97: Historyline 1914-1918

Number 97
(58.2 points)
Historyline 1914-1918
1993: 20 (32.4)
1994: 58 (25.8)

Blue Byte had some success with the Battle Isle series, so decided to take the engine and place the action in the First World War, instead. Did it work? Let's see.

Starting with an extensive introduction explaining the background to the beginning of World War I, Historyline puts you right into the action playing either the French or German army, guiding your cavalry and infantry around a hexagonal landscape. There are short cutscenes to illustrate certain actions, and the simultaneous move/fire phases for both players can speed up the game somewhat. If you liked Battle Isle, this should tick the same boxes.

When I saw the title I thought "ugh, here we go...", but was pleasantly surprised to see that it used the user-friendly, action-focussed Battle Isle engine. Granted, I wasn't really intent on playing it for very long - these kind of games aren't made for a project like mine - but from what I've seen, I can see that I ought to come back to it at some point in the future. But seven disks?! What for? Best to load it on your hard disk, methinks.

Recommended TOSEC disk(s):
Historyline 1914-1918 (1993)(Blue Byte)(Disk 1 of 7)[h FLT]
Historyline 1914-1918 (1993)(Blue Byte)(Disk 2 of 7)
Historyline 1914-1918 (1993)(Blue Byte)(Disk 3 of 7)
Historyline 1914-1918 (1993)(Blue Byte)(Disk 4 of 7)
Historyline 1914-1918 (1993)(Blue Byte)(Disk 5 of 7)
Historyline 1914-1918 (1993)(Blue Byte)(Disk 6 of 7)
Historyline 1914-1918 (1993)(Blue Byte)(Disk 7 of 7)[bootable]