The Oxford Dictionary describes a veteran as a person who has had long experience in a particular field. In the videogaming world, there aren’t many games around that allow their players to use this moniker correctly. Sure, you can call yourself a veteran at Call of Duty or FIFA, but with annual iterations it really does stretch the definition of the term. However, there is one sector where this can be used perfectly – Massive Multiplayer Online (MMOs) games. One single gaming environment, constantly updated but still the same game, a self-perpetuating virtual world. To be a veteran at one of these time-sinks is to spend years on one game. Not buying this year’s latest version - the same game that was purchased at the beginning, buggy landscapes and login queues included.

            Paradox Interactive’s Commander: Conquest of the Americas is set to launch later this month, and has an eager audience awaiting it. Nitro Games’ naval-based adventure blends the conventions of Real-Time Strategy (RTS) and management simulation games, and with that fairly unique pitch has developed a keen following. Quite whether it manages to gather enough confidence from fans of either genre remains to be seen, but on the evidence of the preview build Electronic Theatre has experienced, the signs are at least positive.

            Deep Silver and Animation Arts’ Lost Horizon has been bubbling under for some time, seemingly closer to release with every new announcement or screenshot, and yet similarly to the title the Adventure game has been granted remaining out of players reach. On August 27^th 2010, a release date is that is now apparently set in stone, players will be able to get their hands on the game for themselves and see if it’s been worth the wait, but judging by the sample build that Electronic Theatre has received, the landscape is currently looking very inviting indeed.

            Muzzy Lane’s Making History: The Calm & The Storm’s muted success in 2007 may not have made the headlines, but the turn-based war-themed management and strategy game certainly built a strong following thanks to it’s ease of use and scaleable depth. That success later lead to a Gold Edition of the game being released featuring three new scenarios, and now this, a fully-fledged sequel. Making History II: The War of the World is a detailed game of domination, diplomacy and defence of your hard-fought assets.