Man of War | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Strategy First |
Publisher(s) | Virgin Interactive Entertainment |
Platform(s) | MS-DOS, Windows |
Release | 1997 |
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.
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]
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]
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]
Man of War II was released in North America in 1999 by GT Interactive.[1][15]