جائزے

• gamedeal user

  Jul 16, 2022

  Until Warplan Pacific, the only realistic and accurate representation of the Pacific Theatre in WW2 was Gary Grigsby's War in The Pacific. A game infamous for it's excrutiating detail and micromanagement hell - games of it last longer than the actual war. Alternatively, you could try Strategic Command World at War edition, or even Hearts of Iron. However, both of those, despite good points elsehwhere are terrible at the Pacific War aspect, completely failing to capture the "island hopping" crawl of the Allied campaign. Other than those, it's an undercovered theatre. Warplan Pacific openly states it's aim is to be between those extremes. To cover the Pacific War realistically, especially with the naval side which is tricky to get right, but without being micromanagement heavy. Does it succeed? I'd say, yes, very much so. That it is reasonably accessable (more on that later, though), moves along fast and does a great job of showing how the various aspects of land, sea and air link together to support each other and if you don't get this right, your troops may well suffer. Supply was absolutely key to the theatre in real life. Getting the necessary supplies to the right places, protecting them and building up your resources to make the "hop" to the next island. In GG WITP (see above), this is dealt with by modelling in such detail, you feel you have to move every crate yourself. And there are millions to be delivered. Thankfully Warplan gets around this by abstracting it and pretty much moving it all "under the hood". You protect the convoy routes as required and that's about it. It's neat, avoids micromanagement but still needs strategy as if those enemy subs start to sink your convoys, you have less resources to protect them... and so it spirals down. The game is developed by a small team, so no flashy graphics, though the map and units are well done and very clear. Personally, in strategy games I much prefer a clear 2D map than this new trend of 3D maps full of so many shiny things, moving trees, running water etc that are so pretty but difficult to scan and understand quickly where everything is and where you need to focus. (Looking at you, Panzer Corps 2) All the famous ships of the era are in, and you can have more than one in a hex, yay! The AI gives a good enough game, though I think it better on the defensive, which is typical for AI. I haven't played multiplayer, and probably never will as I am admittedly rubbish at such games - and the AI is fine, though not particularly inspiring. So that's the good stuff, now for the negative. The "One Big Thing" that could be improved. And it has to be the total lack of tutorial. Looking for help getting started? Well, there isn't any. No "Quickstart Guide" in the manual. Not even any blurry videos that are Matrix usual standard. Though as I said, the game isn't difficult, but it does have some unique concepts that are kind of scattered through the manual. I found the manual difficult, too. Much of it referring to a previous game (the European version), which doesn't make a good impression. Even for a small development team, I'm not convinced theres an excuse to not have something like a "Quickstart" scenario, that walks you through how fleets are formed, how the air side works and so on. Could be done in 3 or 4 pages, actually get the beginner to learn by doing. I had to watch a few hours worth of Youtube Let's Plays to find out how various aspects worked, when a guide as just described could teach you in an hour. Hopefully the devs will take that on board for future games, as the designer is clearly skilled at making good abstractions and neat design choices - it would be a shame if people buy the game and give up on it in that first couple of hours of floundering around wondering what on earth they are looking at. So if you like the idea of a boardgame like, genuine strategic game based on the Pacific Theatre, but are (quite sensibly) put off by WITP, I can recommend Warplan Pacific as worth getting.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 14, 2022

  This game is worth your attention. It fills the in-between niche just there in the middle of a gary grigsby game on the right and the more simplistic games on the left. There really feels to be a lot of under-the-hood complexity whereas the same time the outward interface, map and units is simplified but not to the point of being banal. If the dev is looking for pointers, I would really appreciate an opening door to the game's more essential concepts and mechanics. As it stands, to learn the game you can read the entire manual (100 pages or so, in big print and simple concepts, which is neither too long but also a bit involved) or go to a lot of youtube tutorials which are great but too long (getting the grasp of the game will require hours and hours like that). The game really lacks a tutorial, and entry-level scenario... something. I say this because, this being intended to fill the medium-range complexity niche, it is a drawback that in order to enjoy a few 1-hour sessions of gaming along the week, I first have to go through 5 hours of 3rd party youtube videos. Some quicker, first-glance intro into the game essentials would be nice. Other than that... 100%!!!!
• gamedeal user

  Oct 6, 2022

  My major complaint with the game has to do with the land war in China. I was expecting a lot of detail with regards to Sino Japanese war. There were numerous warlord factions and Japanese vassals in the war, however this game does not do the conflict justice. There is no warlord factions and no Japanese vassals, everything is either black checkers or red checkers (Allies/Axis). I'm very disappointed. The developer says there is nothing he do to improve things, so I am refunding the game.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 22, 2023

  I cannot believe this is being sold for $40. This is like a college student Unity project.
• roger.in.mannford

  Aug 14, 2023

  Extensive coverage of the entire Pacific theater.