History: Many people remember playing Simulation Publications Incorporated’s Napoleon’s Battle at Waterloo into the we hours. Waterloo is arguably the most popular wargame simulation to replay history and see what would have happened if Grouchy got to the Battlefield on time or if Ney had not pursued the British retreat over the rise with the French heavy cavalry. This recreation will give you a chance to replay that most popular of battles.

A year ago, TalonSoft came to the marketplace with the first of the Battleground series, Ardennes. Right on the heels of that one was Battleground 2: Gettysburg. Now Jim Rose is producing a third product Battleground 3: Waterloo.

Plot: You take the role of Napoleon’s French or Wellington’s English. Try to win the game against the artificial intelligence.

Combat: Phased combat is conducted on a hex-based field with or without the grid. Turns progress through a series of six phases where the men move first in turns then fire in turns. Each turn can last an average of 30 minutes, with an entire battle lasting an entire week-end or even a week.

Scenarios: Each game disk includes 24 variant battles saved to disk that can be played over and over again. Each battle takes a different view of what both Napoleon and Wellington should have done. One view has Napoleon charging the Brittish, while another involves a massive set of moves spread over days of battle.

Artificial intelligence: The artificial intelligence (AI) is much better, and incorporates multiple leader statistics. Napoleon as the French commander can move large numbers of troops quickly for fast concentrated strikes that demoralize the enemy, just like the way he fought in life.

Graphics: The individual character based system and rich graphics give the game a most realistic feel. The graphics start at 640x480 pixels in 256 colors. The three dimensional (3D) perspective looks like a war in miniatures complete with trees, roads, and accurately modeled structures and terrain. Each unit has its own facing, flag and graphical unit type. The 3D mode shows 10% of the battlefield. The two dimensional mode covers more terrain and is more suitable for conducting battles.

Voice actors:

Music score:

Sound effects:

Utilities: Installation times are ridiculously long. Some have reported install times of two to three hours.

Multi-player: Fight friend or foe over phone or null modem, or play by email (PBEM). Internet and network modes?

Review references:
Kevin J. McCann, Computer Player, August, 1996, volume 3, number 3, pages 62-63, 9 out of 10 (90%)
Hugh Falk, www.cnet.com/Gamecenter/Reviews/Waterloo
T. Coleman, Computer Gaming World, number 144, July, 1996, pg. 38, hot (100%).
Andrew Miller, PC Games, volume 3, number 9, September, 1996, pg. 88, B+, (88%).