by Rob Lamb

Created on: June 14, 2008   Last Updated: June 23, 2008

Sometimes games are hard to judge by their name alone. Warbands seems to be one of them. I was`nt sure what to expect before downloading the game. But was nicely surprised once I had it installed and running.

Warbands is a strategy type war game that involves putting your troops up against your opponents on various battlefields or maps. The objective being to eliminate your opponents pieces and progress to the next level. Players have a variety of pieces including infantry, heavy infantry, tanks and flamethrowers. Battles can take place on land, water or in the air. Which also brings into play hovercraft, ships and planes of different sorts. It has a total of 20 different pieces that can be put into action.

Game play involves moving your troops in a grid like pattern atop the battlefield. All troops have different capabilities as far as movement and damage. But spaces on the battlefield also can effect them. Things like hills or trees can work as cover increasing damage or defense. Others such as water spots can be obstacles which hinder movement for ground based troops.

What is interesting is the ability to use buildings of which there are three that can be used. Also in the 25 level single player campaign some levels have small villages. To take over a village you move your chosen troop onto it and fire your weapon. You must do this for two rounds. After two rounds your piece may move but they remain under your control until another player takes them over. Once you have control of a village you may then move a troop onto them and they will regenerate health. The longer they are there the more they will gain back. They will also generate income for you which is then used to create new troops, one per turn from one of the buildings which will be pre generated on the board or ones you have placed. And as more turns go by maintaining control over these villages they will grow into towns and then into cities. As they grow they will heal more points and generate more income to reflect thier growth.

Game play is smooth as there is precise movements needed to battle or move. And the graphics are soft for a war game. For instance the ground infantry men and other characters have rounded cartoon like heads and bodies as opposed to a more real life look. But it suit this type of game well. It`s more about strategy and sizing up your troops against the enemy than it is flashy battle graphics.

I found myself really liking Warbands and eager to try each successive level. It provides a nice challenge that works well in the single player mode. So it`s sure to be fun game with capability of up to four players on one single PC, via LAN or the Internet. And with the added level editor tool you can also share, download and create levels to keep the fun going.

I give Warbands a rating of 4 out of 5 for a downloadable computer game. I can see alot of fun being had in the multiplayer modes after the rush of finishing the single player campaign wears off.

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