MW (id: Medieval Warfare) |
Posted on 12/31/04 @ 12:00 AM
Hello there! This is Medieval Warfare reviewing the Battle of Waterloo made by Paladin of AOE.
Did you know that the Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, was Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle? After his exile to Elba, he had been restored to the throne of France for a Hundred Days. During this time, the forces of the rest of Europe converged on him, including the United Kingdom's Duke of Wellington, and Prussia's Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. Well, enough history from Historian MW. Let's get started.
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Playability
Well, this was fun for about 5 minutes. Then, it just got tedious and boring.
In fact, my units outnumbered the French by so much..I didn't even have to send them in formation. I just sent them randomly. At one point, I commanded over 700 troops. Surprisely, lag came at periods, but didn't affect the gameplay that much. This may be because I am using 2000 MHZ Pentium IV Emachines. Just the vast amounts of units killed the playability, there was no challenge. I, as a player, felt bored.
Another thing that bothered me was after the French charge, there were no further directions, no pop-up objectives, leaving the player to scout around. That brought two things to my attention. Lack of map design and a surplus of units.
The last thing I needed were more units, I wanted a challenge. I wanted to be alive, like the men fighting in the scenario.
Unforunately, I was unable to make that connection.
Rating: 2/5
Balance
This scenario was way too easy. Given the surplus of units, the massacre of the powerful paladins first, there were no more challenges. It was directed as an easy player victory. The introduction of difficulty levels, whether altering enemy stats or army size will be much welcomed. I completed this on the easy, moderate, and hard ES levels with ease, no need to reload. The player does minimal work with his units, no micromanaging necessary. The beauty of FF scenario is the part of micromanaging and hit-and-run attacks. This scenario blew that stragedy apart. As a result, the balance suffered from this.
Rating: 1/5
Creativity
The scenario was presented in a tired, unprepared method. The triggers felt half-worked on, and left the player in the dark
about what to do next. The map was very bland, using only grass 1, dirt 2, and path 4. The camp was good, but the battlefield itself was not filled. The use of elevation was unique. The player's starting position was automatically favored towards him or
her and there were no victory conditions. Even after you killed Napoleon! I had to kill every single French troop to gain a victory message. Unrealistic.
Rating: 2/5
Map Design
This was one of the scenario's weak points. The use of large, square tiles of dirt 2 and grass 1 was not very attractive at all. If the player explores, the entire map...he or she will find vast amounts of land left undesigned. I found this out by scouting around after being left objective-less . I had no-idea where the French were. At least, put torches around the French! My suggestions to to use the gaia objects more, like in the camp, and mix the terrains and trees, using a variety. A simple forest would be nice, not a blob of large pixel forest.
Rating: 2/5
Story/Instructions
Well, the author does provide the basic story and instructions, but they are very undeveloped and minimal. There is no complete history! That is the living blood of this scenario. At least google something and fill in the player about the Battle of Waterloo. The instruction "Defeat the French", isn't too filling either. The hints section just resembles a reason why the French lost. And please, use proper grammar and punctation. I am going to have to mark down the instruction because it is one sentence and the rest is dangerously under-developed.
Rating: 2/5
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Final Thoughts
Here are some improvements to think about when you update this, don't get me wrong, this scenario has potential.
-The Victory Trigger should be established. Use the Destroy Object Condition.
-Mix gaia objects more with the landscaping.
-Mix the terrain using dirt 1, 2 and grass 1, 2. Experiment around.
-Mix the trees using pine, forest, and individual trees from the gaia list.
-The addition of Difficulty Levels would be greatly desired.
-The choice of units were good, something to improve is renaming them. How many musketman were called "Elite Jannissary"?
-Medieval Warfare
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