![]() When you've accessed a menu the cursor becomes extremely jerky and it becomes rather tricky to select the first item in any menu. Irritatingly a spinning disk replaces the cursor while the computer is considering its move, but it's frozen in one place - regardless of how hard you bash the mouse about. ![]() The pieces too can be changed to from the twee little pics of soldiers to numbers, if minimalism is your thing. This traditional setup can be traded though for two more modern boards that simplify the layout. Pretty that is, until you have played the game for ten minutes or so, at which time it stops being pretty and becomes dull. In the centre of the board is a picture of a lake, with pretty running water. The game's graphics leave a little to be desired: there is a choice of two different piece designs, but only one of them is really usable - the other has images on the pieces which are totally indecipherable. This is particularly important as the more specialised units (your flag and mines) can't move and guessing their location obviously makes life easier. Because each piece only reveals itself when attacking you have to remember what's where. Stratego stresses good memory work, but by you, not the machine. soon after a few quick defeats it becomes apparent that there's a little more to successful strategy than guesswork. At first attacks take the form of a shot in the dark, well lets see what happens if. The twist is that you can't see the rank of your opponent's piece until you actually land on the square. If both pieces are of the same rank then they are both removed. If you land on a square occupied by your opponent then the highest-ranking piece wins, and the other is removed. You play by moving your pieces around the board, trying to find and capture the other army's flag. You could, of course, select the 'demo game' option to see how things work. The actual concept behind the game is quite simple - which is a good job, since the manual isn't exactly overly detailed on gameplay, while the on-screen help is displayed in such a dreadful font that reading it is a real pain. Now Accolade has ported one of those games - Stratego - across to the Amiga. Most of them involved two players commanding armies which waged war on each other the winning army was the one whose commander had the greater tactical ability. Adventure of the Week: Arrow of Death (Pt.Back in the dim and distant past that they're calling the early 1980s, strategy board-games abounded.Video Podcast - GameScience: Fugue in 60 Hz?.For A More Realistic Tank Simulator, see 1995.The LoadDown - 1/18/10 - Muscle March, Dark Void.Video Podcast - Why Do Christian Games Suck?.Clueless Gaijin Gaming: Mahjong Goku Special.The LoadDown - 1/25/10 - UNO for WiiWare!.New DS Game Rips Off Pulitzer Prize Winner?. ![]() Adventure of the Week: Adventure in Mythology (1986).Video Podcast - GameScience: Painting With Phosphors.Oddities: How To Be A Complete Bastard (1987).Anything and Everything About This Campaign Is Great!.But if you're a dedicated Stratego fan who absolutely must own this rareish variation, you may be able to buy the PC Engine version at this affiliate link. If you're in the mood for strategy on the PC Engine, there are several better options out there. Looking back at it from a 2010 perspective, it's a pleasant enough diversion, but more of a retro curiosity than a classic. I enjoyed my brief time with Stratego on the PC Engine, but I'm not surprised that this version never made it to North America. But the rules of the game are pretty cut-and-dried, with a considerable element of luck involved, so I don't think there's a lot of room for variation. It might have been more fun if the computer AI were able to put up more of a fight - perhaps there's an option for difficulty settings that I missed. The rigid, ranking-based rules of engagement and single-square movement make it very easy for one powerful unit to plow through the opposing forces, or for a relatively weak unit to march on an undefended position, and it lacks the strategic depth of chess or hex-based games like Military Madness. ![]() ![]() I think Stratego successfully makes the transition to videogame form, but the game itself may be a bit simplistic for modern players. ![]()
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