Birth of America II: Wars in America 1750-1815 review

Bring us towels, hot water, and plenty of muskets

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    It's educational!

  • +

    Greater scope

  • +

    Improved fidelity and richness

Cons

  • -

    It's not entirely new

  • -

    Won't coddle you

  • -

    No visceral thrills

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

King George II will have our guts for garters. In the space of a couple of month-long turns we%26rsquo;ve lost 8,000 of his finest redcoats and wrecked Britain%26rsquo;s chances of kicking the Frenchies out of %26lsquo;New France%26rsquo;. Like an idiot we%26rsquo;d assumed our mega-stack of crack riflemen, grenadiers and artillery could stomp round Canada like a Godzilla-sized grizzly bear. We%26rsquo;d forgotten that AGEOD games don%26rsquo;t work that way.

During the War of Independence, the French and Indian War, and the other American musket-era rumpuses recreated in this peach of a TBS, the most dangerous enemy was often the bitter winter, the rugged terrain, the broken supply line, and the dunderheaded general. BoA2 has the guts and the wit to acknowledge this. Keep forces in the field for too long, route them thoughtlessly, or lead them with poltroons, and the wolves will grow fat on your foolishness.

If you played the original BoA this will sound reassuringly familiar. The engine and pattern of play have changed little since 2006. The player still spends the majority of his time plotting army movement on a handsome cellular map of North America or combining and splitting forces via an elegant drag-and-drop interface. Turns are still simultaneously executed, battles dashing to their bloody conclusions without human intervention or graphical fanfare.

What%26rsquo;s changed is the scope, the fidelity, and the richness. Robin Pirez%26rsquo;s cartographic masterpiece now stretches from Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico, from the Carolinas to Missouri, meaning AGEOD%26rsquo;s scenario crafters can explore fascinating campaigns like Galvez%26rsquo;s demolition of the Brits in Florida in 1815. Inherited scenarios have been overhauled with new unit types, events, settlements and personalities. Cohesion appears for the first time: you can no longer rush a force hundreds of miles cross-country and expect it to perform martial miracles the day it arrives.

At times battles felt a tad desiccated and distant in the original BoA. A suite of tactical directives (all-out attack, feint, hold at all costs...) improves things, but if you%26rsquo;re after fine control and the spectacle of tomahawk cleaving tricorn hat you%26rsquo;re still better off with something like American Conquest (or hang on for Empire: Total War). BoA2 is primarily a strategic delight, a point underlined by the beefed-up big-picture decision-making. Using a system borrowed from AGEOD%26rsquo;s Napoleon%26rsquo;s Campaigns, points earned through victories and control of the sea-lanes buy broad foreign and military policy shifts. With so many facets, some manual rummaging is inevitable. As long as you buy expecting the occasional bout of mystification, a few oh-my-god-I%26rsquo;ve-just-allowed-5,000-men-to-freeze-to-death moments and the odd snicker (hurrah for the Kickapoo Indians!) BoA2 won%26rsquo;t disappoint.

Aug 27, 2008

More info

GenreStrategy
DescriptionPerhaps too complicated for its own good and lacking visual thrills, this is a dense strategy game that pays off handsomely for the quick witted.
Platform"PC"
Alternative names"Birth of America II: Wars in America"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
More
CATEGORIES
Latest in Strategy
A big mech's lost its limbs in a screenshot from Mecharashi.
After Square Enix cancelled the first new Front Mission in years, it’s suing the developer behind it for releasing another very similar mech game
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
Kingmakers appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
Remember that bonkers Kingmakers trailer where an attack helicopter blew up some knights? It's back with a deep dive of its simulated attackers and destructible buildings
Mount and Blade 2 appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
Strategy RPG Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord heads to the seas for a Viking-inspired expansion
Rise of Industry 2 appearing in FGS Live from GDC
Go big or go home in Rise of Industry 2 as you claw your way to the top in this complex 1980s business management sim
The Deadly Path appearing in FGS Live from GDC
Strategy roguelike game The Deadly Path poses an uncomfortable question: "Am I actually any good at strategy games?"
Latest in Reviews
Razer Monitor Stand Chroma on desk with blue lighting reflecting off surface and Alienware gaming monitor on top.
Razer Monitor Stand Chroma review: “a pretty but flawed premium RGB riser for your gaming desk”
Image of the Corsair Virtuoso Max wireless headset sitting on top of a gaming PC case taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe.
Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless review - a PC headset tour de force
Zombicide box featuring stylized art of survivors fighting zombies
Zombicide 2nd Edition review: "Like a zombie flick brought to tabletop"
Razer Handheld Dock with Steam Deck sitting on cradle, pink and yellow RGB lighting on, and Alienware monitor in background with Tomb Raider Trilogy gameplay on screen.
Razer Handheld Dock review: “Your Steam Deck will ride shiny and Chroma"
Photographs of the Agricola board game in play
Agricola review: "Accurate representation of the highly competitive and often unstable world of agriculture"
Photos taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe of the Shure MV7i microphone, within a pink and white themed room.
Shure MV7i review - convenience and excellence rolled into one superb sounding package