War. What is it god for? Absolutely nothing, except for the loads and loads of ace wartime simulations killing multitudes of the enemy.
Yes, you can be transported back in time to the early 40s and fight World War II against the Bosh. Yes indeed, for only £34.99 you can go and show Hitler exactly what you think of him. A bargain. Re-live the war without any chance of getting blown up or shot at.

Computer games - I love 'em. You can be transported to space one minute and then off to the Middle Ages and then win the war and still be back home in time for tea.

There are two types of war game - the run around, shoot lots of soldiers and watch the blood fly everywhere type, like Fireforce, and the climb into a tank or plane and strategically win the war that way by looking at maps and deciding which tactics to use against the enemy type.

Campaign is of the latter kind and is billed on the box as the most comprehensive military simulation of warfare in World War II. Well it could be true, but you'll just have to wait until the end of the review to find out.

Basically Campaign is a pure strategy game, but it does have a certain 'arcade' element to it. This so-called 'arcade' bit is where you take control of the tank platoons and choose any tank to run around in blowing other tanks up. More about that later.

Job-wise, Campaign is very flexible indeed. If yo want to be a lowly tank driver then that's up to you, but you can take the position of a General or even take the top job as Field Marshall - or you can do all three!

As General, you control the fighting of an individual battle with tanks plus artillery and air support. As the Field Marshall, not only do you stay about 35 miles away from the battle supping tea and scoffing biscuits without any fear of getting shot or blown up, you also get to co-ordinate the strategy for all the tanks, convoys, aircraft, ships and production centres.

Lowly tank driver is the job for me though, going wild in a nice big tank with a nice big gun blowing away the enemy for King and Country and shouting "Yah boo sucks" to the Hun.
It's much more exciting than sitting behind a desk looking at maps, but that's only a personal opinion.

To be perfectly honest I'm not a huge fan of proper strategy games, but I liked Campaign for two reasons. One, it had a bit of action in it, unlike some other strategy games I could mention, and two, it is so damn authentic.

For starters, included in the package is the use guide which gives you a historical background to the war. You also get two World War II propaganda posters and postcards, plus a D-Day landings battle plan map - you even get an authentic wartime newspaper reprint.

You certainly feel more involved with the game than you would with just a couple of disks and a flimsy manual. Obviously a lot of work has gone into Campaign in trying to make it as real as possible. This must have taken a lot of research and also a lot of time.

For instance, you get another manual with all the tanks, aircraft and ships in it which it gives you all sorts of information on each one, ranging from speed to weight to the date it was first available. As well as being informative it also serves as the manual protection.

Everything is just so accurate and absolutely huge. For instance the playing area covers up to an amazing ten million square kilometres and features detailed towns, villages, rivers and woodlands.

You can take full command of up to 3,000 vehicles of which there are over 150 vehicle types on over 20 historically accurate maps. Locations of the maps range form the desert wastes of the Sahara to the decisive D-day landings. And if that isn't enough there is a map editor which allows you to modify the existing maps and create new ones of your own, so the possibilities are endless.

In fact if you fancy it you can even swap sides and take control of the German army. Just think you could be a Hitler re-incarnate. Gulp!

Right, back to the 'arcade' tank driving bit. If any of you have seen Pacific Islands, also by Empire, then you'll realise by looking at the screenshots that the tank bit of the game looks very similar.

Well, yes it is, but that's not a bad thing is it, because Pacific Islands was pretty good as well. The actual driving of the tank is really easy and simply involves nine keys of the keyboard. After a few plays of the game it becomes second nature. Oh, and I can recommend blowing up some houses in the town, just for laugh.

So is Campaign going to be as victorious as our good old British Tommies were, or will it end up growing a small moustache and shooting itself in a small bunker in Berlin?
Well overall this is a really good game, but I'm afraid a lot of people tend to ignore this type of thing. They probably think that strategy is for incredibly boring people, but it's not true - that's just stereotyping strategy fans.

Right, if people get over their strategy fears then I think that Campaign could become a good seller and could be up the charts before you know it.
The only niggle that I have is that after a few hours play it tended to get a bit boring - no, not boring exactly, but I started losing interest.

Other than that I can't really complain - top marks go to the actual presentation of the game, plus I forgot to mention the excellent introduction disk that comes with it. It features some great graphics and some sampled speech and is a good, err, introduction to the game.

So, if you feel like you want to go and bash the Bosh and defeat the evil tyrant Hitler, Campaign could well be the game for you. Tank you and goodnight.

