Another very poor offering from Totem Games latest in their "Ironclads" series. The name may have changed but the game has barely evolved from 2010's Ironclads High Seas. Even the in-game music sounds strangely familiar...

In this game you have a selection of about five different scenarios. Each battle is a simple open-sea fleet action - no islands or other terrain. The in-battle UI has changed a little, but the gameplay remains fundamentally the same - you can direct the speed and course of each squadron of ships and choose whether ships can fire at will or hold their fire. And that's it. You can't control individual ships, you just steer the leader and the other ships blindly follow. If the second or third ship in a squadron is at risk of colliding with another ship, there is absolutely nothing you can do to avoid it. You can't target ships guns, or choose different ammunition types, and there's no firefighting or damage control functions.

To put things in perspective, I'm a tabletop wargamer and history buff. I love the Ironclad naval era. I was absolutely bored to tears by this game, and resent having paid full price for it. Even if it's on sale, don't bother. However cheap it is, you won't get your money's worth.

Another very poor offering from Totem Games latest in their "Ironclads" series. The name may have changed but the game has barely evolved from 2010's Ironclads High Seas. Even the in-game music sounds strangely familiar... In this game you have a selection of about five different scenarios. Each battle is a simple open-sea fleet action - no islands or other terrain. The in-battle UI has changed a little, but the gameplay remains fundamentally the same - you can direct the speed and course of each squadron of ships and choose whether ships can fire at will or hold their fire. And that's it. You can't control individual ships, you just steer the leader and the other ships blindly follow. If the second or third ship in a squadron is at risk of colliding with another ship, there is absolutely nothing you can do to avoid it. You can't target ships guns, or choose different ammunition types, and there's no firefighting or damage control functions. To put things in perspective, I'm a tabletop wargamer and history buff. I love the Ironclad naval era. I was absolutely bored to tears by this game, and resent having paid full price for it. Even if it's on sale, don't bother. However cheap it is, you won't get your money's worth.