The American firm Sharp's Inc, based in Mechanicsville, Virginia has released in the UK, via TK Computerware, four new strategy wargames. I have to admit that Sharps is not one of the American wargames publishers that I've come across before, but I'm glad I've had the chance to look at some of their products.

Three of the games are based on historical campaigns which took place during the Second World War. They are War in the East, which recreates Operation Barbarossa, the German attack on Russia in 1941; Ardennes, based on the last major German offensive of the war, in late 1944, and Fall of the Third Reich, which simulates the last few months of the Nazi empire and ends in the fall of Berlin. The other program, Britain Invaded, is based on the proposed German seaborne invasion of England.

All four games share certain elements and, judging by the name of the first program which loads in each case, War, I suspect they've all been written using the same basic authoring system. Because of this I'll explain the general game system first before looking at the individual programs.

All four are one-player wargames. All of the games use a square grid overlayed on the map - you can't actually see it, but it regulates movement and combat. Units have to be next to each other to attack, and move across the map square by square, using up their allotment of movement points for each turn. Diagonal movement, I'm afraid, you'll find is not allowed.

The exact type of unit differs from game to game, but falls into two basic categories, infantry or armour. The combat mechanism in each of the four games is the same. Units have to stop when they enter a square next to an enemy unit, and the player can then decide whether or not to engage in combat. Units vary in strength, but what you're trying to do is get as many strength points as you can attacking the same enemy formation. The more you outnumber the enemy by, the better the chance of destroying the target unit without loss to your o w n troops.

Combat can be affected by terrain - defenders in towns, woods, mountains, swamps or fortresses will be stronger. The computer calculates the odds and the plusses then generates a random number from one to six. Depending on a the final score, the attacker or defender of both might have to retreat, one or the other might be totally destroyed, or a unit from each side might be eliminated.

This underlying game system then, is fairly simplistic, but it plays remarkably well nonetheless.

The computer 'opponent' seems to be a reasonably tough challenge, although there is only the one level of difficulty.

My main complaint about the game system is that if a unit is next to an enemy unit, it can't move, so it's easy for your units in to be pinned down. One enemy formation could hold up three or four of your units in this way. Of course, the reverse is true, and you could try doing the same. I would have preferred some way of disengaging your troops, perhaps at the risk of losing some men. Tactically, though, this means that you have to keep some sort of reserve well back from the front line, ready to plug any gaps which appear.

Another point that annoyed me was the movement system. Like a lot of computer wargames, these four programs cycle through your units one by one: when a unit flashes, you can give it orders. Unfortunately, you have to move them in the same order every time: you can't skip over a unit and return to it later. This means that units can easily get trapped behind other units, and you can't move them where you wanted to.

You also have to be aware of the simplistic nature of the combat system. Often you will lose valuable units to an exchange, so make sure you get the best odds possible. Don't worry too much if one of your units gets bogged down in a slogging match with the enemy - a result where both sides have to retreat will effectively disengage for you.

Overall the four titles are not great games, but they would be worth having a go at if it weren't for the price which is quite frankly ludicrous - £9.95 is too much for what you get. They are better though than some recent wargames. What the Americans would call 'beer and pretzels games' - good for a few hours.

BRITAIN INVADED
Label: TK Computerware
Author: Sharps Inc
Price: £9.95
Memory: 48K/128K
Reviewer: Gary Rook

Operation Sealion never took place, but both the German army, the Wehrmacht, and the German navy spent considerable time preparing plans for just how Britain should be invaded, although in fact the two disagreed fairly fundamentally over the best methods.

Those plans were never used, but there is an abiding fascination with the question of just what would have happened had the Germans tried.

A number of books have been written on the subject, and at least one board wargame (Seelowe, by SPI).

After initial German successes on land, the Royal Navy swept through the Channel and destroyed the German navy and transport vessels. The German invasion force was isolated and eventually surrendered. The general consensus of opinion among all parties concerned was that this is what would most probably have happened.

Britain invaded sets certain premises before the game begins. Both the the RAF and the Royal Navy have been effectively destroyed, so there is no opposition to the German landings in Britain. As a result, units have come ashore on a wide front, all the way along the South coast from Dorset to East Anglia. To resist them there are a few scattered British units on the coast, with more inland.

And unfortunately for the British commander, his units can't move until they're alerted: units are alerted either on a random chance or if a German unit attacks them.

The map is large, stretching from the Bristol Channel to the North Sea, and up as far as the Midlands. It scrolls quite nicely, too. On it are marked cities, ports, forests and so on, and, more importantly for the British player, railway lines.

The British have infantry divisions and armoured brigades, and the Germans have infantry divisions, armoured brigades and Panzer divisions. The German units move faster and are tougher in combat. To compensate slightly, the British player can move his units by rail, up to 10 squares - but they can't attack in the same turn. Plus, if a German units moves through a square with a railway line in it, the track is destroyed.

The Germans win either by controlling London or by getting hold of so many ports that they can flood units into the country. The British player has to try and destroy enemy units, contain the invasion and recapture ports.

When I played, I did really well in parts, and was launching a successful counter attack in Dorset and East Anglia. I recaptured three or four ports in about the same number of turns.

Unfortunately, the Nazi jackboot was rampaging through Kent and Sussex and London fell pretty quickly.