I cannot recall if I found this through the Russian Civil War Yahoo Group or this website. There's an awesome free demo; the game is available for download for about 40euro, 35pounds or $40. It's massive and very impressive:
Revolution Under Siege
The Russian Civil War 1917-23
For all of us who like the Russian Civil War – and we all know how popular that period is in the Great Northwest – there is more good news: A small independant team has just (as in within the past few weeks!) come out with a game covering the Russian Civil War period, “Revolution Under Siege.”Best of all, there is a FREE demo available at:
http://www.revolutionundersiege.com/revolution/index.html for those of us who like to take games for a spin around the block first. The free demo has three tutorials and a sample game to play.
The free demo is very impressive – the basics of the game are managed in a simple step by step method. Things are explained rather clearly (though I had some confusion in the first demo when looking for the hotkey that was the 9th to the right until I figured out the 7 hotkeys on the top of the screen were being considered before the three on the lower screen – for those who look for the 9th key, simply click on the icon with the white Russian eagle to the right of the first turret) to show how to move units, how to combine forces to move more efficiently, how sea and airplane movement works and, most importantly, the management of supply. Only in the third scenario do the writers introduce combat - the scene is set in Finland against a static Red adversary. Following the directions shows how to efficiently capture several Finnish cities; “free lancing” is also possible and I have been able to send units into St. Petersburg! I only encountered two problems during the demos:
1) when I could not get the desired result, however, was able to post a question about it on the Forum specifically designed for the game and 2) the Function keys did not work as recommended (and, in fact, all I did was to disconnect my internet access!) I’ve also found the designers very helpful – how often do the owners actually respond to personal e-mails? The game support is awesome (and available in English, French and Spanish!) The graphics are excellent, drawings of actual commanders lend added realism, troops types are well done and, for additional period flavor, there is very cool Russian music! including the Internationale, Farewell to the Slavs, Volga River Boatman, Katyushka, among others – a very nice touch, in my opinion.
The best word to explain the trial game (need I remind everyone that it is FREE?!) is: MASSIVE! Set in the period just before the end of WWI, I first tried my hand playing Denikin’s Whites, paying little attention to supply until what amounted to an army of cavalry disappeared from lack of provisions! I next tried the game as Kolchak’s Siberians – I was shocked at the scope and scale of the vastness of the available map and forces available. The forces available to Kolchak are large but those available to the Reds dwarf even them; then again, the Bolsheviks are beset from all directions except the west and have to content with multiple local uprisings. It is an incredible and impressive game system.
My first impressions are very favorable – there are countless strategic options available to each faction. What will take most wargamers some time to understand are things like proper management of supply, resting and refitting armies. The standard “Got get ‘em” tactic, so common in many other games, just will not work here as attrition and dispersion will decimate the armies. The added level of realism will make this game more of a challenge to master, thus increasing the fun and satisfaction of playing it.
The actual game is VERY big and took over 5 hours to download to my laptop (but was definitely worth the wait!) Once on the computer, it was quite simple to set up. One big advantage with the full version is the ability to print the manual for those of us who are challenged to recall items or who like to read the written text for reference. The main game has the three tutorials as a refresher and SEVEN scenarios (e.g. Polish Soviet War), mini-campaigns (e.g. Ice March), regular campaigns (to include a “what if” Drach Nach Osten where Germany alone fights the Bolsheviks) and the massive grand campaign covering the entire civil war; these range from 14 to a whopping 86 turns! For those interested in the Russian Civil War, this looks like another winner – check it out!
14 October 2008, 06:50:25 AM