Tin Soldiers-Alexander the Great

First, I want it to be known that I'm neither an ancient historian nor a die-hard miniatures wargamer. Like many, I have the legendary pile of lead-unpainted Old Guards, Sturmtigers and Zouaves-in the corner of my office. Someday, I always promise myself, I'll get around to painting them. Tin Soldiers: Alexander the Great, relives me of at least painting the Persian, Greek and Macedonian hordes that are slowing piling up...

Tin Soldiers is clearly a labor of love by a coterie of devoted miniatures gamers. The historical detail in the on-disk manual, the accurate colors and weaponry of the in-game figures, and the overall game system itself is homage to 25mm wargaming. Even the terrain is reflective of this outlook, with even the trees having small plastic 'bases' on the map. The only thing missing was well worn dice on one corner of the field and scattered bits of potato chips to finish the scene.

Gameplay is straightforward and extremely intuitive. This game is clearly meant for both traditional board and computer wargamers; the controls are easy to understand, limited in number and familiar to just about anyone.

Tin Soldiers offers several venues to the player, including multiplayer (through IP) and a single player campaign. The campaign is extremely enjoyable to play, for several reasons. First, it ties together a series of scenarios outlining the major campaigns of Alexander the Great, from his initial battles against fellow Greeks, to the famous campaign against the Persian king, Darius. Secondly, the campaign allows players to upgrade units, add new forces, purchase 'strategy cards,' replace commanders, and train existing units, all based on the amount of gold (gained from victorious battles, provinces controlled, etc.) available to the player. The system itself is reminiscent of the classic Panzer General series, or the more recent World War II RTS Panzers: Phase One, where the player can build forces for the upcoming scenarios. Like the latter, Tin Soldiers forces the player to conserve his army as much as possible-the fights against Darius are extremely difficult to win without duplicating Alexander's crack army.

The installation of the game is easy and straightforward, and went off without difficulty. Documentation is in the form of an on-disk PDF manual, and is worth printing off. It is filled with in-depth historical information, a great overview of the times of Alexander, and the raw statistics for each of the units in the game. While a printed manual is always superior to an on-disk version, Tin Soldiers' manual is both easily accessible to the lay person and satisfying to the grognard-a balance that is often hard to achieve.

I tested the game on Windows XP w/SP 2 and it ran without a problem, even with Adobe Photoshop running in the background. While the test system is substantially faster (3.3 P4 w/2056MB RAM) than the minimum system requirements, it is obvious that the game is no 'RAM Hog'-it should run fine on a 1000 MHz or higher machine easily.

The interface is easy to understand and fairly intuitive, with the standard 'pop up' text if the mouse is left over any on screen selection. The only thing missing from the interface would have been a 'go-no go' shading when a unit is selected; instead, the player selects a unit for movement then has to drag the cursor around the screen to determine the movement of a unit.

The graphics, while pleasant at the farthest 'zoom out' level to the mid-zoom level, are pixilated at the lowest zoom. Given the detail of the units and the array of colors involved, I would have preferred a higher resolution of graphics. However, this is more than likely a trade-off for performance and gameplay, and in no way interferes with the game itself.

The audio, in contrast, is excellent. Units clash with swords, march with the sounds of sandaled feet, and the Greek music is stirring and evokes images of Corinthian columns, desperate battles and marching armies. It is one of the best soundtracks for any game I have heard since Paradox's Europa Universalis II.

The game itself is turn-based, but with simultaneous execution of orders. In other words, the players (or player and AI) plots out their moves in the first phase, called the Command Phase, which are then executed at the same time during the next (the Resolution) Phase. Finally, a Reserve Phase ends the turn, where units that did not execute a move during the Resolution Phase are able to move/fight.

All in all, it is a workable system and adds a level of complexity to turn based gaming that is often missing. In one scenario, the Greeks were attempting a river crossing against the Persians. I moved my forces into the center and attempted to assault the well-defended crossing by brute force (note to self: really, really a bad idea...). The AI controlled Persians allowed me to get half-way across the river before cutting loose with a shower of arrows and a series of cavalry charges. While I was able to breach the river, the losses cost me the game in that the Persians still maintained a large reserve force out of my sight. My paltry attempts to put blocking infantry ahead of my archers and slingers often were met with spoiling attacks by the Persians, who would then pull back after inflicting losses.

The AI is challenging in Tin Soldiers, and my complements to the programmers for giving the AI some tactical sense. Cavalry will dash in for spoiling attacks, infantry will cover missile troops, and the AI will actually use defensive terrain. It will surround and destroy isolate units whenever possible, and steadfastly refuses to be baited. It picks the Victory hexes for special attention and will guard them well. Most interestingly, it will keep reserve forces out of the player's sight until a breakthrough is threatened and then it will parcel them out as needed. The AI is very competent and challenging without cheating-a rarity in many of the games currently on the market.

Tin Soldiers approaches Alexander's era with respect and a wealth of historical knowledge. For example, no ahistorical selections are allowed in the campaign-you can't build elephant troops while still in Greece or can you decide to invade Egypt on day 1. In-depth details in both the game itself and the manual give accurate but easily read details on the military units and systems of the Ancient World. From a description of King Darius' charioteers to Alexander's Companions, the historical information is interesting and well worth reading.