Axis & Allies (2004 video game)
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| Axis & Allies (2004 video game) | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | TimeGate Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Atari |
| Release date(s) | November 2004 |
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Media | Compact Disc |
| Input | Keyboard, mouse |
Axis & Allies is World War II real-time strategy computer game based on the popular board game of the same name.
Its two main play modes are the real-time strategy mode where the player commands individual units on the battlefield, and the turn-based Grand Campaign. In the turn-based mode, the player builds and upgrades armies with mechanized, armor, and air support, then moves them across the map to meet opposing armies. Support either increase's the unit's strength in computerized random battle resolution, or allows the player to build the corresponding unit type in an RTS battle.
The RTS mode consists of instant action skirmishes or the respective Axis and Allies single player campaigns. The player deploys building trucks from a Corps HQ to produce money, oil, and ammunition, as well as progress through a technology tree allowing progressively advanced units and researchable upgrades. Units rely on resources for construction and supply through "chaining" to Division HQs of their unit type, which allows them to heal and rebuild in between combat. In an RTS battle to resolve a turn-based battle, a player can only build Airfields, Tanks, or Mechanized Infantry, if an army in the battle has been upgraded with their appropriate support type on the campaign map. The player can also build bunkers to defend his base.
Of the two, the turn-based mode bears more resemblance to the original Axis and Allies board game. However, the player can only attack one territory per turn and does not build armor and air on the board, but rather, during RTS battle resolution. Randomized battle resolution is based on a direct comparison of the upgrades and quantity of the units present in the territory, and the defeated side loses only the weakest army participating in the battle. The real-time game mode incorporates no elements of the board game.
In the Campaign mode, you can either play as the Axis Powers or the Allied Nations. If you play as the Allies, history goes the way it should be, with the Battle of Normandy sealing Germany's fate and the capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa sealing Japan's. You interchange between the armies of Great Britain, the U.S.S.R. and the United States of America as you progress. Four cinematics are shown during this campaign, The Moscow Counteroffensive, The Battle of Normandy, The Battle of Berlin, and the Japanese surrender. There is no mention of the Atomic Bomb, but using the US General Nimitz, you can unleash a pint-sized version.
Playing as the Axis Powers in this mode includes a change of history. Germany pushes back the British all the way back through the Suez Canal and beyond, before winning the decisive battle of Stalingrad. Japan also manages an invasion of Australia. The Battle of Normandy still happens, but this time the Germans counterattack successfully, not only preventing the Allies from opening a new front in the war and liberating France, but also invade Britain itself and forcing the British to surrender. With the British gone, Germany is able to turn its attention to Stalin and the Soviet Empire. With a massive blitzkrieg of tanks, Hitler breaks the Communist nation and burns the Kremlin. By now, the USA is the only significant Allied nation left in the world to challenge the Axis. Japan, no longer hindered by Britain or Australia, begins taking out American naval bases in the Pacific, including Pearl Harbour and Hawaii. With the crippling of America's naval forces, the Allies no longer have any more chance of defeating the Axis Powers. Four cinematics are also shown during this campaign: The Invasion of France, The Second Battle of Britain, The Battle of Moscow, and the Battle of Hawaii.
