From: Giftzwerg Subject: BIRTH OF AMERICA: First Impressions... It took almost a week for me to post this. Why? Because every time I'd sit down to write, I'd need to look at or verify some aspect of the game, and every time I started the software ... well, those Frenchmen are *still* holding Fort Carillon! This game has got the "gimme," big time. As in "Gimme Another Game, it's only 2:47 AM!" I'm predisposed to like this game, because I'm a huge fan of the topic. I live right in the heart of the game map, and have read every single book about the period and the people. But that doesn't make me as much a potential fanboy as you'd think, because it also means I'm potentially *very* critical of practical aspects of gameplay or research that might fall flat. Fortunately, I haven't found any. System requirements are fairly steep, though not excessive. This is a game that shoe-horns a *lot* of information into the user-interface and map, and it really rewards a system with decent graphics. I've tried it on my laptop (1.5GhZ Pentium-M, 1GB RAM, lousy graphics card) and found it a little clunky. On my wife's PC (2.5GHZ P4, 512MB RAM, ATI 7500 graphics), it works just fine. On my gaming machine (4GHZ P4, 4GB RAM, SLI graphics array), it just flies. My suspicion is that if your graphics card is up to handing other graphic-intensive games, you'll be just fine. The only issues I had were with my laptop, and that machine isn't exactly a joy to use with other graphical games (or Photoshop...). The aforementioned interface is a bit busy, but it has a lot of information - in considerable detail - to provide the player. There's nothing annoying about the presentation, and nothing about the UI gets in the way of the simple but effective gameplay elements. Installation is quick and effortless. Copy protection is a straight serial number. Install the game, insert your code, and you're in business. First, the practical details. The scale is operational/strategic, with the map representing the entire American colonies area circa 1740-1815- ish. There are no hexes, so movement is controlled by irregularly- shaped areas that closely correspond to historical geographical realities. Regions are "grayed-out" in specific scenarios to limit the AO. The map changes continually as seasons and weather impact the situation on the ground, and the computer holds a great deal of swiftly-altered data on each individual region. Unlike some games, the weather isn't just pretty window-dressing, and woe to the overly-aggressive campaigner who doesn't have his regiments in winter quarters come January. Overall, the map is a joy to use and look at. It recalls all the best features of hand-painted boardgame maps, flavored with period details and nice touches - but the attractive system hides a great wealth of rich detail that's crucial to good gameplay. The basic combat units are regimental in size, with losses/replacements taken by percentages of the companies that comprise each counter. Other units include Leaders, Artillery, Supply Trains, Warships, and Transports. Within each unit type, there's a terrific variety of subtypes. Militia, Indians, Regulars, Irregulars - all the basic pieces are here. Like the map, the units display a wealth of research and historical flavor. It's not just an "18 Combat Factor Red Counter" you've moving towards Fort Stanwix with, it's "Butler's Rangers." Here again, the computer maintains a fluid "state" of the combat readiness of each regimental unit: supply, combat, ammunition, strength, and a variety of traits based on type. Leaders are likewise rated for multiple factors: command ability, movement, seniority, and "special abilities" that can prove the difference between success or failure. Set up to ambush Sullivan's Army with several Indian tribes and you'll probably fail (with heavy losses and a humiliating retreat); put Thayandanegea (Brant) in charge of the affair, and it might be Braddock's debacle all over again. There are dozens and dozens of these abilities, covering just about every practical aspect of leadership. This research and attention to detail, as in the map, isn't just for show. It means the difference between eking out a dubious "victory" via VPs ... or a stunning strategic upset. To play well, you need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each of the various units and unit types. This is not a game where you can just shovel counters willy-nilly at the enemy. The system is turn-based WEGO, with both sides planning their moves and then watching them take place during the execution phase. A turn is 30 days long. Movement is simple click 'n drag; click on a regiment or army and drag it to the destination. A path will appear with the number of days necessary to enter each region passed through. To cancel a move, click "delete" until the path is gone. Simple and effective. Combat is an abstract matter that takes place when units occupy the same region and are in a posture that allows combat. As this is an operational/strategic game you're not in tactical control of the battles, any more than General Amherst in New York could direct the tactics outside Albany. To initiate combat, move your unit(s) into a region where the enemy is, and set their posture to "assault," "attack," "defense," or "passive." If you set "passive," though, you'll