Decent wargaming thrills
No prizes for guessing what you're getting yourself into if you fire this one up. Yes, that's right, it's an historical strategy game that is based around the Gettysburg engine and which gives players the chance to find out how they would have fared in either Napoleon or Wellington's armies during their now legendary conflict. In many ways, it's a pretty familiar mix of the usual genre staples, with combat playing out in real-time and which requires plenty of nifty tricks and tactics to succeed at. There's a nice mix of historically authentic and speculative missions and which allow you to play things pretty much as they were or to engage in 'what if?' scenarios, while there is also a mission editor so you can design your own from scratch. The details are where the game really shines and which are sure to get the true military buff excited as the units on display here are authentic down the finest points, with an extensive array of soldiers and uniforms to access as well as plenty of historical landmarks which are all rendered in loving detail. This isn't really a game for wargaming newcomers, as the difficulty curve is pretty steep and which takes some getting used to, while the enemy AI puts up a stiff challenge even to genre veterans. The visuals are also a touch dated which might put off some players, but if you can get past this, then the level of detail and complexity here is sure to please. The interface is generally pretty good, while the missions themselves are interesting and compelling so if you do consider yourself an old hand at this kind of thing, and don't might the outdated look, then this is a decent, if unspectacular, sim.
