While the classic Avalon Hill board game 'Axis & Allies' has enjoyed a number of computer game conversions throughout the years, this 2004 version from Kohan developer TimeGate Studios is the first to translate the World War II turn-based strategy for real-time play. The game features two dozen single-player scenarios in all. There are 12 missions in which players control the Allied forces, through a linear campaign that follows the history of the war. In control of the Axis powers, players faces 12 additional scenarios, which present an alternate reality in which the Allies are ultimately defeated. In addition to the real-time play of the main campaigns, Axis & Allies also offers a 'World War' mode, which is turn-based and may be played similarly to the original board game.

When forces meet on the map, battles can be resolved by the computer or in real-time play. Real-time battlegrounds are dynamically generated, based on the actual environments of the locations in which they are set on the world map. Borrowing a few innovative concepts from the Kohan series, Axis & Allies has players controlling their troops in groups, and managing warfare from the position of a 'master strategist.' Instead of continually clicking to assign individual soldiers to attack individual targets, players assign orders to whole companies of soldiers, to conquer an entire enemy group or take over a town. Of course, real-world tactics become even more important in this kind of gameplay. Also as in the Kohan games, troops may be lead by powerful 'General' characters, who bring bonuses to the soldiers under their command and gain new powers as they successfully progress through the campaign.

Wonderpets Rapidshare on this page. Axis and Allies Game File Size:688.77 MB System Requirements! OS:Windows Xp,7,Vista,8 Ram:256 MB Video Memory: 64 MB CPU. Top Full Games And Software.

Timegate Studios, responsible for the magnificent Kohan 2: Kings of War, also put out this WWII based RTS late last year. Those of you who played through Kohan 2 will likely have no trouble diving right into this title as the gameplay design is virtually identical to that of Kohan 2.

Those of you who read my review of Kohan 2 will remember that I awarded it with an eight out of ten. Although the game design is basically the same, something is lost in the translation to the WWII theme. However, because the game does start off with the already excellent design decisions that powered Kohan 2, it is at least enjoyable if not a must have title. Axis and Allies has four gameplay modes; a skirmish mode, the requisite online multiplayer mode, the campaign mode, and the WWII mode. WWII is a mode where there is a turn based strategy portion much like in Rise of Nations.

There is a map of the world and you start off by selecting one of five nations (Great Britain, USA, Russia, Germany, or Japan) and your choice of general for that nation. The goal of the turn based game is to overtake Germany and Japan when playing the Allies, and to overtake any two of Great Britain, Russia, or the USA. Just like in Rise of Nations, you have army units that you can move into adjacent territories. When moving in to an unoccupied territory, you take it over. If there are enemies in that territory, you have the choice of fighting an RTS battle or of having it quickly decided by the computer. The more territories you control, the more money you generate per turn. Money can be used to upgrade your existing army, buy new units, or to buy new technologies.

While having as many game modes as possible is a nice thought, in this case, as the format seems so familiar, and as there is nothing really new or unique to it, the WWII mode isn't really that interesting; a nice mode to have, but nothing really new. The single player campaign is a series of famous battles. When playing the Allied campaign, you will jump from nation to nation's battles'.

One mission that stood out in its difficulty was Operation Overlord, or D-Day. In this famous battle, you will have to take the beach and set up your base of operations before moving inland to overtake the enemy positions.

With little room to set up your operations, and the enemy presence overwhelming, the level of challenge in this level was truly enjoyable. For the most part, though the introduction to each mission is a little bit sparse and the historical significance of each battle seems somewhat diluted. Unlike a game like Soldiers: Heroes of WWII, where each mission tells a story of how something happened, with a little artistic license, or some of the true simulators of WWII where historical accuracy is paramount, Axis and Allies falls a little bit flat in this regard by being somewhere in between with not quite enough of either to be interesting. While a small blurb is given about the events leading up to the battle, for the most part, each battle feels just like any other battle. The actual management of units and the gameplay is virtually the same as Kohan 2 with things modernized to reflect the WWII era.