Coming Attractions: Strategy and Simulation

Part one of our strategy and simulation roundup covered Halo Wars, Civilization Revolution and Football Manager Live, amongst others. Here's the rest of the best.

Spore

Lovely old Will Wright, with his funny glasses and his asymmetric hair and his brain full of quantum physics and advanced biology and art history. He'd probably be good at developing devastatingly powerful biological weapons, so thank goodness he decided to make videogames like The Sims instead.

Now here comes Spore, arriving on Mac and PC this spring. You start out with a single microbe you customise to design your own unique creature, which then evolves into a species. Next you'll be building vehicles, buildings, villages and cities. Eventually you can launch your civilisation online and explore worlds created by other players.

You can read what some bint thought of Spore when she saw it at Leipzig last year, or wait for a proper preview as we're sending a man to see it next week.

Spore subject: EA has yet to confirm or deny rumours Spore is also coming to Wii. All we have to go on so far is the hint Will Wright offered last year when he stated, "We're doing Spore on the Wii." A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma underneath a big flashing neon sign and no mistake.

Empire: Total War

I thought the third Pirates film was quite good actually.

The latest instalment in Creative Assembly's hit RTS series is set in the 18th century, back when industry was revolutionising, America was fighting for independence and the French were chopping posh people's heads off like in those nightmares we have where an army of Jeremy Kyle guests rises up and lays waste to every Waitrose in the land.

Empire will be the first Total War game to feature 3D naval combat. You'll be able to command single ships and vast fleets, doing over enemies with cannon fire before sending your men on board for hand-to-hand combat. Weather conditions will be an important factor in how battles play out.

Gunpowder is being introduced to regular combat, so you'll have to develop new tactics and work out the best ways to use the cannon and musket. The Campaign Map will feature improved Trade, Diplomacy and Espionage systems, better UI, more intelligent Advisors and the chance to muck about in India, Europe and North America.

"We're genuinely excited about what we're achieving with the naval battles and also by the scale of the improvements being made to the core of the game - the land battles and the campaign," says studio director Mike Simpson. "This will undoubtedly be the biggest and best Total War game we've ever made."

Jolly good. Empire: Total War is out on PC later this year.

Defeat Imminent: Who will join our campaign to bring back Time Commanders? There's nothing so entertaining as watching an estate agent screaming at an interior decorator for failing to spot the advance of the Batavian auxilaries.

Tom Clancy's EndWar

According to newsmeat.com Tom Clancy is the Republican party's biggest celebrity donor, having shoved USD 237,000 their way.

Not to be confused with Jodi Picoult's EndWar, this game is set in the year 2020. The world's superpowers are engaged in a full-scale land war and you get to fight it out across 40 battlefields. These are based in recognisable real-life locations including Washington D.C., Paris and Moscow.

EndWar is billed as the first of "an all-new breed of strategy game", boasting high production values and maximum replayability. It's also got voice command. As Johnny put it last year, "Yeah, it works. Really well, actually."

So that's good news, but how's the game looking overall? "If you've never cared for RTS before, but find Clancy's murky universe of global intrigue compelling, then EndWar's radical interface might just be the thing to tempt you," apparently.

But will die-hard strategy nuts find enough to satisfy their demands, Johnny? "Whether die-hard strategy nuts find enough to satisfy their demands remains to be seen." Oh. "But Ubisoft has promised us depth." Hooray!

For more on EndWar, including footage of EGTV's trip to Shanghai to see the game, visit the gamepage.

Did you know: Tom Clancy is the world's only American Beefeater. This was revealed on an episode of US TV show Ace of Cakes, when his wife orders him a special birthday cake shaped like the Tower of London. Apparently Clancy describes the other Beefeaters as "Just a terrific bunch of guys".

Battalion Wars 2

Season 3 of Lost certainly does end with a twist.

Like the GameCube original, Battalion Wars 2 bears a fair bit of resemblance to Advance Wars. However, as well as overseeing the action you can jump in and take direct control of your units.

And because this game is for Wii, you can use the remote to target enemies precisely while moving round the battlefield. Vehicles include tanks, gunships, battleships and submarines. There are 20 single-player missions to play through, plus online co-op, skirmish and assault modes.

BW2 - sorry Nintendo, we meant BWii - is a substantial improvement over its predecessor, according to Keza, thanks to the better pacing, funnier jokes and the addition of online multiplayer. "Serious warmongers should stick to games with realistic explosions and greater tactical depth," she warns, "But if you're in the mood for a varied, good-hearted third-person blaster with a few strategic elements rather than a gritty combat simulator, you'll have a few greatly entertaining evenings with this."

Battalion Wars 2 is out on 15th February.

Do you see me as a circle?: Astonishingly, there are no interesting bits of Battalion Wars 2 trivia or erotic fan fiction on the Internet. So you might as well watch an amazing explanation of why Celine Dion Is Amazing.

