Another year, another E3. Pomp and corporate bristle as far as the eye can see. For the strategically-inclined, the opening salvo from the big guns hasn't exactly been rousing. As these events go, most of the interesting fare is hidden away on the main floor, so it's up to agents in the field to seek them out in the coming days. All is not lost, as I've rounded up E3's strategy showcases thus far from afar, and the results are pretty pleasing. So, lay off the live-tweeting and see what might move your mouse in the months ahead. 

ArmA III: Apex

A verdant expansion for the military manshoot par excellence was unveiled in Arma III: Apex. Taking its leave of sun-bleached Mediterranean hills, Bohemia Interactive's next parcel of open-world hits the South Pacific. Tanoa, a 100 km² archipelago of leafy isles, inlets and spits. New faction Syndikat feature as the chain's insurgent forces, painted somewhere between Fretilin and FARC, with NATO, CSAT and a local gendarmerie contingent to keep things very, very interesting. 

With an expanded cache of player equipment -- firearms and gear -- as well as an increased collection of military movers like VTOLs and LSVs, the touted four-player drop-in-drop-out co-op element looks to be a barrel of fun, or a hardened evening of whispers on the comms and furious hand-signals through monsoonal mist. Bohemia Interactive have done a great job with support and updates since 2013, and it looks like Apex will continue the tradition. Preorders will net prospective gun-jumpers instant access to the current Apex beta, so get oscar-mike if so inclined.

Site | Trailer 

Halo Wars 2

Making good on the oft-trotted promise that Microsoft does still care about the PC, the sequel to a 2009 console exclusive RTS is thankfully hitting the beige box, along with a remastered copy of the original Halo Wars. Not bad. Under the combined development of Halo custodians 343 Industries and Creative Assembly, buzzwords flew at the E3 PC Gaming Show, including 'action RTS' and 'feedback', aiming to produce a strategy game with a welcoming low barrier to entry that's quick and easy to play. With a gameplay showcase and the reassuring candor of 343's Dan Ayoub, Halo Wars 2 looks pretty serviceable. 

Snagging Halo Wars 2 on PC will also grant a free copy of the Xbox One version, which is mighty nice. If you do happen to own the Don Mattrick machine, go and give the free multiplayer beta a whirl and see what you think. It wouldn't be truly Microsoft if they didn't futz it up with the illogical decision to make the beta console-only, so switch on the 'Bone or wait for a potential PC invitational before launch on February 17, 2016.

Site | Trailer

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III

The relentless vigor of Games Workshop cannot be suppressed, even under heavy bolter fire. Relic returns to the grimdark fray with the third in their immensely popular Dawn of War series. Taking bits and bobs from both the 2004 original, its 2009 sequel, and the plethora of expansions therein, Dawn of War III looks to drop the intimacy of its prior series' offerings and go for a more traditional RTS scale. I'd be branded a heretic for uttering I'm not a huge fan of the original or Dawn of War II, but the rough pre-alpha footage of this new effort has me intrigued. Perhaps there's chance for redemption in the eyes of the Emperor. 

Dawn of War III is set for release sometime next year.

Site | Announcement Trailer

Overland

Finji's post-apocalyptic cannonball run received a tasty trailer for the juggernaut event, painting a tactical intimacy that seems at odds with the bread and circuses of our cherished expo. Overland appears, ahem, on the right track in selling FTL or Neo Scavenger in a Buick. Cataclysmic events have players roaming the great concrete veins of the American mid-West, looking for safe passage and surviving against what appears to be interloper insects the size of Mitsubishi Colts. 

We've been tantalised by Overland for a while, and while both eschatological survive 'em ups are a growth industry, Overland's art and sense of self has me quietly anticipating its early access release on Itchio next month.

Site | Trailer

Dropzone

Capitalising on the king tides of MOBA, Dropzone is, to quote, a revolution in the RTS genre. Laughable hyperbole aside, there's something making me want to ruffle its hair and tell the scamp to do what makes it happy. If Dropzone can indeed get its aspirations as a quick-fire MOBA scrap shored up, then you never know! Players square off with a trio of mechs, each of which outfitted from a pool of a thousand-odd parts, in claustrophobic arenas not unlike those once found in the defunct Starvoid. Lots of AoE pizzaz, fast and low-fuss encounters; I'm cautiously optimistic Dropzone can carve out its niche and maintain a hold on the pocket MOBA quadrant. However, I also own Starvoid, a delisted pocket MOBA, so what do I know?

You can sign up for the Dropzone newsletter on the main page.

Site | Trailer

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord

Much like ArmA, a cursory glance at Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord would have a wargamer raise their world-weary eyebrow and wonder what the blazes a third-person medieval hack-and-slasher is doing here. But again, like ArmA, there's a lot going on with Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord. Complex combat, deep tactical systems, intricate development systems and a sort of rousing alternate history make up the experiential meat of TaleWorld's labour of love. From politics and diplomacy to army-building and battle formations, Bannerlord is looking to be the go-to medieval mercenary sim. 

I'd recommend having a good gander at the extended siege gameplay footage for a fine taste of things to come. The massed multiplayer combat in the original was splendid, so all signs point to the sequel as being even more exciting. Mull your wine, oil your dirk and prepare for battle sometime later this year. 

Site | Trailer

With any luck, we'll see a greater range of strategy and tactical offerings surface in the remainder of the expo. I'll keep an eye on the sky, an ear on the ground and a hand firmly on the heart. Stay tuned.

War! What is it good for? Selling DLC, apparently. Though no figures were given, it seems Eugen Systems' faction pack experiment of late sold well enough to warrant another round.

Instead of deciding the next nation to portray in detail, it's been left up to the community. If you semi-colon your way to the Eugen Systems site -- a little WG in-joke, chortle -- you'll find a raft of prospective nations ready for your vote, listed as follows:

• Austria
• Bulgaria
• Egypt
• Finland
• Greece
• India
• Iraq
• Iran
• Israel
• Italy
• Romania
• South Africa
• Spain
• Turkey
• Taiwan
• Vietnam
• Yugoslavia

Voters will have to plug in their Eugen account names and associated emails to secure their picks. Good to see the SADF in the mix, and a caramello koala to anyone whose vote nets me my desired compliment of Ratels and G6 Rhinos. Voting closes on June 23rd, so make your voice heard in the form of men and machines.

That's not all, mind. In addition to the second Nations DLC selection, there's a new 10v10 map in the works, and will be available free in the very near future. Red Dragon has already seen a huge effort on the part of the devs importing old favourite multiplayer maps from European Escalation and AirLand Battle, so we're comfortably and reliably spoiled once more. Good show.

