Axis and Allies for Windows

Axis & Allies: Iron Blitz captured my heart last year, and I've had plenty of opportunity since that time to give it a thorough "testing." I loved it immediately--I rather suspected I might, as I loved Hasbro's initial "Axis & Allies" PC game [& board game before that]--nevertheless, "Iron Blitz" performed well enough to earn it a place among my PERSONAL all-time favorite games.

The distinction is important; my personal favorites are games I recommend based entirely on personal preference, and with full knowledge that bias and subjective perspective could be skewing my view. When I play "Iron Blitz" I play "Axis & Allies" the board game, too, and recall all the fun times I had with various groups of friends over the years throwing back beers and throwing dice. If you're not a fan of strategy games, then, real-time or turn-based [this one's turn-based], you can just skip this one 'cause it won't change your opinion.

If you do enjoy the occassional joust with Hitler [or Stalin, whichever], this game's just the one for you. Especially if you're familiar with the board game. The original "Axis & Allies" board game achieved something like the highest level of balance ever in a strategy game. "Axis & Allies" has many optional rules for when game-play got stale, but that's never necessary--one usually need only to switch the makeup of each team. Voila. And even moves some people tout as "money" turn out to be something other than entirely certain when other people play, different eyes see different opportunities. The strategic element in "Axis & Allies" is fluid enough to absorb casual mistakes by players of the same caliber--the element of luck can level all fields.

In that regard, "Iron Blitz" and "Axis & Allies" both ignore that WWII was won in the factories, and not by one or another astounding strategic/tactical decision. Not to suggest that our soldiers didn't fight bravely, just that their fight was expediated by our factories outproducing, then out-existing their Axis counterparts. Certain strategic decisions brought the war to a close years earlier than would've otherwise been possible, such as Hitler's sacrifice of the Eastern Army in Russia, or Japan's disasterous defeats in Midway and the Coral Sea.

The game doesn't always hove precisely to history & historial conditions. Some games, however, sacrifice gameplay and balance for historical accuracy, and I'd prefer a good computer game to an accurate history lesson. So if one side doesn't seem to have enough aircraft or bombers or infantry and the other has too much armor or too many submarines it's for purposes of good gameplay, and in the hands of a perceptive general either side can win. Different players have assured me that the Axis is unbeatable, that Germany and Japan simply overwhelm the Allies. I've also heard that the Allies have an unfair advantage, especially when Russia moves first. The balance in this game is a thing of wonder, the thing I hold dearest about this lovely, lovely game of death.

"Axis & Allies" is a turn-based game revolving around types of units that have ratings for attack, for defense, and for movement; each cost a certain amount of "Industrial Production Certificates" [IPCs]. The amount of IPCs each player begins with is predetermined, the amount collected at the end of each turn determined by the total value of all his territorial possessions. Each territory, I should mention at this point, is worth a certain amount--Germany's territory is worth "10" IPCs, Eastern US "12," India "3" & so on. At the beginning of a player's turn he purchases new units with the IPCs he collected at the end of his last turn, minus whatever he lost to bombing. Then comes his combat phase, then his movement phase. If playing Axis, the goal is to take Russia ASAP. If Allies, it's to take the pressure off Russia, free Africa, then destroy Germany. This is achieved by conquering territories & concentrating force in space.

The innovations of "Iron Blitz" are few--it's basically "Axis & Allies" with new scenarios, two new units, an improved map editor, and new options. The destroyer and marine units spice the game up a little, but do little to seriously unbalance it [maybe tip game slightly in favor of Axis initially]. The destroyer is a (2/2/2, prevents sub sneak attack, 8ipc) cheap naval unit that's good for any force, particularly if one expects the enemy to rely on subs. The marine (1-3/2/1, amphib. at 3, 5ipc) is an infantry unit that attacks at a 3 when participating in an amphibious assault but costs a little more, good for island-bopping. The new options, one of which is "Paratroopers" [bombers can carry infantry rather than attack or bomb] are similarly of little [though some!] interest, enough to keep one engaged for a couple games. The new scenarios are pretty sweet, though; I'm not too fond of the 1945 varients where it's WWIII, and US and Russia both have heavy bombers [gotta say, that Industrial Technology really unbalances the game something awful] & the computer's AI makes it horribly uninteresting. The earlier varients are really neat, and the 1939 [I think, might've been 1940] scenario is actually a challenge for the Axis player. I liked that scenario quite a bit.

If you tire [when?] of the different scenarios, though, you can try your hand at map editing. Whereas the map editor in "Axis & Allies" allowed one to place or remove units, change units' cost & statists and fiddle with players' beginning income, in "Iron Blitz" you can also change the value of territories, any territory. Makes the game more flexible, opens up entirely new vistas. I liked making the Middle East more enticing, for example. You can also change the teams. U.S. goes over to the Axis, Japan becomes an Ally? Forget it! What grand fun.

The music, so great in "Axis & Allies," has not been changed for "Iron Blitz." Finally! A company that respects the old saying: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it b'god!" The music is memorable, it gets in your head. Perfect for a war game, martial. Of particular note: intro music, Germany's theme, U.S. theme. Russia's theme's o.k., too, as is Great Britain's. Japan takes up last place on this one.

Sound effects and graphics are nothing to write home about, but you don't go out and buy a WWII fantasy for its pretty pictures and high-detail men running, but instead for the game's style, its presence. The unit graphics & awkward, grainy sound effects [explosions, gunfire, heavy artillery/naval guns] reminded me of the grainy, distant images we've preserved of WWII--they contributed to the ambiance in a way I can't wholly explain. It fit. Though I wish there were different unit graphics for the different countries.

"Axis & Allies: Iron Blitz" is a must-have for strategy gamers, possibly even RPG-ers, but if you're buying it for competition don't expect Multiplayer to work very well unless you have partners already set up. It's an expansion set [I think!] for the original "Axis & Allies" so you shouldn't expect too much variation if you have the original, and costs seem only to be rising. Maybe a new edition will hit the stands; with such an excellent game, one can only hope so.