Revision as of 15:15, 5 October 2005

Template:Spoiler

Template:Future game

{{Infobox CVG|title = Shattered Union

|developer = 2K Games

|publisher = Pop Top Software

|release date = Sept. 17, 2005

|genre = Turn-Based Strategy

|modes = Story, Multiplayer

|rating = ESRB T

|platforms = Xbox, PC

Overview

Perhaps the blue states finally got tired of the red states. Or maybe the "Tastes Great" crowd couldn't reconcile their differences anymore with the "Less Filling" folk. Whatever the case, Shattered Union is a newly announced turn-based strategy game that depicts everyone's favorite hypothetical scenario, a modern-day American civil war. What's this? To some, a second civil war seems more likely to happen than a major publisher actually putting out a turn-based strategy game. But the success of Advance Wars on the Game Boy and other turn-based games on the consoles seems to have spurred interest once again in the genre.

Beer quips aside, the story in Shattered Union has the United States splintering into a half-dozen regional factions after terrorism, internal strife, and the nuking of Washington DC take their toll. Your job is to take control of one of these factions and attempt to reunify the country under your leadership. You can even play as those dastardly Europeans, as the old countries of that continent have the gall to send "peacekeeping" troops to America. Sacre bleu!

The game itself is played out on a 3D tactical map, with the option to even turn on a good old-fashioned, war game-style hex grid. Terrain and features of the map, such as roads and cities, are all rendered in 3D, while military units are represented by large 3D unit counters. In many ways, the look of Shattered Union is sort of what a 3D version of what the classic PC war game Panzer General would look like.

Since the game itself is turn based, you have plenty of time to analyze and make each move. Once you plot out an action, you can sit back and see it unfold. And if it's a combat action, it may result in vehicles exploding, cities and forests burning down, and more. Shattered Union will feature nonlinear mission design, and the decisions you make will affect the game.

Shattered Union is set in the relatively near future, so you'll get all the latest and greatest military hardware to play with, from M-1 tanks to Apache helicopters. (Or, if you're getting help from the Europeans or Russians, you may get T-95 tanks and MiG fighters.) Oh yes, we should definitely mention that there are nukes in the game, and we've seen one dropped on a city, shattering the buildings and leaving burned-out husks. Even worse, nukes contaminate the ground around the blast, making it hazardous for units to even pass through.

There are seven factions in the game: The California Commonwealth, The Pacifica, The European Union,The Republic of Texas, The New Englan Alliance, The Great Plains Federation, and The Confederacy. (Interestingly, early versions of the map had the political divisions eerily along the lines of the 2004 presidential election.) The game will feature both online and offline multiplayer support for up to four players, and it will ship for the PC, PS2, and Xbox this fall.

Main Units

Although the factions each have special units, the following are standard:

• Light Abrams
• Abrams
• Attack Helicopter
• Light Recon
• Recon
• Partisan (May fight for or against you)
• Bunker
• Alarm/Attack Outpost
• Fighter
• Fighter/Bomber
• Bomber
• Humvee
• Anti-Air
• Heavy Anti-Air
• Light Ground Troops
• Medium Ground Troops

Special Units

Each faction has 4 special units:

California Commonwealth

• FCS Jackson Main Battle Tank
• Ground-Defense Bunker
• 155 Howitzer
• Bradley Fighting System

Pacifica

• FCS Stuart Fast Attack Tank
• M1A3 Main Battle Tank
• MLRS
• Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzer

Confederacy

• FCS Lee Main Battle Tank
• 155mm Self-Propelled Gun
• Heavy Infantry
• Light Anti-Tank Vehicle

Great Plains Federation

• FCS Grant Self-Propelled Howitzer
• Combat Engineers
• Vulcan Cannon (Self-Propelled)
• Joint-Strike Fighter.

New England Alliance

• FCS Bragg Main Battle Tank
• Apache Attack Helicopter
• Main Battle Tank
• Improved Multi-Purpose Defence Tower.

European Peace Keepers

• FCS Goliath Engineer Combat Tank
• Challenger 1 MBT
• Cybernetic Infantry
• Flakpz 1 AZ, Gepard.

Republic of Texas

• FCS Hood Main Battle Tank
• Cybernetic Infantry Soldier
• Crusader Self-Propelled Artillery Howitzer
• Super Cobra.

Reputation

A new thing in Shattered Union is the reputation bar. The higher it is, the more you are respected. The lower it is, the more people hate you. It also grants special abilites, such as a Nuke when you are low in your reputation and an EMP bomb when you are good with the people. Plus, partisian units appear depending on your reputation; they will either fight with you or against you. Although they aren't strong, they are excellent for scouting and will be helpful as cannon-fodder, making enemies waste their turn destroying them insted of your standard units.

External Links

http://www.2kgames.com/shatteredunion/home.php http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/strategy/shatteredunion/index.html http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/shatteredunion/index.html