Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

"Do not waste what the Emporer provides!"

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War was a phenomenal game for me, seemingly coming out of nowhere to become one of the highlights of this 1001 list. I've started but not finished the Winter Assault DLC, and there are two more after that, full of new armies to base-build and Zerg-rush across the galaxy to purge the enemy, whomever it may be. That's what it's all about in the far future - war.

Following Dawn of War was Company of Heroes, the Second World War retheme, if you will, though it's much more than that. I've played it twice as much as I've played Dawn of War now, some 32 hours, finishing all the DLC and generally loving everything I was doing.

I like it even more than Dawn of War, but now the Emporer is back with Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, which takes a little of Company of Heroes, rethemes it back into the grim darkness of the far future and then reinvents the gameplay almost entirely to focus even more on your squads and even less on your base building... just stop, I can't wait any longer, let me play already.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Solid copy.

A couple of years ago, but an awfully long way back through the 1001 list, we went to war in the grandfather of military sims, now known as ARMA, then known as Operation Flashpoint. It was an experience, and one that I knew I wouldn't be any good at, but was glad to have played.

The lineage of Operation Flashpoint splits in two shortly after that game. Original developers Bohemia Interactive Studio go their own way, deep into the simulation side of things with ARMA, and publishers Codemasters wait a few years before reviving the brand with a more accessible, though still simulation-based, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.

If you, like me, think ARMA is something to try, but mind-boggling to get into, Dragon Rising might just be for you.

ArmA: Armed Assault

"5, TARGET THAT MAN."

Previously, we failed to work our way through much of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, the military simulation that pulls no punches and demands your attention. I have since opened that boxed version to see what goodies were inside. Nothing, basically. The military isn't about goodies. It's about getting difficult jobs done without getting your colleagues killed.

Breaking away from Codemasters to show they could go it alone, Bohemia Interactive released ArmA: Armed Assault, the next step in their military simulator series. Just as demanding, just as convoluted, just as scary, this is probably going to turn out no different from their earlier game: I'm not going to survive very long.

Battlefield 2

You will surely get the Karkland.

The Battlefield series stirs up many memories for me, good and bad. Battlefield 3 had a massive impression on my teenage gaming and was my introduction to a series that, if the stars align and Hell freezes over, I'll return to enjoy once more.

I have never been able to experience Battlefield as it was meant to be played, however. Lower player counts on consoles result in similar, but not really comparable experiences. I've never been in a 64 player Battlefield match. I've been in a 256 player MAG match on the PlayStation 3, though, but MAG isn't Battlefield. I do wish MAG would return. What is it with great FPS titles disappearing, or changing for the worse?

Before Battlefield 3, there had to be a Battlefield 2. I knew this going into BF3 of course, but have very little knowledge of the game itself. In fact, all I've really got in my favour is that some of the maps made it into the BF3 DLC. I guess I'll start there.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

"Walk softly and carry a big gun."

It has been a great many years since I first encountered Warhammer 40,000, the grimdark tabletop miniature wargame that costs a lot of time and effort before you even begin to play the game itself. Kinda like gathering a bunch of games and a gaming computer for a silly little 1001 list, really.

The setting is so embracing of different alien races and ideologies that it has spawned games dedicated to small skirmishes, to piloting giant mechs, to racing around in demolition derbies. The Black Library contains what must be hundreds of stories for readers of all interests and ages, with seemingly more coming out than you can ever keep up with. And then there are the video games.

Ah, the video games. For an incredible setting that has captured the imagination of a great many fans across multiple mediums already, why is it so tricky for video games to do right? Warhammer video games are always - or at least, always were - OK at best. Entertaining for fans, but could have been so much more. Not phoned in, per se, not half-arsed, but just nowhere near the quality that the setting deserved.

Does Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War serve as an excellent example of that mediocrity, or is it one of the highlights of the many, many attempts at a Warhammer video game? It has been sitting in this Steam library, unplayed, since I got my Steam account. It's time to find out what we've been missing.

Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis

"2! ENGAGE! Soldier."

The military simulator is, as one might expect, not the easiest of genres to get into as a beginner. Demanding from the offset and fueled by realism, these games are nonetheless somewhat successful, spawning few imitators but a great many community-made mods and custom maps. The genre's success today is arguably thanks to Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis.

The year is 1985, and your humdrum existence in the US military is about to become an awful lot more dangerous, as you'll face the business end of all kinds of guns in this open-world tactical shooter.

I don't expect to get very far through this one...

IL-2 Sturmovik

Is... is that a plane? Should I be shooting at that?

Flight simulators don't crop up often on this 1001 list, and my flight stick is gathering a little bit of dust doing nothing over there, so the arrival of IL-2 Sturmovik is almost music to my ears. I say almost because its write up mentions how it is a hardcore military flight simulator, focused on the Second World War, and isn't for the faint of heart.

I hope it has some kind of easy mode...