REVIEW

Waterloo: Battleground 3

By Richard Moore

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Damn I love fighting the battle of Waterloo. It doesn't matter if it is a boardgame, an ancient computer game or, like Waterloo (Battleground 3) from Talonsoft, just an old one.

The idea of marching up the Brussels road, kicking the idiotic Marshal Michel Ney up the backside and showing him how a real general fights a crucial battle is too hard to resist.

Hang on, it's been a while, better practise on a couple of scenarios first. Oh, stuff it, haven't got that much time so we'll have a go with the Old Guard's attack on the Anglo-Allied centre and see if we can do better than the grognards did in real life.

An evening, major victory - and a huge amount of enjoyment - later, it was time for the real thing. The full battle.

So, do we manouevre or just punch up through the middle? Let's try something ambitious. Let's hit them on both wings and see how they like that.

It has been a couple of years since I have had the time to sit down at the computer and play such old favourites, but it has been worth the wait.

Talonsoft's Waterloo must be six years old now, but it - like the subject matter - is timeless. The sprites are damn sexy, the landscapes easily recognized and navigable, and gameplay is (with practice) easy to follow.

You have four levels of view, from 2D to 2D view out, to 3D and 3D view out. In later games, there are hot-key functions to make this easier but, with such a vintage game, it's all done through the menu bar. Never mind, though, you become too engrossed in the battle itself to worry about minor inconveniences.

The game's database is filled with information on the units on the field and there is a nice collection of military music to keep you entertained while the Artificial Intelligence tries to out-think you.

Practise on the scenarios first - a couple of the small ones would be a few hours fighting, others an evening's work, or try the whole thing over a week of late nights.

So, how did the full battle go? Well, Wellington's dead (got him in an artillery salvo), Hougoumont's fallen and each wing of the Anglo-Allies is being pushed back. The mass battery is forward, unlimbered and ready, as is the Guard. History will not be repeated!

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