Squad Assault: Westfront Review - PC

Gameplay

Squad Assault: Westfront is set up much like a real-time strategy game, although there's no resource-collecting or unit-building to be done here. Instead, you select various units to take into battle and lead them to your objective using carefully-planned strategies and tactics.

You'll find three main modes in Squad Assault: Westfront: the Battles mode, which contains a number of pre-set single battles; the Operations mode, which is similar to the Battles mode except that there are a number of battles within a number of missions; and the Campaigns mode, in which you'll find three whole Campaigns, comprised of a number of Operations. In the Campaigns mode you'll also find what is referred to in the game as a Grand Campaign, which features numerous branching level paths determined by whether you lose or win a battle.

Each battle in Squad Assault: Westfront is amazingly customisable; you can adjust various sliders and tick boxes to determine many attributes of the gameplay such as the accuracy of weapons, the level of realism, the difficulty level and whether or not you can see enemy units (initially you are only able to see enemy units after your units have spotted them).

Before each mission you're shown a briefing screen that displays a map of a portion of France, where the game is set, and your mission briefing. On the map are coloured dots that show where each mission will take place and where the current mission will take place. Next you'll come across the task force screen, where you are able to assign different units to your squad, each featuring different, authentic weapons such as the M1 Garand, and also read about them. Later in the game you'll be able to select a variety of authentic tanks and half-tracks for that extra firepower required on the battlefield. You'll have to keep an eye on your available points though, which act as a currency for purchasing units.

Once in the game you can see the map from a birds-eye view, giving you complete vision of obstacles and your units. Controlling your vision and issuing commands to your squad is simple. The keyboard is used to rotate your view and move it across the map, while the mouse also moves your view across the map and is used to select units and commands to order your squad around the battlefield. The mouse wheel or the page up and page down keys are used to zoom in on the battlefield for a closer (continued next page)