Allied General
The General Rules!
A Review of Allied General
by David Smith
Those guys over at Strategic Simulations are bound and determined to break up thousands of
American families. Yet again they’ve put out a game so addictive, it should be banned from
all harddrives. Well, thankfully, my wife is a patient soul. She understands that the body’s
need for sleep and food will overcome my hypnotic-like trance.
Seriously, though. SSI came out with Panzer General recently. It was wildly successful, even
with non-wargamers. Allied General is a worthy sequel to it’s forerunner. Possibly better in
certain areas.
Those guys did their homework on this one. They listened to gamer requests from all over.
This puppy even includes an e-mail option! Yep, if you can’t find anyone to play head to
head with, you can play over electronic mail. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
Installation was easy. It supports a minimum installation (6 MB), or a recommended installation
of 35 MB. Even with the large installation, you’ll need the CD-ROM in to run the game, as SSI
has included numerous filmclips, etc. which are really too large to place on your harddrive.
The manual is about 55 pages long. It’s quite detailed and well written. After playing some
of the beginner North Africa scenarios, refer back to it. Many things will become more clear
for the gamer.
The sound effects are good, but not exceptional. Although, this really doesn’t detract from
gameplay. Strategy is key here.
In Allied General, you may pick from three theatres of war. North Africa, Europe and Russia.
All told, you’ve got 39 scenarios to choose from. The gamer may choose to play individual
scenarios, or go into campaign mode. The campaign mode will take you all the way through
the war.
You, as general, are awarded a number of prestige points to start the game. As you progress
through the scenarios, you gain more prestige points. These points may be used to purchase
replacement units during battles.
For you non-historical types out there, the option to play several “what-if” scenarios has
been included. Also, SSI allows you to command different nations forces during campaign
mode. You may start out as British, then command Russian and/or American troops, all the
while keeping your “career” achievements. Not realistic, but a very cool feature.
The dogs of war consist of Infantry, Tanks, Artillery, various naval units and assorted
air units. There’s a large enough variety to allow a detailed battle plan. Although,
if you wish, you may just pump out tanks, infantry or artillery for a good old fashioned
slugfest. I won’t guarantee you’ll win a scenario by doing this, but by gosh you’ll have
fun!
Gameplay is done in turns. There is an Allied phase, during which the Allied forces move,
attack, etc. The Axis observes. Following this, the Axis moves, attacks, etc. The
computer oppoenent’s turns progress rapidly, so you needn’t worry about long wait periods.
SSI has included random weather variables, such as snow, rain, etc. This will greatly
affect your strategic deployment of forces. Of course, you may turn this option off before
playing a scenario. You may also choose to see your oppoenents forces, unit strengths, etc.
Very helpful for beginning players.
Ground units can be purchased “green” or “elite”. Elites are battlehardened, but cost four
times as much. However, in the long run, they are a better buy. “Green” units will gain
experience has they progress through battles. Units may be upgraded during gameplay, or
losses may be replaced. Unfortunately, green replacements tend to have a dilutive effect
on the experience levels of the units. But, I suppose that’s in keeping with real world
experiences.
There really isn’t a core strategy to playing this game. Each scenario is different. You’ll
need to size up your oppenent and determine the best course of action on a one by one basis.
Sometimes, you may wish to encircle the enemy, but pin him there and continue on with other
forces to capture a required target. Other times, it may be necessary to dig in and utterly
crush him.
The AI of this game is quite challenging. Believe me, you won’t have a problem with the
computer putting up a great fight.
If it sounds like I enjoyed this game, well, I did. Unfortunately for my wife, I’ve already
lost a weekend on this one. Probably more to come. SSI just keeps pumping out titles that
are truly a credit to the gaming industry.
This game is worthy of any computer gamer’s library, not just wargamers. It’ll provide many
hours of fun. And, with the e-mail option, the gamer has limitless numbers of opponents to
find.
Gamer’s Zone Scorecard
| Product: | Allied General |
| Company: | Strategic Simulations, Inc. |
$55.96
System Requirements:
IBM & 100% compatibles, 486/66-DX2,
8MB RAM, Win 3.1 or 95, 35MB of HD,
SVGA Monitor and Graphics Card, mouse,
2X CD-ROM, and 100% Sound Blaster Compatible Card.
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 5
Graphics 5
Sound 4
Interface 5
Replayability 4
Overall Score:
(* 0 rating, 0 votes)
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