Two tidy World War II strategies hit the tarmac this month. Paradox Interactive's Hearts of Iron IV deployed, and Jim Cobb is currently putting it under his critical eye in the WG FOB for review. The other is the retooled Order of Battle project. Originally known as Order of Battle: Pacific, developers The Aristrocrats decided to dream a little bigger and replaced 'Pacific' with 'World War II'. In much the same way as DCS developed their DSC World platform as an à la carte system for DLC, Order of Battle has become a hub for all current and future expansions. The fine part is, the base game is free.

That includes bootcamps and the first scenario from every currently available and future expansion, too. If you already own expansions such as U.S. Pacific or the Rising Sun DLC, you'll receive keys to unlock them via the World War II menu. Multiplayer is not included in the base platform, but only requires a single DLC pack to unlock both the full game editor and every single faction for online play.

Jim found much to love in the original Pacific release, so I'm willing to bet this broader scope will allow for some further creative theatre depictions. The Winter War expansion is readying up as the series' first European footfall, with four hefty expansions already telling their own stories of war in the Pacific. 

For reference and tantalisation, here are each of the released expansions and their inherent scenarios. Now go and see what the fuss is about.

Order of Battle: U.S. Pacific

• Pearl Harbor
• War Plan Orange-3
• Bataan
• Marshalls-Gilberts Raid
• Coral Sea
• Midway
• Guadalcanal
• New Georgia
• Philippine Sea
• Leyte
• Okinawa
• Tokyo

Order of Battle: Rising Sun

• Pearl Harbor
• Road To Manila
• Bataan
• Java Sea
• Java
• Coral Sea
• Midway
• Guadalcanal
• New Caledonia
• Brisbane
• New Zealand
• Melbourne

Order of Battle: U.S. Marines

• Tulagi
• Guadalcanal
• Munda Point
• Blissful & Goodtime
• Bougainville
• Gilbert Islands
• Marshall Islands
• Saipan
• Guam
• Palau
• Iwo Jima

Order of Battle: Morning Sun

• Beiping-Tianjin
• Operation Chahar
• Shanghai
• Xuzhou
• Lanfeng
• Wuhan
• Nanchang
• Changsha
• South Guangxi
• Guandong Offensive
• Chongqing

Of all the RTS titles this year, the unreleased Cossacks 3 has to be the most intriguing. A sleeper two-swing belter from the early Oughts; heavy-going fare with some good strategic layering to its brand of massed troop engagement. The same engine was used to craft its fantasy counter-part in the marvelously-titled Heroes of Annihilated Empires, of which could have been another fantastic RTS series, had GSC Game World not gone under.

But, they're back, and Cossacks 3 is trudging closer to release. 

No firm dates beyond a nebulous 2016, though the release of the trailer below has me feeling the slip of salivary glands spooling up. Prussia features, and it looks like no concessions have been made in the intervening years. It still retains the bulk-bought pomp of columns and the pluming brace of musketry the original games proffered. Moreover, technology has brought the terrain up to speed and seeing mounted troops thunder over the undulating topography satisfies in a way not seen since Ultimate General: Gettysburg.

There's a laundry list of features to run through, but if the idea of 10,000 troops per battlefield appeals, Cossacks 3 might be your kit. It's also a safe bet to suggest Hadron Collider rigs aren't required. 

• Breathtaking historical real-time strategy.
• Actions unfold in Europe in the XVII–XVIII centuries.
• Five singleplayer historical campaigns.
• 12 playable nations.
• Grandiose battles of up to 10,000 units on the map.
• Realistic physics of bullets and cannonballs.
• Considerable influence of the landscape on battle tactics.
• Infinite variations of battles with computer enemies on random maps.
• Flexible generator of random maps with selection of a preferable landscape.
• Windows, Mac OS and Linux support.

We'll keep you posted on the state of Cossacks 3. You can follow the developers on Twitter or hit up the official page for more massed formation ogling.

Shallow Space has been bobbing around on Steam Early Access for a while now, but not in the form the finished game will take.

After launching in limited, albeit gorgeous form in October of last year, developer Special Circumstances decided to rejig a large part of the greater game. The original concept of Shallow Space was something of a Homeworld successor, with twists of Nexus: The Jupiter Incident and touches of Sins of a Solar Empire. Heck, even the wonky Star Wolves series. Early Access builds offered a confident taste of these inspirations, the combination of which was an atmospheric 3D RTS with languid pace, emphasising electronics and scanning to get a leg up in the void. 

Sumptuous as it was, Shallow Space in its then-state wasn't terribly unique. As always with Early Access, it's hard to tell what the finished product will be once all the modules are in place, and while Special Circumstances had deftly created glimpses of a loving homage to older space strategies, it was still merely a loving homage to older space strategies. On impetus provided by an initial wave of feedback and bolstered by ideas they then felt confident in implementing, the Open World Overhaul announcements were made - at the time of writing, 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Within a month or so, Special Circumstances are hoping to deploy a beta of the new-look Shallow Space. From information gleaned on the official site, there's all sorts of impressive goodness like zones and sectors, NPC traders and traffic, Egosoft-esque manufacturing hubs and resource fields, as well as good ol' fashioned starship warfare.

Much the same as Eve Online each ship will have a cargo bay and the player can shuffle items between ships (and static cargo containers) to get those resources to where they need to be. It’s important to remember that we are moving away from the standard RTS-fare of player units being disposable entities that you build, CTRL-A, send in. You’ll go through great lengths to acquire the blueprints, materials and crew for these ships and when you loose one, it will hurt.

But we’ll soften that blow of loss by introducing easing mechanics. For example, when ships are destroyed they will leave behind persistent floating wreckages that can be recycled to reclaim X% of the materials. The crew, well some will die (poor souls,) others will make it to lifepods that you’ll have to recover to be able to staff replacement ships. So what we’re trying to do here is create a situation whereby loosing a ship is actually fun as you hastily tractor in your lifepods and what’s left of their cargo and your trashed fleet limps away to get repaired or hide.

Promising a resource game as fun and complex as its military play set, I'm cautiously sold. Though the devblog does speak cheekily of X3 and its low-level resource traipse, I'm hoping they do allow for a comparable level of granularity. After all, ship configuration appears appropriately crunchy and all this talk of crew management and blueprints sounds inviting. While Special Circumstances aren't aiming for an X-level of virtual market economy, if the galaxy can depict industrial busyness, it'll be all the better for it. As excited for ore haulers and trading outposts as I am destroyers and gun scaffolds. 

I'll leave you with a fresh offering of footage and the promise of an Access Granted article once the new build goes live.

Hark! A new faction looks to stalk the fetid flagstones of the fallen city. The Witch Hunters have arrived at the gates of Mordheim: City of the Damned. 

