Axis & Allies (PC) > Reviews > The second world war how would you play it?

Author's product rating:   

Playability & Enjoyment	Excellent - very playable game
Graphics	OK
Sound	Good - relevant music & effects
Difficulty & Complexity	Average - suitable for most

Advantages:	Control wave of attacks,gripping and enthrawling detail,exciting videos,what a game,not bad for a fiver !  !
Disadvantages:	Too easy, world domination is impossible to achive,and planes run out of fuel hehe !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Axis and allies is a pc made version of the traditional board game of the same name,i have not played it so i have no basis for comparison but i willsay that this is a great game from HASBRO INTERACTIVE and one of the cheapest most addictive games i have had the pleasure of playing.From the opening intro video which is extremely cool and enthrawling to the end videos of allied or axis victory the game never lacks energy and thought has been given to every conseivable detail to make a wonderful historic pc game!

Axis and allies is a simple yet detailed follow off of the height of the third reich,simple yet interesting war deciding battles are area based and not town/city based that can be a trifle anoying.The battle for Stalingrad was the turning point in the war and so was the battle for El alamein in Africa.The storyline is based at the height of the third reich in 1942 where much of northern africa was under occupation and the baltic sea and western Russia.Germany typically start with a huge amount of wealth where as Russia start with half of the starting army and half of the cash.

The atlantic ocean is off of a similar storyline from the war,the german U boats are threatening vital support freights from America to Britain.Meanwhile the power hungry Americans start with a ridiculously large amount of money and large amount of units and with the fact that the country is impregnable it really is a massive disadvantage to the axis in the game.The empire of Japan ot the 'land of the rising sun' also start with a large consumption of cash such as their allies Germany which pose a huge threat to Russia's siberian strike forces above Manchuria.

The apearence and layout of the game is a trifle simple and cheap looking,the world is laid out in sections for each area or section they carry a money value called IPC some areas are wrth more than others e.g. India is 3IPC value where as Egypt and South africa carry a 2IPC value,this also means that if you decide to build indrustry there you can only produce the IPC value of units each turn e.g. 3 IPC =3 units per turn which is a trifle anoying.Certain countries are neutral of course such as Sweden and Spain and pretty much all of South America which does'nt play any role in the war allthough the importance of the Panama canal in the war is over emphesised when you play,it is a very important transport link for ships.

Axis and allies consists of 5 main army's.The British,Russian,American,Japanese and of course the Germans.Perhaps incorrectly Britain start with their huge infamous Empire,India,Australia,Canada,South africa but most of these areas are terribly undefended and require precise strategic thinking to hold and defend against the Japanese and German army's.America's army is huge and economic but they strart off with China and forgive me for not studying GCSE history but didn't the empire of Japan take and occupy China with considerable ease in the war hehe oh well.

Japan start with the whole pacific fleet at the mercy of their fingertips the term used in the fascinating game video is 'Japan turn the pacific into a sea of blood' is perhaps an understatement,Siberia and eastern Russia is painfully unprotected and can be easily taken by Japan.Germany start with a huge naval adantage over Britain,Italy,scandenavia,most of northern africa and of course Western Russia at the Urals.It't times like this game that you will respect Russia for practically wining the war because they start poorer than any other nation and have very little army to hold back the hungry beast of Germany at the Urals how did Russia win the battle of Stalingrad it's a miracle!!!

I would strongly advice people to not click the computer setting on all 4 other army's it would drive you mad,the comp. takes an eternity to make their move but it's too predictable if you play the game as long as i have you will notice that the comp.always follows the same moves and strategies every game yawn zzz hehe.It is great that each army's comp settings is matched to that of a great leader e.g. Germany's comp. leader can be Romel 5stars and they deteriate to 4 and 3 stars.Japan's comp. Hirrohito,America is Eisenhower,Britain is Montgomery and Germany's comp. army is led by Rommel the 'desert fox'.

The gaming options are a tad inacurate at times especially the world domination setting there's nothing more frustrating than playing this for an hour then coming close to occupying America then it says axis victory arghhhhhhhh give me a gun jeesh.The videos are over enthrawling and make battles worth it no matter how outnumbered you are,if you turn on the video/cut scene option you get options like on a coastal country e.g. bombard with battleships or when using submarines there is a cut scene of death charges.At the end of each round you get a paper headline showing e.g. russian juggernaut moves forward,you get figures and vital graphs to compare and contrast your progress with that of other army's.

At the start of each army's turn you receive an IPC chance option this basically involves gambling your money on huge adantages e.g. rockets,super subs the best of course is the heavy bomber option which gives a bomber the option of about 5-10 hits more than any other plane which is useful against impregnable islands like Britain and Japan.I warn you that it's very unlikely to get these bonuses you often gamble your cash away.Then comes the unit sales,here you can buy anything from 3IPC soldiers to 5IPC tanks to 24IPC battleships,you can aslo buy 15IPC bombers and 15IPC industry and 5IPC AA guns.Then comes along the combat move here you can move an army of units into an enemy section and try to take it over,then comes the Non-combat move where you can further play defensively if you wish or land planes which are low on fuel(this option is forced upon you).At the end of each army's turn you receive an IPC cash value score on the IPC value of all the sectors you control added up to a total.

The battle sequences are very unpredictable yet very gripping it shows your army attacking an oponents army,white dice roll across the screen for each attack from each unit when it turns red that symbolises a direct hit,submarines have the option to submerge and of course in most cases you can retreat if you are getting a spanking.When attacking with planes if the area has AA guns then they strike first,same with Battelships in a naval battle thay may take the option if you want to only be destroyed with 2 hits which can be boring and irritating so i'd advise against it.Submarines attack first remeber in naval battles which basically means in a battle if your subs attack and hit the unit hit is destroyed and then you can attack a second time.As i mentioned the battles are ridiculously unpredictable which means if you attack 5 german soldiers with 15 russian soldiers you may still loose or if a soldier attacks a tanks the tank may get destroyed,this is at times irritating but is nesesary to give the element of chance and miracle victory's a chance to shine!

The graphics of the game are not up to much,the sound is very nice and has a different tune to each army's turn,the game is very addictive and it's difficulty can be adjusted to many different options by the player the game lasts and shines throughout in style!

When it comes down to it the game is perfectly equal allthough the allies have a 3:2 advantage the axis start more powerfull,richer and with more force and stronger armies.In conclusion this game is well worth a fiver it is extremely addictive and enjoyable and is even educational as it depicts the second world war but this time '1942 war begins now it's your turn',you are in command the fate of the world is in your hands,the question is:

How would you play the second world war?