First things first: This is NOT just an upgrade or expansion for the original Axis and Allies computer game, this is the entire first edition computer game (with some fixes/patches) plus a second CD containing the expansion units and scenarios.
Okay now onto the meat of the program. The original game plays much the same as, well, the original game. There is no apparent upgrade to the AI, it is fairly easy to beat the computer even when it is set to the highest level. Probably you are not here to read about the original, but that fact is worth knowing. The expansion of Iron Blitz adds two new units that all countries can purchase: Marines and Destroyers. Marines cost 5 and have the special ability to attack at 3 or less during Amphibious Invasions only, and act as infantry during non-amphibious assaults. This is pretty nice really, especially for the United States, as carrying two marines in one transport can really effect the odds in an amphibious invasion. Destroyers cost 8, attack and defend at 2 and have the ability to ignore the submarines attack special attack ability, if you choose them as a casualty from a sub attack they still get a chance to defend, normally units struck by a sub are removed without defending.
The new units alone would be enough reason to buy the game. However the editor that comes with the Iron Blitz addition is a welcome addition. Mind you it is not everything I was hoping for, but I have pretty high hopes sometimes. Here is what the expansion does:
- Allows edits to all unit 'attack', 'defend', 'movement' and 'cost' values, as the original game
- Allows you to edit the set up of the game units before you play, i.e.: you can give Germany more tanks, add units to the Russian far east, give the US a battleship in Hawaii, whatever you want to do.
- You can edit the IPC value of ANY territory on the board and set it to be part of any country and controlled by any other country at the beginning of the game. You can also set the allegiance to neutral. It must be said though that making a territory 'neutral' by default moves the IPC value to 0, this cannot be changed, so forget making Saudi Arabia worth 5 points unless you are going to give it to the UK right off.
- Edit the starting currency of each country.
- Change the allegiance of any country to Axis, Allies or Neutral. While it sounds cool, setting a country to 'Neutral' essentially removes it from the game: all of its territories are set to 0 IPCs and it costs the usual 3 to invade each space. The country is not on it own 'side', has no units and takes no turns.
- Each countries units have been customized, Russian Tanks no longer look like German Tanks, their graphics in addition to their colors are different. You can import your own graphics to use as the units for each country. (this takes four pictures for each graphic in bmp or tif format)
Here is what the Expansion does not do:
- No new units can be added to the game, you can only modify existing units.
- You cannot add or move Country Capitals.
- No Neutral un-owned territories with IPC values can exist.
- All players must be assigned to the Axis or Allies side, assigning the country as a 'Neutral' essentially removes it from play altogether reducing its territories to 0 value, though you can re-assign these territories to another country that is in play, and then up their IPC values too.
- No support has been added to make playing via email any easier. It is possible to play by email by sending the saved games and their history files back and forth (zipping them is necessary unless you can download files over 1MB for those later game turns without a problem) and placing them in the saved games folder. I was hoping for a little more friendly way to play email games, a la Panzer General.
Why you should buy this game: It offers a great interface for playing traditional 'Axis and Allies' along with endless possibilities for new games thanks to its improved editor. The ability to move units around, change their values, and raise or lower the IPC values of the territories ensures hard core A&A fans will not be disappointed. The game comes with several 'scenarios' that have the game start from 1939 or cover various 'what if' type games with modified setups. It plays really smoothly, several of the positions for the units have been changed to make them far more visible on the main playing map, and the game turns versus the computer seem to move along much faster in 'Quick AI' mode as well. There is also an excellent place to meet and play games on the web (at the zone) or you can use a simple direct connection to get together with your opponents. This game also has some solo potential, it allows you to try all those silly game strategies you ever dreamed of quickly and more importantly: privately.
Why you should not buy this game: This game is based on a board game, it is a turn based game, not real time strategy, you could sit for awhile if you are playing thoughtful opponents, sometimes a long while in a 5 person game, the easiest way to avoid a long period of inactivity is to simply have a 2 player game with each person taking control of all the Axis or Allies powers. The computer opponents are very weak. If you have played the board game to any extent you should be beating the AI on the hardest settings from the very start. I can imagine the difficulties of creating a challenging computer opponent, but this game is now from MicroProse of Civilization fame: I expected to be beat soundly by an advanced computer opponent, at least the first few games. Bottom line: You have to have friends to have a challenging game.
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他の国からのトップレビュー
AmazonGuy
Excellent game and expansion of an original classic.
1999年11月16日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
Robert
Oldie but a goodie
2023年5月12日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
Kevin W. Kincaid
it is still fun for after all these years
2023年4月15日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
gayle
Axis and Allies game
2013年5月29日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
Deborah J Myers
Five Stars
2015年1月5日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