Amidst the rivalries and violence that splits the Empire, sinister forces creep back into the lands of men. Against these evils stand the Witch Hunters, remorseless warriors in service to the Temple of Sigmar. The witch practicing her fell magic, the mutant spreading its corruption of flesh, the necromancer violating the sanctity of the grave, the daemon seeking to possess souls – these are the foes of the Witch Hunter. The Witch Hunters will allow nothing to make them waver in their defence of mankind against these evils. They are the Templars of Sigmar, and with sword and fire they will return their god’s justice to Mordheim.

One of 2015's most divisive games, Mordheim's brand of squaddery wasn't for everyone. But, if it did tickle macabre fancy, Mordheim had a lot going on. Initially put off by the inelegant low-level encounters between my uninspiring recruits and equally inept foes, I persevered to find a demanding but rewarding romp through the darkness for gold and glory. Go and have a goosey at the review to see if you want to plug along the cobblestones any further. As for the DLC itself, see below one of the seven characters contained with the righteous band, with the other six a mere downwards scroll away.

Witch Hunter Captain

The leader of each band of Witch Hunters bears a commission from the Grand Theogonist himself, sanctioning whatever action the Captain deems necessary. Those entrusted with such authority are chosen for their unswerving faith and zeal, as well as their tactical acumen and swordsmanship. Any who dare oppose a Witch Hunter Captain will be summarily executed… with the Temple of Sigmar’s blessing. 

Initial Weapon Set 

• Set 1: Crossbow Pistols 
• Set 2: Sword

Perks 
Sigmar's Aegis: The warrior has a natural Magic resistance bonus of 20%. 

Initial Skills 
Hunter's Patience: After a successful Dodge attempt, reduces the cost of a Counter-Attack performed in response by 1 Offense Point.

Rogue Factor have done good work in tightening up the base game since it crept in at the tail end of last year, with all sorts of balancing and bug fixes. I've jumped in for a quick Skaven stalk in the interim and found it continues to shine as a heavy-duty, falchion-and-flail cousin of Valkyria Chronicles. No clever comparison, but if you want a little more gristle under the blade, a self-made skirmisher could do a lot worse than Mordheim: City of the Damned, with this DLC pack looking to bolster that fact. Get cleansing or die trying.

The Witch Hunters DLC is currently, ahem, on Salem for -25%.

Some in the south say the American Civil War never ended. If the crop of divisional and tactical wargames we've had the pleasure of playing in recent years is any indication, Johnny Reb may have a point. Long-awaited Eric Lee outing, Gettysburg: The Tide Turns, is just around the corner and celebrated with some screenshots and a fresh trailer. Survey below.

Gettysburg: The Tide Turns is a hex-based wargame set in one of the most decisive and iconic battles of the Civil War. 150 years ago, brave soldiers fought across this idyllic battlefield, and, now, we put you in their shoes. 

A Period Piece

The game captures the realities of 1860s combat through the granularity of hex based gameplay and an innovative randomized turn system. It is a tense and strategic package from the full, sweeping campaign to individual scenarios.

Plan Your Engagement

Featuring the work of some of the best artists in the business, the game map and interface capture the period while providing the information you need as a commander.

Exciting and fast paced gameplay

You will command a myriad of period units including infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Units vary in strength and morale, and, much like Battle of the Bulge, your success will depend on how you maneuver your forces and engage the enemy. Gettysburg: the Tide Turns goes beyond the "you go, I go" turn by randomizing when each division will move. This provides tension, as you must respond tactically as new opportunities present themselves.

• Play as the Union or Confederates across the entire scope of the battle
• Tutorials and easy entry for new players
• Full game rules and information for hardcore players
• An innovative movement system that randomizes turns for increased tension
• Beautifully rendered maps & interfaces in period style
• Extensive historical commentary & content included
• Play online, face to face, or against AI opponents

Particularly intriguing is the randomised division movement mechanic. It's an interesting model on paper, certainly something I'd love to see in motion. You just might be able to, too. As well as deploying the teaser and screenies, a Gettysburg beta phase is set to occur soon. Head on over the enrolment page and try your luck, in return for some NDA'd feedback and thoughts.

When Adolf Hitler declared the German jackboot need only kick in the Soviet door to make way for lebensraum and glory, he probably didn't expect to be receiving a furred valenki up the date in return, a mere five months after hurling around three thousand tanks, two thousand aircraft and a whole lot of arty over the border. Fifty kilometres on the first day, Moscow outskirts by October; eight-hundred thousand-odd men from a four million-strong invasion force whittled away in a brutal grind only the Soviet could withstand, halt and eventually drive all the way back to the Reichstag.

As such, in the vacuum of wargaming and its canvases of case-specific freedoms and restrictions, I've assembled a clutch of titles that investigate, depict and go beyond those fearsome first few months of German's tilt at the Russian bear. Will the Reichsadler prevail, or will plantigrade paws reach westward from the Kremlin and have a readier Russia roaring? It is entirely up to you.

Gary Grigsby's War in the East: The German-Soviet War 1941-1945

What Barbarossa list would be complete with a monster hitter like the succinctly-titled Gary Grigsby's War in the East: The German-Soviet War 1941-1945? Each session is a massive undertaking; the length and breadth of the German-Soviet front is measured in an inordinate amount of statistics and counters. As if to appease the target audience, little is automated and players will either love or learn to accept repositioning up to hundreds of units per turn. War in the East is a hyper-detailed game for detail-oriented players. A celebration of the grizzled grog with a dedicated game table and pricing accommodation to match. No part-timers here. 

An accommodating gamut of scenarios helps to familiarise newer players with its deep mechanics, but War in the East is a defiantly old school giant. If the idea of chits stretching far into the digital horizon sounds appealing, pack a few extra layers. I hear it gets cold.

Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa

You might be deft at driving on Moscow, but how strong is your purge game? What's a fellow to do if he fails the Fuhrer? We've known any number of PC wargames that deal exclusively with chits in the East, but VR Games'Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa also includes the chaps. Atop the hex and counter system Dr. Bruce Geryk described as 'not for the faint-hearted' sits a unique political strata. Players must make hard calls as a member of the German officer corps, or as Uncle Joe managing the turn of the Red Tide. 

A wrought-iron wargame with a grizzled party management dermis, the asymmetry of command issues make each side of the front engaging. It might not always work, and the factional squabbling in the Reich may be a touch too nugatory in some areas, but for a game that can inject life at the top as much as it puts boots on the ground, Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa is a worthwhile addition to the discerning Ostfronter. 

