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Cossacks: Back to War

by Jim "Bismarck" Cobb

Article Type: Review
Article Date: January 15, 2003

Product Info

Product Name: Cossacks: European Wars
Category: Real-time Strategy
Developer: GSC Gaming World
Publisher: CDV Software Entertainment
Release: Germany/Ukraine/Russia – Nov 2000; Elsewhere – Mar 2001
System Spec: Click Here
Files / Links: Click Here

Cossacks: Back to War – A Tragedy in Three Acts

The original Cossacks: European Wars advanced the usual tactical RTS genre by introducing formations and decent commands to fairly accurate 16th and 17th-century combat unit types. The graphics were fun and some of the battles resembled their historical counterparts. The game still had the usual resource gathering limitations but the total effect advanced real-time gaming beyond Age of Empires/Age of Kings. An add-on, Cossacks: The Art of War, soon followed with additions and changes that seemed insignificant but had dramatic impact on game play. What’s confusing is that CDV’s new stand-alone release, Cossacks: Back to War, changes play less than the add-on but steers the series in a new direction.

Odd as it seems, ports appear in desert areas

A Quick Look Back

Having started soundly on a serious act, CDV and GSC came out with the add-on. The usual elements of add-ons were thrown in: new units, new ships and new buildings. New and welcome features were added. Cavalry could be formed into wedge, rank and column formations. Artillery can shell ground to cause shrapnel-like effects. Infantry units can bring up their arcane strength (15, 36, 72, 96, 126, 196) by absorbing stragglers and reinforcements instead of disbanding and re-forming. The familiar CTRL # was added to select large formations. The blessed “Give orders while paused” option is a godsend for those without the reflexes of a sixteen-year old. New missions and some historically based campaigns supplemented the new options.

Venice is prettier than this but the spirit is here.

The sequel did more than just add frills and corrections on to the original. A very powerful editor allowed creation of any battle one could think of from the 16th and 17th centuries. The game teetered on the verge of being able to replicate the monster battles of the Thirty Years War if only pikemen and harquebusiers could be combined in formations. Dragoons seemed to perform the caracole when attacking while hussars charged the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus.

This Spanish fortress island would be a tough nut to crack.



Venetian galleasses take on Spanish frigates – for a short while.

For those not interested in starting a new scenario from scratch, the random map generator was beefed up and added an element of sanity that added to the otherwise hectic pace of RTS play. At the start of each scenario, players could choose the traditional build-up from a few peasants or different stages of growth, ending with buildings and troops maxed out at the era’s capability. Temporary truces with time limits defined by the players could allow periods of peace to create a healthy base before enemies distracted efforts from production to war. The system is a nice compromise between frantic clicking and the dull sand box mode. Limits on the production of balloons and cannon also created a feeling of reality as opposed to the usual pulsating, resource-draining production rate. The random setup also allowed the creation of alliances between players. Historical RTS games were shown the road to adulthood.

Gemuetlichkeit in the making. A Swiss village is being constructed with the editor.

Internet play was not ignored either. New technical features made connection and play easier. Moreover, a global system was introduced where on-line players can gain completive rankings based on play the world over. RTS is a “gimme” for on-line play and CDV should encourage the use of it’s game for that.



Back to Confusion

Cossacks: Back to War could have been either a “Gold” version, a stand-alone combining both the original and the add-on, or a bold step in improving the series. In fact, it’s both and neither. Advertising claims that it has all the elements of the originals. In fact, the new game has no campaigns other than the old tutorial. True, all the new features are there but they are not used in any historical battles. Two new nations, Hungary and Switzerland, are included along with one new unit, the Bedouin yet none of these items show up in the 100 single missions. Therein lies the clue to the direction the series is taking.

Cossacks now aims toward Internet play. Cossacks: Back to War carries the usual LAN, TCP/IP and Gamespy options, which work will with all the new missions. GSC has taken play a step further. It created its own server and has provided the VIZOR system that allows a user to watch other people play. When done, such observation shows why GSC has given up more historical attempts at campaigns and scenarios. Players throw out reasonable restrictions, give themselves unlimited resources and build up unbelievably huge armies. Tactics become absolutely medieval with masses simply running into each other. If this is where the market is, why bother with research and more historical functions. GSC’s server works well and watching clashes is enjoyable for a while.

Using VIZOR, two Net players can be observed massing huge armies while ignoring the economy.



The players on the web clash in a cavalry brawl.

The issue of what Cossacks: Back to War wants to be is further muddied by the inclusion of Mod1, a user-made mod. Mod1 introduces 36 new units, including the Algeria Bashi-bazouk, and many changes to the rules. These changes are all to the good but installing the mod overwrites the original files. Is GSC offering gamers more choices or did it simply not want to do the work the modder did?

The answer may lie in the latter question. Some things about the product appear to be rushed for the holiday season. The manual is less complete than the original and leaves out key bits of information such as the number of units necessary for infantry and artillery formations. Since many sections are cut-and-paste jobs from the Art of War add-on manual, why couldn’t the large if ill-organized original manual have been used as a template. Doubtless, it would have taken more time and money but would have helped beginning players in understanding the game. Other parts of the manual didn’t get into print and reside in pdf format on the CD. Nothing is wrong with on-line documentation but the fact the documents are still being written after the manual has gone to print is an indicator of haste.

Overall, Cossacks: Back to War fails to live up to its predecessors. GSC has abandoned historical battles and campaigns in favor of on-line donnybrooks. The single missions are more like clever puzzles than military operations. Sloppy documentation, little new in the way of play is bad but tossing in a mod the overhauls much of the system smacks of a company running a milk cow into market. Any good farmer knows that rushing the stock makes it less valuable. Players who like a good on-line rumble should consider picking it up but historically-inclined games should save their money.




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