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PC Juniors/Games

Soldiers at War

By Joshua Gaberel

THE BEST game I have seen all year is Soldiers at War by Strategic Simulations Inc., a Mindscape company. I think that it is one of the most realistic WWII games that I have seen--even though historians would not think so. Here are some of the battles that you can reenact: Kasserine Pass, Maltese Island, East of Messina, Monte Cassino, Anzio, Normandy, Outside St. Lo, Platoon HQ, Cherbourg, Paris, Vineyards, German airfield, The Rhine, Dredsen, Near Berlin. The music in this game is very good--and dramatic. The composer is Crystal Lenenes. Before each battle you have to dress your platoon and give them weapons. You can choose if you want the battle to take place in the rain or in the sun. And you can choose the level of difficulty, such as being a private, a commander, a general, or a commando. You can also do mini battles and play the part of the Germans or the French resistance. I would really give Soldiers at War a ten on a scale of one to ten. The rating given by the ESRB of "13+ teen for animated violence and animated blood" I find unfavorable. I think the game is very historical and educational, but it was rated teen. So some mothers would not buy it, and the kids of those mothers will not get help with their history. Soldiers at War is a very good multiplayer game. You can play two, three, or four players together. I would really want to try this, but I do not know anyone else who has the game. There are some bad things about the game. It is a memory hog needing 175MG of hard disk space, for instance. But there are good things too. Soliders can move in different ways: crawl, walk, or run. They can help the wounded by picking them up and taking them somewhere safe. And they can climb into disabled tanks and fire at the enemy. The last move, and my favorite, is to throw grenades. You should think about getting Soldiers at War for your kids. The price is about $40.00.