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

When the shooter market decided they'd had their fill of World War Two, moving on to vacuous, uncomplicated depictions of complicated contemporary conflicts, Tripwire Interactive stayed the course with their blend of gruelling multiplayer realism. With roots in the Unreal Tournament mod scene and the first true game, Ostfront 41-45, Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is the apogee of Tripwire's period vision. Lethal, complex, demanding; a round of Heroes of Stalingrad is harrowing like no other. No point and click here. Players must account for bullet drop and HUD-lessness, endure withering fire that suppresses to the point of blithering idiocy or leaves those not outright killed whimpering in the rubble-strewn canyons of factories and apartment blocks.

Not to suggest the Western front couldn't paint a similarly desperate picture, but there's something about the frigidity and fear on the shores of the Volga. The squeal and rumble of a fully-crewed tank, clawing its way about in the open under the fabergé predation of enemy troops, lodged in an elevated urban hellscape. If the German dream of Barbarossa was a '41 Kremlin Christmas, Stalingrad was the nightmare of '43. Heroes of Stalingrad paints it as such.

Unity of Command: Black Turn

Unity of Command has been called one of wargaming's greats. A triumph of visual and mechanical design, grognard Übermensch Tim Stone called it 'wargame of the year material', and true to proposition, it scooped up. JC of Real and Simulated Wars saw it as an absolute breath of much-needed fresh air; a clean, smart and accessible breeze through a musty, stat-addicted grotto. In short, Unity of Command blew the doors off a relatively insular part of modern strategy gaming.

The original Unity of Command dealt with the later stages of the Eastern Front conflict, but it was with the Black Tide DLC that we got to see Barbarossa treated with the same straightforward mechanics of supply. The game still retained that jugular-pouncing AI found in the base game, so no supply chain or wavering line was safe along the front. Essential wargaming, Barbarossa and beyond.

Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star

The Achtung! part of Graviteam's formerly titled Eastern Front tactical armour series conjured images in my head of AP shells being hoisted into breeches, such is the German cadence. Or my Commando comic understanding of German. Less comical is the way Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star models large-scale motorised and armoured engagement in the early months of 1943. Split between an admittedly initially obtuse strategic layer and a crunchy blend of Combat Mission and Close Combat, Operation Star is something to behold. It operates fearlessly on a scale others might baulk at. Each shunt of materiel could bring it into contact with the enemy, or it may not. Every column desperately trying to reinforce a hold-out may find their sojourn uneventful, or end up being the unforeseen focal point and pivot of your campaign.

The Graviteam Tactics series is loaded with campaign expansions and modules that go beyond the Eastern Front; including -- much to one's pleasure and schedule's disdain -- Operation Hooper, as well as other relative unknowns in the West like the Khazakhstan/China flashpoint of Zhalanashkol. However, if you want to fit sprockets to treads and give the tankodesantniki the ride of their lives, Operation Star and its deep clutch of Soviet theatre expansions are the way to go.

The votes are in. Brexit? No, we only deal in the big issues at Wargamer. After 16,369 ballots were cast in Eugen Systems' democratic call for the next Wargame: Red Dragon faction, Israel's mighty military rose to the top with an astounding 28.7% of the vote. Coming in second and third were Yugoslavia and Finland, scooping 13.0% and 10.5% respectively. 

Israel will bring their well-oiled and battle-hardened Merkava tank range, as well as the Achzarit APC, Kfir fighter and Makmat 160mm mobile mortar. Seasoned infantry will undoubtedly be in tow.

Eugen Systems did take note of the other two factions, and in order to balance out an inundation of NATO countries, a combined DLC pack will follow the IDF faction pack. Yugoslavia and Finland will arrive for the Warsaw Pact later in the year, padding Red out rather nicely. 

The free 10 versus 10 map we reported on last week is still in the works, along with a clutch of new updates. Beyond that, there's little left to do but wonder what it'll take to get my SADF units off the proverbial kaplyn and into Red Dragon. Next poll, do me a solid, would you?

"I'm a sci-fi guy at heart and I'm always more interested in the speculative and the fantastical." 

That's Ian Hardingham, coding mastermind behind Frozen Synapse and one founding half of Mode 7 Games. Given the distilled, hyper-focused nature of 2011's tactical WEGO turn-based strategy, I'd asked him if he had any fascination with real-world firearms or special operations groups. Frozen Synapse felt very much the product of someone who had more than a passing interest in dynamic entry techniques, limited incursions and other CQC grit, but my hunch was wrong. "I don't."

"But having said that, I have an absolute love for the first Hidden and Dangerous game, and that's actually one of the inspirations for Frozen Synapse that we seldom talk about."

Illusion Softworks dropped their take on World War Two squad battles in 1999, the same year as Sierra Entertainment's SWAT 3 and Red Storm Entertainment's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear. It was fascinating to discover that, despite two squad-based shooters with such heavy respective clout, it was a buggy and often frustratingly difficult underdog from Talonsoft that comprised some of Frozen Synapse's DNA. "You really had to coordinate four guys properly in that game to succeed," Hardingham explained, the connections immediately apparent. "It was such an amazing feeling when you got it right.  I think that taking a complex simulation and being allowed to plan multiple agents within it is a really interesting form."

That era seemed to offer a rich cache of these highly-tactical simulations. The previous year, the original Rainbox Six had broken ground with its pre-mission planner, allowing players to arm and initiate complex breach-and-clear manoeuvres with an element of control previously unseen. In an unspoken bond with Frozen Synapse, the planning phase could be agonised over far longer than the actual mission; fastidious timing and deployment of arms as enjoyable to set up as to enact. Rainbow Six and the SWAT series were watershed moments, antithetical to the endless wave of arcade shooters in difficulty and lethality. Hidden and Dangerous, in the eyes of Hardingham, was just as important.

I asked him what he thought about Full Spectrum Warrior, Pandemic's breakout squad management sim that touted a similar level of lethality, combining the same tactical crunch as Hidden and Dangerous in a theatre then shockingly contemporary. 

"I played maybe an hour of it," he said.  "I seem to remember finding it a little too contrived - I like the gamespace in my games to really emerge from some simple fundamental rules."

If there was one governing through-line in Frozen Synapse, it was certainly that. Simple fundamental rules. Fidelity by leanness. A few gun types, a two stances and a timer. The rest comprised of player-defined movement plots and firing vectors. Hardingham admitted the end product was pretty close to what he had started with, adding "In general I hate badly-defined bloat in games. Your decisions should be clear and differentiated."

It was the case in 2011, and once more in 2016. If you weren't already aware, Frozen Synapse 2 is set for a soft-release later this year. Combining the tried-and-true combat mechanics of the original with an ambitious, faction-ridden open world, the sequel is looking to expand in certain areas. Hardingham related elements cut from the original were appearing in the sequel in some form.

