BRONTOSAURS AND GUNSHIPS
A Review of Battles in Time
by Mark Woon
Battles in Time is QQP's latest offering to the combat
simulation genre. The plot is simple enough: in the far future, man
has eliminated the need for war. When Earth is faced with an alien
threat that can only be countered by force, a leader has to be
selected to command Earth's forces. Time gates to four distinct time
frames have been built through which candidates are sent to test their
resourcefulness and strategic abilities. As one of these candidates,
how you do in these scenarios determines the size of the military
forces you get to command against the alien invaders.
On this premise, you get to travel back in time to a wars in the year
2025, World War II, the Roman Empire, and prehistoric times. In
addition, you will have to fight off three alien invasions.
Battles in Time supports 1 to 4 players, with any combination
of human and computer players on the same machine, or against the
computer and one other human player via modem or a null-modem cable.
Gameplay is set in a turn-based system, giving you plenty of time to
plan out your moves. Movement, in turn, uses a hex-based system. For
those who dislike it, the hex frame overlay can be toggled on or off.
Units can be moved on the battleground until they've used up their
movement points. If two opposing units come in contact with one
another, the game drops into combat mode, in which you control
individual troops instead of the entire platoon. Personally, I found
that fighting on this level soon got pretty tedious, and it stretched
out the battles interminably.
This is one of the few times I've
appreciated the autoplay option. However, it is only at this level
that you realize how important the composition of each unit is.
Depending on the era, you can put together units made of brontosaruses,
balistas, cavalry, archers, tanks, mortars, or hover tanks. Each
piece has different strengths and weaknesses. For example, chain
guns work well against grav pads, but they're ineffective against
gunships. Putting together effective units takes skill and practice.
One aspect of Battles in Time that distinguishes it from most
other combat simulation games is the way in which success is measured.
There are no set objectives. Instead, you're scored on how well you
perform in a certain amount of rounds. Points are gained by
destroying opponents forces and the value of all the cities you
occupy. The winner is the one with the most points at the end of the
turn limit for the time frame in which you're playing.
The CD-Rom installation of this DOS-based game went by without a
hitch. The setup program was simple and effective. Unfortunately,
this also describes the graphics, sound effects, and music. The
graphics are typical combat strategy fare. The terrain is interesting
and doesn't obscure the units, which in turn are represented as either
icons or symbols.
Animation is kept to a minimum, and is mainly used
for troop movement. If nothing else, sound effects will tell you
whether an archer or a tank has just attacked. They're dull and soon
become repetitive, but don't really get annoying, unlike the music.
After an hour of the same midi soundtrack played over and over again,
I had to switch it off. It also took me a while to get used to the
interface. I think all but the most seasoned veterans of strategy
games would have to read the manual to get very far the first time
around.
All in all, I'd say that Battles in Time will attract those who
already love the strategy genre. Those who have not tried combat
simulations before might want to try others first. The AI is good,
but the plot behind it calls for a true multiplayer game.
The final
battle with aliens is meant to be fought in cooperation with the other
candidates you went back in time with. I cannot imagine playing with
three other people at the same computer, and the limitation of one
human player with modem play is too confining. Finally, the time it
takes to complete some scenarios is too daunting. If you don't enable
any of the autoplay options, a single scenario could concievably take
a good part of the day.
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: |
Battles in Time |
| Company: |
QQP
|
| Cost: |
$44.95 |
System Requirements:
386/25 or higher CPU, 4MB RAM,
double speed or faster CD-ROM drive, VGA Graphics,
mouse, MS-DOS 5.0 or higher, and 14MB hard disk space.
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 3
Graphics 2
Sound 2
Interface 2
Replayability 3
Overall Score:
Copyright © 1997 InfoMedia, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.