Making History II: The War of the World

Last updated
Making History II: The War of the World
MakingHistory2.jpg
Developer(s) Muzzy Lane
Publisher(s) Factus Games
Series Making History
Engine Sandstone
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Release NA 15 June 2010 (Win)
INT 22 June 2010 (Steam)
Genre(s) Turn-based strategy
Mode(s) Single player / Multiplayer

Making History II: The War of the World is a World War II grand strategy computer game released in June 2010 by developer Muzzy Lane Software. Making History II is the successor to Making History: The Calm & The Storm and gives players the ability to take full control of any world nation, colonies, regions, cities, and military units during the time leading up to and during the Second World War. In 2016, along with the other games in the series, Making History II was sold to Factus Games.

Contents

Gameplay

In Making History II players are able to control any nation starting from the years preceding World War II and beyond. The game includes multiple scenarios which begin the player at the following dates: 1933, 1936, and 1939 with each scenario created to realistically reflect historical situations of that time. Other starting dates are playable using mods created with the game editor. Multiplayer games can be conducted via LAN, or using the company's website, which offers a multiplayer service that saves and runs games in the cloud, allowing asymmetrical gameplay. A game update in January 2014 added a fourth scenario that begins in 1944.

Reception

Making History II was met with very low ratings on average at its initial launch. Many of the reviews mention that the game gives the user an information overload due to the amount of information to be processed and the cumbersome GUI which the player is forced to use. In addition to the previous issues, the game also had a fair share of bugs and crashes which only further discouraged proper game play.

In response to the amount of negative criticism aimed at the game, Making History II's developer, Muzzy Lane, has responded and over the course of 6 months created numerous patches to bring the game up to a playable state. Due to the release of a buggy and "incomplete" game, most of the early negative reviews are based on the earliest adaptations of the game while a few reviewers are giving Making History II a second look. Making History II seems to garner a majority of positive reviews in these second looks and later revisions, and was nominated for "Strategy Game of the Year" by Game Industry News. A Mac version was released in 2011, and a game editor was added in the spring of 2012. [1]

Reviews

Daniel Shannon of GameSpot, who rated the game a 4/10 said, "the game is plagued by performance issues, uninspiring combat, and an insane depiction of international relations. On the bright side, numerous updates for the game have been released in the past few weeks that have improved performance and crushed numerous bugs, so Making History II might one day be a functional game." [2]

Larry Levandowski of Armchair General gave the game a 75/100 rating, claiming "All-in-all, Making History II is a welcome addition to the pantheon of WWII grand-strategy games. It's fun, easy to play and has enough depth for even the most campaign-hardened strategy gamer. MHII is the kind of game where you start to play after dinner, and when you look up, its 2 a.m." [3]

Jason Iatomasi, of Avault, was the most recent reviewer of the game and gave Making History II a rating of 4/5 and stated, "Nurtured from its pupate state, the motherly developers have woven a cocoon of patches around it. Six months later, it emerges; evolved into something unlike its original state. It is now a pinnacle of grand strategy, rippling with all the promise and depth inherent in the genre." [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Myth</i> (video game series) Video game series

Myth is a series of real-time tactics video games for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. There are three main games in the series: Myth: The Fallen Lords (1997), Myth II: Soulblighter (1998), and Myth III: The Wolf Age (2001). The Fallen Lords was developed by Bungie, and published by Bungie in North America and Eidos Interactive in Europe. Soulblighter was also developed by Bungie, and was published by Bungie in North America and GT Interactive in Europe. The Wolf Age was developed by MumboJumbo, and co-published by Take-Two Interactive and Gathering of Developers for Windows and by Take-Two and MacSoft for Mac.

<i>Battlecruiser 3000AD</i> 1996 video game

Battlecruiser 3000AD is a space trading and combat simulator video game developed by 3000 AD. It was designed by 3000 AD president and lead developer Derek Smart as the studio's first project.

<i>Master of Magic</i> 1994 video game

Master of Magic is a single-player, fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game in which the player plays as a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds. From a small settlement, the player manages resources, builds cities and armies, and researches spells, growing an empire and fighting the other wizards.

<i>Giants: Citizen Kabuto</i> 2000 video game

Giants: Citizen Kabuto is a third-person shooter video game with real-time strategy elements. It was the first project for Planet Moon Studios, which consisted of former Shiny Entertainment employees who had worked on the game MDK in 1997. Giants went through four years of development before Interplay Entertainment published it on December 7, 2000, for Microsoft Windows; a Mac OS X port was published by MacPlay in 2001, and the game was also ported to the PlayStation 2 later that year.

<i>Empire Earth II</i> 2005 video game

Empire Earth II is a real-time strategy video game developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Vivendi Universal Games and their subsidiary Sierra Entertainment on April 26, 2005. It is a sequel to Empire Earth, which was developed by the now-defunct Stainless Steel Studios. The game features 15 epochs, 14 different civilizations and has three playable campaigns: a Korean, German, and American one, as well as several other playable scenarios. The game received a positive reaction, earning a 79% average rating on GameRankings.

<i>Command & Conquer</i> (1995 video game) 1995 video game

Command & Conquer is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Westwood Studios in 1995. Set in an alternate history, the game tells the story of a world war between two globalized factions: the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations and a cult-like militant organization called the Brotherhood of Nod, led by the mysterious Kane. The groups compete for control of Tiberium, a mysterious substance that slowly spreads across the world.

