Article Type: Preview
Article Date: January 06, 2003
Product Info
Product Name: American Conquest
Category: Real-Time Strategy
Developer: GSC Game World
Publisher: CDV
Release Date: Germany, France: Released. N.A.: Q1 2003
Sys. Spec: Click Here
Files & Links: Click Here
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Fills an Historical Gap
The real-time strategy (RTS) genre seems to be searching for new territory to conquer. Its introduction, some years ago, seemed mired in convoluted escapes into fiction with titles such as WarCraft and Command and Conquer. As the category once again found success, more real-world scenarios were created as seen in Sudden Strike 2 (based on WWII) and Real War (based on modern equipment and tactics). Notwithstanding a foray or two ventured into the less traveled times of antiquity in Microsoft's Age of Empires, there does seem to be a historical gap between the age of bronze and the 1900's.
One of the missing periods has been the exploring and settling of the Americas. GSC Game World has decided to model this period starting with Columbus's departure from Europe to find a sea passage to India. According to the ad copy, "…you travel to America as Christopher Columbus and light the spark that will kindle 300 years of heated battles for land, riches and freedom. In eight historical campaigns spanning 42 missions, you will play the part of great legends such as Pizarro and Washington and will delve into epic real-time battles with use of up to 16,000 soldiers on 3D landscapes. Utilise new technologies, unique weaponry, improved fighting units and the dangerous world of diplomacy. Play with fire! Conquer America!"
Gameplay
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Main menu  |
In checking through single missions, I did not see any training scenarios, but plenty of choices for British versus French, fledgling Americans versus the British, Native Americans and Central and South Americans squaring off against the Spanish troops of the day.
A quick jump into a random encounter started my Mayan forces at the base of a temple, with a handful of peasants. A click on any one of them showed various options. There are buildings to create, and wood to be harvested. The change of the cursor over a wooded area indicated this capability. Off to the resource gathering, upgrading and training that are the staples of some of the previously mentioned RTS's.
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| South American Start |
Once I have the basic builds started, a few "visitors" stopped by from the Spanish explorer guild, but they were armed. The aforementioned temple is where fighters and archers are produced, but an equal number of recruits (i.e., peasants) are required. I order a few in, and minutes later out come the brightly garbed warriors. The first recon wave is defeated! More attention to housekeeping for the resources is needed. Wood, food and gold gathering starts in earnest, but the sound of cannons echo through the area. Ah, the Spanish ARE more advanced. An expedition party I had sent to explore gets wiped out, and a more serious wave of the enemy comes in and cleans out my few remaining troops and peasants. Game over.
Hmm…?
A foray into the North American area sounds good, prior to the USA, during the War of Independence. Here's a setpiece confrontation, with scads of different types of soldiers for each side. French troops versus the British in North America. I fire it up, and use the 4X view to get the bigger picture.
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| The zoomed out view of the battlefield |
The British have a single, large contingent, but there's no time to click on any of the enemy units to check for force composition as they are on the move! A naming of the already divided groups is all there is time for. Getting the first group out of the way seems appropriate and a circling for flank attacks is attempted. Before long the attacks on the sides and rear are nothing more than a mindless melee. Soldiers from both sides start breaking ranks with dozens of excuses scrolling up the screen. A regrouping of the broken ranks yields mixed results. The final outcome seems predetermined, as pure numbers win. I suffer yet another defeat.
A patch is available for the German version, and it seems to address quite a few balance issues. That bodes well for the international release. Hopefully these corrections are already included, at the time of release.
Campaign
In choosing the American Revolution from the US side, I see all the possible battles arrayed like in the single player mode. Whether this is for the preview version only, or is the way it will be done in the final version, has yet to be seen.
All battles begin with a beautiful illustration from the time and place along with a scrolling text briefing. I tried the famous Battle of Lexington and Concord.
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| Historic context. |
The "shot heard `round the world" plays itself out without player intervention, and a scattering of US militia forces finds you in control. Occupying buildings provides cover for your troops. Further west, a settlement has been started from which the troops required to secure Lexingtom will be trained. After securing the logistic needs (farming), and tactical (cutting the British off from attacking the settlement), a slow offensive works toward the goal. The AI was more than adequate and complex tactical and strategic decisions were needed to overcome it. Neglecting the basics of food can also result in defeat, as famine grips your forces. With tenacity, and no small sacrifice in troops, a victory is achieved by securing all the buildings in town.
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| And finally, a Victory! |
Highly Entertaining
I went on from this triumph to others that were not only challenging but also afforded me a bona fide learning experience of the times portrayed. Although educational, it was certainly not sterile as the beautiful and detailed scenery of the historic periods are evident throughout the many eras.
With the tweaking of balance issues already in a patch for the first German release, the North American release should yield a highly entertaining title. I, for one, look forward to the release of this game soon.
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