A French review

[Gloo]

Hi there.

I used to lurk -and sometimes write- on the Matrix fora but didn't come here for a while now. I'm back to post a little comment about CNAW... and a link, to a French magazine that's been ported online now : Cyberstratège. Maybe some have heard about it ? It's been a leading reference for years in France regarding all that have to do with strategy and war games.

I wrote a review of CNAW a few weeks ago and thought maybe some American speakers here, fluent in French language -I know there are some- would be interested ? Just in case you wonder, I rated the game as "fun to play and addictive" with an initial 6,5/10 which dropped to 6/10 due to the rating system used on the website )

You'll find it here : Test Commander : Napoleon at war

Your comments would be gratefuly apreciated (even in French) [;)]

I hope there's no problem posting such links here ? I tried to contact Eric Rutins to be granted a permission previously to be adding that link but his PM box here appears to be full ! Maybe it would be time to tidy all this up a little ? [:D]

Regards;
David.

[JMLiege]

I've just finished to read it.
Well written indeed.

I completely agree with your statements. (Artillery which can attack from 2/3 hex, ...)
In fact, the scale is not exactly corresponding to the defined troops.
Nevertheless, the game is really fun to play, and you can quickly familiarize with the game play.[:)]

So...Que demande le peuple ? Du pain et des jeux....comme celui-ci.

Best regards,
Jean-Marc

[firepowerjohan]

I hear the word "Fun" mentioned again and again, thanks for the review [:)]
Also, since the review is from version 1.00, the game has also now (1.06) gotten a lot better concerning balance and AI.

[Gloo]

Thanks a lot for your appreciation, both of you guys (even if I'm quite late at it ). I've been away for quite a long time now and haven't had much time to give a new try to CNAW with it's latest patch. Rest assured I'll do it as soon as possible (hopefully it'll be before september even if I've got a load of games to review until then... such a hard work to be done ! ). Anyway, as I said before, CNAW is a fine game to play with when you don't want to scratch your head on too sophisticated rules. It's as perfect beer and bretzel wargame that delivers it's fair load of fun. The kind I use to enjoy when it's hot around (34°C this afternoon !).

[Gloo]

As I promised, the updated review of the patched NaW is available for consultation on Cyberstratège!

To summarize, I think the patches give a better balance to the game but the AI boost is way too limited. I found the same flawes I mentionned a year ago (AI is barely able to set a decent defense up, to manage its navy properly or use its various types of unit with flair) but it's minimized by the overall balance gain. That's the most important benefit to applying the patch. I appreciated the fact that it's a bit more challenging to play but still the game is way to easy to win on average (managed to beat the coalition in less than 80 turns (1805 campaign), without allocating a single Franc on research). Most of the difficulty resides in the supply problems occuring when it comes to beat the russian bear. Overall I definitely enjoyed the game (again) but really missed a scenarii editor and/or a new campaign. Imho there's too little enhancement to the AI department to please the more seasoned players and that's a sad conclusion, for the game could be SO MUCH MORE satisfying ! Anyway, I conclude the review with a salute to the Commander, as it proved a really fun and entertaining game overall. Keep on the good work guys !

[milkweg]

I'm rosbif so no Francais for me.