Description:
A word of warning to World War II buffs who demand realism from their war games: stay away from Soldiers at War. This turn-based game lets you command a squad of soldiers through missions that are more reminiscent of war movies like The Dirty Dozen than Saving Private Ryan. After loading up your hand-picked troops with a variety of ordnance, you plunge into daring World War II combat missions. The turn-based nature of the game adds to the tension and suspense of each mission as your soldiers play hide and seek with the enemy. The troops get a certain number of action points each turn, which they can spend on moving, looking around, aiming weapons, or reloading. Effectively rationing these points is the main challenge of the game. Do you run around the corner up ahead, knowing you won't have enough time to shoot any enemy that might be lurking around it, or do you sneak up cautiously and risk taking too long to secure your objective? When combat takes place it is very movielike, with rounds ricocheting everywhere. Since your guys are moving around a lot and the enemies basically stay put in their defensive positions (thereby conserving their action points), the game can get pretty tough. Success relies on your ability to get your troops into positions where they can support one another, and sticking to areas of the map that have a lot of cover. By the time we finished we were very attached to our soldiers, who developed personalities in accordance with their specialties in the game. Who needs real-time combat games when we have fun, tense, and challenging turn-based counterparts like this? --T. Byrl Baker Pros: - Tense, atmospheric combat missions
- Plays like a good war movie
- Missions are varied
Cons: - Not realistic in the slightest
- Turn-based combat is a blast but won't appeal to the action oriented
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