Unity of Command review
Unity of Command is an ambitious game. On the one hand, it is a war game which is proud to model some of the wider issues which smaller-scale strategy games avoid, as much about managing supply lines and attrition as it is actual combat. On the other, its developers have tried to make it as approachable as possible – a gateway war game, undaunting to those less experienced in the genre. As a lightweight war gamer myself, I was somewhat doubtful that it would succeed – it would take quite some doing to overcome my natural reticence to engage in wars of logistics alongside more generic warmongering. Still, I was willing to give it a chance.
One thing became clear very quickly: this is a war game which has had a large amount of work put into its UI, something most war game developers seem to consider a secondary concern. The controls are kept clear and simple – I might even go so far as to call them elegant – managing to be both comprehensive and intuitive, while the interface makes good use of clear visual cues throughout.
Your divisions’ possible routes are highlighted, with enemy zones of control (which will immediately end a division’s movement if ended) clearly demarcated. It is possible to judge the state of each division at a glance, with all the information you need presented clearly and concisely: the artwork telling you what sort of unit it is (and therefore its strengths and abilities); while a series of white and grey ‘pips’ let you know whether it is suffering permanent losses or has any suppressed units. Additional icons are added for those with attached auxiliary troops in support, and for any units out of supply. And if that list of considerations seems daunting, fear not. The game features an interactive tutorial which does a fantastic job of explaining all the concepts of the game – concepts which swiftly become second nature.
More than that: they quickly become essential considerations when playing, issues that will always be on your mind. Losses and suppressed units don’t just mark how close a division is to being destroyed: they also affect its effectiveness in battle. Quite simply: the fewer men who are battle-ready, the less of a fight a division can put up, weakening both its offensive capability and its ability to keep the enemy at bay. A division operating at a particularly low capacity even loses its zone of control, reflecting its inability to effectively contest battlegrounds.
Auxiliary units, meanwhile, grant unique skills and bonuses to divisions’ stats. So divisions with engineers in support are far more effective at fighting entrenched enemies (and indeed at entrenchment themselves), while divisions with recon units are better able to skirt around the enemy without being held up. Auxiliaries can be purchased and added to any unit in supply, and their use can be key to winning battles.
And then there is the issue of supply. Supply is essential. Divisions automatically regain the use of suppressed units every turn, unless they are out of supply. Similarly, units can be reinforced… as long as they are in supply. Even more significantly, a division out of supply for a turn becomes less effective in combat; a division out of supply for two or more turns loses the ability to attack, moves more slowly, and gradually becomes suppressed. In a worst case scenario, any division out of supply for two turns while in difficult terrain (such as mountains) will become stranded, unable to move until supply is restored.
And how is supply managed? Through careful manoeuvring. Both sides begin each battle with a limited number of supply depots, all with a specific range. Supply spreads quickly through roads and fields, and can be transported limitless distances along railroads. However, it has difficulty crossing rivers and mountains, and cannot cross enemy territory. This encourages daring forays into enemy territory in order to cut their supply lines – blocking railroads and bridges, encircling advance units; these become essential tactics, allowing you to engage and destroy superior enemy forces, all the while remaining aware that the same could happen to you. As such, even as you make your aggressive sweeps into enemy territory, you have to be careful to maintain your front line, keeping an eye out for any weaknesses or gaps which could allow an enemy division to cut through your forces and cut their supplies. It makes for a wonderfully tense game, where the slightest error can have devastating consequences.
In fact, it’s thanks to this that you begin to appreciate your less skilled divisions. Initially, you’ll wonder at the purpose of some of your troops – your divisions of Hungarians and Poles, of green recruits who can seemingly do nothing in an assault but die. It is only when you appreciate the importance of supply lines, of keeping a large, solid front line that their relevance becomes clear. Though weak on the assault, they can contest areas – and properly placed and entrenched they can hold off the enemy, protecting your flanks and rear while more skilled divisions advance on your objectives.
It is in this that the games true brilliance is revealed – it is a war game which requires the player keep an eye on the bigger picture at all times; that forces you to use every man at your disposal in order to secure victory, not allowing you to coast on the successes of your most elite units. It manages to create an authentic, challenging game without ever falling back on overwhelming complexity or opaque rules to up the difficulty. It is, quite simply, a masterful example of the genre. A tight, intelligent war game, it even offers two fully-featured campaigns alongside the expected skirmish maps, and is blessed with an aggressive, intelligent AI. Unity of Command is a perfect entry-level war game, sacrificing none of the intelligence or emergence that makes war games so compelling in the first place. One of the greatest war games I’ve played in a long time.
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http://twitter.com/Reesters Rachel Jean Rees
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http://www.gamedot.co.uk Liam
