Conquest of the New World, $49.95 from Interplay (800-969-4263 or www.
interplay.com), is a DOS-based CD-ROM that sends you back to the 15th century to explore one of five European countries (England, Spain, France, Holland or Portugal) or America. In this single- or multiple-player strategy game, you command the explorers, settlers and mercenary soldiers destined to survey the land, build new colonies, and protect your emerging nation.
As you search for new rivers and mountains, you will come across other colonies and encounter friendly and hostile native tribes. Your growing nation is constantly at the mercy of world events and under the threat of surprise attacks. The Super VGA graphics are intricately detailed, and the combat mode would be a worthy game in itself. Those unfamiliar with this genre of games may have trouble getting started, and a more thorough tutorial would have been a help. If you are enticed by the prospect of adventure and want to try your hand at exploration, trade and warfare, then Conquest of the New World is a good bet.
Other releases of interest include Age of Rifles, from SSI (800-601-7529), which lets you build armies and participate in battles fought between 1846 and 1905, and Complete Carriers at War, from Strategic Studies (904-469-8880), a compilation of the entire Carriers at War series, with a new scenario and a scenario editor.
Jay C. LaBarge
