Conqueror

Title		Conqueror
Game Type	3D Combat Sim
Players		1 or 2
Compatibility	Not AGA
Submission	angus@angusm.demon.co.uk

Review
Conqueror is a 3D tank game that makes use of the 3D engine that David
Braben wrote for the classic game Zarch on the Archimedes or Virus on the
Amiga. Think of yourself stuck up in the air at about 100 feet, with your
position realtively stationary to your selected tank, which trundles along
through the attractive patchwork of fields just in front of you. The game
is all about tank combat in World War Two and features many of the designs
of that era but just the Russian, German and American vehicles, which is a
bit of a shame for us Brits, although let`s face it, most of our tanks
were nothing much to shout about. Having said that, the Sherman Firefly is
present, and this was a British adaption of the American Sherman which had
a main armament just about on a par with the deadly 88mm used by the
Germans.
Now there are several varieties of gametype you can choose, but it boils
down to if you want a quick shoot-em-up or a something of a campaign,
where your successes will earn you extra money enabling you to buy more
powerful vehicles. Either way, you are going to find this game frustrating
initially. The enemy tanks come screaming in, shooting shell after shell,
usually with an accuracy you can only gawp at. There are a number of
control methods, including using the keyboard, using two joysticks
(possibly with one of you driving the tank while a friend controls the
turret) manual driver and computer controlled turret, or manual turret and
computer controlled driver. I `m sorry to say that I couldn`t really get
on with any of these. I would have liked a one joystick method, where a
quick jab on the fire button fired the gun, but holding down the fire
button allowed you to control the turret. Still what do I know? For me,
there was a huge amount of promise in this game that was let down by  a
simulation that I found basically too difficult to control and therefore
too frustrating to play. Aside from the problems I had with the controls,
I`d of liked a scenario that would sometimes allow events to move at a
slower pace, where you edged your vehicle along, wary of an ambush, the
suspense building towards the inevitable attack. The game has got a lot to
commend though, it looks great! The tanks leave muddy tracks in their
wake, and buildings caqn be satisfyingly demolished. As well as this, if
you`re going to have an armoured combat game, then you have to have decent
3D terrain, and this game has this in spades. More so, it must be said
than the author`s later games, Campaign and Campaign 2. Maybe Jonathan
Griffiths  can be persuaded to just make a few tweaks to this game that
could transfer it into a classic.... I can dream.

Alphabetical list.