Entente: Demo Thoughts

[Bob McDob]

Entente is a WWI realtime strat game from the makers of Cossacks. Or at least, I assume it's by the makers of Cossacks, because THE TWO GAMES LOOK EXACTLY ALIKE. In graphics, interface and gameplay, it could be a mod for Cossacks. My hopes were not exactly sky-high.

A new gamespeed slider came as a pleasent surprise. If you'll recall, Cossacks had two speeds: belly-crawl and Prussian March, i.e, piss-slow and sh*t fast. Entente defaults to fast as well, but now there are ten slider options. See, sometimes designers DO listen!

As expected, the biggest difference between Cossacks and Entente is that infantry are basically cannon-fodder. Literally, cannon-fodder. Even more so than in Cossacks. If you thought Cossacks had lots of unit turnover, just wait 'till you charge a fortified pillbox emplacement or artillary unit. With horses, if you want. (I don't know why they put cavalry in this game - they're useful for scouting if you don't have an airstrip, but they die when put up against anything remotely modern). This is an artillary game, make no mistake - you WILL die three screens away from your target if you don't have some semblance of long-range shot, since the enemy almost certainly as hell will. In one minute a formerly pristine woodland field is liable to appear as the surface of the moon.

The two other big differences are, of course, airplanes and tanks. Airplanes are wonderful for scouting and bombing, although their range of animation is somewhat limited. Ditto for the tanks, which are probably the most useful unit in the game. Beside being expensive and slow, they have no real drawbacks, and in this age before shoulder-fired antitank missiles they can massacre infantry with impunity. They're also incredibly tough - a formation of my Mark V heavies withstood an artillary bombardment that would have killed any other squadron in three seconds.

Naval units are, as always in these kind of games a weak point - the Battle of Jutland scenario I played is portrayed as being a fight against five British ships. Ships are incredibly expensive and slow to construct (the battleship took about ten minutes to build, I'd wager), and they have a VERY limited range of animation, but it's still kind of fun to watch.

Most other parts are essentially the same as in Cossacks - resource management is still fast and easy, infantry build in one second, harvest crops, wood, oil, gold, iron, and build electricity plants, which are now required for most of the higher-level facilities (science centers, military academies). One big difference - units no longer die and riot when you run out of resources, but now all units drain gold, which makes it even more essential.

What I've seen of Entente doesn't seem to be particularly innovative, but it's fairly entertaining, more so than Cossacks. Other reviewers have called it an even bet, so you might want to try out the demo. Oh, and unless you live in Russia, grab it from Fileplanet or somewhere: my broadband slowed to 36K levels.

[HemlockGrey]

Is it as impossibly difficult as Cossacks?

[Bob McDob]

There's three difficulty modes and two computerised manager, one for the economy and one for the military. Aside from some resource deficiencies in the scenarios I played, I haven't had many problems. (Keep in mind I've just started the demo, though). The AI seems kind of timid, too, which is a relief after having 120000 hussars blow up my town in Cossacks.

[Companion Cube]

One big difference - units no longer die and riot when you run out of resources, but now all units drain gold, which makes it even more essential.

That was, in my opinion, one of the most frustrating/funny things about Cossacks. But anyway, i'll take a look at that demo.