Soldiers at War

The Good
I love X-Com type games and Soldiers at War was a great twist. I loved the planning of moves and trying to imitate real squad tactics. SAW is unforgiving. If you leave you guys unprotected their dead meat! (just as it should be) I loved to cut loose with the mg's, and explosive weapons were terrific. Air support did not arrive instantly (again as it would in real life). Also as the game progresed I began to feel tied to my men. I would never, never let one die.

The Bad
With all that said there were some pretty big problems with SAW. (1). Graphics would sometimes not refresh right when soldiers who were laying down moved. (a guy would face north, but when you turned south It would look like you had two heads.) (2). There was no modeling of vehicle movement. Thus every vehicle was either stoped or knocked out. This could have been a great add on to the game but SAW passed on it. (3). The main display screen was so clunky that it took a long time to get adjusted. This could have been done a lot better. I would guess many gamers took one look at the way the game operated and then returned the game. (4). While the end mission is tough and the most enjoyable, the ending cut scene is terrible. (5) Also the captain never goes out into the field with you on any mission. (not even a green LT) That one seemed a little off (6). and finally in general the game had an unfinished touch to it. With a few adjustments and additional items (most importantly a better control screen) SAW could have been one of the best war games ever! But when the end is over you feel like that a lot more could have been done to improve the overall feel. I have to say that I was dissapointed with SSI's efforts.

The Bottom Line
Although the game has serious problems that will stop most gamers, SAW can provide hours of fun. If you can get past the interface you will find this one worth it.