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I'm currently debating between this title and the forthcoming Napoleon's campaigns by Ageod.

Anybody have opinions for either games?

I like tactical battles with my strategic, so Nap in Italy is a +. The lacdk of a tactical component is the biggest negative against Ageod's game.

Are the tactical battle uniforms historical (hard to tell from screen shots)?
How is the replay value of this game?
Do the scenarios play out the same everytime?
How is the AI? Important as I am only interested in play against the AI.

Thanks in advance

My .02.
 
Huzar Games deserves credit for making my purchasing decision easy when looking for an American Revolution game but it didn't go in their favor.
 
I downloaded their demo version of For Liberty (kudos for making it available) and comparing it to my only knowledge of gaming the Revolution via the board game "We the Poeple", I didn't think the game felt right. The game felt like any other of land combat and I found it hard to follow.
 
What was going in Huzar's favor at the time, was the ability to buy it via the Matrix store front. I just couldn't find the store front for AGEOD's "Birth of America" on the AGEOD site. (This has all since changed over at AGEOD).
 
But I perservered. I eventually found the AGEOD store link and bought "Birth of America" - and I just immediately respected all the effort put in, in terms of creating a fresh feel in interface, map, unit art and turn structure. The game still stumped me and it's only in the last fortnight that I've really looked at it seriously.
 
And on this basis I just bought AGEOD's "American Civil War" - that's enough gaming for me for now!
 
But given this knowledge and not feeling right about "For Liberty", I will be buying AGEOD's "Napoleons Battles" when the desire for Nap gaming arises again.

Thanks for your opinion.
 
Truthfully, I'm a bit snowed down by games myself, I have recently bought:
Advanced Tactics
Hornet Leader
Ageods civil war (had that for awhile, furthest I got was a months into the war)
The Witcher
Hellgate
Empire Earth III
World in Conflict
Armageddon Empires
 
man, I need to focus on my backlog

That's the problem, isn't it? There's always stuff being added to that backlog...[:D]

bssybeep,

There's a demo available for For Liberty! - my suggestion would be to give that a try. The system in Napoleon in Italy has a better AI, better graphics and some other refinements, but if you like For Liberty! you'll like this one.

Personally, I like both For Liberty! and Birth of America. They each have a somewhat different focus and offer a different experience, but I find both give historical results.

Regards,

- Erik

I got my NiI mainly because this campaign is hardly ever covered anywhere else. AGEOD's game starts off in 1805 with the Austerlitz campaign. Compared to AGEOD's games (referencing the ACW one), NiI is a lightweight in terms of complexity - which in turn makes it more accessible and faster to play, so it depends on what you want. Also, AGEOD's game is province based, NiI is hex based. I admit I only played a few turns of the grand campaign of NiI (because I fought through two 90 minute tactical engagements), but I like what I see - the main focus is obviously maneuvering your troops and tactical battles whereas AGEODs game will be looking at a slightly bigger picture, I guess.

As for uniforms, from what I see the units have distinct uniforms by unit type (i.e. French grenadiers have an icon, French line infantry has an icon etc.).

Bottom line: I will get both games.

When i saw the opportunity to became a beta tester for this game i did not wait a minute. I liked 1848 game by Hussars, a free game full of amusing elements. I think NiI is an interesting game for the scenario it covers and for the challenging AI, in addition i tried a pbem game and it is awesome. The tactical battles are more difficult than in For Liberty!, if you like Horse and Muskets system of Age of Rifles you will love NiI tactical battles.

I was one of the beta testers for the game. The game has an excellent period feel. You will have to scramble, as Napoleon did, to win against a strong Austrian opponent, or play the Austrians and attempt to fend off the revolutionary blue hordes. I found the AI to be challenging. The game plays much smoother than For Liberty. Napoleon in Italy deserves to be in the library of any game interested in Napoleonic warfare.

Guys,
 
Thanks for the great replies.
 
The tactical battles, quicker play, and good AI are definitely points in NiI's favor.  I'd like to get both NiI and Ageod's game as well, but I'm not going to pay the exchange rate which puts ageod's game at about $58 US, ugh.
 
 

Sytass,
 
You bring up a good point with the 90 min tactical battles, can you save during the tactical battles to restore later?  I would hope so, live always seems to intrude when you get stuck in a battle or level that you cannot save in.
 
