WAR OF THE LANCE

 WAR OF THE LANCE is a strategy wargame designed by David Landrey and Chuck
Kroegel (GETTYSBURG, BATTLE OF NAPOLEON), published by Strategic Simulations,
and distributed by Electronic Arts. Set in TSR's ADVANCED DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS
"Dragonlance" world of Ansalon, LANCE offers fine graphics, scenario and
campaign games, strategic and tactical maps, two-player mode, joystick or
keyboard control, save option, and no copy protection. (The Commodore 64/128
version is the basis of this review; IBM-PC version notes follow.)

 Now that 16-bit machinery has taken over the gaming world, 8-bit games seem not
only more scarce, but pale in comparison. Strategic Simulations is one of the
few developers that still pays close attention to the extreme low end of
computers, and although it's doubtful that any game could do much to resurrect
the 8-bit machine, if nothing else, WAR OF THE LANCE maintains SSI's tradition
of playability and competence. This means it's as good as any SSI strategy game,
regardless of the plot or setting.

 WAR OF THE LANCE is set in the same world as HEROES OF THE LANCE and DRAGONS OF
FLAME, so some of this might seem familiar. Takhisis, who first appeared in
HEROES and from whom the Disks of Mishakal were recovered, has formed an evil
pact with the Highlord alliance, whose greedy eyes are now set on Ansalon. The
Whitestone forces, who've been squabbling and politicking for years, failed to
notice anything amiss. Now, with the Highlord alliance on the rampage,
Whitestone struggles to join its isolated lands together before the Highlord
releases its near-invincible dragonarmies.

 The goal of LANCE is to make alliances, conquer enemy nations, and destroy
enemy troops; the game can be won on points alone or through the destruction of
Highlord's capital of Neraka. The campaign game begins prior to the union of
Takhisis and Highlord and lasts 30 turns, the equivalent of six game years. The
scenario option begins the game after Highlord has conquered several nations.

 From the Opening Menu, you can select the (human or computer) force that
controls Highlord (you're always Whitestone), choose scenario or campaign game
and level of play, adjust the strength and replacement percentages for each
side, and adjust your alliance percentage. Level of play gives a combat
advantage to one side or the other. A high alliance number gives you a better
chance of convincing other nations to join you.

 Each turn is divided into 19 phases, including quest, reinforcement,
subversion, diplomatic, movement, and combat phases. (If Highlord is controlled
by the computer, all of its phases are automatic.) The message phase starts each
turn; it lists nations conquered during the previous turn, provides ongoing
information about the war, and gives the current status of any quests in
progress.

 Quests give each side the chance to search for magic items, such as Gnomish
technology, armor, banners, and "Dragonlance"s (and the pure dragon metal needed
to make them) -- any of which might turn the tide of the war. True Cleric
Goldmoon and her Companions (all of whom appeared in HEROES and DRAGONS OF
FLAME), along with other Whitestone champions, are automatically sent off on a
quest. Both Quest and Champion phases keep you informed of their progress.

 Many phases merely display information and require no input; others, such as
the Subversion and Diplomatic phases, require some input. Subversion lets you
send units out into the field, where they'll attempt to slow down enemy quests.
The Diplomatic phase lets you attempt to ally with a country; if successful,
you'll be able to move that country's units. If an alliance fails, you'll have
to negotiate.

 The most important C64 screen is the map of Ansalon, which is very large and
which can be scrolled in any direction. The terrain consists of forts and
tunnels, cities, towers, forests, glaciers, steppes, mountains, rivers, and
bridges. There is also an ocean zone called the Maelstrom, within which ships
might be lost, and from which ships are thrown to a random location.

 The Initiative phase determines which side, based on the outcome of previous
activity, will be the first to enter Movement and Combat phases. The Movement
menu lets you move the cursor around the map, get units, switch between tactical
and strategic maps, center the cursor in a selected map quadrant, and determine
enemy strength on any given cursor square. When a unit is selected, you can move
it, set its attack posture, cycle through the units, transfer magic items, and
set fleet activity and attacks.

 Available through the Movement menu are disk operations, from which disks can
be formatted, directories listed, and games saved and deleted. The Combat phase
begins with naval encounters, followed by air and land battles. The computer
searches the map for a brewing fight; upon finding one, it displays troops and
menus. Attackers choose from retreat, light (harrassment), or heavy (all forces)
strategies. Defenders can retreat, stand strong, or launch a counterattack. You
have the option of watching the battle unfold on the tactical map.

 Combat is the final phase of a turn. It leads to the message phase, which
starts a new turn. Turns continue until they're exhausted, after which one side
is declared the winner on points. Capturing the opponent's capital wins the game
automatically.

 LANCE can be controlled via either joystick or keyboard. The stick or the
cursor keys cycle(s) through available menu options; the button or the spacebar
invokes the selection. Both controllers worked fine. Before the game begins, you
can choose which to use, although you may switch between devices while you're
playing. You can abort or change any choice, and exit from any menu.

 The WAR OF THE LANCE package comes with one double-sided disk that is not
copy-protected. There is a documentation check, however. The instruction manual
is SSI's usual model of clarity

 WAR OF THE LANCE maintains SSI's high standards of playability and attention to
detail. The graphics are fine, disk access is minimal, and the game plays like a
charm. SSI seems to have dropped its difficulty rating system; if I were to rate
this, I'd say it's Introductory level, which means that it approaches
Intermediate. Regardless of difficulty, LANCE looks good and plays as easily as
can be.

 HEROES OF THE LANCE and DRAGONS OF FLAME, arcade/action/adventure games, were
both set in TSR's "Dragonlance" world, but WAR OF THE LANCE is the first
strategy wargame set in "Dragonlance." There are still plenty of strategists out
there, many of whom own 8-bit machines. Similar to other SSI wargames, yet
different because of its setting, LANCE gives 8-bit users something useful to do
between 16-bit graphic extravaganzas. You can buy LANCE because it's possibly
the last game for your 8-bit, or you can buy it because it's a good game: Either
way, you can't lose.

 IBM-PC VERSION NOTES

 The IBM-PC version of WAR OF THE LANCE is distributed on two 5-1/4" floppy
disks (3-1/2" disks are available separately) that can be copied onto your hard
drive. LANCE uses manual copy protection. As opposed to the usual "Page #, Line
#, Word #," you have to find a named section of the manual, as well as the
specific word. (I don't see why things have to be made so difficult for the
legitimate user, even in the name of "combatting piracy.")

 IBM-specific instructions are included on an enclosed cardboard card, separate
from the manual. 512K RAM is required, and LANCE can only be played from the
keyboard. For this type of program, that's not a handicap at all. No specific
clock speed is mentioned, and again, this wargame is not the sort of environment
in which speed really becomes an issue -- although 386 owners will probably love
how swiftly the battles are displayed.

 Graphics choices are CGA and EGA. EGA graphics are very colorful, although
somewhat "blocky." The back of the box shows Apple screens; the IBM version
(with EGA) actually looks much nicer than the illustrations depicted. LANCE is
played in total silence, so obviously there is no support for any soundboard.

 My only real gripe is that it's possible to save a game only when "Save" is a
choice on the menu. Each round consists of 19 "phases," and "Save" only appears
once per round, meaning that you either have to wait a long time to be able to
safely exit, or you have to reach for the reset button, dumping the game in
progress. Obviously, this complaint is a minor one, especially in light of the
quality of execution throughout the rest of the game.

 WAR OF THE LANCE is published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. and distributed by
Electronic Arts.

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