Storm Master

The Good
This is one interesting game, it has a strange approach in creating its game concept. The closest game remotely familiar in its strangeness would be Dragon Lord. I'll tell you why as best I can...

The most 'strange' approach in 'these' types of games is the combination of strategy-managerial type game with aircraft simulation. Confusing? Picture SimCity, but in a state of war....next thing you know, enemy choppers come down to attack your city, where you can choose to engage them directly using your own Gunship chopper, thus a simulation action game. Strange? To me it's strange, but this is Storm Master.

The main map is basically 2 large islands or maybe continents. Yours is the west island, the enemy across the sea. Your have to manage your kingdom in order to support your people's hunger and (I think) magic and industrial components to build your air force. Did I mention air force? And what kinda medieval kingdom have an air force? Well, if its Longbow Apache's and F-16, your pretty much off the rocker. The 'air-fleet' is substituted by Balloon or Zeppelin like air ships. Similar in the opening cinematic in Arcanum. And like your typical air force, you have fighters and bombers. You can only enter simulation mode when it's a dog fight...er balloon fight...hehe....and shoot down as many enemy aircraft possible, either by harpooning them or by bombarding their sorry behinds with one massive catapult launcher (yes, your bringing your catapult with you...ouch).

Oh, before launching a fleet of oversized balloons to bombard your neighboring foe, you have to DESIGN the ship first. Yes, design it, which makes this ship more unique and similar to Dragon Lord. In Dragon Lord you have to breed your dragons just right or they'll come out kinda funny. In Storm Master, you have to design in such a way that it's well-equipped enough AND light enough to lift off the ground, or it'll crash during the test run. Yes, kinda cool a brief cinematic to see whether your balloon is lighter than air or heavier than a camel's behind.

Well, after you've stocked up your kingdom by investing heavily on wheat farms and (mutant) goat-like ranches across your land, you are ready to attack. Attack? Not so fast...the winds have to be in favor in order to create such an invasion. In Storm Master, magic is involved however only limited to the Air realm. You can command your court wizard to brew up some nasty storms to shake the enemy without even sending a balloon there!

The managerial side of the game involves an interface in close resemblance to Railroad Tycoon. However, unlike Railroad Tycoon, building farms and industries are optional. In Storm Master it's essential for survival. Where you put wheat farms can mean low or high output. If yer putting farms on the mountains, don't suspect much grain growing from the rock, if you put your goat ranches in the low lands, they won't breed as many offspring as in the mountains.

Besides food and livestock, you also have to defend your realm. This can be achieved by constructing SAM sites across your borders or near important structures. These 'SAM sites' are really overgrown land catapults that logically would be probably impossible to create....hahaha.

Last, but not least is your council. Consisting of 7 gloomy faced characters of which I've forgot their functions of importance....except one guy, your so-called Chief of Intelligence. There's an underground war between you and your enemy that is not on the field of battle. You can assassinate your enemies advisors as much as he can assassinate yours.

Roughly, that's all I can remember.

The Bad
The graphics were kinda 'weak' if I recall from my memory, not that graphics weren't much concern in those days. My CGA graphics didn't help much either...that's probably why the graphics stunk. Oh, well...other than that, not much worth mentioneing.

The Bottom Line
Well, if you like Dragon Lord aka Dragon's Breath you'd pretty much enjoy this one.