WITP - Admirals Edition is a way of life and insane in its detail... every pilot in every squadron is listed and rated for various types of experience gained as well as kills... that's the depths this "game" goes to.
The entire "War in the X" series is a bit too much for me to handle. I know the games provide more details than you can possibly handle, so you're not necessarily supposed to take it all in 100%, but I always have trouble playing games when I get the feeling I don't understand all the mechanics. I do wonder if 4x3 games will at some point provide a War in the Pacific 2 though.
@@robinmattheussen2395WitP 2 is the dream but it has been shot down at every turn for years. At this point I'm afraid that 2 would switch to UGOIGO for the candy through my heart
Victory and Glory Napoleon is a gem. The card based campaign layer captures the cut and thrust of Napoleon's signature central European campaigns but also models the challenges of Spain and Russia. The battles are rather abstract but a decent attempt at modelling combined arms (square>cavalry>artillery>square etc).It's not a campaign you'll spend months on, but I do come back to it every year or half a year. It's fun, fast paced and surprisingly good at modelling history.
@@theodisius1 this is my underrated gem of the bunch and so glad you agree. I've had amazing times in that game and felt really immersed! Appreciate the comment 🚀
Very excited that Slytherine acquired the combat mission titles, I am hoping to see them make some major improvements to what are already some of my favorite strategy games.
Also an important reminder that Slitherine/Matrix Games is doing a livestream of their own Home of Wargamers con (probably to anmounce new games, updates and other news) in one day's time on their official Twitch channel. I got that information from another channel here called The Historical Gamer.
Command is the best military simulator I have ever seen. No other simulator comes even close to the level of presentation and details of this game. If you are interested in modern warfare, this is the perfect one to get. I do hope they drop the global earth approach and focus on war theaters to improve the ground operations.
I like your channel, and I appreciate you being so transparent about what Slitherine did and did not regarding sponsoring. For a moment I was afraid you wasn't gonna mention CM's terrible performance, its biggest flaw by far in my opinion. Let's hope their hypothetical future engine is much better and up to modern standards than the current one ever was.
I already thought you wouldn't include WiTE-2 :D Great list! Although Modern Operation might seem like a step above WiTE-2, in my opinion WiTE-2 is actually the highest level you can get in PC wargaming. Compared to literature, if Modern Operations is pretentious and unreadable like Joyce's "Ulysses", then WiTE-2, although complex, is equivalent to Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" - when you start reading, all other works start to seem too shallow :)
I can personally attest to the quality of the first 3 games on your list. Shadow Empire is my fav game these days and and absolute must buy. Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm is another absolute banger that I sunk embarrassing amounts of time into. Terrific replayability and really fun multiplayer. Don't miss that one either(Though it's worth mentioning that it's sequel Southern Storm is out, and while expensive, is a god-tier upgrade in terms of QoL). Barbarossa is top tier as well, same developer as Shadow Empire. You cannot go wrong with any of these games.
@@LTGamingRUclips No problem! I'm glad you made the video, and that those 3 games happened to find themselves mentioned first! All 3 of them deserve more attention and more players. Cheers!
Most of the Matrix wargames are on the tough side - I really like War in the East 1 + 2 - they are very time consuming but well worth it. Command is good too but without looking at a few videos on RUclips I found it almost impossible to get started but they really helped. The 2 Flashpoint campaigns games are really good and I found it easier (relatively) to get started - still tough. Armoured brigade is not on this list but it too is good (and fairly unique gameplay) - sequel coming out soon(ish)
If you like naval games then Rule the Waves 3 is great. The lack of graphics is definitely made up for by the complexity of the ship design system. While it’s similar in concept to Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts, it’s much more realistic with its designs. The great thing is you can start the game in 1890 and learn to play as the time progresses as you increase the size of your fleet and the ships become more complex.
I really love your content guys, and always look forward to it. I don't know when gamers became g4m3rz, and that meant we had to be yelled at in every video, but it is nice to have a channel that treats me like an adult. Love your work, cheers!
Nice video!! I'm a newcomer to this genre since I've played Command MO last year, it was absolutely amazing! you've earned a new subs mate. Wanna ask a question tho, you said that Flashpoint campaign red storm is a good one, however, there's already a sequel of this, Southern Storm, any thoughts? or maybe I just buy the Red storm since it's waaay cheaper than southern storm?
I have only played Red Storm and think its a great title. Haven't made it to the sequel yet and always like to have played games I talk about :) Its on my to buy lost though! Thanks for the great comment and welcome! :)
@@sulthanakmalrakunsyah3890 Southern Storm is a much more improved version of Red Storm + More in several ways. But I also bought Red Storm as it was only like 8 bucks on sale and decided to support the devs.
