Preview: Strategic Command Making the Great War Greater

The Great War games keep rolling out and for junkies of the conflict are in gaming heaven. The next big release is coming to your PC and it is a remake of one of my favorite games; Strategic Command Great War. For those of you who have not played any games in the series (WW2 came out exactly a year ago) they cover conflicts at the strategic level, so you not only control vast armies but also control the means of production, diplomacy and technological improvements of the nation you play.
The updated game does something I did not see as being possible, they improved upon the original version. The folks at added new units such as the ANZACs, improved the interface and gave some naval units the ability to lay mines to make your enemy think about roaming the open seas.
The game comes with three basic scenarios, two in 1914 with one having the Italians siding with their Central Power allies and one in 1917 that lets you play out the war’s conclusion. Units in the game represent are mostly at the Corps level with infantry, cavalry, artillery, and tanks to charge ahead taking the fight to the enemy. Naval warfare is also well represented and some of the new improvements to how these units are handled make them key units that will help you win the war. The game also has air units such as fighters, bombers, and lumbering Zeppelins.
Some of the minor annoying things that bugged me about the original game have been fixed, so I now can use an activated unit that still has action points left. This is a huge upgrade and gives you some options that really help you leverage your force better.
Another big improvement is how you can now put some units in your alliance on autopilot so if you want to just play the western front you can just have the AI play the Russians.
Keep in mind this a strategic level game, so you have to manage your resources properly. Not spending points on technology will prevent you from upgrading your units and trust me they will suffer against units of nations who have invested in developing better and more deadly weapons.
Despite having played the original game for hours I could not stop playing the demo version I was sent. The game just keeps you wanting to play one more turn and I know I will spend hours on this version of the game.
The only issue I have with the game is that the campaign in East Africa is missing which I feel is a mistake, so I will have to contend with the war in Europe and the Near East.
One thing I love about the game is that they let the community provide content for the game, so you need to go to the forum at Matrix/Slitherine and pick up some cool mods like this
The game will be available on 6 Dec and you can pick it up via the Matrix/Slitherine website or check it out on Steam.
Let me know what you think of the game and I will see you in no-man’s land.