Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars
Encyclopedia
Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars is the fourth computer game in the Cossacks series
of real-time strategy
games, released in Spring 2005 to mixed reviews. This game focuses exclusively on the Napoleonic era
, meaning it has a much shorter time span than others in this series, which spanned several centuries. Therefore, fewer technologies can be researched than in other Cossacks games, and there aren't as many different unit types for each country as before. On the other hand, Cossacks II allows a large number of units to be trained and it has many tactical options and an updated graphical engine.
video games. Only The Total War series can come close to this number, with ten thousand being the maximum number of soldiers usable at a time.
), and Skirmish/Historical Battles. In multiplayer, players can play a game over the internet.
, Russia
, Prussia
, Austria
, Egypt
, and Great Britain
; with one of these, players attempt to conquer Europe. The 2006 expansion, Cossacks 2: Battle for Europe, also includes Spain
, the Duchy of Warsaw
and the Confederation of the Rhine
. Players have a single army to command, which can be ordered across Europe on a turn-based scale. Battles are fought in real time. Over time, player experience improves, depending on the number of battles fought. As promotions are earned, more units become available, and better ones may be unlocked. At first, only infantry can be used, then light infantry, engineers, and cavalry are allowed, followed by artillery, and finally elite infantry and cavalry.
In Skirmish mode, a map is chosen, and a fight begins in a Real-Time environment, reminiscent of Age of Empires II. The human player begins by choosing a country with which to play, and then attempts to defeat the computer player's nation, by trying to capture all of the villages on the map, or by destroying all of the enemy's town centers. To capture a village, one, sometimes two, group(s) of thirty militiamen must be destroyed. Then, in order to capture it, a group of men must be moved near the center of the village. Each village can collect one of the four resources: coal, iron, gold, and food. Peasants, or serfs, can collect wood and stone, which are stored in storehouses. Two extra map packs, one with three extra maps for skirmish mode, and one for historical battles, have been released for free download at the Cossacks II official website.
In the historical battles mode, a variety of historical battles may be fought. It is predesigned, which means no new units may be trained. A couple of the battles playable are the Battle of Austerlitz
, and the Battle of Ulm
.
There is also a map editor by holding 'Ctrl' and clicking on the main menu, where players can create and edit their own maps. Cossacks II also includes a gameplay mode called Battle for Europe in which your orders are to capture everything on the vast map of Europe such as country's capitals,like Moscow,Paris,London,Vienna,and others,as well as smaller cities that you must capture to get enough troops to be able to capture the capital cities. Also,you can move up in rank and experience levels every time you win some battles or skirmishes in this mode. For example,when you first start the game,you are a 1st Lieutenant. However if on your first skirmish,you gain a victory,when you get to the battle report menu,it will tell you how much experience you gained and when you get past that there will be promotion and rewards messages and you are likely to become a Captain,ect.
was released in June 2006. It is a stand alone game, eliminating the need for the original version. Major changes to the game are to the Battle for Europe mode. At least 7 new provinces have been added to expand the map, in order to allow greater playability as well as to accommodate 3 new nations: Spain
, the Duchy of Warsaw
and the Confederation of the Rhine
. A number of new historical battles were also added: Borodino
, Leipzig
and Waterloo
, as well as campaigns played from the perspective of some of the great powers of the day.
Heroes of Annihilated Empires
was released by GSC World Publishing using an updated engine.
Cossacks: European Wars
Cossacks: European Wars is a real-time strategy computer game for Windows made by the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. It was released on April 24, 2001. The game has an isometric view and is set in the 17th and 18th centuries of Europe...
of real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
games, released in Spring 2005 to mixed reviews. This game focuses exclusively on the Napoleonic era
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory...
, meaning it has a much shorter time span than others in this series, which spanned several centuries. Therefore, fewer technologies can be researched than in other Cossacks games, and there aren't as many different unit types for each country as before. On the other hand, Cossacks II allows a large number of units to be trained and it has many tactical options and an updated graphical engine.