"One thing which I took out of the original, which I'm looking to add in Frozen Synapse 2's 'Advanced Tactics' mode, is 'reactive' orders - allowing a unit to do something different depending on what an enemy does.  I don't think it has a place in the core modes, but I'm also interested in deepening the planning interface as a tertiary mode."

He emphasised that it was still early days with the feature; the notion of appealing to the hardcore who wanted to tinker with unit orders on a granular level, suggesting orders can be initiated based on an enemy or friendly's actions. If a friendly takes fire, a team mate might do x. If an enemy moves into a specific zone, your guys will do y. Not autonomy, but high-fidelity if-then logic. 

A year after the release of Frozen Synapse, Firaxis deployed their XCOM reboot to critical acclaim. It was a big, bouncy rejig of the original; beveled edges and streamlined of cruft, XCOM was a strategy game for the everyman. But then, so was Frozen Synapse. The big difference, aside from movement and theme pedantry, was the idea of dice rolls governing encounters. I offered a penny for Hardingham's thoughts on XCOM's system versus outright determinism. 

"That's kind of one of the most fundamental questions of game design. There's SUCH a lot going on with this issue. RNG takes away responsibility from the player; it's unpredictable; it's exciting - unpredictable things often add fun to a game. Obviously you have to have at least some deterministic mechanics if you aren't just making a slot machine, but the more responsibility a player has the more exhausting it is to play properly. I view RNG as like adding salt in cooking - you have to have some, and you need to keep springling it in until you have the perfect mix.

While Frozen Synapse doesn't have any RNG, the "Dark" modes actually act as a proxy. Because you don't know exactly where your opponents units are, you have to play with possibilities and make calls based on limited information. Which is often more fun."

He mentioned he wasn't a fan of 'percent to hit'-style mechanics, and while it has its place, I remain inclined to agree. Where we did diverge slightly was on the idea of asymmetry in tactical engagements. I've always enjoyed games where the sides aren't equally matched of feature vastly different tools, forcing daring utilisation and irregular engagement. Think Jagged Alliance 2, fresh on the Drassen tarmac. Think Commandos 2: Men of Courage, four-odd soldiers against the Axis. But in concentrated kill-house environments?

"This is complicated," Hardingham said. "I don't want to have a symetrical start-state for a game. That just feels very limiting to the design. I prefer to balance using concepts such as 'duplicate' - where your score playing as Side A on Map 75122 is ranked vs all other people who've played Side A on Map 75122 - or bidding, where you gamble on how well you can do given a start-state, or "both-ways", where you play as Side A then your opponent plays as Side A.

"I don't personally though like games which are fundamentally about two very different kinds of sides being in combat.  It often ends up feeling very contrived and unnatural. I want both sides to be using the same basic mechanics."

He went on to illustrate the point with Frozen Cortex, Mode 7 Games' interesting tactical effort that drew from American football as much as it did Frozen Synapse. Hardingham noted being on offense versus being on defense is obviously pretty different, but the core mechanics beneath are the same, making everything feel much more organic.

"It's just so important to me that the game rules are laid on top of a simulation of some kind.  I don't want to design or play games which are just built up from a set of rules which are all created specifically for that game mode."

One thing that dominated discussion on a few episodes of Visiting the Village -- essential development and culture podcast series by Mode 7 Games' Hardingham and studio co-founder, Paul Kilduff-Taylor -- was the rise of procedural generation for level creation and furnishing. It's an enticing prospect particularly for smaller developers; procedural generation doing the heavy lifting in level design and freeing up resources elsewhere. But it's more than merely a development fast-track in Hardingham's eyes. Procedural generation is key to player proficiency.

"When you use significant procedural generation, you remove the part of the game which is learning the levels," he explained. "You make the process of playing the game more about becoming generally good at that game, and less about being good specifically at that set of levels." 

Contentious as that perspective may be in other genres, tactical games do fare better. Peripheral awareness replaces physicality. Being able to assess new junctions or prospective points of contact. Ascertain effective range of engagement. In short, take in the surroundings, manoeuvre with aplomb and chew out your targets. Over the years, I've gravitated away from economy-based strategy games -- hereditary Westwood and Blizzard fare -- because the economic puzzle has never really been a particularly interesting one. Another contentious perspective for a different time.

An interesting and largely forgotten experiment with procedural level generation was in Konami's portable cyberpunk shooter Coded Arms. Nothing tactical by any stretch of the imagination, but its virtual training simulator conceit more than effectively sold the procedurally-generated levels. It was primitive and unrepentantly cubic and often led to strange design irregularities, but Coded Arms' cohesion of theme and mechanics wasn't revisited until years later.

I asked Hardingham about how theme had the power to effect level design. Much like the original game, Frozen Synapse 2 is taking computer-controlled level creation into the big city. No longer constrained to comparatively claustrophobic kill-rooms, would a larger game world threaten interesting and unique locations.

"The vast majority of most levels are completely generated, and the "designed" buildings fit in quite organically," he explained. "The way to nail that is usually in making the look of the game suitable.  If the actual models used to represent game-important stuff -- for instance a wall in FS -- are defined largely by that thing, then procedural generation tends to work much better."

The proof is not being able to tell whether early screenshots of Frozen Synapse 2 have been hand-crafted, or products of procedural generation. In any case, Mode 7 Games' brand of cyberpunk chess features almost no ancillary cruft. Its hacker-blueprint composite is the perfect fit for procedural generation, and the implications in the sequel -- an expansive luminescent webwork of atriums, offices and carparks -- appear to be a seamless, lean use of the technology. 

Frozen Synapse 2 is set for a soft-launch some time before the year's end, with the beta period predicating the date of full release. Rainbow Six meets Syndicate in a living, breathing world of Alpha Centauri-inspired factions; each as dynamic as the other. It'll be an interesting test of the games' larger systems; to witness the trickle-down interplay between the strategic and the tactical. And, of course, to see new twists on a tight combat formula.

"It's exhausting to make," Hardingham admitted, "but it'll be an awesome game." 

I don't for a moment doubt the man.

Day #1 - Invisible, Inc.

Klei are a fantastic studio, matching deft art with honed gameplay. No greater illustration of their craft than the terrific espionage-themed TBS Invisible, Inc. 

Oozing as much style as substance, Invisible, Inc. has players light-foot their way through dense corporate labyrinths around the world. Teamwork and tactics are essential, operatives using their discrete abilities to peel back the electronic monitoring systems, keep resident security forces in check, rescue captives and make off with all manner of intel. Procedurally-generated levels offer immense replay value; each randomised complex feeling intricate and -- most importantly -- logical.

