Shattered Union

Following a great increase in terrorism, internal strife, and ultimately the nuclear destruction of Washington, D.C., combined with political uprising, the United States shatters into a half-dozen nation-states that secede from the union throwing the U.S. into a second Civil War. Take the helm of one of these newfound sovereignties (or the "peacekeeping" European Expeditionary Force) and struggle to reunify America. Shattered Union is a turn-based strategy game. Yes, you heard me right, turn-based. You make all your movements, attacks, defensive ploys, etc. Then your opponent does the same. No quick fingers or mouse handling nor a super sonic high-speed Internet connection required for this one. If you are a fan of that sort of thing this game might be for you.

For starters, there is a lot to learn and can seem a bit daunting. Tutorials do a pretty decent job of teaching you the basics and do it quickly. Watching the tutorials a few times will speed up the learning curve and is something I recommend. The manual does a more in-depth job of explaining how everything works. I have found for me, trial and error worked best once I understood the basics. There is a lot to consider on the tactical side such as what units to buy or sell. Certain terrain adds or subtracts movement, attacks and defense. Then there is the whole political thing. If your political bar moves left or right depending on how many casualties you have incurred or territories won, this can unlock special abilities. You have a ton of units to choose from all having their own attacks, movements, armor, fuel, etc. Bombers, fighters, choppers, tanks, anti-air, artillery, troops, engineers, and the list goes on are available at your fingertips. The more territory you own the more money for more toys. Do you see where I’m going here? Yes you might pick up on the fundamentals fairly quickly, but finding the right chemistry between units to perform a specific task, and what should be taken for more buying power will be challenging at first.

Turn-based games are fun and this is a great example of how a game can be fun to play without having to have a fast trigger finger. Take your time and pick your fights accurately meanwhile snacking on popcorn and taking a sip of your favorite beverage. You can read up on your units to make sure you have the right balance for an attack, defensive stance, or patrolling units. Though battles can be intense, overall it is a more relaxed play. Online this will be great because even slower connection speeds should not effect the outcome of any battle.

Visually the game looks pretty good considering the genre. The developers did a nice job blending environments and details on the units. The cinematic environment of the game was nicely done as well. Having said that, compared to FPS titles of today with powerhouse engines it’s just not nearly as stunning. Games of this genre rarely look that good and it is not needed for good gameplay. It’s more of an added bonus if they do. Audibly the sound track is pretty decent and the sound effects are what you would expect in any war game. I do not think surround-sound is supported, but sounded decent in stereo.

No two games could possibly play out the same in my opinion. Just about everything can be destroyed and with so many variables to factor in, I cannot see how any two games would be exactly alike. The map will show blown-out buildings, destroyed bridges, cleared forests, tracks from tanks, etc. In short you will see a charred and scarred battleground when the fighting has finally ceased.

Overall I liked the game though I personally am not a fan of the genre. I found with the limitless possibilities for strategy coupled with the multiplayer capability to be a game with a pretty decent shelf life. It won’t suffer online with a DSL connection against someone with a T3 so I can take my time, grab a drink and plan some off-the-wall attack that my opponent never saw coming. Not a bad job guys! 

Gameplay: 8.0
There is a lot to learn to play this game to its utmost potential. It’s pretty easy to get started but learning the tactical side of things will take some time. You desktop generals out there may turn up your nose at me, but hey I’m just a casual gamer of this genre. I found the keys, though, were pretty decently laid out once I knew what had to be done. Again I recommend watching the tutorials a couple of times. They show everything that needs to be done along with a clear narration.

Graphics: 7.5
Pretty decent for the genre. I will say this it is a very colorful game and the use of all the colors makes gameplay a bit easier. I also liked the 3-D feature, which gives you a more detailed look at the playing field. Its not exactly top notch, but these types of games do not need eye-popping graphics to enjoy the game.

Sound: 7.5
Decent music and sound effects.

Difficulty: Medium
I guess you could say you can pick up the fundamentals pretty quickly, but from a strategic point it could take some time to master the tactical end of the game. There are so many variables to consider it would be hard pressed to play a game and have the exact same outcome twice.

Concept: 7.5
I haven’t had my hands on a good turn-based game in quite some time. If I had to choose one with long-lasting replayability, this would fit the bill nicely. I liked the fact that everything, for the most part, was based on U.S. soil and with U.S. troops. This made for a more equal battleground and is quite challenging.

Multiplayer: N/A
It's available but at time of the review I could not find any players to do battle with online. Internet play is through Gamespy and is a breeze to get up and running. Hopefully in the weeks to come more players will be online providing even more gameplay options. That beats AI any day. Because it is a turn-based game, lag should not effect the gameplay due to poor ping rates.

Overall: 7.8
Pretty good game for the money and if you are into this genre, I would recommend this one.