Change History on the PC - Making History II: War of the World - a Preview

Originating as a popular educational software package that offered students an interactive experience of managing global conflict, Making History: The Clam & The Storm, succeeded as a widely accepted video game amongst history enthusiasts and strategy gamers. In follow-up to the title's success, developer Muzzy Lane has been hard at work with the newest game in the series, Making History II: War of the World.

The series, which at its core has play similar to a war based board game such as Axis & Allies or Risk, continues the tradition of strategic turn based play in Making History 2. Set on a visually rich 3D map, the field of play encompasses the globe, allowing players to select control and management of one of dozens of countries in effort to change the history of the world during its darkest hour. Scenario based play allows for players to control and manipulate high-level government actions in the areas of military, government, financial, trade, and more - in open-ended scenarios covering an era several years before the beginning of WWII through the war's end.

Although not a fast paced action game, the title certainly packs a punch in terms of overall playability and enjoyment. Using calculated strategy, players can develop their selected nation by making alliances, employing espionage, developing trade and commerce, annexing territories, developing colonies, engaging in combat, and much more. What really makes the overall experience great is the fact that the game has a seemingly endless number of strategic options which ultimately trigger long term play even with a single game. Additionally, the myriad of moves that can occur within a game can result in a near endless array of outcomes.

Expanding upon its predecessor's features, Making History II: War of the World includes a multitude of gameplay improvements, and enhancements. For starters, the scope of abilities a player has when managing a country has grown, as has the number of available manageable nations that potentially have impact on the final outcome of the game. In effort for the title to be as polished as possible, Muzzy Lane has also been collaborating with Harvard History Professor Niall Ferguson to help provide a game that provides a realistically historic experience balanced with enjoyable and flexible play. Of great appreciation to the game's players, followers, and fans; Muzzy Lane has also been improving on the still in development product by monitoring comments and requests from the online community while in Beta.

Making History II: War of the World features both a single player experience, and multiplayer gameplay that supports up to 32 players. The game will be available for the Windows based PC, with a rating currently pending from the ESRB. The game is currently available for pre-sale as a Beta, with a final release due to be available on June 15th, 2010, at retail and through Muzzy Lane's online store at making-history.com.