WIN THE GAME

Thanks to Greg at Vortigern and Richard at Shrapnel Games, The Gamesman has a copy of Uncommon Valor and BCT Commander to give away. Entries should be e-mailed to ADFgamesmen@telstra.com with the name of the game you would like to win in the subject line. Only one entry per person, subsequent entries will be discarded. Please include your full name and mailing address in the e-mail or your entry won’t be accepted. Congratulations to Cpl Mark Sinderberry, Wattle Grove, who has scored a copy of SOFII. There are still two copies of this left to be won so entries are still being accepted.

Valour in the South Pacific
Famous WW2 battles brought to life in Uncommon Valour
The Gamesman - Capt Jason Logue

Uncommon Valor : http://www.matrixgames.com/Games/UncommonValor
Developer: 2 by 3 Games http://www.2by3games.com
Publisher: Matrix Games http://www.matrixgames.com

Matrix Games, 2 by 3 Games’ renowned game-designer Gary Grigsby, Joel Billings and Keith Brors have teamed up to create the first of a three-game series, Uncommon Valor.

The game is set in the South Pacific from May 1942 to December 1943. The areas covered are the regions known as the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) and South Pacific (SOPAC) during WWII.

Uncommon Valor covers the famous encounters of the period including the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle for the Owen Stanleys and the Battle for Guadalcanal. Additionally, players can take on the entire campaign, Operation Mo.

The game is a quirky mix of high-level operational level gaming and an incredible depth of information. This detail includes every ship used in the theatre, ship’s captain, land and squadron commanders all being named and listed with a command and skill rating.

The game is a turn-based, played on a 30km per hex map by one or two players.

One of Uncommon Valor’s innovative ideas is the variable game turn duration. Players can manage each day of the campaign or they can set their orders and then get the game to run for a period of one to seven days before the next orders phase. Or they can have the game continuously cycle through the days, only stopping for orders at the request of the player.

Each turn is in two 12-hour impulses with the total day having 12 distinct phases.
The game straight out of the box has some fairly annoying flaws, such as, missing combat sequences – and the game had a hollow feel to it.

Luckily, Matrix Games has rushed out several patches (that can be downloaded at their homepage), which makes a huge difference to the way game runs and feels.

Apart from a four-page ready reference card, Uncommon Valor’s documentation is stored on the CD. The information is in Acrobat format (supplied with the game) and is highly detailed, covering the majority of game aspects. It also includes a comprehensive tutorial that covers a majority of the game functions and gives players a good start to the game.

The game’s graphics are crisp and extremely pleasing to the eye. The plane and ship 2D-images used in the combat execution phases are very detailed and historically accurate.
Uncommon Valor uses a wide range of battle sounds, reminiscent of a rerun of Tora Tora Tora, to add to the feel of the game.

Another of Uncommon Valor’s impressive factors is, as vast as the game is, the interface is easy to use while still providing players with a large amount of variables that they can affect. Players can set destinations, refuel, create and disband formations and a host of other actions using basic point and click functions.

Uncommon Valor can be played by PBEM. As is normal, playing against a human opponent greatly adds to the variables, deception, feints and decoys a player faces. The PBEM system is robust and has been tweaked in each of the patches.

Before starting Uncommon Valor, players should ensure that they visit the Matrix Webpage and download the patches.
Uncommon Valor in its patched form is a spectacular operational level wargame.

The sheer magnitude of the theatre, the level of realism, the freedom of action and the amount of control players have over their forces will ensure that Uncommon Valor keeps players thoroughly engrossed in the South Pacific for many hours to come.

Ring Greg at Shrapnel Games on (02) 6689 1919 or e-mail greg@vortigern.com.au for a great deal. Let him know you saw the review in a Defence publication. Thanks to fellow wargamer.com contributor Maj Marty McKone for his assistance with this review.

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