Battlefield General

Marginally flawed strategizing

Reviewed by Shawn from afro-ninja.com

I’m usually not a big fan of strategy games, but I really enjoyed playing Battlefield General. In my opinion it attains a perfect level of difficulty and complexity (for a flash game) and if it could just fix some small problems, would have the perfect level of gameplay as well.

“It is the Qin dynasty in ancient China. The First Emperor Qin demands that all lands be pacified and be brought under his dominion. He has plans to build the Great Wall of China to protect his lands from the barbarians to the north.” This is your mission statement, and serves to be the motive behind each level’s objectives. In each level you start out at your castle, with a specific task. It always involves killing the enemy, but sometimes you have to kill them and take their castle, just defend your castle, or raid nearby enemy stations. Click on units at the bottom of the screen to create them. Once your units are made you can click on them individually or drag a selection box around them, and direct them towards a target. You can also ctrl+click to select specific units, as well as use ctrl+click to define a custom path for them to take. These are the basics for any strategy game, but unfortunately they are a little flawed.

Ok, so AI in flash has never exactly had the best track record. This game isn’t going to change your opinion on that too much. The reason you can ctrl+click to create a custom path is because without it, your units will get stuck in walls and on hills like it’s nobody’s business. Even with a custom path you will still have this problem, so plan for it when you’re in tight areas. Second, the AI seems to have a mind of its own sometimes. In heavy battle some of your troops will sometimes hang back and not do anything, even if you swear you told them to attack. Also, your general loves to fight. Even if he is at low health he will insist on charging into an entire horde of enemies, as you frantically try to select him and point him in the other direction. Lastly, my only other complaint with the game is the scrolling style- you have to use the arrow keys to look anywhere, instead of doing it with the mouse. This can make things very annoying when you want to direct your troops somewhere, or draw a longer custom path. It’s pretty much impossible in fact, and would have been much better if we could simply scroll with the mouse.

Despite these problems the game is still very fun to play, because it gets the most important part right: strategy. The first level might be one of the hardest though, due to trying to get familiar with the system while enemy troops start to charge you. Also, while the game has a mini-tutorial, it never really explains the different soldier types to you. It’s not hard to figure out really, but it would have made the first level a little less frustrating. After the first couple of levels though you should start to get the hang of it. Thankfully the game includes a speed x4 option, for those times when you have to regroup or take your troops over a hill. The save feature is also a welcome addition, for when you completely flub a battle or make the wrong purchasing decisions for the next battle.

The graphics aren’t exactly amazing, but they needed to be kept simple due to all the on-screen action. Some of the map areas end up looking a little blurry/pixilated though. All the sfx you could ask for are present, as well a nice feudal soundtrack to accompany them. If this game could hook someone like me, then I have no doubt that regular strategy game fans will get some enjoyment out of it. All we need are some adjustments to the game mechanics and this could rank at the top of the genre.

Click here to play Battlefield General






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