Frontline

Mr Masterson, the new Strategy and Wargaming minion on CRASH reflects on the fluff that has been gathering in his navel since last he wrote FRONTLINE, pauses to ponder what a strategy game about the Falklands war could have in store for us (conveniently ignoring penguins) and gets stuck into a good Napoleonic dust up.

Since someone on our sister magazine for the Amstrad, AMTIX!, roped him into reviewing strategy games on that machine and then called him a leprechaun into the bargain, our Sean has had a bit of a downer on Amstrads and just about everything to do with them. So don’t hold too much store with his inability to write the word Amstrad in full. He’s only sulking. Anyway, enough of this, on with the show. Over to you, SEAN MASTERSON. (Rah! Rah!).

GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY DESERT

IT WOULD APPEAR that I’m getting noticed. That isn’t necessarily a good thing for a poor, CRASH minion. It’s hard to tell whether you are achieving popularity or notoriety, sometimes. Still, the world will go on regardless, and while it does, so shall this column. I’m glad last month’s comments on morality in wargaming went down well (as far as I could tell). I shall try not to be too provocative in future. No news is good news after all.

Recently I dealt with dealt with PSS’s Battle of Britain for the A****** computer, in another magazine. (Oh all right then AMTIX!) It’s a superb game. When I see the Spectrum version, I shall let you know. Of course, there is now news that PSS are doing a Falklands ’82 scenario. Some people are saying that this is a little too close to the knuckle. Bad taste. I would say perhaps the issue was being pre-judged. It may even point out some interesting details presently unknown to interested parties. It all depends on how well the simulation is done.

Perhaps it will put you in full command of the task force — unlike the commanders of the actual battle. It may allow strategic decisions to be made that were not made available to the officers of the force in the conflict. High level bombing of enemy mainland airstrips before the arrival of the task force, for example. I wonder what effect that could have had on ship and personnel losses? I honestly think that everybody should give PSS the benefit of the doubt until the game is published. Then we will see.