UniWar 1.8

Even in today's climate of real time extravaganza and looks before intelligence, there are still people that are committed to developing real games.

Do you remember the classic turn based wargames? They mostly survive today as hex and counter games in the veins of Advanced Squad Leader or The Campaign for North Africa. However, lacking table space and free time, a gamer should opt for an alternative. UniWar is such an alternative. It features classic style hex and counter gameplay with three completely different alien armies. A game consists in capturing bases which give revenue and also act as production centers. If you capture your opponent's last base and also dealt with his units, you are victorious.

Sounds pretty straightforward, and it is. The depth comes from the varied way in which the units deal with other units and of course the map layout. You have light and heavy ground units, aerial and naval units (where the map allows). Each unit is specialized in some way, having extra actions, special abilities or simply by excelling in one or more stats.

Terrain is very important as it can offer cover, slow down or deny access to certain units. In this you can explore strategical advantages that deal with the current terrain layout. Most units can move and then attack. The attack is dependent on the unit's firepower and the target's class and terrain bonus but also on the attacker's structural integrity. You simply can't bring a beaten up buggy to face a full armored tank and expect it to do anything but scratch it. However, these bonuses can change depending on how you stage the attack.

Here's the most interesting part of UniWar. Being a hex game, a unit is generally open to attack from 6 positions. If you manage to gang up multiple attacks on a single target, the more varied the directions of attack, the more effective the attacks will be. This gang up bonus is essentially simulating flanking tactics. So no matter how beefed up a tank is, if infantry is swarming in from all directions, the tank will most likely feel some pain.

There are three armies in UniWar. Each have a similar composition on the surface, but after playing the tutorial you will soon realize that they play completely differently. The Sapiens have a well rounded selection of units with some highlights. Namely the Engineer which can increase the repair rate of all surrounding units and can convert Titan Mechas to join his army. The Titans have one major distinction from the other two. They don't have any flying units. So reaching far away places in an efficient manner is extremely hard. However, their Mecha (infantry) and Eclipse (light armor) can essentially teleport to any hex within sight at a cost of being passive for a couple of turns. Their assimilator unit can also assist repairs, launch far reaching EMP attacks and also capture and re-program Underlings, the Khralean lightest unit. Finally, the Khraleans are (you guessed it) an insect like army that has powerful but somewhat fragile units. Their Underlings can Bury and move underground, completely undetected by the enemy. This allows them to to make surprise attacks even in well monitored areas. Their support unit, can infect Sapien Marines. They also have two flying units, a heavier one with fairly good mobility and a lighter one with a tremendous flying range.

It's easy to see why UniWar games can be strategically and tactically satisfying. After finishing the tutorial, you can try out some SOLO games, play hotseat with a friend or join the online community and play with up to 3 other players in ranked games and/or in team play. There are numerous maps online, discussion forums and a general feel of an active community.

Conclusion

UniWar is the war game that I was looking for. The graphics and animations are well done but don't go beyond a basic nice look (that's probably why UniWar is only 20 Megs in size). However, the gameplay value is nonetheless equivalent to a gold mine.