<i>Warhammer: Mark of Chaos</i> 2006 video game

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos is a real-time tactics game set in the Warhammer universe. It was developed by Black Hole Entertainment and co-published by Namco Bandai Games in North America and Deep Silver in PAL territories in November 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genie Engine</span> Game engine developed by Ensemble Studios

The Genie Engine is a game engine developed by Ensemble Studios and used in several computer games, such as Age of Empires, Age of Empires II and its expansions and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. Some of those games have been ported to the Apple Mac.

<i>Making History: The Calm & The Storm</i> 2007 video game

Making History: The Calm & The Storm is a World War II grand strategy video game released in March 2007 by developer Muzzy Lane. Similar in ways to the popular board games Axis & Allies and Risk, Making History is turn-based with basic industrial, economic, resource, research and diplomatic management included. The game was released as Strategic War Command in Germany.

<i>Warlords Battlecry II</i> 2002 video game

Warlords Battlecry II is a real-time strategy and role-playing game, developed by Strategic Studies Group (SSG) as the sequel to Warlords Battlecry. It was released on March 12, 2002. The game requires the player to build buildings and create units in order to defeat the enemy, while sending their hero on optional quests.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm</i> 2008 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm is the third expansion to the real-time strategy video game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, developed by Iron Lore Entertainment. Like its predecessors, Soulstorm is based on Games Workshop's tabletop wargame Warhammer 40,000, and introduces a multitude of new features to the Dawn of War series, including two new playable factions in the form of the Imperial Sisters of Battle and the Dark Eldar. It is a stand-alone game and does not need the original Dawn of War disc to run, but players must have the prior games installed and valid cd-keys in order to play as anything but the two new factions online.

<i>Civilization V</i> 2010 video game

Sid Meier's Civilization V is a 4X turn-based strategy video game in the Civilization series developed by Firaxis Games. The game was released for Windows in September 2010, for Mac OS X on November 23, 2010, and for Linux on June 10, 2014.

Strategy is a major video game genre that emphasizes thinking and planning over direct instant action in order to achieve victory. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, as a genre, strategy games are most commonly defined as those with a primary focus on high-level strategy, logistics and resource management. They are also usually divided into two main sub-categories: turn-based and real-time, but there are also many strategy cross/sub-genres that feature additional elements such as tactics, diplomacy, economics and exploration.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II</i> 2009 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is a real-time strategy-tactical role-playing video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ for Microsoft Windows based on the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. It is the sequel to the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War video game series. Dawn of War II was released in North America on February 19, 2009 and in Europe on February 20, 2009. A sequel, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III, was released in April 2017.

<i>For the Glory</i> 2009 video game

For the Glory is a grand strategy wargame that is based on Europa Universalis II and Paradox's Europa Engine. It was developed by Crystal Empire Games, a studio composed of members of the Europa Universalis II modification "Alternative Grand Campaign / Event Exchange Project" (AGCEEP) team, and published by Paradox Interactive. It was announced on September 4, 2009 and was released November 10/11, 2009. The game is available for Windows.

<i>Total War: Shogun 2</i> 2011 video game

Total War: Shogun 2 is a strategy video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega in 2011. It is the seventh mainline entry in the Total War series and returns to the setting of the first Total War game, Shogun: Total War, after a series of games set mainly in Europe and the Middle East.

<i>Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game</i> 2011 video game

Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game is a grand strategy wargame that is based on Paradox Interactive's Europa Engine.

<i>Crusader Kings II</i> 2012 video game

Crusader Kings II is a grand strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. Set in the Middle Ages, the game was released on February 14, 2012, as a sequel to 2004's Crusader Kings. On October 18, 2019, the video game became free to play. A sequel, Crusader Kings III, was released on September 1, 2020. Crusader Kings II stood out from earlier Paradox games in that it attracted a more widespread audience, contributing to the growth of the company.

<i>Supreme Ruler Ultimate</i> 2014 video game

Supreme Ruler Ultimate is a grand strategy video game developed by BattleGoat Studios. It is the fifth installment in the Supreme Ruler series and was released on October 17, 2014. The game is the sequel to Supreme Ruler 1936. It is essentially a compilation release, streamlining Supreme Ruler 2020, Supreme Ruler Cold War, and Supreme Ruler 1936 into one game, using the same UI as 1936, as well as adding additional features and gameplay.

<i>SpellForce 3</i> 2017 video game

SpellForce 3 is a 2017 video game developed by Grimlore Games and published by THQ Nordic. It was released for Microsoft Windows on 7 December 2017. SpellForce 3 is the third full and the ninth overall release in the SpellForce video game series. It is the first entry in the series since 2014's SpellForce 2: Demons of the Past. The plot serves as a prequel to the first game, depicting events that lead to the creation of The Circle, the group of mages whose actions were the basis for The Order of Dawn.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Making History II PC Review". Avault. 2011-12-01. Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
  2. 1 2 "Making History II: The War of the World Review". GameSpot. 2010-07-02. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
  3. 1 2 "Making History II: The War of the World - PC Game Review". Armchair General. 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2012-01-17.