probably get wiped out unless the enemy is similarly averse to combat. There are a dozen scenarios, ranging from tiny affairs of only a few turns and only a few units to entire wars encompassing the whole region. You've got the French & Indian War and the American Revolution to work with. I haven't found a scenario editor, but since it took me three days to find the excellent OOB screen, I'm not 100% sure there isn't one lurking out there. The gameplay in the scenarios is oriented more towards operational aspects than strategic. You're not, for instance, in charge of economics or recruiting (although control of regions affects supply, logistics, and replacements), nor are you able to make grand strategic decisions; that big fleet with the massed army arrives when London says it does, not when you need it. Gameplay in BIRTH OF AMERICA takes a little getting used to, particularly if your experience is primarily with 20th century warfare. First off, there's no "front line." Regions are controlled by the last guy to have a bunch of men with guns standing around in it - and you don't even *remotely* have enough units to provide even an insane delusion of security. The frontier and wilderness areas are almost like an ocean, with armies able to move past each other and around each other with great ease. It's possible - though not likely - to find Amherst marching his army down Rue Ste. Catherine in Montreal at the same time Montcalm crosses the Hudson into New York City. Oops. The fog-of-war elements in this game are crucial to enjoying it, and really bring out the difficulties involved in this kind of blindsiding warfare. Indians are a tremendous asset, as they excel at Seeing Without Being Seen; a bunch of Indian tribes can cause all sorts of havoc along the frontier, but their best use is to spot enemy troops and provide critical intelligence about enemy operations and movements. Oh, and ambush them. Don't forget that. The AI seems competent and capable. You can set it for "difficulty" (AI gets more or less men and other advantages) and "aggressiveness" (passive, normal, reckless) and "give AI more time". I've been playing on "Hard" difficulty, "Normal" aggressiveness, and "Give More Time." The AI seems to "understand" what the objectives are, and enjoys that sort of mathematical advantage AIs have at ruthlessly grabbing every opportunity a player leaves unguarded. On "Normal" aggressiveness, the AI seems to move around pretty well and take excellent advantage of my many mistakes. Overall, I'm having a great time playing the AI. The game is interesting and absorbing, and the AI plays with enough "skill" that I can forget everything but the situation and strategy. Thus far, I haven't seen the AI do anything stupid. In sharp contrast, I'm frequently doing stupid things. I haven't tried the PBEM system. There doesn't seem to be a network play option. So. Is it fun? I'm having a blast playing BIRTH OF AMERICA. If this were a $60 game, I'd calculate that it was an excellent value. At $35, it almost falls into the "Only Idiots Won't Own This Game." The game is amazingly simple to get into. Open a scenario, check over the objectives, eye the map carefully, check out your OOB and locate your forces, and start trying to figure out how the hell you're going to hold onto the stuff you've got *and* grab hold of the stuff you need to get. Except in rare cases, you'll have *painfully* few units to work with, and it can be a real nail-biting experience to juggle all the different missions with the available men. And when the situation *does* afford you a big, fat army with lots of havoc-making potential, it's generally kinda late in the scenario, and you have to get busy with it instantly. Once you get going, though, you'll find that it's not so easy *to play well*. Campaign season can be heartbreakingly short. Some scenarios are even shorter. Powerful units can wither away to nothing with alarming speed if misused; that big army you sent west to wipe out aaaall those Indian villages had better not try to assault everything in sight during the winter. Victory is awarded by controlling "objectives" or "strategic towns" as well as accumulating victory points by killing enemy troops or massacring settlers. But pathways to victory seem always obstructed by too few men and too many things to do with them. Overall, I think this game is excellent, but no thumbnail review would be complete without a harsh, aggressive, fiendishly-hypercritical savaging of the hundreds of areas where this game falls laughably short. Here is the all-encompassing, complete, exhaustive list: (1) The manual is kinda thin. Only 30 pages. Could be better. That's it. I don't have a single other complaint. The game is robust, fun, and appears to capture with amazing fidelity the flavor of the topic. And now, without further ado, it's time for some more BIRTH OF AMERICA. The weather gods have visited a freezing day with an actual *snowstorm* outside, so there's simply no excuse for not sitting here in my den, sipping coffee (and later, a more spirited libation...), and sending hordes of Tories and Indians into a frenzy of slaughter all over the frontier. -- Giftzwerg *** "Let's see. What are Muslims raging, seething, and murdering people about today? Ah. Yes. Cartoon drawings. Islam means peace, eh?" - Giftzwerg