Man of War (video game)

Man of War is a 1997 real-time strategic naval combat video game developed by Strategy First and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment for DOS and Windows. A sequel entitled Man of War II: Chains of Command was released in 1999.

Man of War
Developer(s)Strategy First
Publisher(s)Virgin Interactive Entertainment
Platform(s)DOS and Windows
Release1997

Plot and gameplay

Players complete naval battles through a series of historical scenarios.[1] The games included a character creator, and a scenario editor.[2]

"It was a turn-based game wherein you plotted your orders on a 2D map, then watched your turn play out in real-time 3D from the deck of a ship; while you could move about the ship and watch the action from different perspectives, you had no control during this real-time phase—you were only an observer."

— Scott Udell, CDMag, describing the mixed genre nature of the gameplay.[3]

Development

The game was developed by the small studio Strategy First (established in 1991[4]), and would become one of its flagship series.[5][6] Man of War was released December 31, 1997, while the sequel was released December 31, 1999.[7][8] On June 17, 1997, Virgin Interactive signed a distribution agreement with Strategy First for North and South America; as part of the deal Virgin Interactive would also distribute two additional titles from Strategy First.[9][10]

Justin Przedwojewski served as lead programmer and designer for Man of War II. Having served in the Canadian military himself, he was inspired to pursue that genre for a game, despite being considered a niche.[11]

Man of War II was released to retail outlets in North America via distribution partner GT Interactive Software Corp.[1][12] For the first few weeks after release, customers struggled to find it on store shelves due to a distribution snafu.[13] In October 1999, Man of War II was one of the three titles that debuted on Strategy First's new Heat.Net server.[14] In November of that year, a patch was released that made the game Heat.net enabled, and included DirectPlay lobby support.[15] Man of War II was part of A&E; Network's Horatio Hornblower Nationwide promotion.[16] The "cross-merchandising effort will include 5,000 retail displays and provide CD-ROM customers coupons for “Horatio Hornblower” videos, as well as video buyers with CD-ROM coupons".[17] As part of the promotion the marketing team set up a booth at South Street Seaport in NYC and arranged a mock battle to be performed.[18][19]

Critical reception

Man of War

CD Mag felt the game took players to places they had never been before,[20] though described it as a "pretty straightforward classic wargame with a new-fangled wrapper".[21] Game Revolution said that while the game sounds good on paper it falls flat in its execution.[22] The game sold 30,000 copies by April 1999.[23]

Man of War II

Gamezilla deemed the game a refreshing take on the naval combat genre.[24] Absolute Games suggested that its "army of fans" would anticipate a third entry in the series.[25] GameSpot felt the title would only appeal to fans of the genre.[26] IGN felt there was a great concept behind the game but that it was let down in execution due to obsolete technology.[27] PC Mag said that fans of TalonSoft's Age of Sail would like the game.[28] Lady Dragon would have liked the historical information to be more in-depth.[29] and that players would love it if they overlooked its glitches.[30] The Adrenaline Vault felt it wasn't particular complex and has a short learning curve.[31] Game Pen appreciated the unique take where players are promoted in rank throughout the campaign.[32] Computer Gaming Review felt it would be the perfect game for those who liked historical battles without the "frenetic clicking" of more arcade style games.[33] Rich Cacace of GameSpot deemed the graphics "terrible"[34] and the site's Michael E. Ryan commented they were "poor, blocky, and outdated".[35] Intelligamer thought the core design of the game was "excellent".[36] The game's budget was $700,000[23]

References
  1. "STRATEGY FIRST LAUNCHES "MAN OF WAR II". - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  2. "GameZone Online - Man of War II". 2000-05-20. Archived from the original on 2000-05-20. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  3. "Archived copy". www.cdmag.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2003. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Man of War 2 by Al Giovetti". 2018-02-21. Archived from the original on 2018-02-21. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  5. IGN Staff (1998-12-04). "Strategy First Gets Clans". IGN. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  6. "Playnet.com stops the clocks on the free 30-day trial period - Blue's News". www.bluesnews.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  7. "Man of War - PC - GameSpy". pc.gamespy.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  8. "Man of War II: Chains of Command - PC - GameSpy". pc.gamespy.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  9. "Man of War article by Al Giovetti". www.thecomputershow.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  10. "SFI News Page". 1998-02-14. Archived from the original on 1998-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  11. "Interview". 2001-04-11. Archived from the original on 2001-04-11. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  12. "Man of War II Released News". 2003-10-24. Archived from the original on 2003-10-24. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  13. "Man of War II Quick Take". 2003-10-24. Archived from the original on 2003-10-24. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  14. IGN Staff (1999-10-14). "Three Games Go Online". IGN. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  15. "Man of War II Patch Released News". 2003-10-24. Archived from the original on 2003-10-24. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  16. "Man of War II, A&E; and Horatio Hornblower News". 2003-10-24. Archived from the original on 2003-10-24. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  17. Morgan, Richard (1999-03-24). "Thar she horns in". Variety. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  18. "Man of War II Event News". 2003-10-24. Archived from the original on 2003-10-24. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  19. "Man of War II & A&E; Event in NYC News". 2003-10-24. Archived from the original on 2003-10-24. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  20. "Man of War Review". 2003-09-30. Archived from the original on 2003-09-30. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  21. "Man of War II Preview". 2003-10-24. Archived from the original on 2003-10-24. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  22. "Man of Bore Review". GameRevolution. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  23. "Hunders being hired for new operations". Montreal Gazette. April 10, 1999. Retrieved August 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. "Man of War II: Chains of Command by Strategy First. Reviewed by William Brandt". 2002-02-08. Archived from the original on 2002-02-08. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  25. "Man of War 2 - рецензия и обзор на игру на AG.ru". www.ag.ru. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  26. E, Michael (2000-05-01). "Man of War II: Chains of Command Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  27. IGN Staff (1999-08-16). "Man of War II: Chains of Command". IGN. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  28. Inc, Ziff Davis (1999-09-21). PC Mag. Ziff Davis, Inc.
  29. "LADYDRAGON.COM - MAN OF WAR II". www.ladydragon.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  30. "Man of War II Review". 2003-10-24. Archived from the original on 2003-10-24. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  31. "The Adrenaline Vault | Preview | Man of War II: Chains of Command". 2000-03-07. Archived from the original on 2000-03-07. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  32. "GamePen - the gamer's first stop for video and computer game news, reviews, previews and features". 2001-03-04. Archived from the original on 2001-03-04. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  33. "GameSpot presents CGW's Man of War II: Chains of Command review". 2000-03-07. Archived from the original on 2000-03-07. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  34. "GameSpot Player Reviews for Man of War II: Chains of Command". 2000-03-05. Archived from the original on 2000-03-05. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  35. "GameSpot: Man of War II: Chains of Command Review". 2000-04-16. Archived from the original on 2000-04-16. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  36. "Intelligamer - Man of War II Review". 1999-11-06. Archived from the original on 1999-11-06. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
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