Menneisyys

Sytexis Software, also known for their Web Stream Recorder and Webcam Tracker software, has released version 1.41 of their turn-based strategy title Brutal Wars.



The blurb reads as follows:

Take command of the elite antiterrorist unit armed according to the last word in science and technology. The best soldiers in the world will be under your command from now on! And you have a long and difficult way ahead: from being in charge of a detachment to the commander-in-chief of the entire antiterrorist army. Think thoroughly, plan precisely, attack suddenly and hit the target! And remember – fortune favors the brave!

• 2 campaigns with 15 maps (1 campaign in demo version)
• 4 maps for a single-player game against the computer enemy (3 maps in demo version)
• 2 maps for a multi-player hotseat game against the computer enemy and your friends (1 map in demo version)
• 34 different types of military units (20 in demo version)
• Acquiring experience for your troops and taking it to the next maps
• Various landscapes – plains, mountains, rivers, seas, roads, forests, etc.
• High-rate graphics and artificial intelligence
• Terrific sound and music
• Very easy control and quick training
• Saved games can be moved between the desktop and pocket computers
• Localization for various languages

Pros

1. Great in-game music (albeit a little repetitive after a while)
2. Supports square-screen devices
3. Pictures used in unit descriptions are really cool (example screenshot here, taken on my VGA hx4700; some of them – for example this - , on the other hand, hasn’t been (correctly) despeckled and certainly shows the effects of having been scanned from a book or similar printed material)
4. I have encountered no major incompatibility problems (albeit it isn’t compatible with pre-WM2003 operating systems) except for the minor x51v options problem. It runs flawlessly on my Pocket Loox 720, WM5 iPAQ hx4700 and iPAQ 2210
5. Bilingual (Russian/English), which means additional languages may be easier added to the game than with non-multilingual titles
6. Very good in-game tutorial & other explanations (screenshot here, here and here)
   

Cons

1. Only QVGA resolution on VGA devices as opposed to some other high resolution-enabled turn-based strategies like Warring Nations
2. While it does support multiplayer, it’s hotseat only (and not inter-PDA) like with the above-linked Warring Nations (see the Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup for more information on all these questions)
3. The options menu (screenshot here) on the Dell Axim x51v (with ROM version A06) prone to problems (it works OK on all the other test devices – Pocket Loox 720, WM5 iPAQ hx4700 and iPAQ 2210) with a gwes.exe error. It doesn’t crash the game though – just makes it far harder/slower to use the Options menu. Note that the latest, A12 ROM version of the x51v may have eliminated this problem (at least earlier x51v ROM versions are known to be incomptible with several games; see the example of for example Handmark Battleship 1.06 reviewed in the Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup).
4. After suspending (and resuming) the PDA while the game is running, the music can only be restarted by exiting and restarting the game. This is the case even if you install the game into main storage and not on a card. Most other games don't have this problem.
   

Verdict

Not a bad game (the lack of the VGA support is a big letdown, though). Give it a try.

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MS MVP- Mobile Devices.