I like one a lot, but have both. The air war is hard, but both games are not as complex as they appear. You can micro each unit down to about anything, but if you would rather macro manage, thats possible too. Just a great game.
Pick up Distant worlds Universe 😅 also known as DWU. Not only just matrix but also a overall best buy to pick up 2024 ❤ Just to clearify: its war content is very good (rts, ship design, fog of war, fuel, economic warfare). If you want to play this as a fleet commander you just put everything else on automation.
As someone that has most of their Matrix collection as hardcopy CDs, it rather sucks that for the last year or so they've blacklisted physical media copies from sale prices.
@@LTGamingRUclipsThis one's worth it though. One of the best games out there much less best on Matrix. The game mechanics can be tailored to make it easier to get into and that includes what kind of planet you want to generate.
I have a love hate relationship with slitherine. I owned around £200 worth of their games on Apple iPad but they bricked most of their games when they went from 32bit to 64bit. Most of their war games stopped working. When I messaged them and asked them if they were going to update their games to 64bit they said it wasn’t a priority and that they were not going to do this. Even publishers with tiny 59p games were doing it but slitherine with their £20 games were not.
Different publishers and developers have different priorities based on what resources they have at the point of time when you request them to do X or Y. It is what it is, unfortunately.
@ that’s fine! If it’s not their priority then it’s not my priority to pay for their games if that’s how they treat their customers. It was a terrible response especially when smaller, independent publishers did this for their back catalogues. It can’t have been that hard to do as practically all smaller developers did it and often with much older, abandoned games.
I clearly buy WAY too many Matrix/Slitherine games. I think there were just two of the sequel games on your list that I didn't already have - WitE2 and RTW3. :-)
Phew we managed to get one here! We prob could go even deeper at some stage as I play so many of their games :) Just wanted to curate this one a little more.
7:20 The Combat Mission games work fine on Linux these days. Before, you need to apply custom patches to Wine/Proton to get it to work properly, but they've now been integrated into the mainline builds, so they work just fine. Fine meaning, more or less as well as on Windows. Make of that what you will.
For once, a video of yours that doesn’t require me to get out my wallet. Have everything except the Civil War game and I have no interest in civil war. Good list tho
I hated Shadow Empire. Really disliked it. So long ago, I can’t recall why. Probably the lack of idea what to do. And the advice to watch some RUclips’s on how to play. Whatever, I’ve never reloaded it.
In Grigsby's War in the East 2, can you simulate the Allies NOT supplying the Muscovites? I prefer to have the Wehrmacht [choose non censored word here] Stalin, only to be themselves [choose non censored word here] by the Allies, thus preserving Eastern Europe.
You are spot on about WitE2 I love it and am still learning how to get better at it. I've just got Warplan and do like it but find the diplomacy really limited. Can you recommend a similar wargame but with better diplomacy?
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WITP - Admirals Edition is a way of life and insane in its detail... every pilot in every squadron is listed and rated for various types of experience gained as well as kills... that's the depths this "game" goes to.
The entire "War in the X" series is a bit too much for me to handle. I know the games provide more details than you can possibly handle, so you're not necessarily supposed to take it all in 100%, but I always have trouble playing games when I get the feeling I don't understand all the mechanics.
I do wonder if 4x3 games will at some point provide a War in the Pacific 2 though.
@@robinmattheussen2395WitP 2 is the dream but it has been shot down at every turn for years. At this point I'm afraid that 2 would switch to UGOIGO for the candy through my heart
Victory and Glory Napoleon is a gem. The card based campaign layer captures the cut and thrust of Napoleon's signature central European campaigns but also models the challenges of Spain and Russia. The battles are rather abstract but a decent attempt at modelling combined arms (square>cavalry>artillery>square etc).It's not a campaign you'll spend months on, but I do come back to it every year or half a year. It's fun, fast paced and surprisingly good at modelling history.
@@theodisius1 this is my underrated gem of the bunch and so glad you agree. I've had amazing times in that game and felt really immersed! Appreciate the comment 🚀
Some dude on one of those fb groups was trying to tell me this is not a good sale. Glad you made this video. A big finger to him lol
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Very excited that Slytherine acquired the combat mission titles, I am hoping to see them make some major improvements to what are already some of my favorite strategy games.
I'm excited about Matrix/Slitherine acquiring Combat Mission and hope they give the team plenty of support for more content.
I want to do a video on this! I reached out but didnt get any information yet ;)
DC: Barbarossa has a unique roleplaying element, you could’ve mentioned that too. A great game.
Anyway a great video as usual, keep up the good work!
Appreciate it!
Also an important reminder that Slitherine/Matrix Games is doing a livestream of their own Home of Wargamers con (probably to anmounce new games, updates and other news) in one day's time on their official Twitch channel.
I got that information from another channel here called The Historical Gamer.
