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A quite a surprise to me.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 28 / 28
Date: May 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I didn't know what to expect, so the first thing that surprised me were the absolutely lush graphics. RTS games have always been a bit on the staid side when it comes to terrain graphics - plenty of detail but something always seems to be missing. Not so with AC, the ground detail is superb, rivers flow beautifully and trees and bushes are particularly lifelike. Although everything is 2D sprites, the units are fantastic and there is a real sense of a 3D element.
The game appears to try and maintain an accurate historical timepath, running from Columbus' landing, right through to the American Revolution. When playing in campaign mode, you get a little history lesson at the start of each new scenario that sets the scene for your objectives perfectly.
The most noticeable difference between American Conquest and any other RTS is seen in the use and creation of troops. Any one unit is exactly that - one unit, and each units strengths are accurately mapped to - A conquistador with a pike and armour is more than a match for just about any single Mayan / Aztec opponent, but slower and prone to ranged fire. This tends to lead to battles on an epic scale with upwards of 500 units engaged on the screen at once (with very little sign of slowdown too I must add).
Again, in a break from the traditional RTS mould, troops are not created out of thin air - if you want 100 musketeers, you will need 100 peasants to create them. Peasants are created from dwellings (the more dwellings, the higher your population limit), while the troops are created from a fortress. You therefore need to churn out an endless supply of peasants (ctrl click on any build icon gives infinite production), having set the rally point on your fortress, and, as peasants go in, your musketeers come out.
Micromanagement is kept to a fairly simple scale; you need grain to feed your population, and wood, stone, iron, gold and coal to buy / manufacture your troops and manage any upgrades. Mines have worker limits that increase with each upgrade and farming is pleasantly efficient. Resources appear to be a bit on the scarce side, so upgrading the mines and ensuring they are always maxed out with workers is a must. It is also worth setting a few troops to guard each mine as they are very easily captured.
So, having got all your mines producing and plenty of peasants gathering wood and corn, the time is right to start organizing your massive forces. This can be achieved by forming them into armies, controlled by an officer with a standard bearer and drummer also required for morale purposes. Unfortunately for you, you'll find that the officers are not much into leading from the rear, and have a bad habit of charging in and getting killed quickly, leaving you with an effective, but not so easily controlled force. Also bear in mind that you will need a lot of troops - buildings can be (and often are) heavily defended and you will lose an awful lot of troops capturing buildings (mind you, when you get cannons, you can just blow them up from a great distance).
Adding some good sound really enhances the battles and AC does it perfectly - the music is not too loud and the battle sounds and effects are realistic.
As said before, buildings can be defended - all you need do is stick a few troops inside and any building becomes a virtual blockhouse. However, they are by no means impregnable as a great deal of though has gone into building defence and there are zones of fire limited by the buildings themselves - once you can get troops inside these zones they cannot be hit by ranged fire and can then storm the building - but expect heavy losses.
The same kind of detail has been applied to ranged fire - ordering a musketeer to shoot an enemy at extreme range fails more often due to the inherent inaccuracy at large ranges. This is also especially noticeable with cannons - until you manage to afford all the upgrades from your town centre.
Unfortunately, despite all the detail that has been put in place, American Conquest suffers a bit from a slightly dodgy AI. Big battles are really the name of the game here but the AI just sends continuous streams of enemy troops to harass your positions which are easily defended against, while you can build up a huge force and then just march in and wipe everything out. Also, all your units often appear to have been taking performance enhancing drugs, as the speed that they can move around at is somewhat inappropriate. Forming your troops into an army is also not without problems - setting them to `stand ground' (the army takes up a very nice box formation) means they do just that - if attacked they might fire back but generally they just stand there and take a beating. Leaving them in standard formation has the opposite effect, they will follow the enemy till either it or your army is obliterated.

good game,very solid gameplay

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 30 / 31
Date: November 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a very good solid strategy game, and I am impressed. This game reminds me of Stronghold Crusader. These two games are the best strategy games on the market today, trust me. You don't have to play these games online to enjoy them. The realism in the game is amazing,along with the graphics, and you don't need an Area 51 computer for the game to run smooth, that in itself is a great triumph, for the makers of this game, and I salute you. The zoom feature is just right which is the L Key, Plus you can hit the enter key,,,,type...view all to reveal the map, You can type in a few more phrases,if you want to.This will probably be the only true american revolutionary game you will ever get your hands on, Go buy this game,I know a good game when I play it. One of the reviewer, said the soldiers can only fight, I beg the differ, they can shoot some of the wildlife, for food,then take it to the storehouse. I would like to clarify one of the reviewer,statement,saying the soldiers move too fast,, well let me say, there is a slider button on the option menu,so you can slow the movements of the troops, and every thing else.

