Midwinter
Description official description
Midwinter is set in a post-apocalyptic world, as the Earth entered a nuclear winter caused by the fall of a meteorite. The titular island has been formed in the Azores group of islands, caused by volcanic activity.
The player initially controls Captain John Stark, the commander of local militia known as Free Villages Police Force (FVPF), who attempt to protect their home from the invasion of armed troops under the command of General Masters. As Stark, the player has to recruit civilians and members of FVPF in order to join forces and prevent Masters from reaching the base located in the south-eastern part of the island.
Midwinter is a hybrid game that combines elements of strategy and action. The player selects and controls the 32 recruits as they attempt to protect the island within a limited amount of time. Two hours of game time are assigned to each recruit; afterwards, the strategy battle moves to the next turn. During their turns, the recruits fight enemy forces in action-oriented combat reminiscent of a first-person shooter. Specific and detailed injuries add a tactical edge to these battles. Enemy units are mostly composed of armed snow buggies, as well as supply vehicles. Eliminating a large amount of them or killing the commander of the unit usually successfully completes the mission.
Terrain plays an important role in the game, as many snow-covered mountain areas are impassable, and the player must plan ahead how to advance. The player can use snow buggies, ski, and cable cars to access the goal.
When recruiting characters, the player has to pay attention to their personal relationships. For example, Stark can recruit his girlfriend, but another character will refuse to join because he is in love with her and jealous of the Captain.
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Credits (DOS version)
17 People
Original Concept | |
Design | |
Project Control and Liason | |
PC version game code | |
ST version game code and Amiga version | |
PC version solid graphics and landscape | |
Graphics / Artwork | |
Solid object design and map fractals | |
ST version solid objects code | |
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Manual Liason | |
Manual Design and Graphics |
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 84% (based on 25 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 30 ratings with 6 reviews)
The Good
This is a game that can genuinely be called unique (apart from its sequel). It defies being placed in any genre. It is very hard to describe this game to anyone who hasn't played it so my advice would be go and play it as it is in my opinion would of the unsung classic games of all time.
The Bad
Crashing my snowmobile into a tree in the middle of nowhere.
The Bottom Line
It can't be done just go out and try it for yourself.
Atari ST · by Neepie Lantern (524) · 2004
Fantastic intelligent Concept game making 4.5 out of 5
The Good
The depth and scope of Midwinter is just fantastic. The backdrop, the setting, the Map, even the crude polygon graphics have a certain charm to them, seeing a village emerge from the gloomy landscape after a 20min ski trip. If only all games where as Imaginitive and engrossing as this one.
Midwinter is a title, like CARRIER COMMAND, that could do with a comtemporary remake, as mentioned in the other reviews. It can certainly be looked on as a precursor to many things gamers now take for granted such as first person sniping,
The Bad
I believe it was flawed in the fact all you had to do was get a man to the south of the island and blow the HQ up which was quite easy to do and thus bypass all the guerrilla war aspect that the games.
The Bottom Line
Worth a look for research purposes alone not sure if it plays on emulators. It doesn't on my Mac unfortunately.
I never played Midwinter 2, which I think is more complicated, and there is another game called Ashes of Empire which is way over complicated and not much fun.
DOS · by kie kelly (3) · 2003
The Good
A real classic game, and still fun to play today.
Great atmospheric winter world. Hang gliding alone is worth the effort (while listening to Pink Floyd's "Learning to fly" and "Terminal frost" ;) ). The size and diversity of the fractal landscape is enormous (give me that algorithm, please!), the rendering beautiful (taken into account the hardware).
There are many human characters with different abilities. The strategic elements are overwhelming. Who will travel where to accomplish which task? Who will recruit whom? Stay and fight or leave and recruit companions? Attack with a buggy (and risk losing it) or rather try sniping from the steeple? Or use your time to gather explosives and blow up enemy buildings?
The Bad
I lost too many hours of my life playing it...
Apart from that, mortars and bombers are real nags. They make the game very difficult, because they are ubiquitous and their attacks are unpredictable and hard to counter. I switched them off (thankfully, that's possible). This, in turn, makes the game rather easy to finish.
The quasi-parallel nature of the characters' gameplay leads to illogical situations, but that's unavoidable.
Also, the only reason the small guerrilla force actually has a chance to overcome the huge army of General Masters is the simple fact that the enemy vehicles attack one at a time. This certainly is illogical.
And, yes, an option to speed up travel would have been desirable. You spend too much time just watching the beautiful landscape passing by.
The Bottom Line
Great atmospheric strategy game with action and role-play elements.
Atari ST · by Roland Frost (2) · 2009
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Midwinter appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
General Masters
"General Masters", the big bad guy of the game shared some visible similarities to project manager Hugh Batterbury. This was not unintentional and an in-joke in the studio. Source: Zero Magazine 1990/01 (issue #3)
Awards
- Amiga Power
- May 1991 (issue #00) - #66 in the "All Time Top 100 Amiga Games"
- ST Format
- May 1990 (Issue #10) - Included in the list "ST Format's 30 Kick-Ass Classics"
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Jeff Sinasac.
Amiga added by 80. Atari ST added by ektoutie.
Additional contributors: Chris McDonald, Jo ST, FatherJack.
Game added May 27, 2000. Last modified January 29, 2024.