It's a smart and sophisticated game, but moreover, it's a beautiful game. Characters feel akin to Tony Fucelle and Teddy Newton's work on The Incredibles; perfect, svelte stylisation of the spy aesthetic, with sumptuous animation to boot. A sleek soundtrack and subtle sound design seal the deal. In short, if you wanted a modern stealth classic minus a drunken Michael Ironside or giant pissing robots, this is your jam. And for the current price of a blueberry muffin at your local boutique coffeehouse, you'd have to be a double-agent to deny yourself.

Invisible Inc. / -66%

Day #2 - Vietnam '65

Computer games haven't been as kind or inspired to Vietnam as their tabletop cousins. From cliché-ridden shooters to markedly inept RTS titles, the living-room war finally received a nuanced look in Johan Nagel's mighty fine Vietnam '65. Come along, jump that slick. We're taking the fight to Uncle Ho and making friends along the way.

Vietnam '65 is Every Single Soldier's elegant COIN interpretation of that infamous theatre. It might look like a conventional operational wargame, but every action and engagement is measured in and by political willpower. Every battle reverberates up the Ia Drang; location and combat outcome with the Viet Cong and NVA opponents throttled by a need to placate both the local population and Washington. Moreover, it's a game that deftly portrays the helicopter as a crucial component in both supply, pacification and warfighting in brutal terrain. If you don't have a swarm of Hueys and Angry Chooks up and down the Ho Chi Minh trail, you're doing it wrong. 

If you're looking for a detailed, gritty and grimy combat game, Vietnam '65 is not it. If you're looking for a lithe counter-insurgency sim, where the might of the American military can't quite get a bead on a liquid enemy, Every Single Soldier has you covered. While we wait for Afghanistan '11 and ESS's enticing South African border war game thereafter, Vietnam '65 is a great way to develop that five thousand yard stare. 

Vietnam '65 / -50%

Day #3 - Steel Armor: Blaze of War

Remember Pacific Islands? That quad-screened, diesel-fumed diamond in the Yama Yama rough? Well, I don't think anyone will ever make an armour game *quite* like that again, but if you're in the market to churn the sods and have your neighbours wonder when the Russians moved in, Graviteam's wonderful Steel Armor: Blaze of War is mighty good stuff.

Graviteam are auteurs in the military strategy sphere; undeniably Eastern Bloc with their own sensibilities and inexhaustible attention to detail. Moreover, they've been quietly riveting together tank sims for over a decade, and Steel Armor: Blaze of War is the apogee of their niche expertise. 

If you stick with the initially confounding interface, or find yourself slipping comfortably from the Graviteam Tactics series into the SABOW cupola, you'll find a dynamic and endlessly entertaining mix of operational warfighting and superb simming. This hairy affair lets players rumble through Cold War Afghanistan, Iran and Angola, both commanding combined arms at the operational level, as well as getting into the thick of it via the T-62 and US M60A1. It's an interesting duo of tanks, and what Graviteam lose in variety is more than made up for in fastidious depiction of these two old war-machines. 

If you've eyed gargantuan tanker sim Steel Beasts Pro but don't want to fire off a Benjamin, Steel Armor: Blaze of War is no concession. Essential military madness.

Steel Armor: Blaze of War / -20%

Day #4 - Battle Brothers

With Games of Thrones out of the way for another year -- don't spoil it, by the First Men, don't spoil it! -- you're probably jonesing for some low-fantasy gear to tramp through. The easy recommendation would be the very fine Crusader Kings 2 and a Westeros mod or two, but I simply must tout a different tale; one of dark vales and perilous fens; a coterie of sell-swords. Spiced mead for my friends here, barkeep, and a copy of the brutal Battle Brothers.

Battle Brothers is in Early Access, but it's as meaty and fulfilling as many full releases. Procedurally-generated open world campaigns keeps its brand of grueling mercenary management full of vigor, as players roam the countryside in search of coin and camaraderie. 

Combat is the draw, where painterly aesthetic meets brutal turn-based intricacy. This one is no walk in the park; permadeath the only certainty in this dark age fantasy strategy. The player's expanding squad requires arms and upkeep, and with careful strategising, your multitude of war dogs will rise from ignoble squalor to famed and feared fighting men.

A brutal, punchy tactical system within a Mount & Blade-esque overworld, Battle Brothers leaves players with blood under the fingernails and ambition in the heart. Bron Simulator 2016. Were that you had such self-preservation. 

Battle Brothers / -20%

Day #5 - Expeditions: Conquistador

Expeditions: Conquistador is Aguirre, the Wrath of God - The Game, minus the gnarled intensity of a bug-eyed Kinski. A game that punches well above its weight and falls refreshingly outside the usual thematic comfort zones of gaming.

LogicArtists' XCOM for El Dorado on the shores of the Orinoco. All the wistfulness and peril you'd expect is in attendance. The outposts, the dense jungle, the exotic and enigmatic natives; each enacting its own push and pull on your retinue of soldiers, naturalists, healers and faithful. Solid tactical turn-based combat punctuates overland traversal, with party composition nuance not seen since Jagged Alliance 2. Interactions with the local population, Spanish colonials and others are influenced by particular members of your company, meaning a pleasant divergence in mission variety. It's an exceptionally well-written game, and features some terrific art and music to boot.

Moreover, the expeditions whose ambition is undermined by disease, starvation and fractious behaviour are as enjoyable as the carefully-managed triumphs. Death spirals of poetic tragedy. Lacerations turned septic in the tropical clime. The meagre results of a foraging run. Ambushes and thieves in the night. Those thirsting for power sowing the seeds of a coup against you. Men disappearing into the jungle, leaving you with the dead and dying. It's this exploration of adventure that makes Expeditions: Conquistador fascinating. Management of the mundane in extreme circumstance, against the backdrop of the unknown. 

If the early chapters of V.S. Naipaul's 'The Loss of El Dorado' tantalised in its florid New World depiction, this is the game for you. A mere escudo to die alone in the jungle, clutching to the possibility of a mysterious city of gold.

Expeditions: Conquistador / -75%

Day #6 - Wargame: Red Dragon

Ever wanted to know how a clutch of AMX-13 T75s would fare against a column of T-55s? How fast Ghurka infantry can be dislodged by East German spec-ops? How useless M60A2 Starships really are? For the cost of a PROM-1, you can find out.

What makes the Wargame series so special, particularly in the RTS sphere, is its slower pace and relative disregard of hard counters. Having fallen out of love with the traditional economy-based RTS and its inherent rigours -- the build orders and definitive answers, the sheer science and math of the encounter -- when Wargame: European Escalation hit six-odd years ago, it was a breath of JP-8-scented fresh air. Wargame, more than any other series in the genre, depicts a messy conflict. It paints a picture of odd match-ups and peculiar triumphs; the reality of firepower inequity and combat asymmetry. A spectrum of military materiel so broad, it thrills as much as it boggles.

