Monday, September 6, 2010

Contact With the Enemy: More than a Plan Killer

You remember the famous phrase: "no plan survives contact with the enemy".

Well, the other thing that goes away, at least for a while if you are lucky, is command and control (C2).

Last night I was playing a sandbox, fictional scenario in Scourge of War. I was in command of a Union division and I had a hell of a time pulling a brigade out of contact. It can be done, but if the morale of the troops is slightly  less than super, the retreat quickly becomes a rout.

Maneuvering and avoiding deployment as the plague! Note the graphics glitch that makes the horses fly.

Troops embroiled in combat. These weapons have a maximum range of 160 yards and you may feel tempted to minimize the distance to the enemy. Be careful, the closer to the enemy, the easier your troops can rout during a retreat.

Having other regiments in the flanks will help morale and to break contact. However, deploying all units to the front will leave you reserve-less and anxious.

My troops get cold steel from their right flank. In the confusion of battle, for a good while  is difficult to figure out who is winning.

Cheers,

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That game looks cool. I've been interested in the American Civil war since my family did some research and came across a pic of my great-great-grandpa in his Union uniform, shredded pieces of his uniform, and some clues as to which battles he was in. Very cool! Unfortunately, I've not been able to play a single Civil War game since Sid Meier's Gettysburg!
Would you recommend this game to someone who can't afford to spend much on games?
-tFS

JC said...

Ey tFS!

Very cool story!

I don't know if I can recommend this game. I like it and I play it. But this game has an awful story on its back. Let me see if I can find a forum thread at wargamer.com where the developer is challenged because the un-gentlemanly split from his previous pal (both were part of Madminute Games, the makers of Take Command Bull Run and Second Mannassas).
I decided to purchase this game regardless of that back story and I already got some flack about this decision.

But anyway, the game is good and has delivered some cool new features. Be advised, even when the graphics are so-so compared to mainstream, the game is a bit of a resource-hog.

If money is short, I would recommend giving a try to the previous generation game "Take Command Second Mannassas". It's around $10 at Gamersgate right now. I think I have two copies of this one and I could mail you one if I can find it.

Cheers,