Sword Of Aragon

Most war strategy games are, by their very nature, fantasy games as well. How else should you describe a game in which you step into the boots of Napoleon, the tanks of Patton, or the armor of Alexander the Great? Since war games are actually a variation of the fantasy role-playing genre, why not combine role playing with a military campaign of epic proportions?

That's just what Strategic Simulations has done in Sword of Aragon. Add a dash of Genghis Khan to a cupful of El Cid and a sprinkling of The Ancient Art of War, and the result is Sword of Aragon. Although it borrows a few ingredients from its predecessors, it also transcends those influences and establishes a hybrid genre all its own.

The basic premise is straightforward. The proud Duke of Aladda was treacherously ambushed by ores, and he passed along a great responsibility to you, his only son. Your task is to restore the once-great empire of Aragon by defeating the demonic hordes that now rule the land from the great citadel of Tetrada.

You begin with a run-down little city, a small but stalwart little army, and a modest treasury. You must wage campaigns in an ever-widening radius around your capital city, while constantly tending to the economic development of your territories. In this game, armies are not conjured out of thin air (at least not until your wizards attain a very advanced level of skill!), but must be raised, equipped, fed, and paid every month out of a treasury whose contents are vulnerable to crop failures, bad weather, and goblin raids. The arms and tactics are basically those of the late Middle Ages, just before the advent of gunpowder.

The fantasy elements are nicely interwoven with the more realistic details, and some of the spells cast by your mages and priests have rather odd and subtle influences on the campaigns.

Although the game is fairly difficult to learn, the basic system is clean and eminently playable. You can jump right in after a quick perusal of the manual — provided you don't mind undergoing some fairly bloody on-the-job training.

Sword of Aragon is billed as an epic, and for once that claim is not mere hype. This is a breakthrough game: strong, fresh, compelling, and great fun to play.