Battleground 6: Middle East
Preview by Alfred Giovetti, 10/10/96
Price $59.95 - $49.99
Genre: War game
Release: Fall 1996
Developer: Talon Soft
Producer: Jim Rose
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Programmer:
Publisher: TalonSoft, PO Box 632., Forest Hill, MD 21050-0632
Phone: 410-933-9191
website: http://www.talonsoft.com
requirements: 486 DX 33 MHz, Windows 3.1, 2X CD ROM drive, 8 MB RAM, 5 MB hard disk space (100 MB for the custom game version).

History: A year ago, TalonSoft came to the marketplace with the first of the Battleground series, Ardennes. Right on the heels of that one was Battleground 2: Gettysburg and then Battleground 3: Waterloo and then Battleground 4: Shiloh. Now Jim Rose is producing a fifth product, Battleground 5: Antietam (B5A). Ken, a spokesperson at Talon Soft tells us, "BattleGround Sinai has been pushed back to sometime next year. It will be renamed BattleGround 6: MiddleEast. We are still looking to release the game early next year, although we do not have a date for that."

Plot: Religious fervor and a young nation's fight for survival provide the setting for TalonSoft's upcoming Battleground 6: Middle East. Set in the powder keg of the Middle East, Battleground 6: Middle East covers the three major wars (1956, 1967, & 1973) between the State of Israel and its Arab neighbors. The fledgling nation of Israel, surrounded on all sides and out-numbered, miraculously beat off invasion attempts, counter-attacked and conquered the Sinai Peninsula!

Battleground 6: Middle East highlights the heroic military engagements of all three conflicts. Using the award-winning "Battleground" engine utilized in previous games such as Battleground 2: Gettyburg, Arab and Israeli troops and armor clash in the desert heat of the Middle East!

Combat: Phased combat is conducted on a hex-based field with or without the grid. Turns progress through a series of six phases where the men move first in turns then fire in turns. Each turn can last an average of 30 minutes, with an entire battle lasting an entire week-end or even a week.

Scenarios: Each game disk includes 24 variant battles saved to disk that can be played over and over again. Each battle takes a different view of what both opposing commanders should have done.

Artificial intelligence: The artificial intelligence (AI) is much better, and incorporates multiple leader statistics.

Graphics: The individual character based system and rich graphics give the game a most realistic feel. The graphics start at 640x480 pixels in 256 colors. The three dimensional (3D) perspective looks like a war in miniatures complete with trees, roads, and accurately modeled structures and terrain. Each unit has its own facing, flag and graphical unit type. The 3D mode shows 10% of the battlefield. The two dimensional mode covers more terrain and is more suitable for conducting battles.

Modes: Similar to the interface in Battleground 4: Shiloh, you can play specific battle scenarios

Full Motion Video from the Gulf War help you to get an idea what the battle was like.

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Multi-player: Fight friend or foe over phone or null modem, or play by email (PBEM). Internet and network modes ?

References
TalonSoft Site: http://www.talonsoft.com/briefing.html