first family computer.
Last summer I discovered Pancer Corps as epic remake. Grats and thanks for that game! I am loving it. My girlfriend doesn't that much.
Greets and have a nice weekend,
Pip

[JaM2013]

same here, Panzer general was my first, then Steel Panthers which i played a lot. I still consider it to be my most favorite game even though i didn't played it years.. hope somebody will revive it soon...

[TSPC37730]

Have you tried the Matrix Games version of Steel Panthers? I spent a lot of hours playing that one as well...

[JaM2013]

yeah, i played both SPMBT,SPWW2 and SPWaW, but then i moved to Total War games and kinda lost touch.. and now, on Full HD monitor, it is practically unplayable for me.. at least there is a Panzer Corps

[GaryChildress]

It all started here:



...which is why I'm excited as I am about Panzer Corps.

One of my all time favorites from the earlier days as well. I think my first computer wargame was a Civil War game from the early 1990s. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of it. I'm tempted to say "Blue and Gray" but I'm not 100%.