Red Dragon is the logical conclusion of the series, though an entry still being lavished with updates and DLC. While the pure naval elements might not be much to write home about, the game's land-based flashpoints are Wargame's strategic apogee. Rolling elevation and varied terrain, amphibious possibilities, naval platforms put to much better use in coastal support roles, greater air balance and the big Asian militaries joining the established European factions; there's negligible reason not to jump straight to the third outing of this Cold War-era classic. 

Beyond the deep simulations of Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations and Combat Mission: Black Sea, Wargame: Red Dragon is a fluid and accessible offering to those wanting something a little different in their RTS diet. Plus, it'll be the only place where A-10s can BRRRRRRRR unfettered, without threat of retirement by oversight. Worth the price of admission alone.

Wargame Trilogy / -70% 

The Battle of Harlaw was fought in the north of Scotland in 1411. Part of an ongoing feudal dispute over the Earldom of Ross, it was a largely unmemorable affair which ended in a tactical stalemate.  The locals did, however, note its extreme ferocity by the standards of the time, with around 1500 dead by the end of the day. They called it "Red Harlaw" and it inspired contemporary bards to write the odd ballad. Were it not for the fact that those songs have survived and are still being sung today, the skirmish might have passed out of history entirely.

Just like Harlaw, people throughout history remembered wars and battles and the impact and privations it had on their lives. Because many could not read or write, they marked their history in song. Few are as old as The Battle of Harlaw: the majority commemorate the Napoleonic Wars and the Jacobite uprisings. Others belong to lesser-known causes such as the doomed Desmond rebellions of Ireland. Yet more are grisly bits of social commentary, reminding ordinary folk of the awful fates that awaited those unlucky enough to be press-ganged into the navy or foolish enough to take the King's shilling and enlist in the army.

Given how rich these songs are in detail, and how their arrangements were composed to appeal to popular sentiment, it seems astonishing that they're not more widely used as the backdrop to historical wargames. After all, although modern folk singers perform these songs and own copyright on those recordings, the lyrics and tunes themselves belong to no-one. Video game music producers are free to arrange, adapt and reuse them as they wish. In an industry of relatively tight margins, it would seem an obvious place to make some savings while enormously enhancing the atmosphere and historical pedigree of a game.

Assassins vs pirates oh my! (image via Joshua Livingston)

The reason, I suspect, is that folk music has become deeply unfashionable since its most recent heyday in the early seventies. It's seen as the preserve of peculiar, sandal-wearing beatniks, the very antithesis of the way many historical gamers like to think of themselves. Yet the majority of modern folk musicians experiment widely. Some, such as Jim Moray, even incorporate elements of electronic and hip-hop into their arrangements of ancient songs.

Recently a game did take the plunge and showcase how brilliant traditional music can be when used in the right place. But it wasn't a wargame: it was Black Flag from the Assassin's Creed franchise. Themed around piracy in the West Indies, the protagonist could collect sea shanties for their crew. These call and response songs were used on board ship to help sailors co-ordinate mass labour such as hauling heavy ropes. Many critics commented on how much they added to the game's setting, and many gamers took enjoyed collecting and hearing the tunes as they played. It wasn't history, but it proved there was an appetite for this material in gaming.

Yet almost no-one seems to have run with the baton. The only exception I know of is upcoming title Nantucket from Italian studio Picaresque. It's a more appealing affair than Black Flag to those of a wargaming bent. Not only is it a strategy game but it's rooted in the solid history of the US whaling industry.

"We wanted to give players the chance to live the Golden Age of American whaling," Daniele Monaco, the game's lead developer told me. "It's through the adventures of Ishmael, the protagonist of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. To accomplish this, we put a lot of effort into the artistic side of the game, including music. We worked with music composer Carlos Sánchez de Medina to have classical music pieces to accompany the players during their days at sea and then we worked on sea shanties to underline specific moments in the game."

A development mock-up of Nantucket’s tactical combat

I asked him why they'd chosen to use folk songs in particular. "Shanties are probably the most iconic songs of the life at sea, so we made them part of the game but also of all the communication side related to the game," he replied.  "Our first trailer featured an instrumental version of the shanty 'Rolling Down to Old Maui', from composer Ivan Ciavarella."

If you listen to a sung version of Old Maui, it gives a clear idea of the power that folk music has in illustrating historical games. It's so evocative of the horrors of six-month whaling tours in the high arctic, and the anticipation of returning home that it offers an incredible sense of time and place. Daniele explained that they'd chosen other shanties for the game, such as Bonnie Ship The Diamond based more on historical accuracy than personal taste.

The last true folk song I know of to come from the battlefield is Farewell to Sicily, composed by a soldier on the Mediterranean front of World War 2. But modern folk singers keep the spirit alive with their own compositions exploring the horrors of modern conflicts such as the Falklands and the Iraq war. We may not need songs to record our history any more. But in this age of digital images and sanitised news, perhaps we still need them to remind us of why war is best kept on the screen and the tabletop.

There is a Spotify playlist to accompany this piece, with some relevant songs arranged in chronological order of the events they portray.

Day #7 - Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

The majesty of the desert. Mighty drifts and dunes. Vast tracts of whistling grit, surfaces chiselled by relentless siroccos. And the blast vents from nuclear hovercraft. It's good to be home.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak marked the return of the esteemed series after a lengthy hiatus. Thankfully in the hands of the original designers, Deserts of Kharak retained the entire parcel of solemnity and grandeur crafted a decade prior, despite space been stripped from the equation.

And for the better. Deserts of Kharak is a far more intricate game than either of the mainline Homeworlds. Here, in the realm of the deep desert crawlers, shoals of light interdiction armour skid and leap across the undulating topography. Elevation affords its obvious enhancements for the big cruisers. Range and capability is easily parsed against the sandy backdrop. And drawing from its predecessors, the eventual massed combat is a sight to behold.

Not to mention, it's the visual design benchmark to beat in 2016. Deserts of Kharak sports an aesthetic so rich, with machinery greeble so delicious, Stewart Cowley would blush. I risk repeating my love for Kharak's heavy industry motif, so I'll just link you to our review and interview with the Blackbird Interactive team on how they crafted the audio-visual elements of the game. A good read. A good game.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak / -50%

Another month, another payload. Spoiled for choice once more, here are eight retail therapy items to consider in the month of July. As always, release dates are fluid and are subject to change. 

