Scenario Review Scenario Title: Europe: 1939 Author: Harlan Thompson Reviewer: John Petroski   Historical scenario. A very good and early World War II Europe scenario by the acknowledged master, Harlan. Download at csc.apolyton.net

Overall Rating 29/30 SYNOPSIS: This in my estimation is Harlan's finest work (although many would consider me biased to WW2 scenarios). The reason why I say this is simple. This scenario is the inspiration for so many WW2 scenarios that have been developed after it. I know from firsthand knowledge that my and many other WW2 scenarios was created because Harlan made this scenario so well. (Although it was based on Andrew P. Livings' "Before the Storm"). Aside from being an inspiration to many authors, this scenario is also one of the most technically sound that I have ever seen. I noticed only one bug -- but I will discuss that at a later time. Not only is the scenario pretty much "bug proof" but it also makes great use of events (keep in mind that this scenario was made a LONG time ago).

Playability Rating 9 / 10 COMMENTS: The thing about this scenario that I must stress is that it is absolutely huge! For a player who does not enjoy playing the same turn for over an hour at a time, this is definitely not the scenario for you! If, however, you do not mind turns that take forever but rather want only historical fun, and a challenge, then this scenario is definitely for you. The first time that I played this scenario, I was up until four in the morning with my eyes wide awake invading Russia. I know that this was definitely the only scenario that I have ever yet known to do this to me. The problem is that I could not capture the entire world! I had every single city except for India! And so a few months later, I tried again. This time I could not get past the first turn without stopping. In fact, I am STILL on the first turn a few months after having started it! Obviously what I am trying to say is that although for a "one night stand", this scenario is absolutely a perfect choice, but after that, it's replayability drops incredibly. Another bad thing about this scenario's playability is that only the Axis can be played as a one-player game. As a hot seat email game however, I found that this scenario can be a very good one if you don't mind waiting a few days in-between turns. I think that the author could fix this problem, but it would not be very easy and it would take at least a week of hard tinkering. All in all though, I have to give this scenario a nine out of ten in this section because trust me - this scenario is stupendous the first time you play it and I guarantee that it will be one of your most enjoyed scenario playing experiences. Even though it does have some faults in this area, they are not great enough to warrant a lower score because this scenario can be very, very fun and playable. Even if you do play it over, it is not repetitive, there are new surprises and such. It is in my opinion only not that great a second time because it is so long and no one has the energy to play it twice!

Level of General Care 10/10 COMMENTS: It does not take long to realize that Harlan spent an enormous amount of time on this scenario. He obviously put a ton of work into the scenario simply because of it's enormous historical accuracy, initial playability, units configuration, readme (15 pages!), background information, and general care. I would not believe anyone who said that this scenario was not well made if I were you because they are wrong, pure, and simple. The only thing in this scenario that is not perfectly made is the ICBM's range. I think that Harlan went a little wild with its properties and so it can not move anywhere! This kind of sucked for me because I was counting on it to support my ground troops in America. I do not see any reason to mark down this scenario and its obvious care just because of one, easily remedied problem however, and thus, full points shall be retained.

Art and Originality 10/10 COMMENTS: To fairly score this area we must remember that this scenario was made a very long time ago. Many newer players who are only familiar with some of the newer WW2 scenarios out there will think to themselves, "this scenario does not have any new units! How original can it be?" What they forget of course is that when this scenario was released THESE UNITS WERE ORIGINAL! Other scenarios copied IT! If you look at the icons and unit icons for this scenario, many of them would have been brand new back then. Also many events and ideas that seem pretty worn out now were INVENTED by this scenario's creators! Therefore, full points shall be given. Just look at it, all those interesting ideas like Vichy France and many of the commonplace units, originated from this scenario. ORIGINATED, thus this scenario was ORIGINAL.

NOTES: This scenario is a great "weekend scenario" as it will certainly take several sittings to finish. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great WW2 scenario out there however as it is one of the best available. It was what got me "into" WW2 personally.

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