Although a little simple, a Great Game for Tons-O-Fun! Great Strategy Game!
Each province is unique and is mapped out just like reality. It is interesting to see which major cities made it onto the maps! Provinces also have special facilities, like Banks to increase all your income (by 5%) or Steel Mills that increase your defense (more rare, and thus more highly prized). As the wars rage, maps take damage, and some facilities are destroyed, as are precious bridges. One tactic to use on defense is to bomb distant bridges, thus slowing down the enemy’s advance to your defensive positions.
Money is a necessity and each province is worth 10k, capitol provinces are worth 15k. The total number of Banks you own then adjusts these numbers. AI opponent s will definitely defend capitol provinces as best they can.
As far as politics are concerned, your actions on the battlefield will either move you towards Evil and Destruction or into a more responsible position. It is better, in my opinion, to avoid mass destruction because you also receive special abilities based on your political alignment and the ‘good’ ones are the better abilities. Each faction has a few unique abilities gained this way.
Some players have remarked they would like a diplomatic system for the game. I believe that this is so they can abuse they AI by making a limited peace on one front all the while plotting invasion. This game is all out war and does not need a diplomatic system between the various factions.
In the strategic game I usually sell all my choppers and artillery since they are magnets to be easily destroyed. I buy an extra stealth and fighter and load up on the Abrams tanks (sometimes an M8 or LAV or two). I then push forward gingerly and sweat out the eventual counterattacks. Eventually my entire force consists of tanks. The AI will swarm you with the right units to take out what you use. So, if you have artillery (nice range, poor visibility, and horrible defense), plan on seeing them go BOOM to enemy air and chopper attacks. As a matter of fact, your first goal in any battle is to figure out how to take out enemy helicopters. The AI will also have excellent air defense, so if you use choppers, watch them get shot down.
Each faction is definitely playable and you can win with anyone – choice of faction gives a splash of color and decides which maps you will fight your more important battles on. Don’t use too many of the factions’ unique units. They are nice but way too slow (except for Pacifica, which has the best armor in the game).
The main review stated that the AI does not gang up on the leader. The AI is smart, and will not attack someone massively stronger in strength (unless that someone is spread thinly). The writer also mentioned he did not like being counterattacked in territories he just took. Well, other factions will do what they can to push you out of their territory, especially if the previous battle greatly weakened the offensive force. I should mention, the AI seems to be on a ‘war binge’, which means that neighbors who attack each other usually keep going at it. Sometimes it is best to sit tight and not attack, or attack with a Humvee and one Fighter (just to take out a chopper!).
I have almost no bugs from this game. It locked up twice since I started playing it and those problems were from other software I had in the background.
All in all Shattered Union is a great game. It even has a pick-up battle scenario portion for those who want to just fight the battles. It is also turned based, which is pleasant in the Age of Real-Time Stupidity. The True Strategy lover will appreciate the choices you have to make as you buy units, fail to repair units (they will heal each turn if they do not move in a battle), and choose your battle sites wisely. Of course, you cannot control the actions of your opponents, but you can limit their invasion routes into your territory by taking certain blocking provinces. Great Games are those you want to play, time and again, and always have on your hard drive - this is just such a game. This is a great game, not too serious but a whole lot of Fun!