Axis and Allies: From Board Game to RTS

The Axis and Allies series includes the best WWII strategy board games available. So if you like those, then TimeGate Studio's Axis and Allies (for the PC) is a definite must have. This version keeps the board game's world map and gameplay, but adds to it with great RTS play. Choosing between Great Britain, the U.S., the Soviet Union, Germany, and Japan, you must attempt to conquer the world. But if you don't like the idea of moving a couple pieces around a board, then there are plenty of other options for gameplay.

Bases can grow to be very large; this shows a Corps HQ along with Division HQs, airfields, and an oil depot

In Axis and Allies (A&A), you take the command of an army corps. From your Corps HQ, you can deploy infantry, mechanized, armored, and airborne divisions. Each Division HQ allows the requisition of three to six regiments of several different types. Regiments usually consist of five to nine infantry, halftracks, or tanks. Units are realistically employed, with realistic weapons, but balance is still kept between the different nations. Also available are engineer and artillery brigades, and motor pools, which unlock additional units and provide useful technologies. Engineers can repair buildings as well as construct static defenses. Airfields are available once all brigades are deployed, allowing you to order powerful airstrikes on your enemy. Naval units are not producible, but are available in some missions. Balancing resources involves accumulating money as well as keeping an income of ammunition and oil. Money is accumulated and spent, while ammo and oil is needed for the upkeep of divisions, and a deficit means less money income. Keeping units in supply is vital, since they will automatically repair and get reinforcements. Experience and entrenchment add to their capabilities, different formations and terrain affect their attack efficiency, and morale keeps them fighting. Keeping track of these variables is not difficult thanks to an effective layout. The AI will also keep you on your feet, pressing to find weaknesses, and then thrusting whole divisions at your lines. While the presentation is not up to some of today's high standards, combat can become extremely chaotic and enjoyable.

Combat looks epic when you get several divisons fighting, here the Germans are trying to take Moscow

If you enjoy the board game's gameplay, then you will enjoy hearing that it carried over to A&A on the PC nicely. You control a nation, using money to buy armies and technology, and then move your armies into different territories to capture them. You can take as many uncontested territories as you want, but each nation gets only one attack per turn. These battles can either be handled by the AI, or controlled by the player in an RTS match. But if you don't like the grand strategy element, then there are other options. A campaign is available which puts you in historical battles, each quite lengthy with a healthy amount of difficulty. Both the Axis and Allied powers have different campaigns, with the Axis version ending in victory for Germany and Japan (leading to obviously fictitious missions). There is also a custom mission editor, and a skirmish mode that puts up to eight players on a random map. Multiplayer communities still exist, with many player-made maps available. So, there are other choices for gameplay.

The "World War Two" mode looks like the board game, and allows you to play RTS battles, but is very easy to beat

A&A is another aging, but still highly playable game, and can be found for quite a bargain. For WWII RTS enthusiasts, it is a great strategy game to pick up. The ability for both grand and operational strategy play makes A&A quite unique. I highly suggest checking it out for new and old strategy gamers. Whether you want to build your own army and invade Japan, or find out what could have happened if Germany had repulsed the Allies in Normandy, Axis and Allies can deliver great gameplay time and time again.

Pacific Storm- More Than Just An RTS

Let’s start off with this statement: Pacific Storm is not your average real-time strategy game. It combines a grand-strategy element with RTS gameplay, and even brings in arcade flying and gunning. The game takes place in the Pacific during WWII, and pits Japan against the United States. Pacific Storm is a game where you can produce a unit, send it to the frontlines, and then actually command it. Even though plagued by some problems, Pacific Storm still delivers fun and entertainment.

Grand strategic map of the Pacific, where production and placement takes place

So what do I mean by the above paragraph? In the campaign, the player starts off with a giant map of the Pacific Ocean. Players control base management, production, transport, and of course, combat. You are able to produce historical units, and even mod them to your standards by changing armaments, electronics, and other components. You can also research a large amount of technologies which allow production of new components, aircraft, and experimental missiles and bombs. Many bases are stretched across the Pacific, and each can be fortified with different buildings. When entering combat, Pacific Storm plays much like any other RTS. You control a number of ships and aircraft, and by a number, I mean up to several dozen ships and over a hundred aircraft, which leaves battles pretty crowded. Players can jump in to any of their aircraft at any time, which fly in an arcade style. There is also the ability to man anti-aircraft guns on ships, although it has very little effectiveness. Manual control of ship steering and main guns is unavailable, so you just have to watch ships fight it out. Visuals in combat are nice, but underwhelming.