Ah, let's see now... nice box. Ooh - some genuine World War II propaganda posters and postcards... a battle plan map of the D-Day landings... an authentic wartime newspaper reprint. By 'eck, there is even a game in here, as well!

Before we continue, be warned. Campaign is no Speedball 2 or Swiv. It is not a game to set your adrenaline level soaring as you attempt deftly elbow your mates off the highscore table. Nor will you be beating off sleep deprivation as you try to get past the mutant octopus at the end of level 12. Yes, it is strategy time, folks. That means that it is time to get your thinking helmet on, gird up your synapses, and generally prepare for some major military style method acting.

Sophisticated strategy
But enough frivolity: programmer Jonathan Griffiths takes war seriously, very seriously. He is the guy responsible for US Gold's Conqueror - a complex 3D tank-driving affair the bais form of which seems to have been revived for one of the sections of Campaign.

This time, he's turned his hand to an infinitely grander design: a campaign-based wargaming system that combines sophisticated strategy and simulation tactics with three dimensional battle sequences. If you thought chess was too complicated and a bit cerebral, Campaign makes it look banal and simplistic. If you are fed up with games that only demand mad bashing of the fire button, if you are after a bit of a challenge, then look no further than Campaign.

For a start, this is one hell of an ambitious concept, maybe too ambitious. The World War II setting contains a number of campaigns which, in turn, consist of various battles.

Much of the hard strategy of these situations is centred around high-level tactical decisions where, no matter how experienced the fighting force, bad planning will lead to disaster. Campaign focuses closely upon the land aspects of the war, but you can also call in air and naval support. You get three disks: a basic introductory disk, the game disk itself and a maps disk. The third one contains previously designed campaign maps with difficulty ratings from the very easy (such as tank battles) to the more difficult (complex wars of attrition).

Convoy control
The best way to get into the game is to closely follow the start up scenario from one of the tutorials in the excellent manual. This involves the control of three convoys, an airfield and a production centre. You can examine virtually every aspect of your forces' strengths and weaknesses before sending them in to attack several villages and, eventually, a large town. It is essential to keep the game in Pause mode while you decide how and where to execute your assault. Then, select the game speed, and get on with the battle.

Fortunately for beginners, the complexity of the game has been thoughtfully offset by the friendly control system. You scroll around the map by clicking on the direction arrows. Take action by left-clicking on the desired division and right-clicking on the intended destination. As things begin to get moving, you are given the choice of letting the Amiga get on with the carnage on your behalf; a useful option for players who are not too hot when it comes to keyboard dexterity.

Into battle
Should you opt for manual control, you will first have the opportunity to analyse your forces before going into battle. Next, you may choose to dig in and start lobbing the shells over, or you could go trundling in with the Sherman tanks, in which case you will need to switch over to the 3D perspective, taking your position as tank driver and gunner.

Even this aspect of the game is tortuously realistic, as you consider turret rotation, gun elevation, reloading and the possible use of tracer fire to assist in the selection of targets.

If you become overwhelmed, then you can always call in air support in the form of dive bombers. The problem is that the enemy also has this option and the planes have to fly to your location - which takes time. After a battle, the game gives you a summary: if you deal with the situation well and managed not to comit any large-scale bungles, you may well be awarded a medal.

Whatever happens, the effect the battle had on the fundamental scenario will be taken into account and the Amiga will adjust everything accordingly, before returning you to the map, where you can plan your next action.

Campaign is a stunningly complicated piece of software. It is more of a committed experience than a game and, if you are looking for an instant hit, then you should stay well away. Your enjoyment will depend on your attention span and whether or not you have a genuine interest in wargaming.

When the Germans invaded Pland on 1st September 1939, a new chapter in the history of warfare was opened. The outmoded concept of trench-digging, which had led to virtually a four-year stalemate in World War I, was swept aside as Poland was crushed by Blitzkried: lightning war. Dive bomber strikes were followed by tanks, which mopped up any remaining resistance, and while Britain and France honoured their treaty with Poland by declaring war on Germany, they were incapable of assisting their ally in the face of such a rapid Invasion.

France was to fall in a similar fashion the following May, its heavily-defended border with Germany simply being bypassed as the aggressors poured in through Belgium. (They want a two-page wargame review? They've got one. Heh heh heh. The Real Jonathan)

Empire's Campaign allows the player to recreate any land battle of the Second World War, from brief skirmishes to the D-Day landings. Over 100 types of tank, truck and artillery are represented, with support, to a limited extent, by air and naval power.

