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I've found Exile's recent reviews of Medieval Era scenarios to be very helpful in my rediscovering of the greatness that is Civ2. So I thought Would attempt to contribute to the Community, by starting some reviews of Modern Era Scenarios. Though I have neither the wisdom nor eloquence of Exile, I hope that my review is at least helpful to someone.
Battle for Algiers
Having truly enjoyed the Carl Fritz classic, "Justinian the Great" I decided to try another scenario of his to determine if he was a one hit wonder, or if he could propel his genius into other scenarios. The conclusion I reached was that Carl Fritz was no Vanilla Ice.
Battle for Algiers is set within the very narrow scope of the Algerian War for Independence. Those that want a far-flung map of the world, should look elsewhere, France is not even represented on the Map, just Algeria. One plays as the French, trying to hold off the FLN, controlled by six different Muslim factions.
Right from the beginning one can discern the care and flair put into this scenario. From the very first turn, the insurrection starts and your cities fall one by one to the rebels. You can feel the weariness that must of beset the French commanders (The very same ones who couldn't hold French-Indo China.) This turning of of the population to support the cause of independence is further illustrated though the antiquation of Wonders. At the beginning of the Scenario Wonders such as Adam Smith's Trad Co and Michelango's Cathedral are controlled by the French Player (appropriately re-titled of course) though are rendered obsolete by technology discovered by the FLN, throwing most of your cities into chaos. A very good re-creation of the dissent expressed by a large portion of the Algerian population.
Technology plays a part of the game detailing the changes necessary in this type of guerrilla war, however the tech progression is essentially linear, so those who like to make hard choices about which tech to research may be a little disappointed. I however thought that the tech tree was perfect for recreating the Algerian War, in a small scale war such as this, an overly large tech tree could hamper the gameplay.
As for the gameplay itself, I feel it did a very good job playing into the feel of commanding the French forces. The Muslim forces have unique units such as the terrorist that will decimate almost any unit, (though killing itself in the process), meaning you cannot just play on the defensive nor on just one or two fronts, for you will be constantly attacked everywhere. Furthermore, city production is well done, so you have places like Algiers or Oran able to pump out top-quality units. A characteristic I like very much in the scenario, it always bothers me when you have to wait ages in order to produce a new unit. However Carl Fritz does not allow the pace to stagnate and you always have something to do in a turn, yet you cannot simply out-produce your enemy either as the FLN will attach you and when it doesn't do that, it will incite riots in your cities, turning them over to FLN allegiance. A key asset of France is her Paratroops which were extensively used throughout the war. The gameplay here is absolutely outstanding, and sinking many hours into this is a great pleasure.
Graphics are also very good and pertain well to the specifics of the scenario. While they are not on the level of more recently created art, by someone like Fairline. For a 2001 release I understand that they were quite good, and even today it looks good and the effort put into the detail shows, (Such as the white Kepi on the Legionarre)
Replayability is more limited in this scenario. That is not to say there is one one way to win, you could persue a variety of tactics., just simply after you crush the FLN, you might not want to crush them again anytime soon. More life is breathed into the Scenario if one gives a go as one of the FLN groups for not only are you trying to topple the French, but ultimately ensure that YOUR brand of goverment supplents your rival FLN groups.
In Conclusion this is a great conflict specific scenario in which tedium never sets in and one can recreate the Golden Sunset of the French Foreign Legion.
Battle for Algiers
Having truly enjoyed the Carl Fritz classic, "Justinian the Great" I decided to try another scenario of his to determine if he was a one hit wonder, or if he could propel his genius into other scenarios. The conclusion I reached was that Carl Fritz was no Vanilla Ice.
Battle for Algiers is set within the very narrow scope of the Algerian War for Independence. Those that want a far-flung map of the world, should look elsewhere, France is not even represented on the Map, just Algeria. One plays as the French, trying to hold off the FLN, controlled by six different Muslim factions.
Right from the beginning one can discern the care and flair put into this scenario. From the very first turn, the insurrection starts and your cities fall one by one to the rebels. You can feel the weariness that must of beset the French commanders (The very same ones who couldn't hold French-Indo China.) This turning of of the population to support the cause of independence is further illustrated though the antiquation of Wonders. At the beginning of the Scenario Wonders such as Adam Smith's Trad Co and Michelango's Cathedral are controlled by the French Player (appropriately re-titled of course) though are rendered obsolete by technology discovered by the FLN, throwing most of your cities into chaos. A very good re-creation of the dissent expressed by a large portion of the Algerian population.
Technology plays a part of the game detailing the changes necessary in this type of guerrilla war, however the tech progression is essentially linear, so those who like to make hard choices about which tech to research may be a little disappointed. I however thought that the tech tree was perfect for recreating the Algerian War, in a small scale war such as this, an overly large tech tree could hamper the gameplay.
As for the gameplay itself, I feel it did a very good job playing into the feel of commanding the French forces. The Muslim forces have unique units such as the terrorist that will decimate almost any unit, (though killing itself in the process), meaning you cannot just play on the defensive nor on just one or two fronts, for you will be constantly attacked everywhere. Furthermore, city production is well done, so you have places like Algiers or Oran able to pump out top-quality units. A characteristic I like very much in the scenario, it always bothers me when you have to wait ages in order to produce a new unit. However Carl Fritz does not allow the pace to stagnate and you always have something to do in a turn, yet you cannot simply out-produce your enemy either as the FLN will attach you and when it doesn't do that, it will incite riots in your cities, turning them over to FLN allegiance. A key asset of France is her Paratroops which were extensively used throughout the war. The gameplay here is absolutely outstanding, and sinking many hours into this is a great pleasure.
Graphics are also very good and pertain well to the specifics of the scenario. While they are not on the level of more recently created art, by someone like Fairline. For a 2001 release I understand that they were quite good, and even today it looks good and the effort put into the detail shows, (Such as the white Kepi on the Legionarre)
Replayability is more limited in this scenario. That is not to say there is one one way to win, you could persue a variety of tactics., just simply after you crush the FLN, you might not want to crush them again anytime soon. More life is breathed into the Scenario if one gives a go as one of the FLN groups for not only are you trying to topple the French, but ultimately ensure that YOUR brand of goverment supplents your rival FLN groups.
In Conclusion this is a great conflict specific scenario in which tedium never sets in and one can recreate the Golden Sunset of the French Foreign Legion.
Any chance of including stuff like comments on replay value?
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