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Fictional Scenario Reviews

Playability Rating

6 / 10

COMMENTS: The scenario is designed to be playable from both sides, so that there are similar units with similar stats: the Republican and Loyalist units are counter-parts; Riflemen are shared. There are also unique units for each side: Mortars and Rocket Launchers for the Republicans, Helicopters for the Unionists, so calling for different tactics. The choice in units is quite limited. The whole scenario depicts the battle as internal, so there are no British Army troops to reinforce the Unionists, or IRA for the Nationalists.

There are no events to spice things up a little, and no background information to help the player identify with the conflict, which is a pity because the politics of Northern Ireland are not widely known and the scenario could have fufilled a secondary educational function in this respect. Playability without events is okay, don't get me wrong, but you know what to expect. There is nothing random: nothing to encourage repeated playing.

Level of General Care

6 / 10

COMMENTS: The map is quite simple in geography: mostly grassland with areas of "high ground" (densely packed hills and mountains) and the cities. This has implications for combat style: offensive play on the plains and defensive on raised ground. As a depiction of the topography of Northern Ireland this is less than accurate and more could be done to improve the battlefield, with wooded areas, hills and valleys. As terrain values are civ2 standard, the pre-dominance of grassland then also affects the cities which have a high food suplus every turn.

Technology plays no real role here. There are only happiness techs and special techs. The special techs can be researched, but at 10 times normal science rate and Fundamentalist governments it is unlikely to cause a problem in the 36 turns (3 years) of play.

Art and Originality

4 / 10

COMMENTS: The wonders are terrific. They don't serve any function except to give extra objective points, but they are well chosen and with appropriate art-work. The same cannot be said for the improvements which are unamended. Again, as the scenario's emphasis is on warfare rather than empire building this is hardly a central concern.

The icons for the units are also suitably chosen out of the hundreds now available. The "Rioter" unit is an interesting adaption of the Pikeman unit: it shows a man with a helmet holding an offensive-looking wooden pole.

I don't like to say "there is room for improvement" because the statement is fairly meaningless. It is so easy to go over the top with scenarios like this which are conceptionally simple and short. The designer has included what's needed: the units, the map ... even the flags. You can't really do more without doing differently: a larger more detailed map would necessitate a longer scenario. The designer has chosen this approach for his concept, and it works very well.