AN EXPLANATION . . . AND APOLOGY

Gremlins always creep in when you least expect them. As a result of their latest visit to my desk, the explanation of the wargames ratings was omitted from last month's review of Crusade in Europe and this could have led to a misunderstanding of my impressions. Belatedly, I present them here, with apologies. They apply to this month's review as well, of course.

Although some of the ratings may appear to be similar, if not identical to those elsewhere in ZZAP!, don't be misled. 60% would be a rather low rating in other reviews, but is quite high for wargame purposes. There are two main reasons for this. First, by rating games lower, the bad titles which may appear from time to time can be given single-figure percentages (bad wargames are intrinsically worse than bad arcade games). Secondly, most wargames benefit from being on disk. Theoretically, this provides them with vast scope. Frequent disc changes are not as inconvenient as in other games. Some SSI games would be good examples of this. Wargaming on computers is a very complex genre and provision needs to be made for future improvements.

Presentation considers packaging, format and clarity.

Graphics in wargames will never be as good as those in arcade games, so these are only viewed in respect to other games of the genre and how effective they are.

Instructions are extremely important to a wargame. Bad rules can leave a good program unplayable. Consequently, there is a rating for them.

Authenticity is a guideline to how historically (or indeed, theoretically) accurate a game is.

Playability is again only considered with respect to other wargames.

Value for money is going to be the main bone of contention. I still feel that 90% of all wargames are overpriced. This factor is not genre specific.

Overall sums up the impressions of the reviewer.
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From the safety of his dug-out SEAN MASTERSON sticks his head up to take a look at this wargame . . .

There are still relatively few disk drive owners in the UK Commodore community at present, so there are not going to be many people rushing out to buy this game. It's a pity really as it's probably one of the best of the recent batch of wargames by such companies as SSI and Microprose. It has always been difficult to fit a good wargame onto a home micro without putting it onto a disc, but that does bring its own advantages to those lucky enough to have their own drive.

Crusade in Europe is the latest in Microprose's 'Command Series' strategic simulation games, and involves several scenarios set in 1944 between the D-Day landings and the Ardennes counter offensive in December of that year. There are five scenarios in the package, and most of these have a series of historical and hypothetical variants (such as different initial troop deployments). The five scenarios are, The Battle for Normandy, Race for the Rhine, Operation Market-Garden, Battle of the Bulge and Crusade: The Battle for France. For all of these scenarios there are one and two player options.

The display is in the form of a free-scrolling map with a choice of icons or symbols for unit representation. The symbol setting gives 'standard' wargame unit signs, whereas the icons are on a more simplistic level. Both are rather chunky, but clearly defined, and there are more colours on the map than in some games, so the final result is certainly respectable.

Game involves play in day and night turns, which affects the result of combat accordingly. Although the game doesn't run in real time, game time is running all the while (which is in terms of processing a unit's status once every eight game hours). Therefore it's imperative that once the scenario has begun, the player keeps concentrating solely on the action. There is a pause facility should you require a coffee break (normally a necessity in these games).

The game rules are of medium complexity but an inexperienced wargamer would not do too badly, as a bias is allowed for any given force on any scenario. The rules booklet itself is beautifully clear and accurate, and learning the various intricacies of play is interesting rather than annoying, as such activity can sometimes be. Each scenario is finely detailed in terms of victory conditions, troop dispositions, historical notes and other miscellaneous facts. Microprose have always gone for an upmarket look for their games, and Crusade in Europe is no exception to the rule. At the centre of the book is a summary pullout which has a glossy colour map of the general game area. The summary sheet will prove useful until all the commands are understood, but the map is totally pointless other than the fact that it looks very pretty!

During play, the command procedure for communicating with troops is fairly straightforward and units automatically give you status reports. Unit movement is hidden, as on all the best games, so you're not aware of the enemy unless you encounter them one way or the other. Combat too is fairly easy, being split mainly into Attack and Defend procedures.

Can anyone rip the SID tune out of this one?

Htmlized by Dimitris Kiminas (10 Aug 2003)

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