Uncommon Valor: Campaign for the South Pacific PC

An extremely realistic strategy game set in the realities of the Second World War. Uncommon Valor is produced by studio 2BY3 Games, which includes such famous game designers as Gary Grigsby, Joel Billings and Keith Brors. As the subtitle indicates, the action takes place in the South Pacific area. The main campaigns include missions to Australia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands from May 1942 to December 1943. Contrary to some strategies, the authors of "Uncommon Valor" focused exclusively on those events that had a major impact on the course of the war in the region. The whole game takes place on one huge map built of hexes of 30 miles each. The game uses a turn-based system. A single turn can last from one to seven days of game time, and you can also set the game in continuous mode, i.e. until the game is stopped (pause) by the player himself.

The authors of "Uncommon Valor" have prepared a total of eighteen different campaigns, some of which can be completed within a few dozen minutes, while others are so extensive that they require many hours of sacrifices. Interestingly, one of the campaigns is completely fictitious and assumes that the Japanese have not suffered a devastating defeat as a result of the US offensive. The game also has a built-in editor.

The main advantage of "Uncommon Valor" is the great detail of the presented events. There are many factors in favour of this, above all, all those units that have participated in real fighting take part in realistically mapped missions. This also applies to the mapping of objects on the board - hangars or radar stations. Controlled vessels can gain experience, in the case of larger objects also the commander-in-chief appears (e.g. on the ship it is the captain). Each branch has its own strengths and weaknesses, and moreover, all the units on the board have their own coefficients. The player can automate some of his duties, but at the highest difficulty levels he has to take care of everything on his own. The scope of its activities includes, among other things, taking care of regular supplies of fuel and ammunition, setting targets for bombardment, transporting smaller vessels or coordinating food convoys' routes.

It is also worth mentioning that "Uncommon Valor" received many prestigious awards (including the title of the strategy of the year on wargamer.com), and was also acquired by the Australian Defensive Simulation Office as a support for local officers.

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Last updated on 10 December 2007