Not much an improvement over Cossacks.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 21 / 25
Date: April 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

GSC's "American Conquest's" greatest strength is it's unique historical setting- not many games allow a player to refight the French and Indian War! I basically bought this game strictly because I love that period of history. However, I was a little sceptical about how AC would play because I really didn't care for GSC's first RTS game, "Cossacks," which I thought had terrific potential but it ended up being just a pretty blase "Age of Empires" clone. I was hoping that AC would get the benefit for all the improvements that GSC had developed for "Cossacks" engine plus a good number of new features.

Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be true. AC pretty much plays the alot like "Cossacks"- standard RTS fare. Like "Cossacks," AC has some serious gameplay issues. The Native American tribes are extremely weak. Animals attack only your units. (Buffalo, deer, and bears literally charging towards hundreds of heavily armed men is one of the more bizarre elements of the game.) Canoes can sink a frigate? There are some improvements, like being able to garrison buildings, but overall any "Cossacks" player will be able to jump into this one without a problem.

However, if you're a "Cossacks" fan then you're probably going to like AC. It's more polished than "Cossacks." The single player scenarios are better designed. And the graphics for your soldiers are quite nice: the first few times you watch a 180 redcoats let loose a volley is pretty cool. Also the animated deaths are better done than they were in "Cossacks."

This is pretty much a no frills game. The scenarios are introduced with lengthy (and not particularly accurate) historical information. If you leave the dull, repetitive music on you will be able to hear a bored voice actor narrate the historical intro. The campaigns are linked just by their subject material, but there is no relation between scenarios. Finally, there is NO scenario editor! There's a map editor, but it's useless without a scenario editor. So that means you're stuck with some Russian guy's idea of what the French and Indian War was about. There is an addon coming to give the player more nations (you can recreate Germany's role in the conquest of America with it???) and scenarios, but I've had enough of AC. No mas!!

!Great game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 17
Date: March 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is why I gave this game 5 stars:
1. have up to 16,000 units
2. long range units can attack shot range (swords, bayents, ect.)
3. you have to pay and feed your units (you even have to but the buttles)!
4. huge maps
5. units take forever to load weapons (bad in some ways, but more real)
6. Morale (units even run from the battle)
7. 12 nations
8. Real History

Excellent

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 18
Date: October 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This the best RTS game I've ever played. That's saying a lot, because I've played many games. One thing, the best thing about this game is that you can get 16000 Units at a time. NOT the puny armies you get with Age of Empires. Right, you think that having 16000 units on the screen at one time requires a supercomputer. Not so, I share a computer with the rest of my family, and it still runs fine. The gameply and effects are so addictive. You can actually see the waves hitting the shore, and the tree branches swaying in the wind. You can see the horseman pull a pistol out of his belt, and shoot it.
My favourite feature is the map editor. It is very exstensive, and easy to use. Fun for stacking up two armies and waging a war. The history lessons that come with campaigns are actually interesting, and brif, but informative.
In all, the best game you can buy.

It Doesn't get much better

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: March 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing RTS games since Command and conquer hit the shelves. After purchasing C&C:Generals I was becoming sick of the good old "Throw flesh at a brick wall" form of war. Who ever has more units wins. So, when I bought American Conquest I was looking for an original,strategic, and large scale RTS, BINGO. This is a rare find. With battles involving thousands of units the grande scale of this game hits you early. Soon your gathering troops and forming them into easy to control armys, this is a very interesting addition to the game, units of the same type can be formed into small armys that can combine to make big armys, this allows for a whole slew of new tactics and strategies that could not be obtained by games like AOE, WarCraft, and yes, even the beloved C&C laked this inovative feature. This Game is a great buy if Strategy is what you want, this game will have you planning and plotting like a real commander of men.

American Conquest

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 26
Date: February 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is a enhanced version of Cossacks, with extreamly good RTS features and with the ablity to have 16,000 units it gets tence. If you liked Cossack or Age of Empires this is a great buy.

Misses The Mark

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 16
Date: March 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Sure, the game looks great, but I wish a little more time had been spent on playability. No great improvement from Cossacks.

