rickier65
Posts: 14231
Joined: 4/20/2000 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: AKAGI1708 I am trying to decide whether to get The Operational Art Of War III and/or Advanced Tactics. Can I ask some questions:- 2) How does Advanced Tactics compare with TOAW III in complexity and versatility etc - has AT, being a new design, completely surpassed the older but now refined old Talonsoft title? I have both (actually I have three different incarnations of TOAW including TOAW III). I've had AT for around a month, maybe 6 weeks now. The two games are quite different though. AT actually LOOKS a llittle less complex, and you can easily sit down and play a short game in one sitting. AT provides an excellent environment for creating and editing scenarios, one of the best if not THE best I've seen in a game. And though it looks less complex, it actually isn't. The units in AT aren't constrained to represent a particular organizational heirarchy, ie. Bn. or Rgts. or Div. So it's not as easy to see the historical background of the operations (but actually, the feel of the battles is very historical). In TOAW you have units with Rgts, Bn, Divisions, and for Armor they have Stug III's and Mk IV's, you have BT-7's as well as BT-7a's in your units. In other words, the details in TOAW look more historically accurate. For armor, AT has LT, Med, and Hvy Tanks, and 4 different levels (so you have 12 Tank types to use). But, it's pretty easy to see the impacts of changing between Tank types in AT,m while in TOAW I'm not sure I'd notice if my units were loaded up with BT-7a's rather than BT-7's. This same type of comparison can be made for the rest of the formations (infantry, air, naval, etc.) in both games, I think as time goes on, you'll see a lot of scenarios coming out for AT. (in fact, if you wanted, you could acutally make BT-7's and BT-7a's and create sub formations to use in a scenario you create). So flexibility would have to go to AT. In summary, out of the box historical look - TOAW III complexity - pretty much equal (though AT 'looks' more simplistic). flexibility - AT I like them both, (I've had a TOAW version since 1998 or 1999, whenever TOAW I first came out), but I havnet played TOAW once in last 6 weeks. I recommend you buy one now, and save your money and buy the next - they are both games you'll get hours of enjoyment from. Rick
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