Category: Reviews

12/2/12

Review of Alea Jacta Est

Published and Developed by AGEOD

Reviewed by Boggit, 2 December 2012

Boggit returns to the “old days” when Rome ruled the world, and argued over it incessantly.

Click images to enlarge

Alea Jacta Est is the latest addition to the well regarded series of strategic/operational wargames produced by the Indie developer AGEOD. Alea Jacta Est is concerned with the wars of Ancient Rome with a particular focus on Roman Civil Wars, although it is possible to assume a non-Roman role in some of the scenarios.

For those who have played previous AGEOD releases, like Wars in America, Rise of Prussia, or Revolution Under Siege Alea Jacta Est will seem quite familiar at first sight. To some extent this is a superficial familiarity since the game engine has been tweaked for Ancient warfare rather than one where firepower is a critical factor, resulting in subtly different gameplay. For example, cavalry charges take on a new importance and are potentially deadly, depending on the terrain being fought over. There are also new siege rules reflecting the realities of Roman Legionary siege techniques and so on.

If you are new to AGEOD’s wargame titles the gameplay is quite unlike many wargaming titles where players tend to have considerable control over their pixel armies. Here you are in the world of the Commander in Chief – you can give your armies rules of engagement, set their aggression level (or combat stance) and order them to a location. There to do battle – or not! Commanders do not always follow orders to the letter, but can place their own interpretation on them based on their characteristics. This can result, for example, in a defensive or passive posture when you’ve instructed an aggressive stance. It can also result in generals delaying in implementing their orders. The classic example is Napoleon’s general Grouchy failing to pursue Bluecher – the aggressive/assault posture being modified to defend! It is a beautiful feature for a game at this level and particularly reflects the command and control difficulties of the pre-radio age.

Commanders can have a wide variety of traits, each of which can influence either their direct behaviour or the way they affect the political situation, for example Julius Caesar has as one of his traits “Fast mover” which gives a 15% stack move bonus, another trait is “Propagandist”, which gives a boost to loyalty in a region where he is present.

 

aje

Oh, happy day! Well not for the Senate anyway! Alea Jacta Est features lots of ancient “events”.

  Continue reading →

11/3/12

GrogHeads Reviews Star Wars X-Wing

Review by Scott Krol, 3 November 2012

Designed and published by Fantasy Flight Games

Is the Force with Fantasy Flight Games’ X-Wing Miniatures Game or is it a Jar Jar Binks mess of plastic and cardboard?

 

Science fiction may be a genre that is often looked down upon, seen as a realm populated by thirty-year olds living in their parents’ basements, but it has spawned a surprisingly large number of series in both television and film. Many of these series have legions of devoted fans, but none have had a bigger global impact than Star Trek and Star Wars. Arguably, while both are universally known, Star Wars, with its Campbell-esque Hero’s Journey, has had the bigger impact of the two. Yet when it comes to the world of board/table top gaming Star Trek has dominated.

This is somewhat odd for a series that was all about peaceful exploration of the galaxy (just consider the difference in names—Trek versus Wars), and yet there have been numerous wargames of tactical and strategic warfare in the Trek universe. Star Fleet Battles is the best known of these, with literally dozens of expansions and now thousands of pages of rules, yet there are many other flavors of Star Trek wargames available (see Jim Zabek’s recent AAR of Federation Commander).

Fans of Star Wars have had to make do with very few options. Star Warriors from West End Games was a “serious” game of tactical fighter combat, perhaps a little too serious considering the subject matter. Wizards of the Coast released a collectible miniatures game of space combat, but the less said about it, the better. The recent release of Fantasy Flight Games’ X-Wing, a tactical game of frictionless furballs between fighters in the Star Wars universe, is therefore a welcome addition to any Star Wars fan’s game library.

X-Wing is a miniatures game of fighter versus fighter combat in the Star Wars universe using pre-painted plastic minis scaled at 1/270. Don’t let the fact that these are pre-painted plastic minis scare you off; the quality is impressive. And for anyone who shudders at what the fighters looked like in the Wizards of the Coast game, these models are essentially Ferraris to Wizards’ Yugos. It should also be said that this is not a collectible game in the sense of blind packaging.

xwing

All the currently available fighters, though you can bet we’ll be seeing A-Wings, B-Wings, TIE Interceptors, and more. The bases have interchangable stat cards, showing the fighter’s stats, actions, and firing arc at a glance.

  Continue reading →

11/1/12

PC Game Review of Combat Mission: Fortress Italy

Reviewed by Boggit 1 November, 2012

Developed and Published by Battlefront.com

How does the latest Combat Mission game stack up? Charge on, intrepid readers!

Fortress Italy is the latest incarnation of the Combat Mission 2 Series developed and published by Battlefront.com. For those unfamiliar with the series, it is a 3-D real-time tactical squad-level wargame set in Sicily 1943 during World War II. For those familiar with Combat Mission Shock Force and Combat Mission Battle for Normandy, the gameplay is essentially similar, albeit that new features have been added to the game engine and front end and that the battlefield terrain now reflects an Italian setting as opposed to the Near East or France/North West Europe.

The game plays in either of two modes, pausable real-time, and WEGO, where a player plots his/her moves and then watches the moves play out in real-time, rather like watching a film. It’s actually a very nice option to have in the game since it holds appeal to those who like to plot and consider their moves and to those who like the excitement of immediate action and reaction from the moment time is running. It’s quite fun to play one battle in one mode and another in the other mode since although it is the same game, you do get a very different feel to the gameplay.

I had already cut my teeth on Combat Mission Shock Force and Combat Mission Battle for Normandy, so I felt right at home with Fortress Italy. If you’re not familiar with the gameplay then you’ll need to invest some time and effort to get to know the intricacies of the game system. It isn’t that the order system is not intuitive, but the game is quite unforgiving when the pixel bullets start flying and knowing the likely effect of your orders and how things take effect is at first as important as whatever tactical plan you have to achieve victory… (not that mine ever survive contact…).

cmfi

Continue reading →

10/14/12

GrogHeads Reviews Bomber Command

bc

Designer: Lee Brimmicombe-Wood

Publisher: GMT Games

Left Hand Reviews, 14 October, 2012

 

How closely can a boardgame come to simulating the Allies’ strategic night bombing raids of World War II?

 

In an effort to cripple the German war machine and bring the 3rd Reich to its knees, the British Royal Air Force conducted countless night raids in the late stages of the war, 1943-1945. The targets included military manufacturing facilities, populated cities, as well as critical supply routes. Despite the extraordinarily high mortality rate of the bomber squadrons, they continued to fight bravely and eventually succeeded in forcing the German High Command to shift to the defensive.

Bomber Command is a tactical wargame in which one player will control the British bombers, attempting to take out key objectives, while the other play represents the German night fighters and flak batteries desperately trying to infiltrate the Allied bomber squadrons and prevent the destruction of not only brick and mortar targets but the morale of the people as well.

Continue reading →