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Fictional Scenario Reviews

Playability Rating

5 / 10

COMMENTS: The atmosphere is well set. One gets the feeling fighting a war on a small Caribbean Island. Despite the excellent atmosphere the scenario itself fails to deliver the game I had hoped. The scenario is not well balanced. It is far to easy to win when playing as the Red Brigade or as the Government. The other civilizations don't have any chance of survival. The scenario was far to easy from the side of the Red Brigade. That and it's not balanced for play as any other groups. The cartels, church and red cross start out with nothing making them just an annoyance to the game. The Reds capture cities too easily in the beginning of the game but quickly lose them to the when the Government receives its reinforcements.

I felt it was a 'could have been' scenario and I recommend to the author to change the following:

• Remove the annoying civilizations; cartels, church and red cross.
• Redraw the map and set them up as neighboring countries, or even put them on the same island (San Lorenzo) as other rebel groups. But definitely make them stronger.
• Not so many reinforcements for the government. Hell America didn't supply that many troops to its own effort in the gulf war. ;-)

Level of General Care

2 / 10

COMMENTS: In the general care department very little effort was made to this scenario easier and more comfortable to play. For example, Pedia.txt file was not included. The readme.txt file includes some documentation but not enough to really explain the scenario in detail.

A new tech tree was not included, but I don't really think that it was necessary to include one.

City.txt file was not included so that if you built a new city the game did not suggest a name for the city. Additionally, city names could have been more original not that that is a really big deal but it does detract from the flavor of the game.

Art and Originality

3 / 10

COMMENTS: To ensure that the scenario's game play has a different feel and flavor to it, it is important to modify the artwork, not just the units but the icons and cities as well. This is one thing I make sure I do when I create a scenario. To immerse the player in an environment that is totally new maintains that player's interest in the scenario. In this area that the scenario that the scenario falls short of the mark.

The artwork seems to be completely "borrowed" from other scenarios. This is not necessarily bad, considering that I do the same thing, but some more originality could have added a great deal to the game play. None of the terrain had been changed from the original civ2, nor had any of the other artwork been modified, besides the units.

The best new unit graphic is the Red Brigade.

Hero graphics should be very different from the other units graphics. This is confusing especially when your planning a swift attack. People don't always look at the names. A hero's unit graphic should stand out from all other units as to define it's position on the battlefield.

To improve the scenario, I suggest:

• A new set of units that are more accurate to the setting.
• The Red Brigade should be allowed to build the same units as the Government.
• Terrain could be modified considerably. Desert could be beaches, glacier could be Dense Jungle, etc.

Concluding Comments and Suggestions: A descent scenario for starters. I recommend the writer tap the wealth of knowledge to be found in the SLeague's design tip section and try it again. As they say, the second time's the charm. Also, add some new units and some new terrain. The concept is original and playing guerrillas is fun, but overall, this scenario just doesn't cut it.

My final suggestions to the author:

• The guerrillas should have fewer but stronger units at the start.
• The government's cities should have a very weak defensive unit protecting them. This will prevent the cities from being overtaken too easily and will make the player have to fight for them. Which, after all, is the actual concept of the game.
• The government has too many units in the beginning and relieves far to many reinforcements. You don't need to change the amount of units the Government has just reduce the amount of reinforcements given to them.