14 DAY TRIAL // This week, the world of competitive road cycling got into full swing again with the famous Paris - Nice race kicking off and some pretty interesting results coming in. And as a lover of the sport, I plan on taking Pro Cycling Manager 2009 out for a new spin during this weekend, playing maybe the first two or three months of a full 2010 season.
The stats and teams included in the game when it was initially released are pretty outdated but I plan on seeing what mods are currently the most popular on PCM Daily, one of the most active and passionate communities dedicated to winning virtual glory for their cycling teams.
A 2010 official names and teams database is the best way to enjoy Pro Cycling Manager 2009 in the few months until the 2010 edition arrives, with an all-new game engine.
And with four battles behind me, I will be tackling the second half of the Napoleon: Total War recreations of history. I still believe they are the best introduction to the game and provide an experience not historical in its entirety but which presents some nice challenges, especially if the biggest difficulty level is used.
Napoleon clearly has better AI than Empire, with no suicidal charges so far, some nice flanking moves and artillery used to devastating effect when I stupidly employed light cavalry without ammo as a sort of on the spot shock force.
And if the aforementioned games don't fill up my gaming hours, I might also fire up Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, the original campaign, looking to build up a new and competent squad of Space Marines that I can then use in the Chaos Rising expansion. Unfortunately, the last team I led to level 20 was fully wiped out in a computer crash I had about six months ago (remember, kids: always back up your saves somewhere secure).