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| Legionnaire | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Chris Crawford |
| Publisher(s) | Avalon Hill |
| Designer(s) | Chris Crawford |
| Engine | custom |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, Apple II |
| Release date(s) | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | strategy, real-time tactics[citation needed] |
| Mode(s) | single player |
| Rating(s) | N/A |
| Media/distribution | Cassette, floppy disk |
Legionnaire is a computer game for the Atari 8-bit series created by Chris Crawford in 1982, and released through Avalon Hill.
Contents |
Plot [link]
Recreating Julius Caesar's campaigns in a semi-historical setting, the player takes command of the Roman legions in battles against the barbarians.
Gameplay [link]
Similar to the earlier groundbreaking Eastern Front (1941) in terms of display and general gameplay, Legionnaire added a real-time computer opponent, and is one of the earliest examples of a real-time tactics (RTT) game[citation needed]. The player took the side of the Romans, playing the role of Caesar, giving orders to the various legions represented in pink in real time. The computer played the barbarians, in blue. There were three types of units; infantry was represented by a sword, cavalry as a horse head, and Caesar's own Imperial Guard as an eagle. Orders were given to the units by moving a cursor over them with the joystick and then holding down the joystick button; existing commands would be displayed as a moving arrow, and new orders could be entered by pressing the joystick in the four cardinal directions.
Like Eastern Front, the Legionnaire playfield consists of a large grid of square cells with various terrain features displayed on it. Unlike Eastern Front the new map included altitude, displayed as a series of contour lines. Movement was effected by the contours as well as the underlying terrain, making positional combat an important part of the overall strategy. The screen showed only a small portion of the entire map at one time, smooth-scrolling around it when the joystick-controlled cursor reached the edges of the screen. Unlike Eastern Front, the map contained no cities or strategic locations, and the game started with both forces placed at random locations on the map.
While the user was entering the orders for their units, the computer was calculating moves for its own units. A basic form of multitasking was implemented by having the "easy" jobs of reading the joystick and recording the user's inputs during the vertical blank interrupt (VBI), while the computer AI ran during non-interrupt time. The player was forced to search the map for the enemy, and then attempt to gather their units into a fighting line on favorable terrain. The challenge was doing this quickly enough before the enemy forces arrived and attacked your units piecemeal. As in Eastern Front the AI was not particularly strong, but the real-time action made the game more difficult, as well as eliminating several "tricks" one could use to fool the AI.
Difficulty [link]
The game was, however, not very difficult overall. It lacked any strategic component driving the gameplay so the player could simply move to an advantageous position, form up a solid line, and wait. In combat the Roman forces were much more powerful than the barbarians, and would win any one-on-one fight. The scoring system attempted to make up for this, awarding higher points for faster victories. In pursuit of a higher score the player is forced to seek out and attack the barbarian units on terms that might not be as favorable, and without quick retreats after combat, might result in encirclement. Wargames are generally not interested in scores, however, only wins and losses. Crawford wrote in Chris Crawford on Game Design that he considered it competent, but "...certainly no masterpiece. It was good experience for me, but I would have spent my time better had I moved on to something that fired my imagination."
Development [link]
Crawford had written an earlier Legionnaire for the Commodore PET in 1979, his platform before moving to Atari. This was a fairly simple game using character graphics and featuring a limited amount of logic. After writing Eastern Front Crawford was looking for ways to use the new scrolling-map technology introduced in that game, and decided to re-write Legionnaire for the Atari.
Legionnaire was the last game Crawford would release using the "classic" Eastern Front engine. His next game for the Atari was Excalibur, which used a different model of interaction based on moving from room to room within a virtual castle. When Atari collapsed in 1984 he turned his attention to the Macintosh computer, releasing the famous Balance of Power in 1985.
External links [link]
- Creative Computing vol. 9, no. 12; review by James V. Trunzo.
- Compute! issue 38 / july 1983; review by E. P. McMahon.
- atarimania.com; Atari Legionnaire information and scans.
- Manillismo; Maps of Legionnaire
https://wn.com/Legionnaire_(video_game)
Video game
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but it now implies any type of display device that can produce two- or three-dimensional images. Video games are sometimes believed to be a form of art, but this designation is controversial.
The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld computing devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while common in the 1980s, have gradually declined in use due to the widespread availability of home video game devices (e.g., PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) and video games on desktop and laptop computers and smartphones.
The input device used for games, the game controller, varies across platforms. Common controllers include gamepads, mouses, keyboards, joysticks, the touchscreens of mobile devices and buttons. In addition to video and (in most cases) audio feedback, some games include haptic, vibration or force feedback peripherals.
Marvel 2099: One Nation Under Doom
Marvel 2099: One Nation Under Doom was a cancelled game for the PlayStation developed by Mindscape Inc. It was to be loosely based on the "One Nation Under Doom" storyline in Marvel's Doom 2099 comic. It was envisioned as a 2D side-scroller with 3D rendered characters.
In February 1996, Mindscape announced they would produce a video game based on the Marvel 2099 universe. Promoted as one of their top five games for the year, the game would be released on December 1, 1996, just in time for the Christmas rush. Two versions were announced: PlayStation and Windows 95.
