Reviewed: April 18, 2001
Reviewed by: Richard Cross
Publisher
Strategy First
Developer
BreakAway Games
Released: April 3, 2001
Genre: Strategy
Players: 8
ESRB: Everyone
8
9
7
9
8.4
System Requirements
After playing many of the new games published by Strategy First, I couldn't wait to receive my copy of Waterloo: Napolean's Last Battle in the mail. Strategy First has really outdone themselves lately with PC gaming hits like Sudden Strike, Kohan, and Cossacks: European Wars.
I was looking forward to the challenging task of defeating yet another computer player in the Battle of Waterloo. The first thing to catch my eye when I opened the box was the size of the manual. This manual wasn't one to be thrown into the circular file without being opened at least once. I opened the first few pages of the manual and was surprised at the level of detail that has been included in this game. The manual contains a table of contents that outlines the entire tutorial structure of the game, the units, the gameplay, and ends with the game credits on page eighty-four. I tore open the plastic seal covering the CD with great anticipation! The installation went flawlessly, and I was ready to defeat Napolean on his own turf.
The main menu was the next thing to catch my eye as I fired up the game. It didn't contain a lot of useless selections, just the minimum to get you up and running while even providing a look into the history of the battles themselves. The history lesson alone was worth the price of the game. I truly learned more about the Battle of Waterloo from reading the history pieces than I did during all of my eighteen years of schooling.
The menu item that always interests me the most is the preferences menu. This is where I can usually tweak the video to a higher resolution as well as select a variety of tunes to listen to while pounding the computer into submission. To my surprise there wasn't a video resolution selection, and the volume adjustment was the only music option that could be changed. It's not very often these days that you get a preference menu as simple as this one.
The game itself plays very much like the other Sid Meier games with this same engine. This game uses the Gettysburg engine, and it is really beginning to show its age (more on that later).
You get to command the artillery, infantry, and calvary units in your army. This is done by a series of mouse clicks and keystrokes. The game has a total of ten different military formations that you can command your troops to use. The square formation is excellent against calvary attacks, and the skirmish formation is great for keeping battle stress low and advancing infantry at a standstill. The strategic information that is contained in the game is tremendous. You have the power of controlling your military with the formation commands as well as numerous administrative commands.
The game engine also takes many other factors into account when determining your success or demise in the battle. Cohesion, morale, and battle stress are just an example of what the computer uses to determine if your troops will go into battle and fight or if they will just run away with their tails between their legs!
Another great feature of the game is the inclusion of line of site and terrain level which will help determine the victor in the battle. If you have taken a hill and the enemy charges up it in the hopes to take the highland, they have another thing coming when they see that the higher elevation has provided not only cover for your troops but a vantage point for firing on the enemy.
Overall, I would have to predict that this is the last time we will see this graphics engine used in a game of this complexity. I first ran Waterloo on a Pentium III 450MHz system with a Viper V770 video card and 256MB of RAM and I thought that it needed more resources. After reading the box and seeing that it only required a Pentium II 266MHz machine I decided that I should try it on a faster system. I proceeded to install Waterloo on a Pentium III 800MHz box and to my surprise it didn't run any better! The graphics were still jumpy and the troops were difficult to maneuver due to the slow video support in the game. The one and only downfall of this wonderful game is the sub-par graphics engine. It has served its creators well, but now it is time to put it out to pasture.
The artwork for the units is second to none, and the amount of time and effort put into the uniform design alone must be staggering. Each unit is finely detailed in all of its beautiful splendor to exploit the boisterous uniforms of the Napoleonic era. The exploding cannonballs and infantry rifle fire during the battle is breathtaking as long as it is not being pointed directly at your troops.
The game really lets your mind wander back to the days of the Napoleonic era. The battle sounds range from cannon fire to the galloping of your own calvary. The musket fire really gets your attention during a battle especially when your troops are on the receiving end.
Out of all of the sounds of the game, I still haven't figured out where the music comes in. It is a very good score in the beginning stages of the menu system, but it seems to just die out when you are engaged in combat.
Overall, the game really ties the beautiful Napoleonic era uniforms and the sounds of battle together quite well.
If you are a dedicated war gamer and enjoy the battles of old, you will want to buy this game and play until your fingers bleed. If you have a Microsoft Strategic Commander on your desk, your task of defeating Napoleon will be that much easier. This game combines all of the history and stunning graphics that you will need to enjoy hours of pure PC gaming pleasure.
There are six tutorial missions to begin your long journey. After you have conquered these, you can begin your reign supreme with over thirty historical and speculative scenarios depicting all the spoils of war. There are over sixty historical uniforms included as well as some of the best artwork ever seen in a game of this genre. Waterloo features artwork by the award winning artist Keith Rocco.
This game supports multi-player over TCP/IP, LAN, IPX, and GameSpy Arcade. With the inclusion of GameSpy Arcade you will never have to wait to find a worthy opponent. The multiplayer experience is enhanced with the ability to allow more than one person to play on each side. Even with the included chat system, this can make for some very interesting strategies. You can play the smaller scenarios online, but I wouldn't recommend that you try the entire twelve hour battle unless you have quite a bit of time on your hands.
Overall, this game proves that gameplay is much more important than graphics goodness. The historical accuracy is an excellent addition to the game. We have seen many games of this genre try to accomplish the same goal but miss by the margin of accuracy and realism. The scenarios are well designed and the units strengths and weaknesses follow their true historical counterparts.
Waterloo is an excellent game for those that enjoy the excitement of real historical battles. The game model is very difficult if you are coming from the Command & Conquer way of things like I have. I would highly recommend this game to anyone that likes a challenge and enjoys strategy games.