Gunfire looks nice, but not being able to control the naval guns is a downside

There are a number of gametypes to select from. There is a battle planner (like instant action, where you select the units played and are), several single missions, a historical campaign and a free campaign. The single missions portray single actions in the Pacific War, like Pearl Harbor, Leyte Gulf, and the interception of Admiral Yamamoto. The historical campaigns start off with each side having a “historical” amount of aircraft and ships. However, it is far from accurate in terms of ships, with the U.S. having over a dozen aircraft carriers. The free campaign has each side start about equal, and players must take bases all over the Pacific and build them up themselves. There is a multiplayer option, but I have never seen anyone on it. Still, there are enough different ways to play to keep oneself from becoming bored.

Many aircraft can be in the air at once, and taking control of one can make you lose sight of the bigger picture

Pacific Storm is almost an ideal game, incorporating different levels of gameplay into one package. However, many bugs and problems allow it to fall short. It was developed by the Russian Lesta Studio, and the language barrier shows in grammatical errors through its many text boxes. It is very complex, but lacks thorough tutorials. The AI is sorely lacking, and will leave players wondering at its bizarre actions. Players have to be excellent micromanagers to make the most of its grand strategy element. For example, to use a guided missile, one must research the appropriate technologies, build the missile, load it onto a transport, send it to a forward base, unload it, load it onto an aircraft, and finally send the airgroup to the enemy base. It is also nearly impossible to find and engage enemy fleets outside of their bases. Finally, the game crashed randomly and often, but patches have fixed this for the most part.

The Homeland menu allows production of units and researching of technologies

Even though it has its problems, Pacific Storm is far from unplayable. If you can put up with micromanagement, average graphics, and unrealistic flying, it is a great game. There are many different ways to play, and the ability to control hundreds of ships and planes is awesome. Pacific Storm's gameplay is very customizable to fit your style of play. An expansion, Pacific Storm: Allies, is also available which brings a third nation, Great Britain, into play, along with diplomacy and more units. If you have the patience required, Pacific Storm is a unique and fun game.

Dai Senryaku VII: The Best Strategy Game You've Never Heard Of

Let's take some time off from the PC and look at something for the Xbox. So what is this strategy game with a name I can’t pronounce? Dai Senryaku VII is a turn-based strategy game on a hexagonal grid for the Xbox that is imported from Japan. Before that worries you, it is all in English, in fact, besides the title, you wouldn’t even know it was produced outside of the U.S. Dai Senryaku VII(abbreviated as DS7 for both our sakes) offers a very in-depth look at modern military conflict that is extremely satisfying. Even though it is for an aging system and won’t be found in any stores offline, DS7 is definitely worth checking out.

The process can take getting used to, but with the tutorial's help, you'll soon be moving dozens of units in no time.

DS7 lets you play as one of eight nations’ modern militaries, with a total of over 400 different, real-world units to select from. Ranging from infantry, tanks, artillery, fighters, aircraft carriers, and many other types, it’s easy to find the unit balance that fits the map being played and your play style. Units are produced (in free-play mode) only in proximity to one’s Headquarters, with ships being built in ports and aircraft in airports. Each nation is presented realistically, which means that the U.S. and Russia will have better units than Japan or France, but it will cost them in deployment expenses. Logistics must also be managed, and supply trucks, ships, and tanker aircraft are vital in long-range fighting. Combat also takes place at different altitudes, with aircraft flying high, helicopters skimming the surface, troops on the ground, ships on the water, and submarines under it. Most units also carry several different weapons. A light helicopter may only carry machine guns, aircraft will have several types of missiles, ships will have a variety of weapons, and even infantry can carry anti-tank rockets, SAMs, and mortars. The depth will overwhelm those new to the playstyle, but will bring relief and add to the experience for a military buff. The camera is also very controllable and friendly.

The graphics are limited, but the I-shoot-he-counterattacks combat is presented well enough, with good sound effects

There is a lengthy campaign that is linear, but the fighting armies are represented as different colors, with the player taking control of different nations from one mission to the next. Difficulty increases at a good pace, and the missions are widely varied to avoid repetition. Free-play mode allows the player to fight on any of the campaign maps, several dozen free scenarios, and even player-created maps from the map editor. Options are open to the player, including nations, funds, and alliances. The maps range from real-world looking, to made-up, and even the bizarre, like the moon and earth, or the outline of a cartoon face. The multiple options and map editor allow unlimited replayability.

There is a wealth of information available, unique to each of the 400+ units.

So hopefully you’ve been fully introduced to a strategy game you’ve probably never heard of. That being said, I recommend checking DS7 out. While you won’t find it in any store (most likely), it can be found online at Amazon.com and the like for a bargain price. It is very in-depth for a console game, and offers a lot of realism. Between the campaign, free-play, and a map editor, you won’t get bored quickly. I highly suggest Dai Senryaku VII as one of the very few strategy games for the Xbox.