First off, there are too many vexing common sense issues. Native American canoes easily sink top-of-the-line Frigates. So do small boats. Neither can be sunk by ramming as with the Cossacks series. If you've played Cossacks, you'll also notice that all aspects of this game are vastly (and annoyingly) slower. Canons move and fire so slowly that you're likely to invade and conquer an entire country before you see them. Developers seem to have spent an extraordinary amount of time on the nuances of the gun crews- setting up, moving the gun, loading, moving the gun, moving the ammo & firing- all at the pace of a Sunday drive, even when under fire. You begin to wonder if they forgot that people actually play this thing rather than just look at it. Ships move and fire just as slowly and are much more slow to build than Cossacks. Bugs are abound. Cannons and ships bunch up and get stuck constantly while on the move. Worst of you'll find that some targets, inexplicably, can not be fired on by ships, essentially making them invincible. Watching one of these "invincible" boats sink your entire fleet one shot at a time is maddening. Especially when ships take so long to build.

Besides the bugs, you'll notice that almost everything is more expensive and more restrictive than in Cossacks. Large populations and multiple buildings are much more restrictively expensive to build. Also, I've played the American side and noticed that there is no fishing fleet or trading center available- ouch!

Many problems with Cossacks play were transferred into American Conquest. Formations still fire as one, sometimes killing a peasant with 100+ shots while not being able to reload in time to address the 100 pikemen that are advancing directly behind him. Although it has improved slightly, fratricide is still a big issue- watch in horror as one of your canon wipe out half your army. A.I. still refuses to assemble large enemy armies in formation (the strength of the game).

Other gripes: Native American arrows outshoot rifles by large distances, dragoons are too weak, American units lack imagination and accuracy, 17th century units are worthless. Naval units have been reduced (from Cossacks) and boring back-end nation building still makes up the bulk of game play. Mortars are gone and canon fire has little effect on many buildings, drastically changing the power of assembling an artillery barrage on an enemy city like as in Cossacks.

Bottom line: A lot of time wasted on graphics that get old after your first play and disrupt the speed of the game. The visuals are a step ahead of Cossacks, but the play is two steps behind. The game as (a series) is still the only game in town in you're into next gen military strategy gaming. I still play, but with a lot of frustration. Buy this game if you're into military strategy gaming, and grind your teeth like the rest of us. Just wish it was better.

Another Ordinary RTS!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 29
Date: April 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

American Conquest is just another ordinary RTS title, adding to the
several other RTS games available in the PC gaming library.
What makes this game distinct from the others is that its based in
North America..well thats good because everyone is freaked out by playing
in Medieval Europe.

The Graphics are well done, you can actually see smoke coming out of rifles
and cannon's blasting away concrete.However there is no Zoom Option
available so youre stuck with the default view. Its not bad though,
however if you have a slow computer then the peroformance will be
greatly affected. Soldiers walk quite fast as if theyre each wearing
a pair of roller blades. It seemed to give me an unrealistic effect.
Soldiers also walk through trees(that finally puts an end to realism!)

Gameplay is impressive. In a total there are 8 campaingns spanning 42
missions which will keep you entertained for quite a while. Even while
playing on normal the game seemed to be awfully difficult. For a greater
challenge you have "Hard,Very Hard and Impossible".

Sound is poor. Cheap music in the background really irritates,luckily
it can be turned off. Sounds during gameplay are quite good, like marching,
gun shots etc.

Overall, try to skip this one. Its just not worth the price tag. Nor
the effort and Time youll spend playing it.Feast your eyes on something
else!

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: July 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The British Redcoats wait nervously, but they are confidant-they have fought yokels like these before. As the enemy advances to but a few yards distance, the commander gives the order to fire. The line unleashes its volley, tearing through the American ranks. Broken and dispirited, the Americans break ranks and flee. The Redcoats don't wait to reload and charge with their bayonets, completing the slaughter.

This is what makes American Conquest such a great game. In the original Cossacks series, I loved the idea of formations and unit subdivisions. But, I was dissapointed to see each unit within these formations fire individually. American Conquest changed this and now the formations fire as one, in a volley. Morale is also introduced in American Conquest. It's great to see enemy units flee the field when under intense fire. (Though not so great when one's own units do the same.)

There are other great features to American Conquest as well. The method in which troops are gathered is a great change of pace compared to the other Strategy Games available. In this method, one has to first create citizens or peasants and then train those peasants to fight as soldiers. This method of unit creation is much more accurate, though it would be more accurate if soldiers could construct some buildings and perform tasks other than combat.

There are several small items in American Conquest that make the game very accurate. America was usually a sideline to European affairs, so the quality and amount of military equipment sent to the Americas would be limited. This fact would explain the shortages of cannon, mortars, and howitzers and would also explain the limited variety of shipping available in the game.

American Conquest does however posses the major drawback present in most Strategy Games, and that is problem of units getting lost or hung up on various obstacles present in the map.

Overall, American Conquest is a fun game to play, and an awesome change of pace from the more basic games available for play.

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