Operation Market Garden (Curt Sibling review)
From SLeague
| Score | Thumb | Title | Description | Reviewer | Designer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26.5/30 | 
| Operation Market Garden | A tactical WW2 scenario that recreates the fateful Allied airborne attack on nazi-occupied Holland. | Curt Sibling | techumseh |
| Genre | Historical |
|---|---|
| Map | Small |
| Timespan | 17th-26th September 1944AD |
Contents |
[edit] Overall View
When you unzip a techumseh scenario, you know that you are in for something special. And Operation Market Garden, or OMG (as I shall call it from now on) is one of his more interesting offerings, giving the player a chance to relive the fateful September 1944 Allied attack on nazi-occupied Holland. With past CIV2 offerings like Prince of Darkness, Congo, Red October and Roman Civil War, techumseh is a proven master when it comes to events and the in-depth technical tricks of CIV2. So, putting on my lucky Montgomery beret, and clambering onto my command Jeep (actually, my PC)...I knew OMG was going to be one heck of a battle...And how right I was!
[edit] Playability: 8.5
One thing I will stress with great emphasis here is to take a look at the Readme! It gives an excellent run-down of the situation and will make sense of the technology choice that pops up on the 1st Allied turn. Without that data, you may not know what is going on, unless you have an all-encompassing knowledge of the tactical campaign. After you are orientated with the nature of the scenario, and are clear about the tactical situation, it is time to load the SCN file! The atmosphere is already buidling as soon as you load the scenario, which is playable by the Allies only. It is obvious from the off that techumseh has taken tremendous care and detail here, with a truly superb movie and score playing that gets you into the WW2 mood right away...Tally ho, chaps!
You have a complex objective to achieve within 50 turns. You are required to capture nazi-held Deelen with an array of unit types still alive, with the view to opening a highway right into the heart of Germany. Of course, the enemy Axis AI will be trying hard to make this a painful experience as possible for you. As you enter the turn, you will be presented with a choice of Allied plans, which will have ramifications for your operations against an already mobilised German AI foe. Clever use of terrain and units come into play from the start, as some units have special duties, like mine-clearing using engineer roles to convert mine terrain to easily passable tiles...Not to mention bridge terrain and canal terrain to make Allied progress more realistic and represent the unique features of Holland. This is were techumseh scores high, with his thinking of how best to use the limitations of CIV2 to create a proper WW2 tactical battle were each move must be weighed against many considerations...For instance, cities are best taken with troops, as they are crawling with tank and aircraft-killing improvements. You have air power, but not very much, due to dodgy weather in the area.
As long as the few house rules are obeyed, historical accuracy abounds here. And much fun will be had by any CIV WW2 enthusiast. But be aware that this is no quick blast, but a true chess player's scenario. When the AI makes his move, you really feel the pinch, this is a tough, computerised German army that is every bit as ruthless as their historical counterparts in Arnhem. The player will really have to stay sharp and plan ahead to prevent himself being mincement for a fearsome array of WW2 Axis hardware and troops.
[edit] Level of General Care: 8.5
The amount of research and thought that has been injected into this project is very easy to see. When it comes to this campaign, techumseh has done his homework, and the result is a near flawless CIV2 tactical representation of this famed battle. The towns, terrain features and units all have accurate wartime names. The inclusion of movies, the perfectionism of the events and tech-tree design put this one far above almost all WW2 scenarios I have played in my CIV2 career. The rules file has the hallmarks of a designer that knows his game inside and out, and overall, this scenario has the simple, uncluttered touch of a CIV2 master. As mentioned, there is an plethora of text files included, that cover all the CIV2 vanilla-to-scenario conversion essentials, and a superb readme which leaves nothing uncovered. My only quibble is the slight disorientation that the first-time player will perhaps feel, and the lack of perhaps a quick text event to pop up and recap what is expected of you as a commander/player. But these are small pickings, because OMG delivers a multi-optional thinking-man's CIV2 struggle that more than makes up for the 'in-depth hex-wargame' play style.
[edit] Artwork/Originality: 9.5
This is where techumseh takes home the crown. His use of fairline's now legendary WW2 units is an inspired choice. OMG's units are blooming awesome, and capture the gritty WW2 feel and show what ToT is capable of. Not since Nemo's '2194 Days of War' has my jaw needed lifted back off the ground and taped shut while looking at such killer Shermans, troops and panzers. The only thing that prevented a shameless full marks in this category was some of the forest and original ToT terrain, which seemed to clash with the overall visual look. But there is many cool little touches also, the sight of Waffen SS fortified near tulips is a sight that makes me smile as I send my RAF Typhoon fighter-bomber to beat them up. All in all, a total feast - The grim days of 1944 never looked so kinky as they do in this scenario...
Operation Market Garden comes with the highest recommendation.
