Recent reviews by Templar

Just another game.
If you spend money you'll get better stuff and you'll win. If you don't, you won't. Expect nothing except a re-skinned version of the Skinner Boxes that we all drop countless hours of time into expecting victory. The whales got there first and you can only hope for a lucky draw.
Good luck, you're gonna need it.

In consideration of the concise and forthright comment from a member of the development team, I'd like to add a few points.

Firstly, this game is following the trend of a Free to Play slot machine. I would have happily paid $30.00 for this game, as long as it had the addition of a small campaign or arena feature against AI or something that could give the game replay value past the point at which the servers eventually grow dark (which they will). I do not appreciate the Free to Play movement, and I hope the trend dies a well-deserved death.

Second, I appreciate the addition of generous achievements for in-game currency. But that only adds more spins to the slot machine, and doesn't actually add any enjoyment to the game. True value is gameplay, not gambling. Please remember that.

Third, I think your comment about players with hundreds of hours having an advantage and players being able to get better with more experience seriously misses the mark. A whale will ALWAYS carry the advantage. That's what makes them whales. The fact that your game contributes to the ability of wallet warriors to maintain dominance in the gaming world infuriates me because I . . .

(four) . . . actually quite enjoy playing your game. It's fun to juice up an ISU and pound a base into the dirt. It's challenging to find ways to kill cards with Heavy Armor 2 (total nonsense by the way, more counters are needed). I actually have a good time playing because your game is, at it's very core, a cheap high. The cheapest, in fact. I realize that must be dreadfully insulting, but the fact is that you and your team CHOSE to make a Skinner Box. You and your team CHOSE to make a digital slot machine out of a theme that I'm sure you all find extremely interesting. You've made a fun-ish card game, that's it.

The little historical texts for the cards is either a nice touch or salt in the wound. I haven't decided which, but I probably won't spend much time thinking about it either. Bit of a shame.

Maybe you'll see me across the table at some point, and you'll crush me with a King Tiger using Heavy Armor 6. Wouldn't that be fun?

Let me start by saying that I really do like this game. The elements of design are excellent, especially in terms of sound and graphics. Building divisions and brigades, arming them with quintesential weapons of the era, and assigning leadership is engaging and interesting. Getting into a nasty exchange of musketry and cannon fire is a gleeful pleasure to watch and winning said fights is rewarding. But where things begin to fall apart for me is when the game starts to get bigger.


When I say bigger, I mean that in terms of the size of your army. Very rapidly, you will find yourself on titanically big maps, attempting to control dozens of units in an army that must be well over 70,000 men strong. You will also be forced to control that army in 1500-3000 man clumps, and organize them in a manner which will allow you to carry the day in battle. This is not easy.

This game is, quite frankly, not meant for people like me who simply do not have the headspace to manage such a colossal endeavor.


The game really shines when you are on the defensive. The nature of commanding such a vast array of troops lends itself to defensive fighting in almost every way. Reaction times are not as readily punished on the defensive, and understanding where the enemy will likely move towards and planning ahead for that assault is incredibly rewarding. Going on offensives, however, is a different animal entirely.


I truly believe that this game would beneift hugely from the inclusion of a cooperative game mode, wherein a friend could be given command of parts of your army. Being able to split the effort of commanding massive armies over multiple people (just like command structures in real life) would, in my very humble opinion, make this game one of the top 3 in my library today if not the very best.


Today, I can hardly stomach the idea of playing any of the battles past the second or third year of this epic American conflict. I'm not ashamed, merely dissapointed that I cannot enjoy what is perhaps the greatest American Civil War tactical and strategic game that has every come out. I say this as a reenactor, a gamer, and a Civil War buff: I cannot recommend this game.

Due to the return policy on Steam I had to ditch this game before I could really experience anything except for a little bit of sailing and a pair of battles. A person looking to experience this game in a deep and meaningful way would need much more time than I could give it. That being said I cannot reccomend this game as it is right now. Naval Action is an open world game in alpha stages of development (at time of writing). To be worth $40, a game should grab me very quickly with something, anything and Naval Action simply failed me in that regard. The primary pull at this time, naval combat, is novel but you could probably have just as much fun playing Patrician III or World of Warships. Take your forty bucks elsewhere for now and wishlist this game. For a piece like this it would be better to spend sixty dollars on a fleshed out product than forty dollars on what amounts to a whole lot of not much.