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T.A.C. Heroes: Big Red One (DS)

Status: Stopped playing - Something better came along
I started playing this game on Monday 19 August, 2024  //  I stopped playing this game on: Sunday 25 August, 2024
Current opinion of this game
No comment, yet.

August 19, 2024 12:33:10 AM
This is basically a hex/counter tactical wargame - units are each individual soldiers, it takes place in WWII (there are two campaigns with lots of missions!) And there are stats out the wazoo - more than I imagined for a game of this kind. The interface is pretty simple and works and the manual has enough information to get started...though...


(a) This is the sort of game I'd rather have played first as a boardgame - mostly to really understand the different options and how they work. For example, I know I can stand, one knee, go prone - and that each has benefits (and supposedly drawbacks as well). BUT, I don't feel equipped to make real decisions because the information on these is all kept under the hood. So, does kneeling mean you get a bonus to hit? How much is that bonus? (as in, how significant - is it a +1? on a d6 equivalent? etc.) Pretty much everything in the game is like that - with the real mechanics and odds all under the hood. The soldiers have stats - that affect what they can do, but it's not clear how much and how significantly or not. If I'd played the boardgame version - I'd have some sense of that because the mechanics would have been out in the open (e.g. roll a D20 add X, consult this chart). So, it feels hard to play the game "seriously" as a tactical strategy game...

(b) There are headshots of all the soldiers. I'm sure they're all the developers + friends because they look...well, not really soldiery. You can tell for some that they just but the helmet on and took a picture because they're wearing something that's not a uniform. This isn't a knock on the game - just something I noticed and thought was fun.


 
kudos for original design to Rodrigo Barria