Rise of Prussia Gold

Probably the best of the AGE Games, Rise of Prussia covers the fascinating European Theatre of War during the Seven Years war, or third silesian war. The Gold Edition also adds the First and Second Silesian Wars, which are smaller and more focused and great for learning the game. Its a period that is ironically, often overlooked by most people. Taking one of histories greatest generals, Frederick the Great, you lead the fledgeling nation of Prussia into war against the monstrosities that are France, Russia, Sweden and most importantly Austria, with only a few hannoverian allied armies supporting you. The game enjoys minimal bugs compared to most AGE Engine Games, and I have only run into one so far and it was minor at worst (A General teleporting). The Performance is good, which is something you can't normally say for an AGE game as well, and whilst it isn't the prettiest game around the graphics are pleasing enough to the eye. Although the UI is a little outdated, its easy to get used too and can be learnt quickly enough. A major strength of the game, infact the main focus, is the way in which war is waged. You have total control over your force composition, in a realistic manner that even takes into account your generals seniority. (A General with more seniority expects to be promoted before that new guy, even if the new guy is 10x better hes gunna have to get some achievements before being promoted to leading his own Corps). Your armies are divided into groups, starting with an Field Army, which is made up of different Corps, which are in turn made of different Brigades, and whom are also made up of Battallions etc. This area of organization is brilliant for anyone who enjoys reforming whole armies to fit their needs and despite how it sounds, is relatively simple once you get used to it. The UI for doing this is far less convuluted than similar games (Looking at you hearts of iron). Each of these forces can be detached or re-attached to their command at will, so if you have a Brigade of Hussars and need to know if the enemy is in Prague, or still sitting on his arse in Vienna, you can detatch them from the main army and send them on a scouting mission (or a raid). This level of flexibility blends excellently with the warfare of the time period, where battles are fought and won on manouver. On the note of manouver, don't expect the enemy to just sit around and wait for you! You both move at the same time, planning your turn for the next two weeks and then the plans execute simultaneously, this can lead to some very interesting situations and provides for a far more interesting gameplay experience, and also means you'll have to predict enemy movements and prepare for them accordingly. In addition to a brilliant manouver system, the Supply system is perfect, and accurately represents the systems used in the time period. As you advance deeper into enemy territory, it may become necassery to build supply depots to keep your men fed, and to even place guards at these depots to ensure enemy cavalry brigades don't come along and raid it. I havn't fully worked out the supply system yet, but running out of food stocks is sufficiently devestating, and Winter is suitably harsh (In the actual war they had to sit around in prague until winter was over, I had to do the same thing) effecting supplies, movement and attrition effectively, as well as combat and encourages one to wait it out and lick your wounds rather than continue the advance. The game isn't perfect though, it has a few flaws and I think the foremost of them is the military recruitment system. I feel as if, the recruitment process is a little slow at times, and that whilst the time it takes to prepare men is fine, the number of men I can prepare at once feels rather limited. I can't speak regarding the realism here, its a personal view and may be to some peoples liking. But it isn't to mine. Another issue I've run into is the reinforcements. I'm not really sure how they work, and the concept is never really explained. But I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, so I'll update the review once I have figured it out. In short, for those looking for a pretty realistic strategy game, with indepth customization of forces and an excellent combat/manouver warfare system and mechanics, this is the game to get. Its fairly priced, clean of bugs, and provides hours of gameplay.

My first ever Ageod game. Not for the faint of heart! But if you are a hardcore gamer, and willing to put some time on it, you will be rewarded by the best strategic/tactical games out there. If you are a student of military history, you will get totally addicted to Ageod games. I barely play anything else. Also by far the best gamers community out there. Friendly, polite, and very welcoming to new unexperienced players. What can I say? If you want to experience what decisions a commander had to take back then, my suggestion is to give these games a go. Totally addicted to this company's games. I started with Alea Jacta Est, then Rise of prussia, then Revolution under siege and American Civil War II and never looked back. AGEOD in my opinion makes the best military games out there. Can be a bit daunting to start with (first time I got AJE I couln't figure out what the hell was going on) but if you are willing to put some time into it (the AGEOD forums are absolutely amazing for beginners tips!) you will be rewarded by the absolutely best PG wargame experience out there. I especially recommend Narwhal and Loki's AAR as well as the excellent Charles Cummings and Gilmer youtube tutorials. Totally addicted to this games, as a passionate student of history, I can't play anything else these days!

All the AGEOD games are very good. This one covers the 7-years war in Europe, and comes with several long and short campaigns. The game works on a WEGO system, and focuses on operational level warfare. Supply is very important, as are weather conditions. You can build units for your armies, give orders to your generals (which they will not always carry out, due to an activation system, simulating the difficulties in co-ordinating actions in this period). There is no 3-d battle function. Strictly old fashioned strategy, played out on a beautiful 2-d map. The units and leaders also have very nice art to represent them. Highly recommended, in-depth simulation of the campaigns of the 7-years war in Europe!

edit: Finally: 28 July 2015 They updated it on steam to 1.11. It only took them 1 year 7 months! originally I wrote: They are happy to take your money for this product but they are unwilling to even bother keeping it up to date on steam. Latest patch is 1.11 from DECEMBER 2013. Steam's version is 1.10. Someone asked in discussion area of steam OVER A YEAR AGO when the patch would come here and dev said they are "working on it". OVER A YEAR AGO.

