BATTLES OF NAPOLEON BATTLES OF NAPOLEON is a tactical wargame simulation based on the conflicts of the Napoleonic Wars. Written by David Landrey and Chuck Kroegel (GETTYSBURG: THE TURNING POINT, BATTLE OF ANTIETAM, SONS OF LIBERTY) and published by Strategic Simulations, the advanced-level NAPOLEON offers four ready-made historical scenarios, a comprehensive construction editor, strategic and tactical map views, menu control, and no copy protection. This review is based on the Apple II version; Commodore 64/128 and IBM-PC version notes follow. In addition to the incredible detail of the battles, NAPOLEON's construction set allows you to customize the information contained in the tables the program uses to run the game; even the objectives a computer opponent would use during a game can be altered. To be able to create a map, build and deploy armies, set victory squares, and edit the game tables amounts to a development system. No copy protection is an added bonus, although there is the familiar documentation check. Best of all, NAPOLEON looks good on the Apple II (a Laser 128, in this case). Then again, it'd be awfully hard to make one of these games look bad, even on an Apple. The scenarios in NAPOLEON are Quatre Bras, Auerstadt, Borodino, and Waterloo. From the Game Menu, various alterations to them can be set: who moves first; computer or human opponents for both French and Allied sides; any of five levels of difficulty, and any of five levels of strength; reinforcement arrival; and ammunition supplies. The Computer Directive table, which appears after the Game Menu, allows you to set the strategy the computer will use as your opponent. The basic strategy you can select (Option A) actually lets the computer choose what it will do, and the remaining options are variants of this. Retreats, Holding of Positions, and Counterattacks can be automatic or random. Most interesting of all is the Analyze Situation, in which the computer opponent bases its strategy on whatever is happening at any given time (as opposed to, say, automatically retreating, or counterattacking). Each turn in a scenario covers a half-hour of real time, and consists of 25 phases: During the Objective Phase, orders are passed down from higher to lower command levels; four separate combat phases are further subdivided into Cavalry, Artillery, Melee, and Retreat/Advance phases; the Victory Phase determines "victory points" based on casualties inflicted, and the taking of terrain objectives. Victory points are calculated, and a new turn begins. The Apple II screen display consists of a scrolling map. Each map square represents 100 yards, and icons represent five levels of elevation, towns, woods, swamps, open fields, and fortifications, as well as battle units, such as cavalry, artillery, and infantry battalions. NAPOLEON is controlled through menus whose functions are invoked with keystrokes. The number keys control cursor movement in eight directions. Keystrokes in the Command Menu (far too many to mention) allow you to access units, toggle between strategic and tactical map views, center the map, plot melee fire, set units to advance, change directions, access the Fire menu, and give orders to cavalry and skirmishers. Orders can be aborted; units can be removed from the map in order to study the terrain; unit formations can be altered; victory squares can be highlighted. Keystrokes that access a unit will also reveal all the information about that unit and its current status. The Construction Set editor allows you to edit any of the historical scenarios, create an entirely new scenario, build and edit screen maps and armies, set objective squares, and edit the tables the program consults during a game. Maps as large as 1600 can be constructed from the Void. Terrain can either be added by you, or generated by the computer. Armies can be created (also from the Void), then edited and deployed on the map. All facets can be saved and reloaded later for further editing or play. The NAPOLEON game package comes with a game disk, a scenario disk, a manual of Game rules, and a manual of Editor rules. Both manuals are jammed with details and information, and there is also a card with guidelines for building armies. BATTLES OF NAPOLEON is a monumental program. The scenarios brim with vitality, and play with an ease and clarity typical of all SSI wargames. Although NAPOLEON plays easily, the scenarios function at an advanced level. Unless you've had experience with SSI simulations, you'll find NAPOLEON unruly, even if only due to the large volume of information you'll have to digest in order to play it well. Since SSI probably has a few tricks up its sleeve, it's safe to say that the Construction Set editor is probably not complete; it might as well be, though, because you can invent a new game scenario upwards from its most basic map and table parts. If you're new to wargames, BATTLES OF NAPOLEON is not the place to start: It's simply overwhelming, in both detail and possibility. Veterans, of course, will enjoy it, and to them it is recommended. COMMODORE 64/128 VERSION NOTES The C64/128 version of BATTLES OF NAPOLEON is virtually identical to the Apple II version. The disks are not copy-protected, and backups can be made. It's best to point out to Commodore users that in order to make playable copies of the NAPOLEON disks, you should use a commercial copy program, or the copy utility in the Epyx FASTLOAD cartridge. The entire contents of the disks must be copied; the copy program on the C64 Demo disk isn't up to this task. All the detail and complexity of NAPOLEON is contained in the C64 version, and it, too, is recommended for veteran and serious wargamers. IBM-PC VERSION NOTES The IBM version of BATTLES OF NAPOLEON is essentially the same as the Apple and Commodore versions. Some changes have been made to the interface, including different key commands and mouse support. The IBM version comes on two 5-1/4" disks (3-1/2" are available) with no on-disk copy protection. A documentation check is used at the beginning of play to confirm ownership. BATTLES OF NAPOLEON supports CGA and EGA modes (EGA in 320x200x16), and requires 512K to run. Unfortunately, little effort has been made to exploit the full potential of the EGA graphics mode. Backgrounds are black, and units are simple military symbols with no graphic embellishments. SSI did make one nice change in allowing units to be displayed in different shapes depending on their formation. For example, infantries in line formation are shown as longer, thin rectangles, rather than squares. Players familiar with the state of the art graphics in SSG's newer games or in Panther Games' FIRE BRIGADE will be disappointed with NAPOLEON's graphics. SSI has added mouse support, but it's not implemented as well as it could be. A sword pointer allows players to click on commands instead of typing their letter. However, units may not be moved with this pointer, nor selected with a double-click. In my opinion, the mouse support reflects a half-hearted attempt to modernize the standard SSI interface. Having criticized NAPOLEON's graphic presentation and interface on the PC, it's only fair to point out that all of the features praised in the Apple review above are present in the IBM-PC version. The simulation is detailed and complex. The included scenarios cover a wide range of situations, and the editor opens up nearly endless possibilities for exploring other battles. For grognards and Napoleonic era aficionados, this is definitely worth checking out. For less experienced gamers, and those who care little for pre-20th century warfare, BATTLES OF NAPOLEON should probably be left on the shelf. BATTLES OF NAPOLEON is published by Strategic Simulations, Inc., and distributed by Electronic Arts. *****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253