Wargame: Airland Battle (ALB) is an RTS developed and published by Eugen Systems and released in May 2013. ALB is the sequel to Wargame: European Escalation (European Escalation). This review will cover the single-player campaign of ALB, focussing on the dynamic campaign, nations and units, and environment and graphics.
Please see the following link to access my European Escalation review:
https://steamcommunity.com/id/antwog/recommended/58610?snr=1_5_9__402
[h1] [b] Dynamic Campaign [/b] [/h1]
ALB incorporates a turn-based dynamic campaign that is split into four separate operations in Scandinavia. You can play these operations in any order, but playing chronologically allows you to continue the story from European Escalation. In European Escalation, [spoiler]the Soviet Pact invades NATO and finish the war in 1984 via a peace treaty [/spoiler]. In ALB, [spoiler]this truce is seemingly broken [/spoiler]when the Soviet Pact invades NATO in 1984.
In the campaign, the player is required to conquer the map within a time limit. Some provinces are mandatory to control and other provinces are considered strategic locations which provide you small bonuses. You immediately control a number of divisions that have different military capabilities, but as you progress in each turn, you accumulate Strike Points, which is used on tactics including aerial recon (to obtain intelligence on a chosen province) or to call in a new division.
The campaign is a solid experience, mainly because there is a feeling of heightened tension due to the war. This is also enhanced by Events that occur at the end of the turns that bring news items or require you to make decisions on instances (such as order a division to move to another theatre of war). The Campaign feels like a sandbox, as there is not a cohesive narrative in the operations and it makes for a lesser story experience compared to European Escalation. While the events are a cool system, your choices are not usually in doubt because you do not see the outcome of your choices.
[h1] [b] Nations and Units [/b] [/h1]
ALB features 12 nations, rather than eight in European Escalation, and 750 units, rather than 350 units in European Escalation. I think there is a hint more strategy required compared to European Escalation. I noticed there was overall less available units and for the AI, more ambush opportunities, encouraging the use of different units in different settings. There were also instances of frustration when the AI had concentration of long-range attack units for some nations.
Nonetheless, ALB includes some nice quality of life improvements to the UI. Notably, I found it easier to compare the statistics of different units and found using colours to determine the quality of different unit components to be helpful.
[h1] [b] Environment and Graphics [/b] [/h1]
ALB features an upgraded engine, so it could incorporate air fighter warfare, and a wider range of environmental features and objects. I will note the graphical fidelity and general presentation is more detailed and colourful than European Escalation, and ALB is overall a more beautiful and vibrant game. I did notice on one or two instances framerate lag on one particular map, but only a minor observation.
[h1] [b] Conclusion [/b] [/h1]
ALB is a solid sequel to European Escalation. The highlight of this sequel is the inclusion of a dynamic campaign that adds a strategic element to your campaign conquest. It also features a beautiful graphical upgrade over European Esaclation that is appealing and no notable impact on performance. The doubling of available units over European Escalation adds a nice variety and replayability to the campaign.
Overall, I found ALB to be a minor improvement over European Escalation and while I liked the concept of a dynamic narrative, I feel like the narrative was missing the intensity that European Escalation had. At AUD$29.95, I recommend Wargame: Airland Battle on sale.
[h1] [b] Rating [/b] [/h1]
6.5/10
[h1] [b] Pros [/b] [/h1]
· High-quality graphical upgrade, allowing for more beauty and detail in the environments
· Expanded nations and units, allowing for more options on playstyles in the campaign
· Minor: Events system is a nice concept to add to the uncertainty in the campaign.
[h1] [b] Cons [/b] [/h1]
· Shallow and basic story.
[b]If this review was helpful, please leave a thumbs-up. If you enjoyed this review and would like to see my other reviews, join http://steamcommunity.com/groups/AntwogReviews [/b]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/222750/Wargame_Airland_Battle/
