| World War III: Black Gold | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Reality Pump |
| Publisher(s) | JoWood Productions, TopWare Interactive |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
World War III: Black Gold is a real-time strategy video game developed by Reality Pump [1] and published in 2001 by JoWood Productions, and then later republished in 2006 by TopWare Interactive. [2]
The player has the option of playing as Iraq, Russia, or the United States. Each military power has its own unique units, abilities, and corresponding strategies. For example, Iraqi units all have a camouflage ability, allowing them to remain undetected in the absence of radar. The game features multiple linear campaigns spanning across all three military powers, each with 5-10 missions. One unique aspect of the Russian campaign is the presence of a home base that persists throughout the campaign, allowing the player to transport troops back to home base after the conclusion of a mission. There are also skirmish battles which pit the player against either an AI opponent or a human opponent via War.net, a play on Blizzard Entertainment's Battle.net.
In most battles, the player starts out with a basic unit, and buys shafts to pump oil which automatically turns into funds for usage. The troop deployment system is via a landing zone and/or an airport which unlocks and is used to deploy more advanced units. All units in the game have an ammunition counter which, when depleted, renders the unit unable to open fire. To keep units supplied with ammunition, the player must construct a supply depot. Ammunition is distributed via helicopter, included with the construction of the supply depot. There are many other features unique to each military power, including air strikes, bomber strikes, tunnels, et cetera.
The game likely used the same game engine as the game, Earth 2150, released more than a year before by the same developer.
GameSpot awarded Black Gold 8.4 out of 10, praising the AI (particularly in "skirmish" games), combination of grid-based and 3D level design and flexible camera controls. However, the game's manual was criticized for not including enough information about the different units and game interface. [3] IGN rated Black Gold at 6.2 ("passable"). Mike Murphy commented on the "illogical" use of military units, with the game's armaments and strategies not matching their real-world counterparts for the sake of gameplay balance. He also criticized the AI's pathfinding, but found the game's graphics and sound to be "nice". [4]
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is a real-time strategy game (RTS) developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, and published by Interplay Productions in Europe. It was released for MS-DOS in North America on 15 November 1994, and for Mac OS in early 1996. The MS-DOS version was re-released by Sold-Out Software in 2002.
Medieval: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Activision. Set in the Middle Ages, it is the second game in the Total War series, following on from the 2000 title Shogun: Total War. Originally announced in August 2001, the game was released in North America on 21 August 2002 and in Europe on 30 August for Microsoft Windows.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth is a 2004 real-time strategy video game developed by EA Los Angeles for Microsoft Windows. The first part of the Middle-earth strategy game, It is based on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, in turn based on J. R. R. Tolkien's original novel. The game uses short video clips from the movies and a number of the voice actors, including the hobbits and wizards. It uses the SAGE engine. The sequel, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, was released on March 2, 2006.
Age of Empires III is a real-time strategy video game developed by Microsoft Corporation's Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Mac version was ported over and developed and published by Destineer's MacSoft. The PC version was released on October 18, 2005, in North America and November 4, 2005, in Europe, while the Mac version was released on November 21, 2006, in North America and September 29, 2006, in Europe. An N-Gage version of the game developed by Glu Mobile was released on April 28, 2009. It is the third game of the Age of Empires series and the sequel to Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. A remaster titled Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition was released on October 15, 2020. Its successor, Age of Empires IV was released October 28, 2021, for Windows.
Emperor: Battle for Dune is a real-time strategy video game, released by Westwood Studios in June 2001. It is based in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. It follows its predecessors, Dune II and Dune 2000. While Dune II was a distinct story to that of Dune, and Dune 2000 was a remake of Dune II, Emperor: Battle for Dune is a direct sequel to the previous games. In particular, it is a sequel to Dune 2000, carrying on from where it left off, with several of the characters and actors returning. Like Dune 2000 and many of the other Westwood games that came before it, Emperor features live action cut scenes filmed with actors.
Axis & Allies is a real-time strategy World War II video game developed by TimeGate Studios and published by Atari for Microsoft Windows. The game was released on November 2, 2004. It is based on the board game series Axis & Allies from Milton Bradley and also on TimeGate's Kohan series. Set in the years after Japan and the United States entered into the war, the game allows the player to act as a World War II commander to build military forces to fight against other generals, using military units and technologies from the war. The player is able to rewrite and recreate the history of World War II.
Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns is a real-time strategy video game developed by TimeGate Studios. It was published for Microsoft Windows by Strategy First in North America and Ubi Soft in Europe, and ported to Linux by Loki Software, both in 2001. With a high fantasy setting, the game follows immortal beings named Kohan. It features a lengthy single-player campaign and skirmish maps playable in multiplayer or against the AI. The gameplay focuses on controlling companies instead of individual soldiers, a mechanic praised by critics for eliminating micromanagement. A sequel, Kohan II: Kings of War, was released in 2004.
Medieval II: Total War is a strategy video game developed by the since-disbanded Australian branch of The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It was released for Microsoft Windows on 10 November 2006. Feral Interactive published versions of the game for macOS and Linux on 14 January 2016. It is the sequel to 2002's Medieval: Total War and the fourth title in the Total War series.
Real-time tactics (RTT) is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time, simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics. It is differentiated from real-time strategy gameplay by the absence of classic resource micromanagement and base or unit building, and by the greater importance of individual units and a focus on complex battlefield tactics.
Praetorians is a 3D real-time tactics video game developed by Pyro Studios and published by Eidos Interactive in 2003, based on Julius Caesar's historical campaigns in Gaul and Britain, Crassus' battles in Parthia, and the events of Caesar's Civil War during the 1st century BC. The player controls either the Roman Republic, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, or a generic barbarian tribe based on the Helvetii, Gauls, and Celts.
SpellForce: The Order of Dawn is a 2003 real-time strategy and role-playing video game, developed by Phenomic Game Development and published by Encore, Inc for Microsoft Windows. First released in Europe on November 11, 2003, the game takes place within a high-fantasy world in the years following a devastating cataclysmic event, with the game's main campaign focusing on the plight of an immortal warrior who seeks to investigate growing troubles amongst some of the islands that have formed.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade is the second expansion to the real-time strategy video game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. Based on Games Workshop's tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40,000, Dark Crusade was released on October 9, 2006. The expansion features two new races, the Tau Empire and the Necrons. Including the Imperial Guard from Dawn of War's first expansion pack Winter Assault, a total of seven playable races in this expansion.
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.
Tom Clancy's EndWar is a strategy video game available on Microsoft Windows and all seventh-generation platforms except the Wii, with the timing and flow of gameplay differing across platforms. The console and PC version is a real-time tactics game designed by Ubisoft Shanghai, while the handheld versions feature turn-based tactics. It was released on Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and Xbox 360 in November 2008. A Windows version was released in February 2009.
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is the second expansion pack for the real-time strategy video game Age of Empires III developed through a collaboration between Ensemble Studios and Big Huge Games, and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Mac version was ported over, developed and published by Destineer's MacSoft. The game is the second expansion pack following The WarChiefs. The game introduces three new civilizations; China, Japan, and India. It also introduced minor people, campaigns, maps, and game modes.
Empire: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The fifth installment in the Total War series, the game was released in 2009. The game, which focuses on the early modern period of the 18th century, was announced at the Leipzig Games Convention in August 2007. The macOS version of the game was released by Feral Interactive on 10 June 2014. The Linux version was released, also by Feral Interactive, on 8 December 2014.
Warrior Kings: Battles is a real-time strategy video game developed by British studio Black Cactus and published by Empire Interactive in Europe and co-published with Strategy First in North America. It is a sequel to the 2002 game Warrior Kings and was released March 21, 2003 in Europe and September 30, 2003 in North America.
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a fantasy real-time strategy computer game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and released for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows in 1995 and Mac OS in 1996 by Blizzard's parent, Davidson & Associates. A sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the game was met with positive reviews and won most of the major PC gaming awards in 1996. In 1996, Blizzard released an expansion pack, Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, for DOS and Mac OS, and a compilation, Warcraft II: The Dark Saga, for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The Battle.net edition, released in 1999, included Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, provided Blizzard's online gaming service, and replaced the MS-DOS version with a Windows one.
Hegemony is a series of computer strategy games developed by Canadian studio Longbow Games. The games combine historical grand strategy with real-time battles on a seamless map. The title references the concept of hegemony, i.e. the political, economic, or military predominance or control of one state over others.
It's an all-around great real-time strategy game that also happens to stand out from other games in the genre.
JoWood set out to create a real-time strategy based on World War 3 and only succeeded in proving just how frightening World War 3 would be. In order to supply a fair gaming environment, the studio forwent realism and adopted a strange fantasy world that is in many ways less exciting than the real world.