Battleground (video game series)
Battleground is a series of turn-based computer wargames developed and published by TalonSoft for Microsoft Windows between January 1996 and 1999. Nine games were released in the series, each based on a different historical battle.
| Battleground | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Turn-based computer wargame |
| Developer(s) | TalonSoft |
| Publisher(s) | TalonSoft |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| First release | Battleground: Bulge-Ardennes January 1996 |
| Latest release | Battleground 9: Chickamauga 1999 |
Games
Battleground: Bulge-Ardennes
Battleground: Bulge-Ardennes is the first game to be released in the Battleground series. It was developed and published by TalonSoft and released in January 1996.[1]
Battleground 2: Gettysburg
Battleground 2: Gettysburg is a turn-based computer wargame developed by TalonSoft in 1995. It simulated combat at the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, using both a video version of miniature wargaming and board gaming. Terrain hex maps are 3D or 2D with various scales and sizes.
Battleground 3: Waterloo
Battleground 3: Waterloo is the third game in the Battleground series. It was developed and published by TalonSoft and released on May 31, 1996. The game features the Battle of Waterloo which was the final defeat for Napoleon Bonaparte and his French Empire.
Battleground 4: Shiloh
Battleground 4: Shiloh is a turn-based computer wargame developed by TalonSoft in 1996, the fourth issue in the Battleground series. It simulated combat at the 1862 Battle of Shiloh, using both a video version of miniature wargaming and board gaming. Terrain hex maps are 3D or 2D with various scales and sizes.
Battleground 5: Antietam
Battleground 5: Antietam is a turn-based computer wargame developed by TalonSoft in 1996, the fifth issue in the popular Battleground series. It simulated combat at the 1862 Battle of Antietam and the earlier Battle of South Mountain during the American Civil War's Maryland Campaign, using both a video version of miniature wargaming and board gaming. Terrain hex maps are 3D or 2D with various scales and sizes.
Battleground 6: Napoleon in Russia
Battleground 6: Napoleon in Russia is the sixth game to be released in the Battleground series. It was developed and published by TalonSoft and released on April 30, 1997.
Battleground 7: Bull Run
Battleground 7: Bull Run is a turn-based computer wargame developed by TalonSoft in 1997, the seventh issue in the popular Battleground series. It simulated combat at the 1861 First Battle of Bull Run and the 1862 Second Battle of Bull Run, using both a video version of miniature wargaming and board gaming. Terrain hex maps are 3D or 2D with various scales and sizes.
The basic platform for the Battleground series involves individual infantry and cavalry regiments, artillery batteries, and commanders. All are rated for strength, firepower, weaponry, morale, and movement. As a unit takes fire, it may become fatigued, disordered, or routed to the rear. Players compete against the computer's artificial intelligence or against another player via modem. Players may try a variety of individual scenarios, or refight the entire battle of First or Second Bull Run (known as Manassas in the South). Players can also fight the related skirmishes of Blackburn's Ford and Brawner's Farm (also known as Groveton). A Fog of War option enhances playing against the computer, as it hides units that are not in direct view of the enemy.
The game features video clips of battle reenactments, as well as Civil War music by folk singer Bobby Horton.
Battleground 8: Prelude to Waterloo
Battleground 8: Prelude to Waterloo is the eighth game to be released in the Battleground series. It was developed and published by TalonSoft and released in 1997.
Reception
PC Gamer US nominated Bulge-Ardennes and Gettysburg for its 1995 "Best Wargame" award, although they lost to Steel Panthers.[4]
The three Battleground games of 1996—Shiloh, Antietam and Waterloo—collectively won Computer Games Strategy Plus's wargame of the year award for that year.[5]
Waterloo and Antietam were runners-up for Computer Game Entertainment's 1996 "Best War Game" prize, which ultimately went to Tigers on the Prowl 2. The magazine's editors called both games "top-notch", and summarized Antietam as "the best iteration yet of TalonSoft's successful Civil War game system."[6]
The Battleground series, collectively, was named the 75th best computer game ever by PC Gamer UK in 1997. The editors called it "a fine expose of table top wargaming on the PC".[7]
References
- Trotter, William R. (September 1996). "The Desktop General; Becalmed in the Horse Latitudes". PC Gamer US. 3 (9): 158.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1999-10-12. Retrieved 2019-06-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2001-01-16. Retrieved 2001-01-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Editors of PC Gamer (March 1996). "The Year's Best Games". PC Gamer US. 3 (3): 64, 65, 67, 68, 71, 73–75.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Staff (March 25, 1997). "Computer Games Strategy Plus announces 1996 Awards". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
- Staff (July 1997). "The Computer Game Entertainment Awards 1996". Computer Game Entertainment (1): 54–58.
- Flynn, James; Owen, Steve; Pierce, Matthew; Davis, Jonathan; Longhurst, Richard (July 1997). "The PC Gamer Top 100". PC Gamer UK (45): 51–83.