A turn-based strategy game with 2d graphics? That was already boring 15 years ago! At least that is what I thought, when first heard of Battle for Wesnoth. I could not have been more mistaken!
Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game set in the fictional fantasy world of Wesnoth. The game emphasizes simplicity: Very few resources and unit characteristics make the game easy to learn but hard to master. The game is open source and thus totally free, an advantage that comes at the cost of frequent crashes.
Gameplay
The game focuses on intense turn-based tactical battles with very few units. Players start with a single hero unit that can recruit additional units by spending gold, which is the only resource in the game. The units that can be recruited by the hero depend on which of the six different factions a player belongs to. The factions follow the generic fantasy theme of the game and differ in strengths, weaknesses and thus play style.
Whether facing AI opponents in single player campaigns which consisting of 4-25 scenarios, or joining with other players in local area or internet games, the game always revolves around making tactical decisions. Recruiting the right units, capturing and holding villages spread all over the map in order to gain additional gold income as well as taking advantages of the terrain are the keys to victory.
The game provides an excellent in-game documentation of all relevant aspects, as well as a number of statistics, even the prediction of victory chances in an upcoming battle. However, luck still plays a very large role, which can be frustrating: Even with unit superiority, the advantage of terrain and time of day, what seemed like a certain victory can still turn into a disaster by unlucky attack rolls.
Controls, Graphics & Sound
Battle for Wesnoth can be played entirely with the mouse. Additionally, all important options and commands can also be accessed via keyboard-shortcuts. The GUI is pleasantly simplistic and provides all important information about game status, resources, highlighted terrain or a selected unit.
The animated unit graphics are detailed pixel art, while the background graphics are simple and functional but still sufficient. Combat animations, spell effects and sounds fit the overall style of the game and are well made.
While some titles of the musical score are beautifully orchestrated and add to the atmosphere very well, they generally lack diversion and are repeated in random order which could use some diversity.
Conclusion
Battle for Wesnoth is a fun and very well designed game with high replayability, especially in multiplayer games. The game mechanics are simple, yet sophisticated enough to provide interesting and challenging gameplay that rewards tactical thinking. It has low hardware requirements, runs on multiple platforms and is totally free.
So even if you do not like turn-based strategy games in the tradition of Master of Monsters, you should give this one a try!
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