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Birth of America II: Wars in America 1750-1815 reviewGame: Birth of America II: Wars in America 1750-1815Platform: PC Genre: Turn-Based Strategy (Historical) Developer: AGEOD |
Staff review by Lewis Denby
September 01, 2008 Contrary to all rational and logical brain processing that goes on during the course of reviewing a game, I've actually grown rather fond of Birth of America 2. It's a visually outdated, mechanically simplistic and sometimes counter-intuitive turn-based strategy game, so alarm bells rang from the start. But after just a couple of hours with BoA2, they diminished. Like its predecessor, it's actually quite good.Firstly, it's incredibly detailed. I'll admit I've not checked the historical accuracy of all the in the game's events - that would take days if not weeks - but from my knowledge at least it's pretty thorough. The native tribes are all accurate, the armies and regiments are accurate, the map's accurate... Someone, presumably in a dark room at the home of French developer AGEON, has clearly become something of a recluse, buried deep under piles of tome-sized history books. The result is an engrossing world of war, one that despite its many shortcomings will have strategy enthusiasts hooked for hours on end.
The presentation could date it as far back as the mid-90s, but it's refreshing to discover that it's to no real detriment to the game. There's no 3D engine at play here; we're simply given a lovingly hand-drawn map with some nice little overlays representing the numerous regiments and tribes. BoA2 falls disappointingly short in its portrayal of the battles themselves. There's no on-screen representation at all, in fact; just a text box at the bottom of the screen explaining the outcome. Disappointing but, again, not significantly detrimental. It works just fine.
From the outset, players can select from a wide range of campaigns, each playable from the perspective of any of the factions involved. Enthusiasts will lap up the lack of limitations here, but it does create a significant problem in the lack of a sense of reward. There's nothing to unlock, no reason to do anything but dip in every now and then to bash through a single mission. Still, while some can be completed in just fifteen minutes or so, others demand hours of careful, patient planning, and it's here where BoA2 really shines.
The gameplay is a litle unbalanced at times. Difficulty levels seem to matter very little in the shorter campaigns - I managed to beat the first couple on both the easiest and hardest setting with almost identical results. It's a more apparent distinction during the lengthier missions, and enemy AI can be fiendishly clever at times, seemingly second-guessing you at every turn. Some players will find a way to exploit the game by playing solely as defensive factions, which does generally provide the much simpler task of working out which areas need protecting, and simply dragging half your units to those locations. To do so would be to accept the game's weakest side alone. The most fun to be had here is when strategically planning months upon months of attacks, and in the campaigns that last up to a decade this can be gloriously challenging and pleasantly rewarding.
BoA2 has one major downside, and it's that newcomers to the genre will likely find themselves lost and frustrated within minutes. This is a game that assumes a hefty knowledge of the turn-based world, and the available tutorial does little to establish anything but the basics. You're taught how to move your units, how to adjust their nature from defensive to attacking and how to navigate your way around the map, but some of the game's intricacies are skipped. In particular, the Engagement Points system, which, while far more lightweight than anything in the Civilization series, allows you to tweak your political, diplomatic and economic policies in a similar way, using your experience points to 'purchase' such changes. It's in these details that victories become more of a widened, strategic reward than a lucky combination of moves, but without reading the full manual this simply isn't apparent. A combination of this and the sheer amount of numbers and statistics will likely leave all but the most hardened of strategy players disgruntled and in a confused mess.
If there's one thing that will draw such people back into this ultimately enjoyable game, it's the undeniable charm present throughout. Whether it's the chirpy, authentic soundtrack, or the classic board game presentation, BoA2 has a charisma about it that its more average competitors lack. It's not going to challenge the big boys, but AGEON know that. Instead of trying, they've poured all their efforts into creating something of their own. The result may be dated on the surface, but at heart it's refreshing and entertaining enough to succeed of its own merits.
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