Skip to main content

Sean O'Connor's Windows Games

Garage game garage sale.

Dark blue icons of video game controllers on a light blue background
Image credit: Eurogamer

Sean O'Connor has spent the last fifteen years making the PC strategy games Sean O'Connor wants to make. For GBP 26 he will sell you the fruits of his labour - a bundle of nine different titles that play a whole lot better than they look.

Firefight is one of the prettier offerings in the compendium. A real-time WW2 wargame with a surprisingly authentic feel, it uses a random-map generator to create its gaudy tracts of French farmland, North African desert, Pacific jungle and Russian steppe (no urban warfare sadly). Each skirmish or campaign episode begins with requisitioning. Pick the biggest tanks you can afford, grab a few infantry squads, maybe the odd mortar, or bazooka team, then deploy. Harsh spotting rules ensure the first few minutes of battle are always nail-biting. Sending troops and armour through deserted valleys and villages, you wait for the inevitable crackle of small-arms fire, or worse, the bark of a hidden AT gun. Contact! Sprite soldiers automatically hit the dirt, run for cover, or start returning fire. Vehicles reverse hastily through hedgerows. You call in an artillery barrage, begin a flanking manoeuvre while trying to pull back pinned-down men. Before you know it you're studying the detailed post-scrap stats and wondering where the evening went.

Gameplay not graphics, gameplay not graphics, gameplay not graphics.

Critical Mass, a sci-fi shoot-'em-up chopped into frantic two-second segments, can be just as engrossing. As in Firefight, randomly generated campaign missions commence with unit shopping. Here it's agile fighters, lumbering bombers, far-sighted scouts and hybrid vessels of your own devising (there's a ship editor included) vying for your attention. Only one craft in the squadron - the flagship - is directly controlled. You manoeuvre it by adjusting a trajectory arrow at the start of each turn. Bend the arrow to change direction, lengthen or shorten it to alter speed. Jab weapon icons to authorise missile launches. It's slightly fiddly, but usually you're too absorbed to care. Too absorbed because this is another anecdote factory; the more sorties you fly, the more stories you amass. 'Did I tell you about the time I smoked a factory-fresh Super Watcher with a single Daycorn, or shook off three Geenee missiles by flying backwards through an asteroid field?' Fluke shots, friendly fire, collisions, eleventh-hour ejections...the swirling dogfights have got it all. It's just a shame they aren't nicer to look at. CM with Kenta Cho graphics? Now that would be really something.

Slay is hexagonal hypnotism, a skeletal wargame so perfectly honed it feels ancient. Maps, randomly generated or pre-built, start-out as a mess of tiny territories distributed between 2-6 players. By building and moving four kinds of unit (peasants, spearmen, knights and barons) you expand your lands, endeavouring to link them up, strangling enclaves in the process. It's a very satisfying business, cerebral thanks to luck-free combat, a subtle economic layer, and some fine AI programming, but not so demanding you can't face it after a beer or a hard day. One of my favourites.

The General. Like chess, but fun.

Less original but almost as moreish is The General, Sean's interpretation of brilliant board game Stratego. Never played it? You should. It's like chess spliced with Minesweeper and Guess Who. Bearing in mind how important subterfuge and bluffing are in the original game, the silicon opponents provided (there are eight, each with a slightly different approach and skill level) are remarkably sharp. Just in case you do eventually weary of Bruno, Pamela and chums, this is one of the four titles in the pack with multiplayer (the others being Slay, Football-o-saurus and Conquest).

Everybody should have at least one Risk clone tucked away on their hard drive. This one - Conquest - is the best I've come across. An able AI, and a good choice of custom maps and rule options, make conquering a pleasure whether you're warring in Europe, Hyboria, or a giant outline of Snoopy. Encouraging stealthy work-place imperialism, the game starts and shuts-down instantaneously, automatically saving and loading any games in progress (Slay and The General do the same). Convenient.

I realise I'm covering the games in rough order of personal preference. This means Niggle deserves to be next. A digital version of a card game the O'Connors play at Christmas, it doesn't sound great on paper. Don't be put off. This is fun; it's certainly superior to all those joyless poker variants that masquerade as entertainment. An easy-to-learn trick-taking game, its hook is that each of the each players attempt to predict the number of tricks they're going to win. Trying to match your prediction - thus scoring maximum points - means you're frequently trying to lose tricks rather than win them. Surprisingly tactical, Niggle is another pleasant way to liven up a limp lunch hour.

Stegosaurs aren't allowed to play unless they wear tail corks.

Football-o-saurus - Sensible Rugby with thunder lizards, forward passes, and no kicking - is the closest thing to an arcade game in the pack. Mechanics are simple but effective: steer your dino around the field hoping to attract a pass or clatter slow and sloppy opponents. In possession it's all about getting the pigskin out to promisingly positioned team-mates as rapidly as possible, then running into space. Dither and you'll be dispossessed. Tactics are limited to picking one of half-a-dozen formations before a match. Would I pay GBP 13 - the standalone price for a Sean O'Connor game - for it? No, but it's balanced and fluid enough to draw me back now and again. One day Tarpit Athletic will make it into the first division.

Mother Of All Battles is a homage to Empire, one of the very first PC wargames. Imagine Civ without economics, culture or diplomacy and you're pretty much there. Seize cities, and then use them to produce the military hardware necessary to take further cities. Random maps and canny silicon adversaries ensure interesting games, but the experience seems cold and colourless in comparison with Sid's masterpiece.

Last and least there's the controversial End of Atlantis. This solid port of the board game Escape From Atlantis had a sci-fi makeover after complaints from the copyright holder. The switched setting doesn't do it any favours, but, like all the games here, it will snare you given half a chance.

Yes, you can criticise Sean for his amateurish artistic skills, or his lack of adventurousness (how about a few more original designs?) but it's impossible to deny the magnetic allure of the games he produces. Even if you only get serious mileage out of two or three titles in this bundle, you're still getting a bargain.

8 / 10

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
mfhoudan.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
jerusalemdispatch.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
worldhealthstory.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
techguroh.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com