Command is the best military simulator I have ever seen. No other simulator comes even close to the level of presentation and details of this game. If you are interested in modern warfare, this is the perfect one to get. I do hope they drop the global earth approach and focus on war theaters to improve the ground operations.
I like your channel, and I appreciate you being so transparent about what Slitherine did and did not regarding sponsoring.
For a moment I was afraid you wasn't gonna mention CM's terrible performance, its biggest flaw by far in my opinion. Let's hope their hypothetical future engine is much better and up to modern standards than the current one ever was.
haha yes i did make a bit of a joke about the performance! Yeah we always try and transparent :)
Really enjoy the games they make and a few here that I dont actually own and want to check out now. Great list as always :)
Thanks so much for the support!
I'm gonna second LT on the Napoleon game. I stumbled into it years back and it is a real hidden gem.
I already thought you wouldn't include WiTE-2 :D Great list!
Although Modern Operation might seem like a step above WiTE-2, in my opinion WiTE-2 is actually the highest level you can get in PC wargaming. Compared to literature, if Modern Operations is pretentious and unreadable like Joyce's "Ulysses", then WiTE-2, although complex, is equivalent to Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" - when you start reading, all other works start to seem too shallow :)
Thanks so much and appreciate your insight!
Battles in Italy/Normandy is my favorite. It's old, but still the best.
You forgot "The Operational Art of War IV", a great game.
Had to leave a few off! We covered that previously also :)
I can personally attest to the quality of the first 3 games on your list. Shadow Empire is my fav game these days and and absolute must buy. Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm is another absolute banger that I sunk embarrassing amounts of time into. Terrific replayability and really fun multiplayer. Don't miss that one either(Though it's worth mentioning that it's sequel Southern Storm is out, and while expensive, is a god-tier upgrade in terms of QoL). Barbarossa is top tier as well, same developer as Shadow Empire. You cannot go wrong with any of these games.
All 3 I need to play more of also. Red Storm is awesome and I must check out the sequel! Appreciate you stopping by to share your thoughts :)
@@LTGamingRUclips No problem! I'm glad you made the video, and that those 3 games happened to find themselves mentioned first! All 3 of them deserve more attention and more players. Cheers!
Most of the Matrix wargames are on the tough side - I really like War in the East 1 + 2 - they are very time consuming but well worth it. Command is good too but without looking at a few videos on RUclips I found it almost impossible to get started but they really helped.
The 2 Flashpoint campaigns games are really good and I found it easier (relatively) to get started - still tough.
Armoured brigade is not on this list but it too is good (and fairly unique gameplay) - sequel coming out soon(ish)
I have started like 5 shadow empire games and I never get passed the mid game before going into a death spiral the learning curve is just brutal
If you like naval games then Rule the Waves 3 is great. The lack of graphics is definitely made up for by the complexity of the ship design system. While it’s similar in concept to Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts, it’s much more realistic with its designs. The great thing is you can start the game in 1890 and learn to play as the time progresses as you increase the size of your fleet and the ships become more complex.
Some great choices here. Nice job.
Appreciate the support. Yes a world of wonders if you are a Wargamer here! :)
two things:
in combat mission the music is actually from Hearts of Iron 4.
and the word is "action-oriented", not "action-orientated" 😀
1st point is on purpose...2nd....il give you that haha
@LTGamingRUclips 😆😆
I really love your content guys, and always look forward to it.
I don't know when gamers became g4m3rz, and that meant we had to be yelled at in every video, but it is nice to have a channel that treats me like an adult.
Love your work, cheers!
This is awesome.....made me smile! Wonderful feedback! I try not to be shouty haha!
I've loved Slitherine since the initial release of Panzer Corps...
Nice video!! I'm a newcomer to this genre since I've played Command MO last year, it was absolutely amazing! you've earned a new subs mate. Wanna ask a question tho, you said that Flashpoint campaign red storm is a good one, however, there's already a sequel of this, Southern Storm, any thoughts? or maybe I just buy the Red storm since it's waaay cheaper than southern storm?
I have only played Red Storm and think its a great title. Haven't made it to the sequel yet and always like to have played games I talk about :) Its on my to buy lost though! Thanks for the great comment and welcome! :)
@@LTGamingRUclips thanks again, I think I decided to buy the Red storm since it's cheaper and it's a great game. Keep making your channels lit man 🤩
Appreciate it dude!
@@sulthanakmalrakunsyah3890 Southern Storm is a much more improved version of Red Storm + More in several ways. But I also bought Red Storm as it was only like 8 bucks on sale and decided to support the devs.
6:01 I hear Napoleon Total War music 😎
Nailed it!
great review !!! however I stick with War in the East 1 !!!!
Yes tbh I could of picked any of them! All very complex games.