 

You can save in tac battles versus the AI at any stage. Not before the end of your turn in PvP though I think

thxs for the reply, good to hear youcan save during tactical battles, I'll probably be making a purchase soon.

The games are very different in their focus. AGEOD's products are area movement, and focus more on overall military strategy than on the "details" of operational maneuver.

Napoleon in Italy is hex based with more detailed operational maneuver, and detailed tactical battles (if you want them) as well as some level of strategic planing. It is an excellent game, with the advantage of being available right now.

A third choice to consider is Frank Hunters "Campaigns on the Danube", which is rather similar to the old Kevin Zucker Napoleonic boardgames. It has a focus on maneuver, as well as command and control, (the key elements of Napoleonic warfare) that is very different from the other two. It is also an excellent game.

Perhaps your best choice is to buy all three!![:D][;)]

ORIGINAL: bssybeep

Thanks for your opinion.

Truthfully, I'm a bit snowed down by games myself, I have recently bought:
Advanced Tactics
Hornet Leader
Ageods civil war (had that for awhile, furthest I got was a months into the war)
The Witcher
Hellgate
Empire Earth III
World in Conflict
Armageddon Empires

man, I need to focus on my backlog

You and I are a lot alike in this respect.

I will purchase games that interest me, even if I don't get to play them in any depth until years later. I bought War Plan Orange a few years ago, and still haven't really played it much....but I know I will eventually.

My era of interest in studying history is World War I, so I was so very happy to see GoA released by Frank Hunter. But after reading "The Campaigns of Napoleon", I'm quickly becoming a Napoleonics fan....so I've purchased CoG, NiI and John Tiller's Napoleonics set all within the last month. With my busy life, there's no telling how much I'll get to play each of them right now, but I want to show my support of the wargaming development teams NOW, so that they'll continue to create great games for us to play for many years to come.

That being said, I'm going to make some time to play NiI tonight and really get into it.

Slick,
 
Heh, great minds...
 
I also own Guns of August and CoG (which I never progressed much pass a few game months).  I was always a Napoleonics fan back to Battles of Napoleon by SSI.  The Campaigns of Napoleon certainly looks great.  Maybe once it comes to the US I'll take a second look.  I'll pick up NiI to fill my Napoleonic hunger[;)]

So far this game is not bad at all. definitively the austrian are superior than they was but otherwise this problem NiI is one of the best napoleonic wargame. The tactical battle are very interresting, equal to HPS series and far more better than Crown of Glory.
The IA in both tactical and operational operation is one of the best.
The subject, campaign of Italy, is definitevely one of the most interesting campaign of the napoleonic period. I didn't notice big bug. Conclusion, I see no reason why to not buy this title.

Its worth noting that the planned expansion pack for Crown of Glory is expected to contain many of the detailed battle improvements introduced in the excellent Forge of Freedom. Combined with a new naval battle module that should offer an enjoyable experience for Napoleonic gamers. The Campaigns of Napoleon is a splendid read and even after 40 years in print, remains the best overall coverage of his military thinking and exploits as well as containing a very good summary of events.

NiI looks a good game and I am tempted to try it out in the near future - any likelihood of a price change for UK purchasers?

ORIGINAL: Ironclad

NiI looks a good game and I am tempted to try it out in the near future - any likelihood of a price change for UK purchasers?

Why would there be? I suppose £18.99 would actually be actually be closer to the current exchange rate, but the prices are about as close as they usually get.

You have given the reason. No harm in asking especially as we know that Matrix review foreign sale prices from time to time (eg around Christmas?).

My 2 cents (heh you all wanted to read that huh? ~ ) I like tactical battles and any strategic game that also has a tactical battle program gets put on my list. I'm a big fan of "Forge of Freedom" (only had one hands on experience with COG but found it to my liking and plan on buying it when it's on special like kissmass   ) I also like Hussar games and to get a free one like 1848 just puts another plus in their favor. "For Liberty" is a good game of the American revolution and the tactical battles are a lot of fun an entertaining. I never could get into AGEOD's design because it's too boardgamey and has text based outcomes of the battles (boring). "NII" will be a great addition to your library if you enjoy tactical games with a strategic overlay I'm sure. I think the Hussar line and the guys that do the Forge of Freedom/Crown of Glory games (GIL) are the best in the series since you get two two two games in one really. I also like their more "whatif" guidelines instead of the stale follow history to the core rules of too many games out there already.
But, I see you've already made your decision to get NII...good call, you'll be glad you did.