Rise of Prussia (RoP) ist zwar schon etwas älter aber für mich eines der besten AGEOD Spiele. Nicht so ein Komplexitätsmonster wie To End all Wars oder Civil War II, sondern genau richtig finde ich. Als Einstieg in die Serie neben Alea Iacta Est wohl am besten geeignet und da man den alten Fritz spielen kann auch noch sehr interessant für deutschsprachige Spieler. Das Spiel ist mit der Gold Version noch auf den aktuellen Stand der "AGEOD Technik" gebracht worden und im Grunde völlig bugfrei. Die KI Rundenberechnungszeiten, welche bei vielen AGEOD Titeln ein echtes Problem darstellen, sind bei RoP angenehm kurz. Neueinsteiger müssen dennoch etwas Einarbeitungszeit mitbringen. Auf jedenfall das Tutorial spielen und vielleicht ein paar Lets Plays gucken. Denn im Vergleich zur üblichen Strategiekost ist selbst das zugänglichere RoP ein harter Brocken. P.S.Bin bei Steam auch als Kurator unterwegs und freue mich über jeden Follower: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/2370797-7IDGaming.de/?appid=275290

Seriousy I need a manual with this game, the tutorials are too sparse and don't give enough information on how it all interacts. As someone mentioned, I see that this game has a STEEP learning curve, it MAY be a good game but I don't have HOURS to spend learning a game system that neither steam or the developer bothered to provide competent instruction on.

The "Multiplayer" option appears to be the ability to send your saved games to one another. That is not multiplayer. That is single player but you have save files.

If you are willing to take the time to learn the game's systems then you will find that this is a very deep strategy game. This game more than others will force you to actually plan your moves and consider what the enemy may do. The way the turns are formatted makes it very difficult to only play a reactionary game. The fact that the AI seems competent helps as well, and you can turn the difficulty settings in ways that makes the game more difficult without just giving the AI ridiculous buffs. Watching your plans unfold along with the enemy's and seeing how they work out is a very intense and rewarding experience. Definitely recommended.

Превосходный исторический варгейм на оперативно-стратегическом уровне! Любая игра от компании AGEOD это невероятная историческая атмосфера и точность! И Rise of Prussia Gold подтверждает это правило. На первый взгляд игра кажется легкой. Потом, напротив, слишком сложной. Но тот кто пройдет все эти пороги, поймет какое это удовольствие играть в такие игры! Отдельно хочется поблагодарить компанию AGEOD что она не делает месилово из разных уровней (к примеру Rome Total war, где Вам и оперативный и тактический и стратегический уровень - а на деле это все превращается в кашу, причем весьма относительно напоминающую историю). Rise of Prussia Gold главным образом сосредотачивает свое внимание на оперативном уровне: маневры корпусами, логистика, поиск снабжения, выбор места сражения. Всем любителей стратегических аркад сразу же желаю разочаровать - в играх от AGEOD нет излюбленного Вами "режима бога". То есть, придется действовать по большему счету в пределах очерченных историей. Как я уже сказал, игра сосредоточена на оперативном уровне. А это значит что Ваши действия на уровне большой стратегии (к примеру: дипломатия) практически отсутствуют. Это военная игра по-преимуществу. И сразу готовьтесь к тому, чтобы занять место не министерском кабинете а армейском штабе. Ко всему прочему, во всех играх AGEOD есть возможность сыграть с человеком с помощью режима PBEM (игра по почте). А это ставит вообще на предельно высокий уровень реализма игру, в которой один игровой ход обычно длится 15-30 дней. То есть, можно действительно почувствовать командующим армией, которая выполняет приказы не немедленно, а через определенный срок (когда оппонент пришлет свой ход, что обычно составляет сутки). Ну и в дополнение ко всему сказаному, много ли Вы знаете игр про Семилетнюю войну? А Тридцатилетнюю? А может быть про Граждансую войну в России знаете? Что такое вообще игры от AGEOD? Это самый настойщий билет в историю. Так-как освоив хотя бы на одной игре этот движок, Вы получаете доступ к еще десятку других (Вам больше не придется осваивать интерфейс, только историю и оперативное искусство).

Like all AGEOD games there is a steep learning curve for this game, however once you become used to the system you will find that you will find a deep and engaging game with the ability for the player to actually use strategy and tactics to best achieve your goals. Especially good if you have friends that will join for a game via email, nothing like crushing your opponents army and then letting them know about it. Regarding Steam AGEOD is slowly moving to being more supportive of Steam and with their other games the patches come quickly.