Axis & Allies review:1 stars (Stalemate after stalemate) - This game does a terrible injustice to the original Axis and Allies board game. At first, I thought this game would be wonderful and, I too, eagerly shelled out the $50 dollars to buy it. I think that this game can be put into a simple formula: Low Unit Limit (20) + Large Map + Low Building Limit (20) = Stalemate. Granted, I got through most of the missions, but by the time I was in the Pacific Theater on Iwa Jima, I just had to quit. I was so bored with this game. There's very little strategy and it can quickly turn into a World War I trench warfare type of game, where you slowly but surely watch 20 units battle each other and quickly be replaced.

The Axis and Allies "board game" part of this game is a little interesting, but the random battles are so boring that it's more fun to let the computer compute the outcome and fight on a much larger scale. This game was a waste of money, and it's such a disappointment. I thought that this would be a great addition to the "Axis and Allies" family, but I was wrong. 2 stars (Imagine my surprise...) - When I learned that after purchasing this game for the perceived nice price of only $29.99 U.S., this game is only visibly like the original board version. I haven't even gotten past the final tutorial and I'm not that impressed. The RTS portion has an interesting spin on it, with the use of supply zones, replacements, no resource gathering (not in the traditional sense), and some historical accuracy in campaign / unit Order of Battle.

Outside of this, I am pretty upset at the lack of naval units, the newly discovered ability of infantry to "walk on water" and conquer places they would never be able to reach in real life. Also, the idea that you can defeat an entire country's military resources with only a few units is totally absurd. In my mind, this latest implementation of an old favorite was rushed, poorly done, and horribly executed. I'm not sure if this game would be even worth it in the $1 bargain bin. Well, maybe the bargain bin, if only for a slight entertainment value. Sometimes, you shouldn't mess with a good formula. The old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," comes to mind.

A simple upgrade of the graphics, with a few more bells and whistles probably would have saved this title, rather than the attempt at "innovative" gameplay the developers tried to fashion here. If anything, they could have simply taken the original PC version and beefed / revamped the AI to make it a more worthy opponent, since this seems to be lacking in many of the games out there.

All in all, save your money, at least until this game drops below the $10 mark. Maybe then, this game's flashy box and graphics will be worth the money. Even then, I doubt it.1 stars (What a Waste!) - This game is a total waste. Whoever thinks it is a five out of five must not have played it. Maybe if it was ten dollars, it might just reach the level of fair, but it's horrible. I played it for a day, and won every campaign using both all the allied and axis nations within a few hours. The idea of winning by merely capturing the capital is a big mistake, and there is no way that you should be able to take Russia out of the game using germany in two turns. The producers should add more territories and units to the game. However, even then it will still be well below most turn-based strategy games.
Axis & Allies Features:
Computer Games
Action
Strategy (Strategic)
Historical (historic) Recreation (Recreations)
Military (Wargames
CD
Online multiplayer option
Real-time strategy game
Control the armies, navies, and air power of one of 5 world powers
Campaigns change each time they're played, leading to different outcomes
Go up against history's greatest generals, including Rommel, Eisenhower, and Yamamoto

Axis - Allies is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 24.99USD.