Gary Grigsby's World At War review:1 stars (Shocked at a hopelessly outdated piece of new software) - Can you imagine having to study a 128 page manual to be able to play a simple game? That kind of computer game went out with the 1980s. Let me quote from some of the tiny print in pages 55 and 56 of the manual pertaining to the unit display:
- The number at the top left is the number of units of this type with the given attributes in the hex.
- The number at top right is the remaining Movement Points for these unit(s)...
- A target with red X on top of the unit icon indicates that the unit was fired at at least once during the current movement phase.
- Three barrels displayed at bottom left indicates the unit(s) has been supplied this turn.
- A green arrow at the bottom indicates the unit(s) has moved Tactically this turn.
- A red arrow at the bottom indicates the unit(s) has moved Tactically and has used Extended Movement (expending additional supplies) this turn.
- A blue arrow at the bottom indicates the unit(s) has moved Stategically this turn.
And on and on to cover check marks, torpedo icons, a chain with a number, different colors of explosion icons, and the meaning of a small number in yellow.
One reviewer said the game takes minutes to learn. If you are a fast reader with excellent comprehension you might be able to read and digest the manual's glossary of terms in minutes.
If having to read and digest 128 pages of tiny print to figure out how to play a glitchy game with limited replayability makes a game good, then this game "Renews the genre of wargames" as one reviewer put it.4 stars (This game is cool) - Completely absorbing and fun. I played it for a month solid, before it got a bit stale. 2 stars (I liked the premise) - I was pretty excited when I first read about this game since I am a huge fan of the 'Axis & Allies' genre of turn based wargaming. So I bought it on the day it came out. That is when the trouble began. I would get halfway through a turn when the game would crash. I waited until the first patch came out and downloaded it with no improvement. So then I posted on the tech support forum at the game website and got a pretty quick response that my sound card was too outdated and wasn't supported (in all fairness that part was true). So I went out and bought a brand new SB Audigy 2 sound card. When I tried to run the game I would get completely through the first turn and it would crash at the end this time. So when I posted to tech support again they told me that I shouldn't have bought a Audigy 2 sound card, that they have issues. So I sold the game on Ebay. Buyer beware....
Gary Grigsby's World At War Features:
Computer Games
Action
Strategy (Strategic)
Historical (historic) Recreation (Recreations)
Military (Wargames
CD
Realistic supply chain rules add a more hands-on form of resource management to the game
Features four full-length scenarios in 38 countries, from the Spring of 1940 to the Summer of 1943
Play across 350 areas on a sprawling world map, as you lead five different armies - Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, the Allied Forces and China
Command multiple units on land, in the air or across the sea - and learn the rules that govern strategic warfare, from airborne attacks to amphibious invasions
Special Fog Of War rules hide enemy units and production for greater challenge

Gary Grigsby-s World At War is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 39.99USD.