The Perfect General

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The Perfect General
PerfectGeneral.png
Perfect General logo
Studio White Wolf Productions
Publisher Ubisoft (Amiga, DOS)
Quantum Quality Productions (PG II)
Kirin Entertainment (3DO)
Killerbeesoftware (Windows)
Senior Developer Mark Baldwin , Bob Rakosky & Bruce Zaccagnino (Original)
Bruce Zaccagnino & Andrew Visscher (PG II)
Mark Kinkead (Internet Ed.)
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 1991 (Amiga, DOS)
1994 (PG II)
1996 (3DO)
2003 (Windows)
platform Amiga , DOS , 3DO , Windows
genre Computer strategy game
Subject Tank tactics
Game mode Single player , two player ( hot seat , modem , internet , LAN )
control Mouse , keyboard , joystick
medium Floppy disk , CD-ROM , download
language German , English , French , Italian

The Perfect General (English for The Perfect General ) is a turn-based strategy video game for one or two players, the 1991 Mark Baldwin , Bob Rakosky and Bruce Zaccagnino was developed. It first appeared for Amiga and MS-DOS , five years later for the 3DO and another seven years later in a revised version for Windows . The aim of the game is to conquer enemy cities with tanks or infantry units. Some scenarios are loosely based on battles from World War II . The game is one of the very first online games and is one of the few computer games that have been sold commercially and played online for over 20 years.

Game description

In The Perfect General , two players try to gain more victory points than their opponents on a tactical map by conquering terrain and cities. The game can be played either against a human teammate or a computer opponent.

The Perfect General playing field

Both players begin with a number of purchase points determined by the respective scenario, which can be spent on infantry units (grenadiers, anti-tank or pioneers), armored vehicles (armored vehicles, reconnaissance tanks, tank destroyers or battle tanks) or artillery (mobile, light or heavy artillery). In some scenarios, additional purchase points can be earned or given out as replenishment. The units are set up invisible to the enemy within the starting regions specified by the scenario. In each turn, the players play through several phases alternately (setting up, aiming, firing, moving, firing), whereby the passive player has the opportunity to fire (back) at the enemy units that are pulling or shooting at him within his sight and range . The mechanism of firing at or back runs in real time and requires the attention and quick reaction of the passive player. At the end of each turn, victory points are awarded for cities and positions held. The game ends at the latest after a specified number of moves, or if the opponent has been completely destroyed beforehand.

The units each have special abilities that make them particularly effective or susceptible to other units to a certain degree according to the principle of scissors, stone, paper . They also differ in their mobility, which can also be influenced by terrain types and weather. There are some special rules that only apply in a few scenarios, such as: B. landing on beaches or attacking neutral zones.

The game scenarios are not symmetrical and are therefore played through twice for a match by default, with the players playing once as attackers and once as defenders. At the end of a match, the victory points obtained in both rounds are added up and the winner is determined.

Before each match, numerous parameters can be set that affect the game balance. The game comes with an editor with which you can create your own scenarios and, to a limited extent, your own rules of the game.

Versions and extensions

The game was initially released in its original version for the Commodore Amiga and MS-DOS. Both versions differ only in the sound effects and in the user guidance provided by the respective operating system. Two installations can be interconnected for games against each other via null modem cable or modem , making the game the first cross-platform online game.

World War II Battle Expansion

At the beginning of 1992, an expansion appeared with additional and more complex scenarios based on battles from the Second World War. This extension is only available in English.

20th Century Great Battles Expansion

Also in 1992 a second expansion appeared with further scenarios of the Second World War, the Vietnam War and some fictional and real confrontations during the Cold War . This extension is also only available in English.

Perfect General II

In 1994 the game was moderately revised by Bruce Zaccagnino and distributed by Quantum Quality Productions under the name Perfect General II . The game had slightly improved graphic capabilities, a better sound, four new unit types (machine gun positions, fortresses, heavy tank destroyers (elephants) and airplanes) and improved artificial intelligence for the computer player, corresponding to the SVGA standard . This version was only released for MS-DOS and only in English.

Perfect General for 3DO

In 1996, a version developed by Game Guild and distributed by Kirin Entertainment for the 3DO video game console was released. It is playfully based on the original from 1991, but uses comic-like graphics that are typical of video game consoles. It also includes other scenarios is extended by a campaign mode and displays during the game some rather humorous cutscenes .

Perfect General Internet Edition

In 2002, the rights to the game were transferred to Mark Kinkead from Killerbeesoftware, who in 2003 brought a version of the original from 1991 that was adapted to modern computers and, above all, revised for online play, onto the market. The game can now be played over the Internet and, in addition to better communication options (master server, chat ), also has a revised editor that offers significantly greater freedom when creating new scenarios.

Reception and significance in the history of games

The Perfect General was rated very differently in the German media with grades between 65 and 85 (out of 100) points. While the good reviews above all emphasized the simple rules of the game with a high tactical depth of game and the good game balance in two-player mode, negative critics pointed out the almost anachronistic game graphics and sound compared to Battle Isle . In the USA, the reviews were generally more positive with up to 93 out of 100 points, as Battle Isle was not yet known there at the time, but above all the online mode was really important due to the flat rates for telephone connections already established in North America . The game developed to a success mainly through the online mode and subsequently led to the fact that from now on many more games offered an online mode.

Others

The game was the second commercially available online game after Modem Wars .

The game mechanics are based on common conflict simulation games from Avalon Hill and expanded to include a real-time component (wildfire).

Over the years, especially in Europe and North America, there has been a constant game community that has produced numerous scenarios and expansions. The game is partly played by older players who either know it from their youth or who appreciate it because of its slowness.

The American version had a different artwork on the game box than the European version.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Amiga Joker 5/1992
  2. ↑ Current software market 05/1992
  3. ↑ Amiga Action 34, July 1992, pg. 38-39
  4. ↑ Helmut Grüninger, Thorsten Quandt, Jeffrey Wimmer: Generation 35 Plus - An exploratory interview study on the specifics of older computer gamers in The Computer Gamers : Studies on the Use of Computer Games , VS-Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, 2008, ISBN 3531167030