Preview: Unity of Command BETA

Unity of Command is a turn-based strategy game, based on World War II. They have recreated over 20 great WWII battles and then put you in charge of one of the two armies. You get to play both Axis and Soviet generals, including Von Mannstein and Zhukov.

Unity of Command is still in BETA stage. That means that it isn’t done yet, so any bug that I include in this preview, can and probably will be patched out.

The game is easy to learn, but hard to master. It took me three tries to get past the first level. One of the unique features, or difficulties, in Unity of Command, is that you need to always watch your supply line. If your armies move away from your supply lines, they can sometimes run out of supplies, meaning that they will be disabled for a few turns. The supply lines are mainly the railroads, so stay around those and you will be safe.

As you progress through the campaign, you’ll notice the increasingly aggressive stance of the AI. It keeps getting harder and harder as you go. The land map of a level can be quite large. It sometimes makes for bigger and/or longer battles between you and the computer. If you don’t defeat the opponent within a set number of turns, however, you automatically lose. So you have to plan every move strategically and smart.

There are also multiple kinds of units. You have different kinds of tanks and soldiers for both the Axis Divisions and the Soviet Corps. If you try to kill a division of tanks with a division of riflemen… You will probably lose.

Every mission has different bonuses that you can call in, such as bombardments, supply line expansions, bridge building to get past rivers, etc… You can even spend your Prestige Points (points you earn by winning battles with more than a set number of points) on calling in reinforcements in the form of tanks, motors and soldiers.

There are several supply points, where you can keep you units for a set number of turns. If you do so, the stationed units could be increased which is a way to replace your lost brothers in arms. However, on nearly every map, the supply points start in the hands of your opponents, so you need to fight your way to them.

The Graphics of Unity of Command are great, which is a big improvement from the typical turn-based strategy games. The units look very detailed and the map itself is great too. The way enemy territory is shown on the map (a big, red area) is also pretty good; its not too bright and not too transparent.

The Music is also very nice. It really fits a war game. A bit more variety would be nice, though.

All in all, Unity of Command is a great game with a lot of potential. Taking everything into consideration. It has potential, but isn’t finished yet.

For more information on Unity of Command, go to: http://unityofcommand.net/ The game is set to release in October, but you can join the test team to try out the BETA right away.

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Be sure to check out our public forums, and watch for some upcoming improvements. Please feel free to sound off on anything that you find of interest.

Review summary Pros:

Great graphics, units are very detailed. Music is a nice touch.

Cons:

Limited quantity of music tracks

Rating: 80%