is IG worth a buy?

[Naomivirgo]

I like war games set in Napoleonic period, particularly ones that make me feel like playing Empires in Arms (anyone knows of it?). I thought one of the important features of a successful war game is realisticity. Did IG designers take care of it by giving the five major powers their comparative advantages (represented by disparity in resources including commander qualities) that are true to history? I am most curious about the numbers of military leaders. How many leaders does each of the major powers? Are they all historical and different in capabilities?

[Captain.Crunch]

Run as fast as your legs can go to the store to get it very good game.

[giskard]

I think i know the level the depth your after, if you want a full report on the game then you should read this review i wrote.

http://www.respawn.co.uk/content/view/253/79/

Or better yet the guide i wrote for players since its more accurate and gives the sort of detials your looking for.

http://www.respawn.co.uk/content/view/255/77/

But to answer your questions here.

Commanders are just leaders that gain experience in battle and allow that leader to control more units. The game initially lets a leader control 3 units, 1 leader and 3 units is 1 army. A region can have 3 armies in it + 3 of the enemies. Later a leader can rise to such a rank as to allow him to control 6 units. Then the battles get interesting

However thats it as far as leaders go. Not what you wanted i to hear i know but thats as bad as it gets. Btw the troops earn experience in this game through battle. So experienced units get better and better.

As far as you other question goes, yes the campaign map offers all that and a lot more. In this area you will be very pleased indeed.

I like the detial you like and i love this game, dispite those limitations with the commanders.

Giskard

[PrinceMyshkin]

Naomi,

comparing the game to another will probably disappoint you. you need a completely open mind to give IG a go. comparing to to Avalon Hill's old Diplomacy boardgame is the safest bet.

frustration awaits aplenty if you have preconcieved expectations. you'll end up hating everything but the campaign side of things as the battle systems are vastly different from most games.

think HARD for the campaign and FUN for everything else. you will need to "learn" combat in this game, but the auto resolve works remarkably well so that you can take the time to "figure out" the campaign complexities. then you can attempt the battles, which you'll need a crash course in hot keys or you'll be outmanouvered every time.

the resouce allocations to the variuos nations DO put you in the proper mind set. suggest some time with great britain while you get accustomed to the game.

if you just want good napoleonic battles, the mods to the TW series may be for you instead. BUT, they screw up your MTW/VI AND i quit the game (Lordz NapII) once i saw the leader ratings. Bernadotte had better ratings than Lannes. made my stomache hurt and i couldn't continue. i never played one turn...


my n00b!

i DID mean to indicate that the game IS worth buying...

@naomivirgo - it would take way too long to answer you fully here in terms of historical accuracy of real personalities, a book in itself in fact, but the commanders in the game have the same *names* as the commanders in reality, but that's about where the similarity ends.

This is a strategy game and not a simulation, so the commanders are as good as you make them, by fighting battles and gaining upgrades. For example, I played as France and the commander called Napoleon was killed quite early on in the game (my bad lol) so it fell to other commanders to make the situation good. All captains are the same as other captains until they get experience etc. so in a word, no, they don't possess the attributes of the real characters.

The relative strengths and weaknesses of the main empires do reflect a kind of pattern that would have been real at the time, but it is basic and only there to improve the variety of play possible for the campaign you choose when you choose an empire to control.

hope that helps,
JD

edit: and to answer your other question, yes it's certainly worth buying. When some of the bugs are ironed out it will be one of the best games I've ever played.

[Brett]

In a Smiple word = No!

[Queeg]

In a simpler word = Yes.

[Cpt.HooK]

Buy Me