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THE
BULGE
Argus
Press/Lothlorien, £9.99 cass, joystick or keys
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O
Real-time war game set in World War 2 |
This
is another of the new genre of war games that dispense
with the complicated charts and figures and become user
friendly.
It's
a re-creation of the second world war battle of the
Bulge, in which the Germans made their last ditch effort
to smash the Allied advance on the Western front. All
the action takes place in real time -- in other words,
the situation is being updated all the time; the computer
doesn't stop while you're thinking about your moves.
It's
your responsibility to control all the Allied or German
forces. The playing area is four screens long and three
high. On it are shown both sides' forces, the terrain,
and towns. The allies have three types of armoured units
and two types of infantry, while the Germans have Panzer
units, infantry, motorised infantry, and moving and
stationary artillery.
The
fighting and moving potential of all of these is determined
by the terrain, infantry being best in towns and armour
on open ground.
You
start with most forces on the east of the map and the
Germans have a large superiority. Each unit has a strength
ratting, which goes down in engagements and cannot be
replenished. You engage enemy units by being adjacent
to them and if the strength of either reaches zero it
is wiped out.
Unit
movements can be ordered using a cursor, but these moves
are limited by the type of terrain and unit involved
-- some may take several 'days' to complete.
The
game starts on December 16, 1944 and continues till
January 3, 1945. On each new day you are informed of
the weather conditions, which affect movement and Allied
aircraft, and whether reinforcements are arriving. If
the weather's clear, Allied aircraft will reduce the
supplies reaching German units.
You
can use the cursor to investigate the current status
of enemy units and towns. Towns are worth points if
in your possession, some more than others, as are your
units still fighting. The points score on January 3rd
will determine who has achieved or claimed a victory.
There
is a pause command to give you time to think and a two-player
option where both sides plan moves at the start of the
day which are then enacted. The computer is a tough
opponent, but you may find a human one less predictable.
A
global map allows you to view the whole battle area
and there is also a save option. At the end of each
battle you can examine the situation and see just where
you might have improved your strategy.
BW
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