The answer I had in mind was that all three are big elements in the games we are previewing in this article: Dungeon Siege II, Bet On Soldier, and Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars. You really should be ashamed of yourself for that rude thought you had instead. What would your Mother say if she heard that come out of your mouth? She would probably tell to go take a time out. Instead, why don't you instead indulge your teenage sense of defiance and get the quick scoop on these three games, hmm?

Cossacks II

Cossacks II takes you into the smoke-filled battlefields of the wars of Napoleon, certainly not the most-explored period in world history by games. You may be a little hesitant at first, as was I. After all, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries there were no machine guns, laser rifles, mounted knights, or panzer tanks, right? I mean, seriously, you have to have one of those to have a good game. Don't you?

Well yes, they do help. But from my time spent with a preview version of Cossacks II, it seems you won't have to be a museum curator, pour tin soldiers, or be a history buff to enjoy playing it. It uses many conventions of the more popular Real Time Strategy (RTS) games, which allows the game to be very approachable by mainstream players (once you get over the fact that everyone in the game is dressed like your high school band's drum major.) At the same time it adds features that keep the game fresh and prevent it from being yet another RTS clone.