PC Game Shout Out: Unity Of Command

Something fresh today, as I thought I'd do a PC game shout-out.  A bit of genre-crossing here, I realise not everyone is a computer gamer, but a big part of the models I buy is the films I'm watching, books I'm reading, and games I'm playing.  And the game I'm playing is Unity of Command.

So here we have it - a little review of Unity of Command, with a wargamer's spin.

Unity of Command - a hex-and-counter, turn based strategy game set around Stalingrad.

This will not be totally alien to your wargaming side.  UoC is a strategy simulation game where you command German or Soviet formations, moving them around on a map divided into hexes, like many classic board wargames.  Each unit has characteristics like attack, defence, movement, and so on, with specialist additions to give you advantages against certain unit types.  Most obvious one - anti-tank giving you a significant boost when defending against tanks.

While there is so much detail in the game, it's all pretty clearly presented and you can easily judge the potential of any attack with a nice projected casualty ratio.  With that noted, underneath is a list of all the 'shifts', or factors, affecting that figure.  So, attacking across a river obviously incurs a hefty penalty.  Throw in factors like weather, partisans, fuel, morale, experience and you've got a deep game in which to immerse yourself.

Supply is absolutely the key mechanic in this game.  Your supply points have a radius, outside of which it becomes much more difficult to operate.  Railways extend this, but if you don't outrun your own supply lines the enemy will do their level best to cut them - don't expect the AI to go easy on you!  Particularly if you're playing as the Axis, you'll find often that your attacks are stunning successes, but you can't follow them up for lack of fuel, and you have to watch helplessly as the enemy regroups and counterattacks again and again...

There's a decent single-player campaign for Axis and Allies, each with lots of replayability as you struggle to achieve the stringent conditions to unlock bonus missions.  There's also a hotseat and multiplayer mode, but there's only one scenario at the moment.

The reason I mention a game on the blog is because it's probably the best PC-game-representation of strategy out there.  It's not all about kills and long blocks of front lines - it's a fluid, dynamic battle where you have to be constantly on your toes, juggling a myriad of factors to achieve the ruthless and demanding objectives.

Do not get this:

• If you are frustrated easily
• If you want something simple and easy

Do get this:

• If you're at all interested in the Eastern Front
• If you read Stalingrad and wondered how on earth the entire Sixth Army got itself captured
• If you want to join the Army and be a staff officer

In short - a really nice representation of some of the challenges of warfare in WW2, in a modern style with throwbacks to some classic hex games.  Well worth it.

Currently pretty cheap to download digitally - $6.66 for the main game on the website (and $3.33 for the Red Tide expansion pack).  Available on Steam for peanuts at the moment.

Back to models soon.  Lots more WW1 stuff in the post!

Ed