Requires: Mac Plus to Quadra Sys 6.02 or higher, B&W 1 MB, Color 2 MB (Sys 7: B&W 2 MB, Color 4 MB)
Protection: None
 
From the early days of home computers there was always a niche for war/strategy games. Right from Chris Crawford’s Legionnaire back in ‘79 there was a definite propensity for game companies to publish this genre of entertainment software. Of course, the computer environment lends itself beautifully to managing the incredible amount of data that needs to be manipulated in war gaming. This in turn led to the advent of Avalon Hill-type computer games ( ala “Panzer Blitz” and “Squad Leader”) and indeed, the Atomic “V for Victory” and SSG “Battlefront” series of games can certainly trace their roots to those old Avalon Hill games (at least in the hexagonal grid game board). SSG has always had a strong commitment to the Mac (even in it’s many incarnations) and has been there churning out game after game in their Battlefront system no matter where their other software forays take them (such as Warlords or Carriers at War). SSG’s MacArthur’s War is the latest labor in the Battlefront series and deals with the Korean conflict from June 1950 to April 1951. Can you be the defensive genius MacArthur was in this conflict?
 
Korea in a Jiffy. Booting MacArthur’s War takes you into the game shell where you can choose from eight different scenarios starting with “Across the 38th” and ending with “Imjin” in April 1951. Of course, any of the eight scenarios can be played and no specific order need be followed. You can play against the computer or a human (on the same machine) or even just watch the computer play itself. Each scenario starts with an overview map that lets you have a look at the terrain and read the scenario briefing. Before you start the battle however, you can choose to enter the “WarPlan” mode and alter any of the games parameters you wish, from the number of enemy units to the administration abilities of your generals. You can also alter the actual icons used in the game by entering the “WarPaint” editor supplied with every game in the Battlefront series.
Game play is achieved through a turn system that has four turns for each day (am, noon, pm, and nite) with up to 25 days in a scenario, for a maximum total of 99 turns per game. The main window is totally re-sizable and the commands are made from the Command Window which lists information ranging from weather to supply lines, to regimental leadership ability. Learning the Battlefront system is certainly not as easy as one would hope and if you have never played this system before, reading the manual will be a must. However, the instructions are complete and you are supplied not only with a generic Battlefront game system booklet, but a MacArthur’s War scenario booklet (complete with tutorial) as well. The other fantastic documentation that is included is the full color map of all the battleground. Suffice to say, once you have spent about an hour reading the instructions and running through the tutorial you will be happily driving the North Koreans back into China. It should be mentioned that if you have played with the Battlefront system before then you will be off and running in a flash.
Commander in Chief? The forces at your command are divisions, regiments and battalions. You can have up to three divisions which in turn can each have four regiments, which can have four battalions. In a nutshell, you have direct control over the regimental level which means that the unit you see in each hex is part of only a group of battalions (usually of four) organized into a regiment. The ramifications for game play are that your line of command tends to be more realistic (and in a way more cumbersome) than other games of this genre. This certainly creates more of a ‘fog of war” because you are basically giving a group of four units a set of general instructions and you just have to hope they handle it well. There is virtually no specific individual unit commands (except for the HQ) to be had in the Battlefront system. This creates a need for deeper strategic thought and less of the immediate tactical decisions required in games like the V for Victory series. This way of war gaming definitely has its appeal, as it lets you be like a real general, only able to control a portion of the decisions made. you will find yourself agonizing over one of your battalions that let itself get cut off from supply lines even though you had ordered the regiment to fall back.
The game board can be viewed in a number of modes, each of which allows a different set of information. You can view the board without any units, with the fronts physically displayed, or with the game objectives highlighted. You will probably find yourself flipping between the different view modes to enhance your perspective on the game and check supply lines. Each scenario is decided by victory points which are awarded for holding specific pre-determined objectives at various points in the game. This is typical of this genre and the scoring can be viewed from turn to turn to keep you updated on your progress (or lack thereof).
 
38th Parallel or the 16th? SSG has shown extraordinary commitment to compatibility across the entire Mac line of computers over the years. In fact, MacArthur’s War includes a folder of all the scenarios just for black and white machines. The down side of the compatibility issue is the lack of full color support for the newer Macs. Perhaps it is because the Battlefront system is aging, or maybe it’s just SSG’s need to have their games run on all Macs, but sixteen color support just cannot stand up to the contemporary games of this genre. Granted that spectacular graphics and sound have never been a hallmark of war/strategy games, but there could be much more done to improve the graphics of MacArthur’s War. That aside, the graphics (for 16-color) are surprisingly good, and the animation is smooth and crisp although somewhat limited. There are no nice little explosions when a unit dies, just a red border with a skull and crossbones over the unit. A purist would say that’s the way it should be, and your average gamer might be inclined to yawn. When using 16 colors, and less flashy graphics, the developer is usually able to give the user an added bonus. That’s right, speed! MacArthur’s War cooks (relatively speaking), achieving a high level of AI without dragging the game into the ground. This means you will be spending very little time waiting for the computer to think about, and take its move.
I Will Return. SSG has included the WarPlan™ and WarPaint™ in MacArthur’s War which means that you have complete flexibility to create your own scenarios or modify the existing ones. This is a fantastic feature because it doesn’t limit the user to just eight scenarios and then a wait for a “mission disk.” The area that SSG could certainly look at opening up is the network/modem play. This sort of game with it’s relative speed and open editorial environment has the makings for excellent head to head play. We can only hope that this will be a feature included in future releases of the Battlefront game system. Despite the rather steep learning curve and lack of 256 colors and flashy graphics, MacArthur’s War still honors the SSG hallmark and explores an area of twentieth century warfare until now largely ignored in the computer war gaming field.
Pros
• Proven Gaming system
• Fast game play
• Relatively unexplored arena of warfare
• Very compatible across Mac platform (B&W Macs supported)
• WarPlan™ and WarPaint™ editors make game infinitely playable
