Matrix Games

quote:

ORIGINAL: GeeBB

I've started playing my fisrt game from 1939 as the Axis (patch 1.06 installed)...here's what has happened...

I tried to follow the historical path, I set up the game with oil on, but didn't realise until later that research was set to radom.
Poland, Denmark, norway, Holland & Denmark fell fairly quickly, and I was on target to defeat the French for June 1940.
I bought research in Air, assuming I needed air superiority for the forthcoming "battle of Britain". All was going well.

However, France was stubborn, and Paris didn't fall until Aug 1940 (so I abandoned Op Sealion) . Also, my subs and fleet were quickly sunk by the British. I changed my focus to the South & East . Yugoslavia took about 3 turns to fall, yet the Italians supported by 1 x German armour unit were making good progress in N. Africa.

By May 1941, the Italians had captured Cairo, and Port Said, and were ready to go looking for oil in Bagdhad. Yet, Greece was still defending resolutley in the mountains. At this time I noticed a glitch in Naval movement in the Med (the system was telling me that certain Axis units adjacent to ports could not load as there was "not a friendly port near"?? (I've posted a message on the supprt folder - I assume its a glitch and nothing I've missed in the rules).

Anyway, I launched Barborrosa in may 1941, but I felt a little underprepared (not enough units and not quite into poistion). I had great success for the first 2 turns, but then hit fierce resistance around Smolensk.
This is the position to date.

My thoughts:
(1) The fluidity of gameplay is good...the oil rule option is great.
(2) The unit movement and combat is fairly simple, which I applaud, yet I think that unit stacking, and combined ground unit attacks would make it more realistic.
(3) Naval transports work well, but I think amphibious landings should not be allowed anywhere in N and W Europe in winter. ie. D-day would never have been laucnched in Winter.
(4) I've found Axis subs to be fairly useless in the N.Atlantic, too easily sunk. It appears you either have to invest everyting into a German Naval campaign, or do nothing, there is no middle/historical ground.
(5) German air power was difficult for me to build up. I couldn't achieve air superiority in the west, but more concerningly, I couldn't in the East!! I had good air research levels, yet the Russian air power (in numbers and quality) appeared ridiculously powerful for 1941.
(6) Russia seem too powerfull in 1941 (I'm going to try the 1941 scenario to see if maybe I didn't have enough German units this time round).

I need to play the game a few times more, but I find it very enjoyable. I think with a few tweaks this game would be very, very good.