There have been a plethora of war games dealing with World War II, from pen and paper, to board games, to computer games. Commander — Europe at War brought to you by publisher Matrix Games, and developed jointly by Slitherine and Firepower Entertainment, brings you a grand strategy war game. As war games go, this one is easy to play but hard to master.
Commander — Europe at War has six different scenarios, including Barbarossa, D-Day and Grand Campaign. There is a huge map covering all the countries that were affected by WWII, from the United States in the west, Scandinavian countries in the north, Russian Urals in the east and Africa in the south. This map is hex-based, and the playing pieces come in two styles: a pictorial representation or standard symbol counters. I preferred the pictorial as they are larger and clearer.
The counters represent infantry, armor, air and naval units and can be upgraded through the five technologies that do research. You can set a fog of war, oil constraints, difficulty and more. Play is easy with movement guided by the game showing the hexes you can move into depending on the zone of control by the opposing units. Supply lines are abstract and units become out of supply by those same zones of control. The out-of-supply unit is represented by a small colored dot making for easy identification.
Everything is "bought" with production points. This includes replacements, upgrades and new units. Even generals are purchased the same way. Garrison units are the cheapest, with your generals being the most expensive. I liked this system as it was cut and dry and simple to use. Research is dependent on focus points and the laboratories purchased. You have to have a minimum of one lab point to activate the research line before units will be upgraded down the road.
The combat system is simple but still requires strategy as it is influenced by the terrain. Most units are represented as corps. Each corps controls the six hexes around it, i.e., the zone of control, and this zone limits movement and supply. Air combat is basically close-air support, air to air and bombers. The enemy automatically defensively attacks before air combat is resolved if there are planes within distance of the attacker. Ground combat is resolved one unit at a time, with results calculated and retreats implemented immediately.
Altogether, this game is for the intermediate player, but it's easy to play, whether PBEM or Lan to Lan. The scenarios put you right into the action and give you something to sink your teeth into. I thought the action was great, and it didn't overwhelm me. All in all, it made for a lively evening of entertainment.
Father of two, now grown children.What are my kind of games? Strategy, RTS, RPG, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and online games such as Dark Age of Camelot and Asheron's Call. Of my dislikes I would say puzzle games such as Myth, FPS type games such as Doom. Also simulation type games, and games that are just plain bad.
My knowledge of the industry mostly evolves around beta testing games, such as Earth & Beyond from EA, Saga of Ryzom, and companies like MSN and Acolade. Self taught web design is another interest I have. Family life is entertaining at times. It also can get weird as well, after you have been married 31 years.