Order of Battle - Winter War

The Aristocrats' first European expansion for the retitled Order of Battle - Winter War takes the fight to the Finns this July (although Winter War did feature in last month's Approach Vector, so frigid fingers crossed). The markedly successful wargame platform has seen its share of Pacific plug-ins, with the developer now taking the path less travelled for a European theatre debut. Across the Winter War, Continuation War and the Lapland War, players can fend off foreign aggressors from sweeping through Suomi. Fine stuff, Finns!

Do red bears die in the forest? Find out sometime this month.

Warhammer 40,000 Armageddon - Da Orks

Armageddon is upon us all. Again. The Imperium has received its dues, and now everyone's favourite warmonger fungoid is set to receive theirs. Armageddon is ostensibly Panzer Corps in the Grimdark future with a seven-strong pile of mission packs to sate the unquenchable thirst for WAAAGH, or however you spell it. Da Orks puts you in command of the tusked brutes for the first time. 

18 missions through 3 acts, players will muster the Boyz, the Nobz, Warbikerz and other Ork units with so many misplaced z's, it makes Ubisoft's Nintendo DS output quiver. Returning unit persistence ensures Armageddon generals command with aplomb, but don't let military doctrine get in the way of a good ol' greenskin charge. 

Interstellar hooliganism drops soon.

Democracy 3: Electioneering

Perhaps you're weary of direct democracy. Or, recent events in the UK have irrevocably stirred the political engine within and Positech's Electioneering expansion for Democracy 3 is hitting at exactly the right time. Electioneering is the distilled exploration of machinations prior to the ballot box. Political hopefuls pork barrelling their way towards election day with meticulously-crafted campaigns. Speeches, over-promises, photo opportunity particulars; the grandstand machinery of getting into office and the tricks and turns you'll pull to stay there.

Democracy 3 has already received some great DLC in Social Engineering, Extremism and Clones & Drones, as well as the fine standalone Democracy 3: Africa. Electioneering looks like another erudite and intricate examination of political life and process. Ballots open July 9.

ArmA 3 Apex

Bohemia Interactive's premier combined arms platform is set to extend its playground beyond its Mediterranean proxy in Apex. We covered news of the expansion in our E3 strategy and simulation search, but it bears repeating how exciting Apex sounds. Dipping below the equator to the steamy clime of the South Pacific, tapping in to a Solomons-esque fiction.

With an expanded cache of player equipment -- firearms and gear -- as well as an increased collection of military movers like VTOLs and LSVs, the touted four-player drop-in-drop-out co-op element looks to be a barrel of fun, or a hardened evening of whispers on the comms and furious hand-signals through monsoonal mist. Bohemia Interactive have done a great job with support and updates since 2013, and it looks like Apex will continue the tradition. Preorders will net prospective gun-jumpers instant access to the current Apex beta, so get oscar-mike if so inclined.

Apex dismounts July 11.

Crush Your Enemies

Itty, bitty, gritty, grunty pixel-RTS Crush Your Enemies has a little in common with last year's sleeper gem Interloper. Don't sleep on this one, if the demo is anything to go by. Touchscreen-friendly for the curious, Crush Your Enemies is a zippy tactical blob fight. Herding your horde about a single screen level, encroaching on enemies by converting tiles to your colour, splitting and collating player mobs where seen fit. I was initially indifferent, but after playing it and seeing the influences worn on Crush Your Enemy's armlet, I implore the world-weary to try out the demo and see what they think.

It won't replace anything particularly meaty in a gaming diet, but as a side-order of territory control and twists of Galcon and the aforementioned Interloper -- which you really should play -- I'm calling Crush Your Enemies the surprise hit of the inbound month.

Get pulped on July 13.

The Away Team

The Away Team is an enigmatic little adventure-strategy hybrid that I'm ever so curious about. Perhaps a mix of Weird Worlds and Out There, adding a twist of FTL here and there. 

Each of ten possible crew members has a distinct set of attributes, traits and flaws that will impact your chances, so choose wisely! With over 30 planets and stations to visit, over 700 choices to make, and near-infinite randomized sector maps to visit, there are countless paths to take across the galaxy. 

The only thing we have to fear is, well, our crew mates aboard an intergalactic tin can. The developers claim oodles of divergent narrative will ensure a distinct experience each time, which is always welcome in a world where 'choice' is often code for 'superfluous binary non-events'. If Underflow Studio can deliver, I'm prepared to be beamed up, Scotty, on July 23. 

RimWorld

If you've ever wanted to give your fortresses of dwarves the chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure, RimWorld will cater to your needs. A complex colony sim in all its super-granularity, RimWorld is the Prison Architect success story going forward, having knocked around in pre-alpha since 2013 and garnering quite a fanbase. From colonists forming relationships to biodiversity and ecological shifts, RimWorld isn't short-selling its inspirations. Moreover, it won't scare away the ASCII-allergic, and just may very well act as a feeder or gateway to something like Dwarf Fortress. 

But I've a sneaking suspicion RimWorld will be the one-stop shop for world simulators, so there won't be much call for squats nor their keeps. Are dwarves even any good at monitoring chemical compounds in closed-loop hydroponic modules? Time will tell. RimWorld hits Early Access on July 16.

Niche

Niche is set to be something rather big. Irrepressibly cute, inexhaustibly scientific. That cocktail puts it in Creatures-territory, or where we'd end up if Peter Molyneux was still on his Bullfrog-era game. A sort of Black & White meets Spore. But enough of what might have been, the future is now. 

A genetic lab kit of sorts, the successfully-kickstarted Niche is a digital boardgame examining genes, heredity and evolution. There's a free demo available on the website, but if you're in the mood to throw a little pre-dawn lucre, you can preorder and receive a Steam Early Access key ahead of the game's launch.

Which is, incidentally, July 28. 

Day #7 - Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence

It had been too many tipples of Nihonshu since the West was graced with a proper Koei strategy game, certainly one devoid of Lu Bu galloping roughshod through Cao Cao's dithering, dallying ranks. Kou Shibusawa came to our rescue last year, dropping the nobly-localised Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence into our kusazuri-layered laps.

Our 2015 review found trademark Koei personality in attendance; a Sengoku grand strategy secured by a human heart. News hand-delivered as it were, orders received with encouraging enthusiasm and punctuated by the sound of gravel shifting subserviently underfoot. For a game whose core is often more managerial than martial, the mundane comes alive beneath the game's theatrically-depicted civic structure.

Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence is also no military slouch. However, an ahistorical flare dominates tactical combat, so for those expecting a series Shogun-esque module to compliment army development and territory control might wonder what the light show is all about. 

Tactical superfluity aside, Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence is the grand strategy equivalent of a top-end NHK period drama. While not nearly as dynamic or divergent as a Paradox title, the game is thematically-rich, lovingly rendered and just what the armchair Taisho ordered. 

Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence / -50%