Gone But Not Forgotten Video Game Developers/Publishers Lost 2000-2017 - TalonSoft
Gone But Not
Forgotten Video Game Developers/Publishers Lost 2000-2017
TalonSoft were a video game development and publishing company and were
one of the leading companies in PC strategy, simulation and action game
development in the mid to late 90s. The company which was founded by Jim Rose
an award winning board and computer game producer for The Avalon Hill Game
Company. And John Davidson who was the former Vice President of MIS for
Alexander & Alexander.
The pairs new venture TalonSoft was founded on the 3rd
of March 1995 in Towson, Maryland, with the new company having the mission
statement of creating the most artistic, historically accurate and enjoyable
games on the market, with all TalonSoft’s games easy to use and have a wild
appeal to games of all ages.
Battleground Ardennes was the first game developed by TalonSoft and the first in the long running Battleground series
Gamers would not have to wait long to get their first taste of a
TalonSoft game. With the release of the first in what would become a long
running series and really put the company on the map, this series is of course
the Battleground series of simulation strategy and tactics games.
In the same year as the company formed we would receive two
entries in the Battleground series, the first being Battleground Ardennes, the
game used the companies Battleview Engine, the first incarnation of the engine
to power this turn based isometric strategy game.
The game was based around 23 battles during December 1944 and
January 1945 in the Ardennes Forest and The Battle of the Bulge as well as surrounding
areas. The game also features three hypothetical scenarios for the player for
play through, as well as a tutorial and scenario editor, the latter allowing
the player to tweak the premade missions in the game.
Battleground 2 Gettysburg saw the Battleground series switch from World War 2 to the American Civil War for the Sequel.
That same year the company shifted from World War 2 all the way
back to the American Civil War and the sequel Battleground 2 Gettysburg, with
the game presenting a realistic interpretation of the well known historical
battle sof the American Civil War, the game also featured authentic music from
the era as well as a 50 minute video cassette of Gettysburg: The Turning of the
Tide.
The Battleground series would prove to be a staple for the company
in its early years with Battleground 3 Waterloo, Battleground 4, Shiloh and
Battleground 5 Antietam all releasing In 1996. In this year we also saw
TalonSoft release another new IP, this time with Age of Sail.
Age of Sail was a navel strategy simulation themed around the tall ship battles of the 18th and 19th century.
The game was set in the late 18th and early 19th
century and was a Navel strategy simulation and features real time combat, with
the player taking control of a tall ship and engage in cannon battle with enemy
fleets. The game was received pretty averagely by critics but the game would
eventually get a sequel in 2001.
1997 saw the company continue their work on the Battleground
series, with the game heading back to the Waterloo era with the Prelude to
Waterloo, Bull Run and Napoleon in Russia all releasing in this year. Also in
1997 we saw the release of TalonSoft’s East Front.
TalonSoft’s Eastern Front is a turn based tactical war game
depicting some of the major battles of World War 2, this game focuses on eastern
front between Hitler’s Wehrmacht and Stalin’s Red Army, with the game allowing
you to play a single battle or the full campaign. Multiplayer was also
available via e-mail.
The following year saw the follow up to TalonSoft’s Eastern Front,
with the game switching to the Western Front. The game goes more in depth than
the previous years release, allowing the player to choose almost all levels of
organization from Platoon levels to army and corps levels.
The single mission and campaign also return along with extensive
editor options available, with a single mission and campaign editor, map
edition, scenario editor and order of battle editor. The game was a commercial
success as well, with the resurgence of World War 2 in TV shows and Films.
1997 saw the company make big strides forward after the success of
their releases in the first two years in business, the company signed renowned
games industry veterans, Norm Koger, Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors, these
industry veterans had been involved in the games industry for over a decade
before joining TalonSoft.
1998 also saw the Battleground 1 and 2 collections release, the
first collection contains the three Napoleonic games in the series along with
Age of Sail. The second collection contained the games centred around the
American Civil War.
