Take Command: 2nd Manassas Demo

In the Take Command series, you get to give out orders and witness their effect, even if you do not actually control the troops in the conventional way. Thus, just like in a real battle, the chain of command must work flawlessly, so that each soldier knows what he needs to do and the entire army works together to defeat the opposing force.

Take Command: 2nd Manassas is a real-time tactics game that puts you in charge of an army and takes you through a lengthy campaign, which takes place during the American Civil War. Thus, the soldiers employ muskets and various other rudimentary weapons to win the battles, although the guns are not nearly as important as the strategy used whenever they enter into a confrontation.

The gimmick behind the curious gameplay mechanics is the implementation of a realistic chain of command, which means that you give out the orders to the officers, who must then take them further and coordinate the army. Thus, the commanding skills of your officers is of capital importance as well, since the game takes into account their ability to carry out the orders accordingly.

As you may be aware, the Civil War had its fair share of legendary battles and confrontations between the two factions, all of which were very gruesome and violent. The game allows you to play your part in them and witness events like the battle of Cedar Mountain, the battle of Chantilly, or a variety of other historical scenarios, as well as a couple of imaginary ones that deal with “what if?” situations.

To make the experience more enjoyable and challenging, a better and more adaptive AI has been implemented, meaning that the computer responds to your moves accordingly and takes the appropriate measures whenever you come up with a strategy. You also get to play as either the supreme general, or a division commander, thus leaving the rest of the army under AI supervision and worrying only about a small detachment of troops.

Take Command: 2nd Manassas can be regarded as a very complex strategy game, due to the large variety of options that are put at your disposal both in and out of the battle. Moreover, the extensive collection of missions and scenarios are more than plenty to keep you playing for quite some time.