245: Midwinter

Number 245
(3.5 points)
Midwinter
1991: 66

The 16-bit computer era was a time for experimenting with 3D polygonal graphics, and while the Amiga was never great at it, Midwinter pairs it with a very deep strategy game.

Apparently, a nuclear winter in the future turns everywhere to a snowy landscape, which at least gives an explanation for why the polygon landscape is all white. The basic idea here is to find the base of the bad guys who want to take over your island and destroy it. To do so, you must ski or drive around to enlist the help of your fellow islanders, and you control them all as they venture across the land in search of supplies and new recruits for the cause. A large gameworld mixed with a challenging premise and deep strategy - there are various ways you can play the game to win - mean that Midwinter is a very engrossing game that proved popular enough for a sequel.

Here's a game that is not very user-friendly at first glance. After watching others playing the game and explaining the basics, it's actually a lot of fun, and you are given a lot of freedom in how you want to play it. You can go around recruiting the whole island, or rush to the base and blow it up as fast as possible. It certainly has replay value, and the attention to detail in the internal politics between the islanders makes for interesting reading. Not to mention the enormous book of back story the game came with.

Recommended TOSEC disk(s):
Midwinter (1990)(Rainbird)[cr Defjam - CCS - ACC]