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

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 ^[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]}

Reception

CD Mag felt the game took players to places they had never been before, ^[11] though described it as a "pretty straightforward classic wargame with a new-fangled wrapper". ^[12] Game Revolution said that while the game sounds good on paper it falls flat in its execution. ^[13] The game sold 30,000 copies by April 1999. ^[14]

Legacy

Man of War II was released in North America in 1999 by GT Interactive. ^{[1] [15]}

References

External links

• Man of War at Strategy First (archived)
• Man of War II at Strategy First (archived)