Contributions > Descriptions by Sabri Zain (993)

Black Knight is an air combat F/A-18 Hornet flight simulator. It features 50 different combat missions, 8 training missions as well as a free flight mode. A built-in mission creator is also available. Features included a flight instructor mode which offered instructions at every key point of flight or combat; flight recorder to play back your flight viewed from various angles; and digitized engine and cockpit sounds from actual F/A-18 Hornets.

It was initially distributed in 1995 as a shareware demo with some functions disabled.

Wooden Ships & Iron Men is a turn-based game that allows you to recreate naval battles from the 18th and 19th centuries, based upon the successful boardgame by Avalon Hill.

You may choose from a list of scenarios or play a campaign. Choosing the Scenario option allows to select a series of set battles from the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary War, the Napoleonic Wars or the War of 1812, where you will have the choice of commanding American, British or French ships. In campaign mode, you take command of a selection of US ships during the War of 1812, where your task is to sink as many British ships as possible during your career.

Ships are controlled with the mouse, enabling you to change course, load cannons, reassign your crew to stations and grapple. The game allows for a computer opponent, a human opponent or play by e-mail.

A Scenario Editor is also available, allowing you to create your own missions.

This game recreates the battle in 1879 where a British outpost at Rorke's Drift manned by 137 men managed to repel an attack by force of over 4,000 Zulu warriors.

This is a real-time strategy game where the player can pause the game and issue orders during a command mode, after which the orders are carried out and the battle progresses. You can only play as the British and two scenarios are available - one where the Zulus will attack according to the historical Order of Battle and deployment, and the other where the Zulus vary their strategy of attack.

Individual troops are represented in the game as animated soldier miniatures, with the player being able to move individual soldiers, resolve individual hand-to-hand combat situations and order a variety of different firing positions for each soldier.

'The Charge of the Light Brigade' recreates the battle of Balaclava in 1854 during the Crimean War, when 25,000 Russian troops attempted to take control of this strategically important area from the outnumbered allied British, French and Turkish forces.

This is a real-time strategy game and the player can change the speed at which the battle progresses. You can play either the Allies or the Russians, and choose either a computer opponent or play against another human player.

Orders can be given in two modes - 'Unit Mode' where you can give orders to individual units or 'Group Mode', where you can give orders to groups of up to 8 units. Units are represented in the game as animated soldier miniatures, allowing you to select and change groups to five different types of line, column and square formations.

Great Napoleonic Battles is a turn-based hex wargame which not only allows players to play three epic battles from the Napoleonic Wars but also includes a construction kit to re-create any land-based battle of the Napoleonic period.

It consists of four programs: a 'Battle' program to play scenarios; a 'Mapmaker' to customise or create new maps; a 'Menmaker to create or modify units and pieces used in the battles; and a 'Warmaker' to modify rules, objectives and conditions of combat.

The game comes with three ready-made scenarios - the battles of Marengo and Waterloo, where you play the French, and the battle of Quatre Bras where you play the British. Players can choose to play either side in a user-created scenario, or create two-player scenarios.

'Pacific War' recreates the carrier duels between the US Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy at the battle of Guadalcanal in 1942.

The player takes control of the US forces consisting of three carrier task forces, as well as land-based aircraft at Henderson Field. The computer controls six task forces, which you must first find by sending search planes along flight paths to selected points on the map. Once found, torpedo planes and dive bombers can be sent to the contact points - assuming the Japanese haven't found you first!

This was the first in Lothlorien's Warmaster series of Strategy wargames and re-creates the epic battle in 1815 when Napoleon met his final defeat at the hands of a combined British, Dutch and Prussian army at Waterloo.

In the game, you command Napoleon's forces against the combined Anglo-Dutch army of Wellington (controlled by the computer). The computer also controls the Prussian forces, which arrive at a later phase of the game. Your objective is to rout the Anglo-Dutch army at Waterloo, while leaving enough men to deal with the Prussian threat coming from Ligny.

Infantry and cavalry units are available for both sides (no artillery), each with varying degrees of strength and morale. Terrain effects play an important role in the effectiveness of units - the Anglo-Dutch forces, for example, occupy ridges and farmhouses which increase their defensive capabilities.

This was the second in Lothlorien's Warmaster series of Strategy wargames and covers the battle in 1805 when Napoleon defeated a combined Russian and Austrian Army at Austerlitz.

In the game, you command Napoleon's forces - either directly or through a number of computer-controlled Corps commanders. Infantry and cavalry units are available for both sides (no artillery), each with varying degrees of strength and morale, with terrain effects playing an important role in their effectiveness. The game also features 'fog of war', where only those enemy units spotted by your advanced units or those encountered before combat, are revealed.

Inspired by the famous 1986 film, Top Gun: Danger Zone is a desert dogfighting air combat simulation set on board an aircraft carrier (the USS Brigham) patrolling the waters off Libya and the Middle East. You have a choice of two aircraft - the F-14 Tomcat (in which you also get a Radar Intercept officer to assist you) and an F-18 Hornet (where you'll fly solo).

The choice of missions is limited to eight - intercept, escort, clear airspace, provide air support and run interference. However, you also get to participate in the "Top Gun Challenge Board" in the Officer's Mess, where you challenge 12 other fellow pilots in simulated one-to-one dogfights to practice your skills, get their respect and increase your ranking. You also have a choice of playing against the CPU or against another human player in split-screen mode.

The flight model is not completely realistic - but it is not ridiculous, as in many other games (even today). The game aims to have an arcade-style simplicity for the flying, and adds character development similar to many RPGs.