A single minor misfortune probably won't upset your applecart, but every now and again a rash of bad luck fractures a spoke or jolts you into a tramline. In the process of finishing off that bruised bronzeman it's just possible your centaur squadron might suffer an unpredicted loss or two and become 'disordered' into the bargain (disordered units generally auto-retreat). Staggering luck reversals are very rare, but you await every results pop-up with keen interest just in case. SSI judge the uncertainty quotient just about perfectly, in my opinion. The PG-style battle results indicator gives you an idea of how an attack is likely to go but isn't totally reliable. The game's handling of luck, morale, and terrain is similarly pleasing, similarly nuanced. *Heroes and special 'single entity' units only ever suffer wounds. Although FG doesn't model supply, holding the areas and roads behind your lines so R&R can take place in safety, can be important, so there is a taste of it.
Often it's not a question of 'Which enemy should my veteran lizardmen attack next?' it's 'Where should they go to lick their wounds or reinforce? '. Kills are replaced by recruiting reinforcements, for a price, at friendly settlement) they impact battle flow differently. Both types of damage deplete the same strength tally and may ultimately lead to elimination, but because each is 'repaired' in a different fashion (wounds can be fully healed by resting a unit for a single turn away from danger. Most units* can suffer 'kills' and 'wounds' during a clash. In FG you're encouraged to move warriors in and out of the frontline by a likeable bifurcated damage system. It will be interesting to see how Owned by Gravity handle the nitty-gritty of combat. Together with faintly Da Vincian 'mech' units, it helps skew a fantasy tone that might otherwise be a little too conventional for its own good. Punctuated by neck-hair elevating choral refrains, the soundtrack features original settings of various medieval and baroque ecclesiastical pieces and hasn't aged a bit during the past quarter-century. Not so my admiration for Rick Rhodes and Danny Pelfrey's haunting score. My affection for the dated sprites, gilded GUI, and sepia unit sketches possibly has an element of nostalgia in it. We've grown accustomed to animations and changeable perspectives in our hex fare – after a few hours with FG you may find yourself wondering whether the old way wasn't the best way. Two-dimensional and motionless except when expiring, the pixellated wizards, warriors, beasts, and 'mechs' that stud battlefields manage to radiate character without complicating and obscuring that all-important tactical picture. I love, for instance, the way FG's on-screen buttons imitate precious stones set in gleaming gold. There's a charm to FG's sprites, GUI, and incidental art, and a sumptuousness to its soundtrack I reckon Owned by Gravity will struggle to emulate. Judging by the three vlogs released thus far, while Fantasy General II: Unnecessary Subtitle may well prove a friendlier, more legible wargame, it might not please the eye and ear quite as deftly as its predecessor. Magic, heroes, and 'wounds' disrupt familiar PG combat patterns beautifully and regular injections of new exotic troop types make liberating Aer much more interesting than blitzkrieging Europe. Not having played it for over a decade, I'd forgotten just how fabulous the art and music was, and just how rich and appealing the 180-strong unit roster. The third instalment of the acclaimed '5-Star General' series, Fantasy General was no lacklustre Panzer General re-skin. While Fantasy General has its own difficulty and scrutability issues, I can't say I ever put it aside with a puzzled frown on my face or dozed off in the middle of a turn. Factor in glorious sunshine, post-hike weariness, and a surfeit of cakes and ale and you'll understand why my bookmark only advanced 85 pages during my week away. Kenyon definitely knows his onions (his onions being 17th Century England) his descriptions of the myriad squabbles between king and parliament that led to civil war are pretty dense and difficult to follow, even for someone who knows his ship money from his tonnage and poundage.
This year I picked/packed a better holiday game than holiday book.
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