Middle of the road
For a series that has reached quite a number of installments, the Battleground games aren't really all that good, with the nadir reached in the dire Napoleon in Russia and with only Waterloo being particularly interesting. The games are all quite similar, in that they're turn-based historical strategy titles which give players the chance to recreate numerous famous battles, with this one focusing on the leadup to Waterloo. As is usual for the series, there are several different scenarios to test your generalship skills at, and which recreate the various battles which took place at Ligny and Quatre-Bras in 1815. The scenarios vary in both their size and difficulty, while you have a wide range of historically accurate units to take control of, and with everything playing out in familiar turn- and hex-based fashion. You can play against the computer but a slightly more interesting way is to take on another human opponent, which makes things a bit more personal. Battleground 8 is very much a standard slice of computer-based wargaming. There's nothing overly wrong with it and if you are a fan of the genre or are a Napoleonic buff, then you'll probably have a good time here. The scenarios are well crafted and certainly challenging, so you'll need your best strategy head on here, while the interface is straightforward enough and should be easily accessible by newcomers and veterans alike. No one comes to such a game for the visuals but they're decent enough, and overall this is a solid, if uninspiring, entry into a crowded market.