Gameplay
The Cossacks series has always been noted for having a large number of units on screen simultaneously, and that all are controllable at the same time; this game is no exception. The limit of soldiers that can be used at the same time is 64,000, a large number, compared to other real-time strategyReal-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
video games. Only The Total War series can come close to this number, with ten thousand being the maximum number of soldiers usable at a time.
Game modes
In the game, there are two different modes, single-player, and multi-player. In single player, three different modes may be played: campaign (tutorial), Battle for Europe (turn-based, much like RiskRisk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
), and Skirmish/Historical Battles. In multiplayer, players can play a game over the internet.
Singleplayer
In Battle for Europe mode, 6 nations are playable: FranceFirst French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, Egypt
Ottoman Egypt
Ottoman Egypt covers two main periods:* Egypt Eyalet 1517–1867 under direct rule of the Ottoman Empire.* Khedivate of Egypt 1867–1914 as autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire....
, and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
; with one of these, players attempt to conquer Europe. The 2006 expansion, Cossacks 2: Battle for Europe, also includes Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the Duchy of Warsaw
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and the Confederation of the Rhine
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...
. Players have a single army to command, which can be ordered across Europe on a turn-based scale. Battles are fought in real time. Over time, player experience improves, depending on the number of battles fought. As promotions are earned, more units become available, and better ones may be unlocked. At first, only infantry can be used, then light infantry, engineers, and cavalry are allowed, followed by artillery, and finally elite infantry and cavalry.
In Skirmish mode, a map is chosen, and a fight begins in a Real-Time environment, reminiscent of Age of Empires II. The human player begins by choosing a country with which to play, and then attempts to defeat the computer player's nation, by trying to capture all of the villages on the map, or by destroying all of the enemy's town centers. To capture a village, one, sometimes two, group(s) of thirty militiamen must be destroyed. Then, in order to capture it, a group of men must be moved near the center of the village. Each village can collect one of the four resources: coal, iron, gold, and food. Peasants, or serfs, can collect wood and stone, which are stored in storehouses. Two extra map packs, one with three extra maps for skirmish mode, and one for historical battles, have been released for free download at the Cossacks II official website.
In the historical battles mode, a variety of historical battles may be fought. It is predesigned, which means no new units may be trained. A couple of the battles playable are the Battle of Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
, and the Battle of Ulm
Battle of Ulm
The Battle of Ulm was a series of minor skirmishes at the end of Napoleon Bonaparte's Ulm Campaign, culminating in the surrender of an entire Austrian army near Ulm in Württemberg....
.
There is also a map editor by holding 'Ctrl' and clicking on the main menu, where players can create and edit their own maps. Cossacks II also includes a gameplay mode called Battle for Europe in which your orders are to capture everything on the vast map of Europe such as country's capitals,like Moscow,Paris,London,Vienna,and others,as well as smaller cities that you must capture to get enough troops to be able to capture the capital cities. Also,you can move up in rank and experience levels every time you win some battles or skirmishes in this mode. For example,when you first start the game,you are a 1st Lieutenant. However if on your first skirmish,you gain a victory,when you get to the battle report menu,it will tell you how much experience you gained and when you get past that there will be promotion and rewards messages and you are likely to become a Captain,ect.
Expansion pack
The Cossacks 2: Battle for Europe expansion packExpansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
was released in June 2006. It is a stand alone game, eliminating the need for the original version. Major changes to the game are to the Battle for Europe mode. At least 7 new provinces have been added to expand the map, in order to allow greater playability as well as to accommodate 3 new nations: Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
and the Confederation of the Rhine
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...
. A number of new historical battles were also added: Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
, Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
and Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, as well as campaigns played from the perspective of some of the great powers of the day.
Related games
Alexander was also developed by CDV using the same engine.Heroes of Annihilated Empires
Heroes of Annihilated Empires
Heroes of Annihilated Empires is a real-time strategy – role-playing hybrid computer game developed by GSC Game World and released in October 2006.-Overview:Heroes of Annihilated Empires is the first installment of a planned trilogy...
was released by GSC World Publishing using an updated engine.
External links
- http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/696/696883p1.html
- http://turkCOSSACKS.com