Growing up, my dad turned me into quite the military buff. Since then, I’ve forgotten more about WWII than I probably ever should have known in the first place. That is one reason why I would have played Company of Heroes 2 until my eyes bled, if the game had actually existed then, that is.
Company of Heroes 2 is the long-awaited follow up to a critically acclaimed RTS for PC. I wish that this upcoming game, rather than the original, was around back in the day, largely because of the impact that winter will have on combat in the game. Snow will slow your troops down, and if players don’t construct fires during the night and keep their men in cover, they’ll freeze to death. While leading a column of tanks across ice may be faster than through the snow, if enemy units target the ice, then you’ll be holding back a lone tear as you watch your armor sink. I love these kinds of details that many people may not care about because they allow me to play couch-general (or desk-general, since it’s a PC game).
When I was a kid, I was also a huge fan of the Age of Empires series (in addition to WWII, I also loved knights). I spent far too many hours micro-managing my medieval armies and conquering my enemies as swiftly as possibly. I always wished that the series would release a WWII game (they only made it up to the 1700‘s).
My adoration of knights came from this franchise (particularly Age of Empires II), and also from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I wanted to play a realistic game featuring knights and dramatic, large-scale battles. I wouldn’t have even been mad if I lost a round, if only because I could have said,”It’s just a flesh wound.” This is where War of the Roses comes in.
Paradox Interactive’s War of the Roses is basically a third-person version of Call of Duty set in 15th century England. I don’t know about you, but I think that sounds awesome. Battles will be of epic proportions, and most kills will be up close and personal. Of course, players will be given the opportunity to use bows, but even archers will be forced to engage in melee combat eventually. Also, archers will not serve as snipers. They won’t have amazing range (duh), and if a player on horseback is charging them with a spear, they’ll only have one shot at a kill before being slain themselves.
I wish that these two games came out when I was twelve for a slew of reasons. First and foremost, I would have had a lot more time to get my game on. I have far more schoolwork in college than I did back in middle school. I also believe that I would have appreciated them more, considering these two games were my dream games. The key word in that last sentence is “were.” I’m sure that I could still be thoroughly entertained by both of these games when they come out, but not in the same way, or to as great of a degree, as when I was a kid. Lastly, 12-year-old me would have actually had a computer that could play these games (or at least the 2002 equivalent). I now own a Mac, and, at least at launch, neither of these games will have Mac versions. : (
Are there any games that have been released or at least announced that you wish you could have played at a younger age?