Scenario Review Scenario Title: Australian Civil War 1999 Author: Dracon Reviewer: Blackclove   Fictional scenario. In 1999, Australia self-destructs and a massive war begins. Download acw1999.zip from Platehead's site. Note: There is a newer version of this scenario - see Version 2.0 Reviews

Overall Rating 16/30 OVERVIEW: This is a pretty typical high-tech war, featuring a few new units and a lot of swearing. While "potty humor" doesn't usually appeal to me, I did get a few chuckles out of some of the things the diplomats call you when they're mad. Beavis and Butthead would love it, though. Once you look past the style, it is actually a fairly well-crafted scenario, although it could be better.

Playability Rating 5 / 10 COMMENTS: Although the scenario was straightforward, it was still fun. The sides were pretty well balanced, although the computer plays quite poorly. I think this would be a better multiplayer scenario. New Zealand, although "recommended" by the designer, is too far from the action to really play a major role for quite some time. As a democracy their combat abilities are crippled. The first thing I would change here is to allow nations to switch governments, or else start NZ as a republic instead of a democracy, given that this is a total war scenario. This scenario cries out for use of the objectives system. The victory goals are unclear - do I need to conquer New Zealand if I'm the Mabo? There is one other very strange item: if you take the capital of the Nation of Mabo, then a super-powerful unit called the Rainbow Serpent appears on their side. This unit is far too mighty and should probably be weakened or eliminated.

Level of General Care 7 / 10 COMMENTS: The map is excellent, and for that alone it is worth seeing. The author also put in considerable effort altering game text, including commodities and the diplomacy screen. There are a few other things that would have greatly improved the scenario, though. Most importantly, there is no documentation to speak of. I would really have liked to have known more about some of the wonders - what ARE these things? No pedia.txt was included, although it would have been quite helpful here. Finally, some more effort may need to be expended on the wonders. Some of them are obsolete even though they can be built at the outset.

Art and Originality 4 / 10 COMMENTS: Nice job on the unit graphics and icon graphics, as well as the terrains. Although most of them come from other scenarios, they work. The author did manage to hit one nerve for me, which was the use of a klansman unit as one of the "militia" units. As someone who lives in the U.S. south, the white hooded figure seemed to ruin the mood for me a bit. Still, this probably won't bother most non-USA folks. The scenario falls down a bit on originality, given that it is derived very closely from another scenario (US Civil War 2001, by Nero).

NOTES: None.

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