I like one a lot, but have both. The air war is hard, but both games are not as complex as they appear. You can micro each unit down to about anything, but if you would rather macro manage, thats possible too. Just a great game.
Pick up Distant worlds Universe 😅 also known as DWU. Not only just matrix but also a overall best buy to pick up 2024 ❤ Just to clearify: its war content is very good (rts, ship design, fog of war, fuel, economic warfare).
If you want to play this as a fleet commander you just put everything else on automation.
As someone that has most of their Matrix collection as hardcopy CDs, it rather sucks that for the last year or so they've blacklisted physical media copies from sale prices.
Victory and Glory also has a US Civil War version.
Regards
Good timing - I just got my yearly loyalty discount...
Time to jump right in!
@@LTGamingRUclips It'll be either the CMFB DLC or Rule the Waves - leaning towards the latter as I've not got anything like that
Shadow Empire has to be one of the best strategy games ever made. Great for multiplayer.
Shadow Empire is good fun, but pretty hard. It varies WILDLY depending on what planet you rolled.
A lot of these games are tough! And they have steep learning curves but can be extremely rewarding.
@@LTGamingRUclipsThis one's worth it though. One of the best games out there much less best on Matrix. The game mechanics can be tailored to make it easier to get into and that includes what kind of planet you want to generate.
@@joramhh1637 I really enjoy it!
Recently purchased command modern operations. Can’t even get past the tutorial. 😂
Haha come on dude 🚀🚀😇
@@SemperSalam it’s the tiny text that gets me. Extra magnification specs on for this game.
I have a love hate relationship with slitherine. I owned around £200 worth of their games on Apple iPad but they bricked most of their games when they went from 32bit to 64bit. Most of their war games stopped working. When I messaged them and asked them if they were going to update their games to 64bit they said it wasn’t a priority and that they were not going to do this. Even publishers with tiny 59p games were doing it but slitherine with their £20 games were not.
Different publishers and developers have different priorities based on what resources they have at the point of time when you request them to do X or Y. It is what it is, unfortunately.
@ that’s fine! If it’s not their priority then it’s not my priority to pay for their games if that’s how they treat their customers. It was a terrible response especially when smaller, independent publishers did this for their back catalogues. It can’t have been that hard to do as practically all smaller developers did it and often with much older, abandoned games.
@ honest question, do you work for the company? Because that is almost the exact same pasted answer they gave me to my query word for word.
I clearly buy WAY too many Matrix/Slitherine games. I think there were just two of the sequel games on your list that I didn't already have - WitE2 and RTW3. :-)
Phew we managed to get one here! We prob could go even deeper at some stage as I play so many of their games :) Just wanted to curate this one a little more.
7:20 The Combat Mission games work fine on Linux these days. Before, you need to apply custom patches to Wine/Proton to get it to work properly, but they've now been integrated into the mainline builds, so they work just fine. Fine meaning, more or less as well as on Windows. Make of that what you will.
👍
9:46 what are the “must have” DLC for C:MO?
I play a few of them! The Falklands one is also supposed to be very good.
I really want to buy RtW3, but without a dark mode, my eyes say don't even think about it.
You forgot how good of a deal Warplan is.
Extremely!
👌👌👌👍👍😎
rule the excel 3.
haha!
their price for decades old games is a joke.
You sir, are no Grognard....
I wish Shadow Empire had a german translation. 😢
oh wow it doesn't? Thats an oversight for sure.
@@LTGamingRUclips Due to its complexity, it is particularly difficult for a non-native english speaker to find access to the game.
@@viking7900 Yes that's understandable for sure. And Germany is a massive market!
For once, a video of yours that doesn’t require me to get out my wallet. Have everything except the Civil War game and I have no interest in civil war. Good list tho
You know wht confuses me about channels that review games? they seem to almost never ever has a bad thing to say about any game lol
Edible scenarios?
Eat them up baby!
I hated Shadow Empire. Really disliked it.
So long ago, I can’t recall why. Probably the lack of idea what to do. And the advice to watch some RUclips’s on how to play.
Whatever, I’ve never reloaded it.
Each to their own! It's a complex title 🤷♂️
@@LTGamingRUclips VERY!
I've tried to like it but just can't get into it.
@@Taffy84 nothing wrong with that! 😀
.
In Grigsby's War in the East 2, can you simulate the Allies NOT supplying the Muscovites? I prefer to have the Wehrmacht [choose non censored word here] Stalin, only to be themselves [choose non censored word here] by the Allies, thus preserving Eastern Europe.
You are spot on about WitE2 I love it and am still learning how to get better at it.
I've just got Warplan and do like it but find the diplomacy really limited. Can you recommend a similar wargame but with better diplomacy?
Il have a think but you might be leaning towards more of a grand strategy title then?