1998 also saw TalonSoft move into the publishing side of the
industry and move away from a historical themed strategy game and move on to a
post apocalypse setting with Tribal Rage. Sticking with the isometric real time
combat formula, the game has the player controlling one of six tribes as you
attempt to control the wasteland. The games was developed by Disintegrator.
Take Two Interactive acquired TalonSoft in 1998
At the end of 1998 on the 24th of December TalonSoft
was acquired by Take-Two Interactive, with the company stating that they
planned to push their capabilities in the Personal Computer video game market.
The take over of TalonSoft included 1,033,336 shares accounted as a
pooling-of-interest.
Norm Koger's The Operational Art of War Vol 1 was another major series for TalonSoft
Another major war series developed by TalonSoft was released this
year as well Norm Koger's The Operational Art of War Vol 1 1939-1955 like the
Battleground series, this series focuses on the World War 2 era up to the
Korean war, with battles being army and battalion sized engagements.
The game does not features a campaign, instead the game is based
around scenarios, these can be from a couple of hours to a scenario lasting
several years (game time) the game also offers two graphic modes, a top down
mode and an isometric pseudo 3D view, the latter shows the units as miniature like
icons. The game also features a scenario editor for players to edit units, map
and events. The game also won the Computer Gaming World Best Wargame of the
Year in issue 177.
In 1999 TalonSoft increased the number of games they published,
with the company publishing the Spec Ops series. With the Runecraft developed
games Spec Ops Stealth Patrol and Spec Ops Ranger Elite and Zombie Inc’s Spec
Ops II Green Berets.
TalonSoft also published Jagged Alliance 2 and Hidden &
Dangerous in 1999 as well. Although there was a major increase in published
games by TalonSoft they still developed plenty of titles this year. The sequel
to 1998’s award winning game The Operational Art of War, the sequel switches
from the World War 2 to Korean war era to 1956 to 2000.
1999 also saw the return of the Battleground series, with the 9th
entry in the series Battleground 9 Chickamauga, this 9th entry in
the Battleground series heads back to the American Civil War era with the game
focussed around the struggle along the Chickamauga Creek.
TalonSoft also introduced two new IP’s in 1999 with TalonSoft's
Battle of Britain and TalonSoft's 12 O'Clock High Bombing the Reich, the latter
of the two being an aircraft bombing simulation. 1999 also saw a sequel for the
1997 released TalonSoft's East Front, with TalonSoft’s East Front 2 releasing.
This
game is however not a brand new release in the series, but rather an updated
version of the original, with updated graphics as well as additional scenarios
and 50 fan made scenarios bring the total number of scenarios in the game to
150.
In 2000 TalonSoft moved away from the game development side of the
industry, while they still did release TalonSoft’s Rising Sun, a top down turn
based strategy game which is focussed around the Pacific theatre during World War 2.
Published games by TalonSoft massively made up the bulk of the
companies work in 2000 with the company publishing Tzar The Burden of the Crown,
JetFighter IV Fortress America, Codename Eagle, Dogs of War, Martian Gothic
Unification, Metal Fatigue and many more game in this year.
If 2000 was dry on developments then 2001 was a desert for
TalonSoft, while the company kept busy with their publishing side of the
industry development wise they were limited to just TalonSoft's Divided Ground Middle
East Conflict 1948–1973, which would also be the companies last developed game.
Not even the sequel to their 1996 released Age of Sail was developed by Talon,
but instead by Akella.
TalonSoft's Divided Ground Middle East Conflict 1948-1973 was the last game developed by the company before by close by Take 2
By the following year TalonSoft’s fate looked sealed with just G.I.
Combat Episode 1 Battle of Normandy being the only game published by them. And
sure enough sometime in 2002 TalonSoft ceased all operations and the company
dissolved by parent company Take Two Interactive.
In 2005 Matrix Games announced the acquisition of the rights to
all of TalonSoft developed games. the following year after the acquisition the
third entry in the Norm Koger’s The Operational Art of War, the game is however
not an entirely new game, with it being a reworked version of the first two
games, with a reworked engine and new content added, as well as bug fixes and compatibility
with current PCs
Written By
P J Gibbon
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