Sadly, while the specifications appear to be exemplary, Campaign has all but abandoned the traditional wargame structure. The concept of the 'phase' facility is available to provide extra manoeuvring time). Our beloved hex is no more, either, replaced by a clean map populated by roads, rivers, hills, towns, factories and airfields.

Most distressing of all, however, is the removal of the player's autonomy. Units now act under their own initiative in the absence of orders form the player, right down to individual tanks on the battlefield. (Actually, this was fine by me. It's the direciton wargames have been heading for a while, now - with the exception of one or two of the really awful ones - and makes the while business a lot more realistic and exciting. Anyway... - The Real Jonathan)

The game is organised in a three tier structure. At the top level, units are moved around on the map in large groups, and overall strategies are planned. Air strikes can also be launched at this level, and visible targets can be shelled. Once two units of opposing sides come into proximity, a battle commences and the game moves down to the next level. Here, individual tanks move around the screen using the bizarre concept of 'animation', and the conflict proceeds until one side is destroyed or retreats.

During the battle, however, and this is the really galling part, the player may at any time take control of an individual tank and play out the battle using what is apparently termed '3D graphics'. Now, this sort of thing really has no place in a contemporary strategy game. Not only does it trivialise the whole concept of the wargame, but it also distracts from and corrupts the strategy developed at the higher.... (Look, actually all this is absolutely brilliant. The strategy side of things can be taken care of in a matter of moments, and you can then actually see the results of your tactics as they're put into practice on the battlefield. And, of course, it's great fun cruising around in a tank shooting other tanks. Especially when it's done as well as this. - The Real Jonathan)

It's not even as if it's been particularly well...
(Okay, okay, Campaign has its flaws. For a start, graphic updates can be slow and jerky, both during the 3D stuff and when maps are being drawn. And those maps can get messy and confusing when lots of things are close together. The game also suffers from the unintelligible icon syndrome that seems to afflict wargames great and small, and there's no direct explanation of what they all mean in the manual. Plus, while you're looking at maps, there really should be a clearer indication of when you're 'zooming in and out' mode and when you're not - changing the shape of the cursor, perhaps. And when you're driving tanks around the collision detection can be a little imprecise, particularly where buildings are involved - The Real Jonathan)

In fact, Campaign marks a sad day for the wargame. If this is the way things are heading, perhaps we'd better off returning to pencil and paper-based... (Oh, clear off. Campaign is simply great. It's easily the best wargame I've played in all the bitter years I've been doing this sort of thing for AP. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to recommend it to arcade-game-only people - there's still going to be too much strategy in it for them. But if you like the sound of recreating World War II on your Amiga, but you've (sensibly) been deterred by the low marks wargames tend to get at the back of AP, here's the game for you. It's even been thoughtfully presented, with a brilliant intro disk, and some smashing posters and newspaper reprints thrown in.)

(It's a shame some of Campaign's more niggling faults couldn't have been cleared up bya bit of independent play-testing. But we ought to be jolly grateful it's here at all. Now - please! - no more flashing squares and movement phases. - The Real Jonathan)

Coming from Empire, you would expect any World War II sim to deal heavily in tanks, as indeed Campaign does. In fact, the only halfway interesting part of the game is the simulated tank battles where you can control any of the vehicles involved, from thin skinned scout cars right up to a well armoured Sherman, or the Prize of the Wehrmacht, the Tiger.

The strategy element is fairly haphazard. You can control the movements of your tanks, the production of the factories and the deployment of any active aircraft. This is all done via the mouse on a fairly decent scale battle map. This is fair enough if you can be pixel accurate with the mouse and you can do it in real time as the game unfolds.

This disk hopes to develop the strategy side of the game more. There are 25 new scenarios based on famous campaigns. The battle orders, geography and starting positions are all fairly accurate, but your campaign is unlikely to proceed in the same way that the original did.

The order given to troops are just never accurate enough and the logistics is a nightmare - tanks can be stranded in perpetuity through lack of fuel because all the gas has been delivered to the pixel next door.

Since it possible to create your own scenarios in Campaign, the worth of this disk is questionable. The scenarios themselves are well thought out, but can only be as good as the original Campaign. Since the only decent part of the game is controlling the tank forces as they clash, and since it does not really matter, for the purposes of the situation, whether they are fighting in Berlin or Basingstoke,

I would suggest that scenario disks for Campaign, however good, are a waste of time. You will also need the original program to run the data disk.