Battle of the Bulge Reviews

Simplistic

Duncan ok

I don't know what I expected, but it was more than this. The graphics are sort of childlike, the maps aren't really maps, and the movement is clunky. I am old enough (sadly) to have played, and loved the one Avalon Hill board war games. They achieved more with fold out boards and die cut cardboard playing prices than this game.

A formerly great game screwed up

Uberskooper

I previously wrote a very positive review when this game came out, but wow are the changes annoying. Slower (even on the iPhone 6), smaller harder to read menus, screwed up in game menus, and worst of all there is no password retrieval feature. This game really got the Al Alamein treatment. I guess their new publisher really is a soulless war gaming giant that spits out crappy war games. Sorry guys. I really thought this would breathe some new life into this game but left disappointed.

Disappointing update

Chessman868

Having been a Kickstarter supporter from the earliest days and two years without an update I expected more. Their are small improvements in some areas but the AI may have been rewritten but is know smarter. The screen is refined on the iPad but the text is too small. The movement sound effects stop after the first 'square'. Movement after victory with one armor and infantry displays a message that you haven't moved all your units after you moved your tanks. I could go on.

New update buggy & with some bad design decisions

trojmor

The previous version of this game was one of the all-time best , indeed almost perfect, wargames on iPad on any other platform. This new update, which comes after the original game studio was bought by Slitherine, has some serious problems. Within 5-10 mins of play I noticed that the graphics seemed unstable with occasional sudden weird glitches such as screen shaking. The beautiful amazing elegant sound design of the original game has been messed with and spoiled e.g. with machine gun fire which is loud and goes on for far too long . There are interface formatting glitches not present in the original. And most alarming of all there I found what appears to be a major rule change (I hope it is a bug...) from the original - the change is about movement in the first couple of turns - the AI carried out 3 space strategic movement out of a contested zone !

What Happened?!

DeadheadTed

I loved this game! Played it all the time … perfect length game to make me forgot about 45 minutes on the treadmill. But this update is bad. The game is slower, the menu redesigns are bad, and the buttons are ridiculously small. I want my old version back. :-(

Bad update!

mikel5150

Do not update to this version! The game appears to have been replaced with a version written with a common code base to the Windows and Mac version. Everything that was so great about this title is diminished. The new fonts are awful. The sounds are irritating. What was once beautifully flowing animation is now jerky on my Air 2. The game has also become slow. What used to be fast and fluid is now a real dog. This went from being a great iPad game to being a terrible port of the computer version. The new AI is a disaster. As the Axis, it went defensive without securing enough VP locations to have a chance to win. This made for very boring play. To make matters worse, there is no longer an option to continue a game once one side wins. That used to lead to some interesting gameplay, and it's now just gone. There also appear to be problems with the rules of the game not being properly implemented. From Axis strategic movement on the first turn to units that are isolated (yellow) retreating, proper care and attention wasn't used in creating this new version. I want my old game back!

Disappointing

WBC attendee

I remember as a kid when a cereal advertised new and improved, that was the last time I ate that cereal. The improvements to the game consist of an improved and more intelligent AI. This would be great if the interface was readable (iPhone 5s) but it is so microscopic I just avoid it. The movement of units is much clunkier as is the ability to undo moves. Further, the speed of play, that is the ability to process moves has greatly increased. So what had been a game that it was possible to enjoy in a short period of time has become as interminable as playing a live opponent suffering from AP.

Absolutely horrible update

electragician

The update pushed in September of 2015 absolutely ruined this game. The developer basically shoehorned a version re-written for the PC onto iOS. The controls are too small to use, there's no good use of touch, and all interface elements are better suited to a PC screen than to an iPhone 6. This horrible "update" is only mitigated by the fact that the new bugs introduced in this build make the game itself unplayable, as you cannot even scroll to see your troops in some modes. Thanks for that at least. The part that really bites is that these guys had to know this update was going to wreck the game on iPhones, from the interface changes alone. They shipped it anyway. I'll be seeking a refund.

Sleek, smart and fun until the new update happened.

Raja Jones

The new update is really clunky, slow, and with no obvious benefit over the original. The devs should have spent more time testing and tweaking. Completely ruined the game. I wish there was a way to revert to the original version. This was my 5-star review before the update: This is perhaps a model of how iPad turn-based war games should look and feel -- there is a lot to like about this game. Looks great, plays well, incorporates the iPad touch screen brilliantly into gameplay. The beauty of this game is how it managed to simplify very complex concepts and variables but still provides a deep and nuanced experience. The only downside to this game: the AI is fairly easy to beat. There are no difficulty levels and I wish gameplay actually lasted a bit longer, it seems to be over before it began, but that's probably because time flies when you're having fun! Flip side: Multiplayer is fun and challenging. Looking forward to see what this studio comes up with next!

Bring back previous version

Dewfus4

Combat preview windows are difficult to read on iPhone. "Continue" feature is broken, at least in luck of the draw. AI play is slower. Rule change for isolated units? They lose strength points with no enemy units in space. This game used to be a 5-star game.

Battle of the Bulge Reviews – Page 3