"The whole art of war consists in a well-reasoned and extremely circumspect defensive, followed by rapid and audacious attack." If you don't know who said that, there's still a chance for you to fully get to the meaning of those words by taking the place of that man - Napoleon Bonaparte. Of course, I am talking about Commander - Napoleon at War, the second game in the Commander series, a game that just got updated...

Warning: if you hate turn-based strategy games, then this one is not for you, while if you're into military history and TBS battles, this is "a must," but before moving on to the details, let's go through this game's features, shall we?

- 8 campaigns starting from Napoleons assault on Austria in 1805 up to the 100 days campaign ending at Waterloo in 1815.<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->
- Take control of Napoleon's forces or the Allied Coalition who opposed him, including Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia.
- Huge map covering all of Europe in amazing detail
- Research many new technologies and control the focus of your nations research.
- Dynamic weather system including mud, snow, storms and more
- Trade routes and privateers
- Fortresses and siege warfare
- 12 different units types including Militia, Line Infantry, Light & Heavy Cavalry, Foot & Horse Artillery, Frigates, Ships of the Line and Pirate raiders.
- Recruit historic commanders such as Ney, Blucher, Wellington & many more.
- Multiplayer via LAN, hot seat, PBEM and Internet

According to the official press release, this update "brings the game to version 1.06 and comes with a variety of changes including some balance tweaks on unit pricing, and the economic strength of some countries. In addition, the update comes with several significant AI enhancements like an increase in AI British naval prowess, greater Russian AI effectiveness in battling France, and more."

To find out more about Commander - Napoleon at War, feel free to jump to Matrixgames' product page and read more - the 1.06 update is also available on that page.

If you say that turn-based strategy is a dead genre, you may be right...almost right, in fact. Leaving aside those great games belonging to it and launched in the past, there are still producers that are keeping it alive, for the joy of all hardcore strategy fans, and I don't have to tell you how glad I felt when I found out that, thanks to an upcoming TBS title, I'll be able to try and change the history once again. Obviously, the war chosen is World War 2, and to make it even more accurate, Matrix Games and Strategic Studies Group have decided to focus on battles fought in a single place, Kharkov.

In the Decisive Battles games series, the Battle of Kharkov has a special place, especially if we think about the fact that history provided not one or two, but three battles fought in that area, between 1941 and 1943, so there's a lot of to try and change as a Soviet commander...but, as you can see in the trailer, I guess those that didn't play any similar game so far won't be crazy about this one, either.

According to David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, "The latest masterpiece from the award-winning Strategic Studies Group has been at the top of many gamers' wish lists and for good reason. Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets brings together the riveting and enjoyable mechanics of the Decisive Battles and Battlefront titles and combines it with plenty of innovation and novel gameplay!"<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->

The feature list of the game includes improved and simplified supply, movement and direct combat systems, improved combat tables that better model diminishing returns and new HQ bonuses that can affect Direct and Indirect Fire, battalion and regimental combat, as well as improved strong points and new hedgehog rules, amongst many others.

Since Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets is already available, and the system requirements are very low, I am sure those trying to bring back those good old TBS times of the late 1990s will be happy to give this game a try.

I know everyone must have, at least once in a lifetime, a reason to wish for everything to stop around him/her, and in most cases, this is also involving someone they love. For me, one of the many reasons to have the entire world frozen in time around me is Civilization, the brilliant game series forged by Sid Meier. Anyway, before Civilization, there was another great game, called Colonization, and now it seems we're going to be able to enjoy it once again, in the full glory of the Civilization IV graphics engine!



According to Sid Meier himself, now holding the director of creative development position at Firaxis Games, "We've received many requests from fans over the years to bring back Colonization and now seemed to be the perfect time to do that."

The Civilization IV engine provided a fantastic foundation for a new Colonization experience and allowed us to create something great for both new players and long time fans of the game," he concluded, and the countless hours I've spent with Civilization IV are a proof to that, as well as the feeling of emptiness I get by the lack of time for playing it anymore, because for me(and a large part of my friends), Civilization is one of those games I will never get tired of, never-ever!

Colonization will get 2008 graphics, a new interface, improved diplomacy options, modding tools, and will allow you to "lead one of four European nations on a quest to conquer and rule the New World."

Expected to arrive this fall, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization will surely be a great addition to any Civilization fan, as well as a game surely worth buying for those strategy fans that didn't grab any of Mr. Meier's games!