Patapon

New from the people who brought you LocoRoco comes this rhythm-based PSP title. You get to explore a 2D world populated by tiny warriors (they're called Patapons, you see), and make them march to musical beats. Or retreat, attack or defend, if you like.

You'll also have to collect resources and develop strategies to help your tribe grow and conquer. There are archers, infantry and cavalry to control, and more than 100 weapon and shield upgrades to play with. You can earn extra upgrades by completing five music-based mini-games.

Comparisons with LocoRoco are inevitable, as our reviewer Dave found out. "While Patapon has got the same quirky sense of style and visual charm as its predecessor, it doesn't offer the same easy breezy gameplay," he observes.

"Instead, it offers an imposing amount of depth and a considerable amount of micromanagement. Which isn't necessarily a criticism - it's just that forewarned is forearmed, and if you're nuts about LocoRoco there's no guarantee that you'll go bonkers for Patapon."

If you're willing to risk your sanity, Patapon is out in Europe on 22nd February.

Try before you buy: A demo of Patapon will hit the PSP Store on 21st February. It's got a special feature that will allow you to transfer your saved game over when you get a retail copy. Plus it'll give you a Spear of Protection. Never get in an unlicensed mini-cab without one.

Sins of a Solar Empire

There goes our last, best hope for peace.

It might sound like the title of a Ulysses 31 episode but hold up. Sins of a Solar Empire is being published by Stardock, the same people who brought us the excellent Galactic Civilizations II. This latest effort is said to mark "the birth of the RT4X genre, seamlessly blending spectacular tactical combat with grand-scale space strategy".

You'll have to develop your economy and research new technology in order to increase your military power. There's also plenty of diplomacy and trading to be done, and then it's time to test out your ships on 3D tactical battlefields.

The game is being developed by Canadian studio Ironclad, whose staff members previously worked on Homeworld: Cataclysm and Treasure Planet. Sins of a Solar Empire is out for PC only on 4th February, and you can pre-order a digital or boxed copy over on the official website.

Small robot you know: Bet you thought there was going to be a link to the Ulysses 31 opening theme here. Not so predictable my friend! In fact, it's a link to Philip Schofield and Gordon the Gopher singing the Ulysses 31 opening theme. True aficionados only watch it in French anyway. OoOOLEEeeEEeeEESE...

Dynasty Warriors 6

In the nineties you were allowed to write things like 'Ooh, that's gotta hurt' under screenshots like this.

Well if you'd sold 15 million copies worldwide, you'd probably do a sixth instalment too. Dynasty Warriors 6 promises to mark a massive leap forward for the series no honest, featuring as it does a brand new engine and all manner of extra bits.

Based on epic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the game is set in Ancient China during the third century. Familiar characters have been "re-imagined" and come complete with new weapons and fighting techniques. They've motion-captured some of Asia's leading stuntmen and women for tip-top animations.

The new Renbu attack system and controls will make it easier to pull off super-fast combos, and you can expect "the most chaotic and challenging Tactical Action experience to date". Thousands of soldiers will swarm the battlefields and you'll have to use the landscape to elude them.

Improved AI means enemies will devise and rethink tactics as battles progress. They'll also have packs of hunting dogs and patrol boats at their disposal. To top it off, all this will be presented in glorious 60fps high definition.

Dynasty Warriors 6 is coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 on 7th March.

Fighting talk: Dave's already reviewed DW6 on import. It's "absolutely up there with the best of the series so far", he reckons. "It's as good as the game has ever been, and so there's never been a better time to try it out."

Universe At War: Earth Assault

Wonder who's winning.

You remember Petroglyph, the developer behind Star Wars: Empire at War. Now they're doing Universe at War: Earth Assault, a real-time strategy game for PC and Xbox 360.

It's set in the near future and sees multiple enemy factions coming from across the galaxy to do over the Earth. Key features will include 'Tactical Dynamics', a system that allows you to train and customise units on the real-time battlefield. You can also modify your weapons and defences, and fully customisable tech trees are promised too.

The world features deformable terrain and whole cities and territories can be destroyed. The multiplayer modes have been "inspired by popular MMOs" so you can take part in a persistent online campaign for supremacy.

The PC version is already out. Rob says, "The heart of Universe at War is a beautifully crafted strategy game which could have been one of the best things in the genre in years." But it isn't, thanks to an unimpressive graphics engine, boring single-player mode and Games for Windows Live Gold nonsense. Still, "If you're planning on playing LAN multiplayer games, or if you're an Xbox Live Gold subscriber already, we can happily recommend Universe at War; it's tarnished brilliance, but brilliance nonetheless."

Here's hoping the Xbox 360 version will fare better when it's released on 7th March.

Come and have a go: You can try out the game by downloading a demo over at 3D Gamers, if you like.