Front Lines

This article is about the computer wargame. For the military concept, see front line.
Front Lines
Developer(s)Impressions Games
Publisher(s)Impressions Games
Platform(s)MS-DOS
ReleaseNovember 1994
Genre(s)Turn-based strategy, computer wargame
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Front Lines is a 1994 turn-based strategy computer wargame for MS-DOS developed and published by Impressions Games.[1]

Gameplay

Front Lines is a computer wargame with a turn-based system for gameplay, using vehicles.[2]

Development and release

Front Lines was developed by British studio Impressions Games. It was their first hex map strategy game and, according to the company's James Hunter, was created out of the team's desire to improve upon what they considered simplistic graphics seen in other genre examples including Battle Isle 2200 and History Line: 1914–1918.[3] Hunter stated that having Front Lines set only a few decades ahead was because "it's far enough into the future to have some things a little bit different, but not so far that everything has become unrecognisable." He further explained, "It gives the artist a bit of scope to put imagination into it, because everybody knows what a tank looks like at the present time; and it gives us a few more scenarios as well."[3]

Impressions first released Front Lines on PC in November 1994. Shorty ahead of this, an Amiga port was announced with Daze Marketing set to published it the following February.[4][5][6] It was programmed by Andrew Prime, who had handled six of Impressions' previous Amiga conversions.[7] Memory was the largest barrier to this process as Front Lines used 4 MBs of RAM on PC while the Amiga 600 and Amiga 1200 only had 1 MB and 2 MB respectively.[3] Prime wanted to maintain 8-bit color but stated they would have likely lowered the display resolution or implemented a zoomed-in mode for better detail. The restricted memory also meant the title animations would not have been used.[7] The release was reportedly pushed to March and then to June 1995.[3][7] A CD-ROM edition became available in the interim, containing 13 more pre-built scenarios, digitized voices, and longer, more detailed cutscenes.[8] By the fall, Impressions had been acquired by the more PC-oriented Sierra On-Line and the Front Lines Amiga version was quietly cancelled.[9]

Reception

In PC Gamer US, William R. Trotter called Front Lines "a well-designed product that should have wide appeal."[1] Next Generation’s reviewer was negative toward the game, and stated that "[m]ost fans of war games will find Front Lines a good example of the genre (if a little predictable), but everyone else's eyes will surely glaze over after a few minutes of play."[2]

Legacy

Following the completion of Front Lines, Impressions Games began work on a remake focused on the American Civil War. The team drifted away from this concept as development progressed. The project became Robert E. Lee: Civil War General.[21] Impressions' Jeffrey Fiske later called Front Lines "a high-quality graphics program which, if it had done a little more time in development, would have had much better gameplay."[21]

References

  1. ^ a b c Trotter, William R. (May 1995). "Reviews: Front Lines". PC Gamer US. 2 (5). Future US: 111. ISSN 1080-4471.
  2. ^ a b c Next Generation staff (May 1995). "Finals". Next Generation. No. 5. Imagine Media. p. 93. ISSN 1078-9693.
  3. ^ a b c d Nuttall, Andy (February 1995). "Work in Progress: Six a Side". The One. No. 76. EMAP. p. 32. ISSN 0955-4084.
  4. ^ Amiga Computing staff (March 1995). "Strategy with style". Amiga Computing. No. 84. IDG Media. p. 86. ISSN 0959-9630.
  5. ^ The One staff (November 1994). "News: Daze Makes An Impression". The One. No. 73. EMAP. p. 8. ISSN 0955-4084.
  6. ^ CU Amiga staff (February 1995). "First impressions". CU Amiga. No. 60. EMAP. p. 39. ISSN 0963-0090.
  7. ^ a b c Nuttall, Andy (June 1995). "Work in Progress: A Lot of Front". The One. No. 80. EMAP. p. 36–7. ISSN 0955-4084.
  8. ^ a b Miller, Patrick C. (April 1995). "Review: All's Quiet On Tomorrow's Front". Computer Gaming World. No. 129. Ziff Davis. pp. 160–1, 163, 165. ISSN 0744-6667.
  9. ^ Broughton, Matt (September 1995). "Matt Broughton's Games in View". CU Amiga. No. 67. EMAP. p. 22. ISSN 0963-0090.
  10. ^ Moulinex (March 1995). "Vidéotest: Front Lines — Le S-VGA fait bonne impression" [Video test: Front Lines — S-VGA makes a good impression]. Joystick (in French). No. 58. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. pp. 112–3. ISSN 1145-4806.
  11. ^ Maueröder, Petra (March 1995). "Der Meine Feldherr" [The Little Field Marshal]. PC Games (in German). No. 30. Computec. pp. 110–1. ISSN 0946-6304.
  12. ^ Brenesal, Barry (June 1995). "Strategy Games: Front Lines". Electronic Entertainment. No. 18. Infotainment World, Inc. p. 82. ISSN 1074-1356.
  13. ^ Upchurch, Dave (June 1995). "Review: Front Lines CD". PC Games. No. 11. EMAP. p. 67.
  14. ^ Schnelle, Michael (May 1995). "Brainstorm: Front Lines". PC Joker (in German). Joker-Verlag. p. 88. OCLC 224612609.
  15. ^ Langer, Jörg (June 1995). "Spiele-test: Front Lines". PC Player (in German). Future Verlag. pp. 106–7. ISSN 0943-6693.
  16. ^ PC Team staff (April 1995). "Impressions: Front Lines". PC Team (in French). No. 1. Posse Press. p. 58. ISSN 1264-935X.
  17. ^ Müller, Christian (March 1995). "PC-CD-ROM Review: Front Lines". Play Time. No. 45. Computec. p. 43. ISSN 0946-6320.
  18. ^ Steffen, Sónke (February 1995). "test: Front Lines". Power Play. No. 83. Markt+Technik. p. 8. ISSN 0937-9754.
  19. ^ Fanta, Michael (May 1995). "recenze: Front Lines". Score (in Czech). No. 17. Omega Publishing Group. p. 36. ISSN 1210-7522.
  20. ^ Berger, Paweł Piotrowicz (July 1995). "Front Lines". Secret Service (in Polish). ProScript. pp. 64–5. ISSN 1230-7726.
  21. ^ a b McDonald, T. Liam (March 1996). "SCOOP!: Robert E. Lee's Civil War General". PC Gamer US. 3 (3). Future US: 42–3. ISSN 1080-4471.