Did anyone play this old turn-based SSI game? How would a Panzer General junkie like it?
It’s basically the old Warhammer 40k Epic system, as I recall. Besides being turn-based, it really isn’t much like Panzer General, although if you’re into Warhammer 40k, it’s probably one of the most faithful games out there (except it’s not really 40k, but Epic).
I liked it, although I did tire of it before finishing it. Also, I had a hell of a time getting it to run on my system a few years ago, but I did manage to do it in the end.
On the plus side it has FMV cutscenes. :)
Planetarygovernorslap COMMISSAR Holt!
I played it and didn’t like it too much. It was pretty faithful to the (then current) Epic 40k rules but the unit-by-unit interface made it slow and ungainly. Also the art style was from the older ‘bright red’ phase of GW so things were cartoony and brightly coloured rather than the darker and grittier style that came afterwards.
I really liked it. I remember it as a solid turn-based combat game that struck a good balance between depth and accessibility for its time. It gave the feel or commanding massive armies of very powerful weapons, which is pretty much what it was going for.
The “epic” scale of it was pretty cool as an alternative to the conventional squad-level scale of 40K.
I was surprised at how great the FMV cutscenes were. IIRC they’re from a canceled film that was in production, which would explain the relatively high production quality.
Side note, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate was another good turn-based 40K game, with that one being more in the style of X-COM.
I found Final Liberation to be very enjoyable. There’s just something to be said for watching a line of super heavy tanks and titans rip apart an advancing line of ork gargants and tanks. Just watch out for the lifta droppas!
Also, if you’re a fan of Panzer General and Warhammer 40k both, check out Rites of War. Basically, it’s a 40k game dropped into the Panzer General 2 engine if memory serves. Fun game and there’s a downloadable demo out there for it too.
I enjoyed Final Liberation. Like in a lot of turn-based wargames turns could take some time to cycle through all the units, but I don’t recall too many frustrations. I do recall liking Chaos Gate better, but I think it had more issues at release. Not sure about that, but that’s what I remember.
I loved Final Liberation. At the time I had no beef with the game play, but wouldn’t likely enjoy it today. However, the cut scenes are worth the price of admission. The Commissar in charge is awesome, and I liked the initial scenes showing the Space Marines doing their pre-battle rites before establishing the Imperial foothold on the planet.
Is it like Rites of War? I got that free once with a GoGamer order, when GoGamer was called CompuSomething.
Ah, the Golden Age of TBS games.
Chaos Gate, Final Liberation, and Rites of War. The three are extremely different in their scope and scale and each scratches a different itch.
As others have said, Rites of War is the way to go if you’re looking for a Panzer General-type game. You’ll feel right at home. Note, though, that the game focuses on Eldar, not the usual Imperium/Space Marines.
These are all games GOG should revive, if that’s possible.
Anything is possible at gogcom. Anything at all. The unattainable is unknown at gogcom.
Most of them are on youtube. I don’t remember them being so . . . interesting.
I’ve never played these games, now I want to, but going through stuff on youtube, I really enjoyed some of the music for Chaos Gate.
I expect the Games Workshop licensing would get in the way there.
How does that work? They licensed these games, why would it stop them from going on sale again? (Genuine question!)
Well, based purely on things I’ve read before on gaming news sites, don’t licensed games generally have a period (in years) the video gaming company can sell the game for before they no longer have the rights to do so?
Maybe not.
GW is notorious for its draconian control over its IP, to the point where it’s been a disincentive for some companies to develop WH/WH40K themed games. IIRC, Blizzard originally wanted to do WH/WH40K games but couldn’t agree with GW over licensing terms, so we ended up with Warcraft/ Starcraft instead. Probably not worth the effort on GOG’s behalf for games that won’t sell a lot of copies at the end of the day.
I would’ve thought it was tied to how many games they could develop with the IP, but you might be right.
Licenses, at least in the U.S., can be structured almost any way that you can imagine. The license may be limited to a specific number of units, a period of time, a specific entity (including non-transferable) for development and/or distribution, a quantity of sales revenue, etc. The license may also include provisions for the licensee being sold, going bankrupt, etc.
Basically, anything a business person may want to define and a good licensing attorney can write up.