By May 1996, CD-ROM and VHS video demos were being shipped to game magazines for pre-release reviews, along with a one-page color brochure. The first public demo was shown at the E3 show, and featured a playable single level of the Punisher 2099 fighting SHIELD troops, and also opening menus and some cut scenes. Electronic Gaming Monthly had a quarter-page preview of the game in their July 1996 issue and a half page preview in their August 1996 issue, showing screenshots of actual gameplay, and a group shot of the player characters. At the 1996 San Diego Comicon, the Mindscape booth handed out brochures, and raffled off One Nation Under Doom pins, shirts, and posters. Some attendees were even allowed to play the demo at the booth, although no copies of the demo were distributed. September 1996 issue of 3D Design magazine had a cover story on the Marvel 2099 game. After July, due to financial troubles, ongoing production of the game slowed down, and eventually stopped, though the game was never officially canceled.
Mario Party
Mario Party (Japanese: マリオパーティ Hepburn: Mario Pāti) is a party video game series featuring Mario franchise characters in which four human- or computer-controlled characters compete in a board game interspersed with minigames. The series was developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo; the arcade version was developed by Capcom. The series is known for its party game elements, including the often-unpredictable multiplayer modes that allow play with up to four (and sometimes eight) human players.
After the development of Mario Party 8, several of Hudson Soft's key designers left to work for Nintendo subsidiary Nd Cube, developers of Wii Party. Starting in 2012 with Mario Party 9, Nd Cube has taken over development of the series from Hudson Soft. The latest title in the series, Mario Party 10 was released worldwide in March 2015 on Wii U.
The series currently holds the record for the longest-running minigame series. As of December 2014, Nintendo reported cumulative worldwide sales of 39.6 million game copies in the Mario Party franchise.
Mathematical game
A mathematical game is a game whose rules, strategies, and outcomes are defined by clear mathematical parameters. Often, such games have simple rules and match procedures, such as Tic-tac-toe and Dots and Boxes. Generally, mathematical games need not be conceptually intricate to involve deeper computational underpinnings. For example, even though the rules of Mancala are relatively basic, the game can be rigorously analyzed through the lens of combinatorial game theory.
Mathematical games differ sharply from mathematical puzzles in that mathematical puzzles require specific mathematical expertise to complete, whereas mathematical games do not require a deep knowledge of mathematics to play. Often, the arithmetic core of mathematical games is not readily apparent to players untrained to note the statistical or mathematical aspects.
Some mathematical games are of deep interest in the field of recreational mathematics.
When studying a game's core mathematics, arithmetic theory is generally of higher utility than actively playing or observing the game itself. To analyze a game numerically, it is particularly useful to study the rules of the game insofar as they can yield equations or relevant formulas. This is frequently done to determine winning strategies or to distinguish if the game has a solution.
Blaufränkisch
Blaufränkisch (German for blue Frankish) is a dark-skinned variety of grape used for red wine. Blaufränkisch, which is a late-ripening variety, produces red wines which are typically rich in tannin and may exhibit a pronounced spicy character.
The grape is grown across Central Europe, including Austria, Czech Republic (in particular southern Moravia where it is known as Frankovka), Germany, Slovakia (where it is known as Frankovka modrá), Croatia (frankovka), Slovenia (known as modra frankinja), and Italy (Franconia). In Hungary the grape is called Kékfrankos (also lit. blue Frankish) and is grown in a number of wine regions including Sopron, Villány, Szekszárd, and Eger (where it is a major ingredient in the famous red wine blend known as Egri Bikavér (lit. Bull's Blood) having largely replaced the Kadarka grape). It has been called "the Pinot noir of the East" because of its spread and reputation in Eastern Europe. In America this grape is grown in Idaho, Washington State and the Finger Lakes region of New York State, where like in Germany it is known as Lemberger, Blauer Limberger or Blue Limberger.
Game (2014 film)
Game is a 2014 action thriller Bengali film choreographed and directed by Baba Yadav and produced and distributed by Reliance Entertainment. The film features actors Jeet and Subhasree Ganguly in the lead roles. Music of the film has been composed by Jeet Ganguly.The film is a remake of the 2012 Tamil film Thuppakki starring Vijay and Kajal Aggarwal in the Lead roles. It is also remade in Hindi named Holiday.
Plot
Abhimanyu Chatterjee (Jeet), a Captain in the Indian Army, returns to Kolkata from Kashmir. On his arrival, his parents and younger sisters force him to see Trisha (Subhashree Ganguly), who they choose for him to be married to. At the bride-viewing ceremony, Abhimanyu makes up excuses to avoid marrying her, which includes commenting about her being old-fashioned. On the contrary, Trisha is a college-level boxer, who is completely modern in her outlook. Abhimanyu realises this and proposes to her, which she reciprocates.
One day, while travelling around the city with his police officer-friend Santilal, Abhimanyu witnesses the explosion of a bus in which they had travelled. He manages to capture the man who laid the bomb, but he escapes from the hospital where he was kept under custody. kidnaps the bomber again, and also forces the police officer who helped the bomber's escape, to commit suicide. Abhimanyu soon learns that the bomber is a mere executor, a sleeper cell, whose only role was to plant the bomb. He also discovers that the Islamic terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, which the bomber belongs to, has planned various such attacks in the city in a couple of days. Enlisting the help of his fellow Army men and Balaji, Jagadish manages to thwart these attacks and kill the sleeper cell leader's brother and eleven other terrorists, including the first sleeper cell.
