Difficulty:

Very Hard

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Best in series"

Of all the old 5-star series of wargames by SSI, Fantasy General is probably the most under-appreciated and overlooked. Released on the cusp when windows 95 was just coming out, it was lost in the shuffle. The graphics are spartan, but have a certain handrawn quality, there are no fancy cutscenes. This game is all business. Since the troops that you command are in fact, fantasy, this game might sound light on realism, and it is, but this is a difficult slog through some pretty tough maps against an evil foe. The AI is very good at eviscerating your troops, and your resources for expanding your forces are slim. This game will push you to think, and if you like spending hours fiddling around on a 2D-hex map, this game will keep you busy for a long time. The cruelty of the AI doesn't stop, and there are NO cheat codes to fall back on, so save often. There are also a great deal of hero characters to find (that do not add to you troop count, which makes them basically a free unit), and depending on the general you choose to be, bonuses/discounts on troops of certain classes. You also get to research troop classes and level up the types of troops you can buy, in addition to each unit leveling up for experience (and added damage/defense). In addition, there are quite a few caves/temples/grottoes, etc. that contain items that you can outfit your units with.

In short, there's a lot going on here. Non-wargamers probably won't get it, but don't believe the gamespot review. If you are serious about your wargames, this is one you need to get.