Somewhere between Vietnam and Iraq, there was a conflict that brewed for over a century before boiling over into a full-fledged war. Maybe not in the scale of the former or latter mentioned, but it was, nonetheless, serious and a potentially world-changing event. In a battle of territory (The Falklands) that came from a long-running dispute, the British troops were faced against thousands of Argentinean rebels and proved their superior training could prevail with considerably minimal casualties on both sides. More of the detailed and time-lined historical info can be obtained from this site. However, with The Falklands War 1982, you can relive the history - or change it.

Shrapnel Games, along with ProSim, have brought history to life in a challenging simulation game based on real events, with the ability to change the outcome. In a master stroke of wargame simulations, using the now legendary "ATF" (Armored Task Force) engine, the developers have offered the player a chance to re-enact what happened in 1982 or executing various different alternative realities without compromising accuracy. No, you cannot go in there blasting away with laser weapons and playing other such fantasy, but the scope and detail of the game allows you to make very complex, realistic changes to explore their tagged "What If?" scenarios. The superior British troops won the conflict in 1982, but What If certain factors were tweaked a little here and there? Maybe some more amphibious vehicles and different troop assignments were in place? What would happen, then? You can now find out - without giving up anything in realism.

This is a game along the lines of the old-school Risk board game. It is not intended for those that have grown accustomed to Splinter Cell and other modern staples of gaming warfare. This is subtle, yet engaging game play - more like Chess than the graphically-straining Medal of Honor type games. For that reason, it may not be for everyone. But, if you know about the ATF engine, and what to expect from Shrapnel and ProSim, you will get a challenging and detailed realist military excursion. 

To start with, the manual is a mini-novel in its size. It is very detailed and rightfully so. There is a lot to learn and explore. Playing this game is a (pleasant) challenge to your ability to think and plan. The maps and menu items are very in-depth with some customizing abilities. My first experience was with the Tutorial, which I recommend to everyone. It opens in Browser windows and allows you to walk through basic and complex setups with various goals in mind. I spent more than a day doing nothing but tutorials - in addition to keeping the well-used manual in hand at all times. What the game lacks in snazzy graphics, it makes up for in the sheer scope and depth of the ATF engine's ability to play in various ways. You can tweak everything down to the size of your troops and what they carry or vehicles available. The menus have many sub-menus and some seem to go on forever. Such details weigh heavily in the success of the way you play. Without the benefit of actually engaging in several conflicts in real-life, I can only imagine that this is as close as you'd want to get. 

The game encourages you to micro-manage as much of it as possible. You even have to setup the times when various strikes will occur. That, as veterans well know, is realism. You don't just wake up one day and decide to launch mortars to a random field. Everything has to be planned out with attention to timing, conditions and backup plans. This game's engine allows you to explore all of this in great detail, which serves the player very well.

The visuals are subtle and somewhat sterile. It's a map with loads of icons and menu items. You can zoom in and out, but otherwise, you won't see a lot of moving graphics. That's what a war sim is supposed to have, however. There is nothing missing, and in fact, it looks better than others I recall from the past. The point of the game is to (re)enact battles and move military brigades - not dazzle you with three-dimensional graphics. It's a well-done, although "flat", layout. I found the controls and icons to be more than confusing - without the manual always on hand. It would take days and days of continuous play to become intimately familiar with all of the graphics without referring to the book or Help. 

This is a niche genre game. It is solely for the war gaming aficionados. If you want quick thrills and dazzling war-gaming action, swerve wide of playing this. However, it is very well done for its real intention - to accurately recreate a real-life war from 1982, with the ability to replay it with various "What If?" scenarios with precision. It does not take any liberties with realism, or otherwise compromise the intention to make war "planning." For those that grew up playing (and loving) strategy games such as Risk, this is a excellent digital way to further explore your hobby.

Gameplay: 7.5
You are in for a subtle, yet engaging treat. The gameplay is slow, but realistic and entertaining. This game/sim will show you how the military works and what can be done in a realistic way. Without the distractions of surreal war gaming, you can focus on real life and serious situations. That can be a lot of fun, albeit subtle, for the right crowd. Hopefully, no one will pick this up expecting something other than the packaging clearly describes. The movements are small and slow, but the results are emotionally fulfilling. It's fascinating to explore what you know, and learn from mistakes. Or, as the title implies, you can witness an actual battle from 1982, though not as a movie or three-dimensional display.

Graphics: 6.5 
For lack of a proper term, it's kind of "ugly," but so is war! Seriously, there are a lot of icons and menu items to view and (ideally) learn very well. Until you are accustomed to them, it's a lot to take in. The icon's color palette (lots of reds and blues) is very basic and simple, yet obviously complex to understand what to do with it all. The display comes off very cryptic and intimidating at first. Just keep the manual handy and use the tutorial - and the map will be easier to view.   

Sound: N/A 

Difficulty: Hard
The learning curve for the game is sharp. It will take a long time to go from the tutorial walkthrough to being able to sit back and play without constant reference material close at hand. Even though I enjoy the planning and strategy of this type of game (hey - I love chess like others like football!!), it does tax my ability to stick with it and plan things to the level that it requires. There is a lot of micro-managing. If you have ADHD, forget it!

Concept: 8.5 
Where some other war strategy simulation games may rehash the same old game over and over, the use of the ATF engine enables the developers to breathe new life into what one used to expect from war sims. The level of detail goes into many layers and makes a familiar type of game feel new and exciting. War strategy games have been around for centuries, but this one is a welcome digital makeover in a grand scale. 

Multiplayer: N/A 
Though I did not have anyone to test this with, there is a multiplayer online capability. Like other strategy games, I imagine this could be a lot of fun and very engaging with the right people. Maybe you can hook up with someone (from England?) that actually fought in this war??!!

Overall: 7.5
The daunting interface and lack of user-friendly graphics makes this more of a challenge than you might expect. It requires a lot of studying and research to fully maximize what this game can do. The ATF engine is truly incredible, of you can appreciate the science involved with plotting a realistic simulation of war action. Trying to factor in troop movements against various conditions and armaments is more in depth than I can fathom. Shrapnel and ProSim have done this very well, and I hold the ATF engine with the highest respect. True war sim aficionados should appreciate it, likewise. Those with more experience with this kind of sim will enjoy it much more than I did, but I liked it a lot and think it is an amazing accomplishment. I think some of the tutorials could have been more easily executed - as in just letting things play out with minimal- to maximum-input from the player. I would have liked to have more options of how much the tutorial helped - or didn't. Still, the manual is pleasantly full of information and a necessity for success. There is a lot of online support, though there is not much from other gamers to see at the time I played it. In theory, they hope to have a gathering of many players sharing information and exchanging loadable games. Just like Maxis' The Sims has become. They've created a doorway for a world-wide community to step through and take the game beyond what is in the packaging. it's just not there - yet. But I'll keep looking.....