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Last year Hussar Games released For Liberty!, a wargame that offered players a chance to relive the heyday of both the American Revolution and the Rakoczi War of Independence against Austria. Both games have been picked up and republished by Matrix games (with a free version of Hussar's original 1848 game thrown in for good measure). Seeing the game land on our desks recently gave us a great excuse to revisit the glories of the Age of Enlightenment when war was an affair for brightly uniformed infantry, daring cavalry charges and thundering cannonades.

Given the glut of World War 2 and Napoleonic wargames, it's nice to see a title offer up not one but two alternatives for the hex-happy set. The American War for Independence is surely an attractive setting for most wargamers and the Austrian War, discounting our unfamiliarity with the place names, is nearly as compelling. While the campaigns don't enjoy the obvious popularity of Waterloo or Normandy, there's no denying the drama contained in these wars of revolution.

There are two full campaigns for each war and a number of smaller campaigns that focus on just a few years of action. A reasonably thorough, if not overly friendly, tutorial will get players up to speed on the basics in short order. From there, however, players will find that even the smaller campaigns are a lot to take on right at the start. Even smaller campaigns focusing on isolated events from each war would definitely help ease players into the experience a bit more easily. Additionally, the large scope of both wars and the slow pace of the strategic and tactical components makes it hard to maintain interest or awareness in the overall shape of either campaign, leaving less experienced players feeling like they've taken on far more than they can handle.
The main point in each campaign is to accumulate victory points by capturing towns owned by your enemy. The towns serve as sources of income in the form of men, material and morale. Owning is not only the goal but also the means to achieving that goal. Taking towns also grants the player influence points which can be spent for political or material goals. You might use it to buy new units for your armies, or you might use it to spread propaganda to reduce enemy morale.

At the end of the campaign, the side with the most points wins. Discounting the inclusion of specific strategic objectives driven by political or geographical considerations, it's a nice way to determine a player's overall success or failure. For Liberty! forces players to measure success or failure in a variety of degrees. Because the game values morale over manpower, there are few clear winners in the tactical battles. Likewise, the strategic map has far too many towns for players to mount a comprehensive defense, which leaves you with the obnoxious responsibility of having to chase an unopposed enemy as he marches through your unprotected towns.

Sakura via pc.ign.com »