Uncommon Valour

PCRefugee · May 12, 2002, 15:38

Just in case anybody is interested, Matrix are now taking pre-orders and are expecting to be shipping within a few days. I've got my order in and(including shipping) it's costing me around $70. No doubt, knowing my luck, I'll get hit for VAT at this end as well. I hope it's all worth it.

PCRefugee · May 16, 2002, 16:19

Oh well...doesn't look like there's much interest...still here's an update anyway. Got home to find that UPS had tried to deliver. That must be a record - 2 days from the USA to the UK. On the downside..yes..I got hit for tax(an extra £20).

Cookie Monster · May 21, 2002, 08:20

Please let us know it the game is worth it! I'm interested in buying Uncommon Valour but due to limited funds I have to be careful on what I spend it on.

PCRefugee · May 22, 2002, 12:50

I've been playing it for a couple of days now and I think it's definitely worth the money. This game is not for everybody though. It's pretty hard core stuff...for example, my Combat Air Patrol was useless until I realised my base support was inadequate. I had to ship in engineers to get the planes flying. The three golden rules of this game are supplies, supplies and (yes, you guessed it) supplies. Everything plays its part...the quality of moral, equipment, the leadership of your commanders etc. etc. The best way I can describe this is a game of chess where you don't know where your opponents pieces are...real cat and mouse stuff. If you come from an era of board games by companies like Avalon Hill and Victory you will probably like this. If you are into RTS click-fests it's probably not for you.
A couple of final points: 1. check out the Matrix games website for some after action reports and 2. Review copies have been sent out to various places so, if you are undecided, it might be worth waiting to read them first before buying.
Although I enjoy the game very much, I think it might have been helpful if the developers had released a demo version first. I was lucky that I bought the game gambling on the fact that I would like it and did. Hope this helps.

Cookie Monster · May 22, 2002, 13:11

Thanks for the mini review PCRefugee!

I am a big wargaming fan so this sounds like a game for me. Never really did get into clickfest RTS games as I prefer TBS games.

I like the fact that you described regarding supplies. UV sounds like there are a lot of juicy stats to consider. This is good.....

One final question for you. Does the game come with a decent manual and other documentation? I think I may just place an order for this game tonight.

PCRefugee · May 22, 2002, 14:13

Hi Haupt. Glad you found my comments useful. The game itself comes in a DVD style box and the manual is on the disk in pdf format. Personally, I don't like this and would prefer a hardcopy(I suppose you could always print it out if you wanted). The documentation itself is fairly comprehensive and covers most aspects of the game. There is a small tutorial which guides you through the basic mechanics which I found particularly useful. Also, all the questions I had that didn't seem to be covered by the manual were on the Matrix forums so, between the two, I got a game up and running after about half an hour of learning.
There are about 18 scenarios to play through which cover the Solomons conflict(some are sort of what-ifs...mainly what if Midway had never occurred). I've just finished the smallest one(Coral Sea) and gained a marginal victory as the allies so now I'm trying it out as the Japanese. I forgot to mention that weather also plays a large part with many air missions cancelled due to conditions. All in all, I'm thoroughly enjoying this game and looking forward to the next one later in the year which covers the whole of the Pacific conflict....time to cancel my social life

Cookie Monster · May 22, 2002, 16:10

Yeah I agree that manuals on disk are no substitute for the real thing.

It is good to hear, however, that the documentation is good enough to at least get you going in the right direction.

As for cancelling one's social life, that comes with the territory regarding wargames!

Happy gaming...............I'll let you know when/if I get Uncommon Valour.

Leonidas · May 22, 2002, 19:58

I've been following UV very closely as well. The game has been out for about a week and the comments in the forums are very positive.

Many gamers playing UV are complaining about loss of sleep, spouses abandoning them, forgetting to walk their pets. . .

Many are calling this game a classic. . .

I'll probably order a copy soon.

BTW, to save costs in printing the manual, take the pdf manual to a printing shop and they'll print you out a bound copy (printed on both sides of the paper) for about 10-15 bucks. . .

This game looks like a winner - it also has a scenario editor, so expect to see many scenarios come out soon. . .