Fantasy General

Had this one in my youth, and enjoyed every moment of it. A full-blooded title of "General" series, this turn-based strategy offers new challenges for hex-conquering generals, as they lead their armies of Germans...pardon, fantasy creatures to victory. The basic gameplay follows the gene code of "Panzer General", putting you in charge of fable armies and testing your strategic wit on several hex-tiled battlefields. Think of Advance Wars, old PC style. Players can choose several heroes, each with its own unique abilities in the warzone. Between skirmishes, one can also upgrade his or her units with gold, adding to army efficiency. The plotline is basic, but thanks to good writing and impressive illustrations, it serves the purpose, so fighting Shadowlord & Company is interesting enough. Did Fantasy General age well? Of course it has. It always wanted to provide players with transparent view of the battlefield, never intending to be the masterpiece of graphics. As all games from "General" series, it has that charm which immediately triggers interest in dedicated strategy players. While lacking the old historical footages of World War II which made the previous games so unique, Fantasy General deserves to be in your gaming library. After two or three played scenarios, one believes that most players will be hooked for hours to come.

This is one of the first computer games I ever owned, still one of my favorites, and the one I have been hoping to appear on GOG since joining. Almost six years and many great games later, its here! As part of SSI's five star series, it's basically Panzer General in a fantasy skin. The campaign starts with choosing which of four heroes you want to use, each with their own advantages. For example, Archmage Krell can cast spells and recruit magic creatures, Knight Calis gets a discount on Cavalry units and so on. The war takes place across 5 continents with the first four having a "boss",basically an evil version of each of our heroes, culminating in the final push against the big nasty himself. Each continent has different terrains and a branching path of scenarios to get to that final boss battle. Attack Broken Fang Pass, Forest of Weeping Wind will no longer be available but Cape Havoc will. Some battles are randomly generated but others are designed with hidden characters to join you if you can find/rescue them quickly. Gameplay is a pretty standard turn based hex system. Each of your units has advantages and disadvantages boiling down to a very rock-paper-scissors type of combat. Cavalry can run roughshod over skirmishers, but get eaten alive by sky hunters. It does pay to protect your units as much as possible because they gain experience making them better units. One bad point is a "specialized army" rule. For example, if you have an all cavalry army, the Shadowlord will bring experienced troops against you. Graphics are definitely not this games strong suit, even in 1996, but they hold up better today than some other games from the time. Some very nice sketchbook style pencil work for each unit (which you can rename) also. Sound effects are nice but repetitive. The choral soundtrack is done well and not too overpowering in game. Controls are easy, the mouse seems to scroll map too fast, though. Overall a great game and a lot of fun.

Fantasy General holds up well in part because of its emphasis on clear presentation over flashy graphics. Unit types are easy to distinguish and terrain is clearly marked, letting you focus on strategy instead of deciphering the display. Unit strengths and weaknesses relative to other types of units and in different types of terrain combine to create a lot of tactical depth. Some missions add further depth with a good balance between needing to move quickly and wanting to collect extra resources for future missions. As in many "campaign" wargames, units move with you from mission to mission, gain experience, and can be upgraded. Of course this comes with the usual design challenge of magnifying the difficulty settings, as bad luck losing key units early can compound to make later missions more difficult than the designers intended, and vice-versa. That can make later missions either boring or frustrating even when the game begins as an interesting challenge. The campaign research/upgrade system also encourages unit specialization a little too much, which was worked around with the cludge of boosting the AI when an army is too specialized rather than balancing the research and upgrade costs more carefully. I could also ask for the river terrain to be treated as hex edges rather than full hexes, but that may well have been a system requirements limitation when the engine was first developed. Despite a few minor flaws, the game provides many hours of fun, and is one I've returned to many times. And one final caveat: As of this writing, I've played only the original SSI release, not the GOG re-release, so I can't speak to the quality of the new installer, OS adaptation, etc. The SSI version I have played is very stable on hardware and operating systems of its era.

Reviewing from memory, not GOG version. 2nd attempt at posting. Fantasy General is a turn-based wargame that is accessible but nonetheless rich in options. It grew from the Panzer General series and most likely inspired the very similar Fantasy Wars series. The interface looks complicated but isn't hard to learn. The premise is straightforward, pitting your diverse fantasy army against a shadowy force of Orcs and Undead. The core of your army is upgradable Human cavalry, infantry, archers, and mages, eventually incorporating firearms and magical attacks. You also have optional access to non-upgradable Beast creatures like Hawks and Beastmen, or giant single-entity Mechanical constructs weak against magic but strong against everything else. Your funds are always low enough to force tough decisions between battles. Gameplay is based on smart positioning of every unit to take advantage of terrain strengths, nearby unit support, ambush potential, and raw power. You need your strongest units holding a line against the enemy, but you also need screening and room to retreat so a concerted attack does not destroy your best troops. Units can suffer from wounds or deaths. Single entities can fight at full strength while wounded and rest to recover all health for free; units composed of many troops will lose strength with every casualty and must recruit to replace dead troops. Morale is vital at all times. Broken units fight poorly and can be wiped out trying to retreat. Charging blindly without scouts invites a high-casualty ambush followed by encirclement. But if you take too long to advance, you'll run out of turns far from your final goal. The AI forces always outclass your army, forcing you to outthink it to win. The AI is not a particularly smart foe, but it's strong enough to make you work for your victory. This is a fairly simple game that delivers the right amount of atmosphere and challenge to stay fun from start to finish. A true retro classic.