News As History - July 9, 2008
News As History - July 9, 2008 |
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Wargame Reviews Return to Wargame Main Page Return to Wargame Reviews Index Computer Wargame Review - <%=theTitle%> Title: Squad Assault: Westfront
Company: Freedom Games and Matrix GamesPrice: $39.95 Buy It In The StrategyPage Store for $29.95! Designers: Eric Young Reviewed By: Harold C. Hutchison Editor's Note: The game was reviewed with the 1.6 patch installed. This patch has fixed many problems reported in the release version of the product. Matrix games is very good about releasing updates that improve the games based on feedback from players. Overview/BackgroundStrategy and generals make history. But the tactical decisions often determine how the generals and strategy make history – a relatively junior officer’s decisions often can determine the course of a battle, and that battle could determine the course of the war. The best example was Lieutenant Commander Wade McCluskey’s decision to follow a trailing Japanese destroyer on the morning of June 4, 1942. The results of that are well-known. Squad Assault West Front puts you on the same sort of hot seat that McCluskey was on at Midway, albeit this time it is in Normandy – as a captain with either the Allies or the Wehrmacht in France, fighting anywhere from Omaha Beach to St. Mere Eglise. ManualsThe manual is a hard-copy manual – a very useful thing that allows one to look something up as he pauses the game. The manual is easy to understand. SystemThe game is very realistic. Everything is modeled, from unit morale to the difference in quality – one squad of SS stormtroopers are twice as good as a squad of Ost soldiers (Eastern Europeans who volunteered to fight the Soviets). It is not a very transparent system. It also limits the number of units one can have. Good for keeping the engagement company-sized, but frustrating when you want to create a huge slugfest between the Allies and the Germans. Still, the system presents a good approximation of the relative strengths and weaknesses of both sides on the Western Front of the European Theater of Operations. Game FeaturesSquad Assault West Front is highly versatile. It has a scenario editor with which one can modify the order of battle or create an entirely new scenario. The game can be multi-player (over TC/ICP or LAN), or it can be played against the artificial intelligence at various levels. One also has a choice in the setup. The game can be turn-based (via a 60-second pause) or set to happen in real time (for more realism). This is a plus. Those into board games can use that to get a feel for the user interface and to still have that familiar sense. The reviewer, though, prefers the real-time. In real life, the opposition is usually not courteous enough to permit you to do set up. The user interface is a little tricky to learn at first, but once a player gets used to it, it is easy to set things up. The game can adjust for varying levels of lethality (depending on how high or low you wish the body count to be). The AI is a tough opponent – even at Recruit, you will suffer casualties. This is usually how it went. The game provides an accurate representation. The Americans and Allies have a lot of troops – the Germans will have some items of better quality. The difference in armor capability is very accurately modeled. For example, SdKfz 234 with a 20mm cannon was able to kill a M4 Sherman; the German Tigers mopped up the battlefield when confronted by an equal number of American Shermans. Air and artillery support can make or break the situation. The difference between winning and losing is also shown. Mess up, and you are relived and headed back to HQ, with a quote from Patton. Do well, and you’re on your way to making major, which a quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower. Lessons LearnedFor the Germans, the key lesson is to use what qualitative superiority you have in order to inflict heavy casualties on the Allies. This particularly applies to the superiority in armor. To a lesser extent, it applies with infantry. For the Allies, the best plan is to go for quantity and to make very liberal use of artillery (both land and naval) and air support. Don’t get into a slugfest. Instead, locate the enemy and soften him up with artillery or air strikes. Then hit him. The simulation is most accurate when the Allied advantage in both air support and naval gunfire is reflected. SummarySquad Assult Westfront is a superb tactical simulation. It will probably
run best on the latest computers. It is NOT recommended for older
machines (the minimum requirements are for a 900 MHz processor, 256
megabytes of RAM, and a video card with 32 megabytes of RAM – the
manufacturer recommends double the minimum requirements). The price is
reasonable for a new simulation that has superb graphics and realism.
For those interested in learning what it was like to command infantry in
World War II, this is as good a simulation as any, despite the fact that
it will probably only run well on the newest computers.
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