Cossacks: European Wars Critic Reviews

The addition of numerous scenarios and awesome graphics make this game one of the year's best. I recommend that you purchase this game and get playing online for some of the best multiplayer action to hit the RTS genre in a long time.

The fact that players must watch their units and stockpiles carefully is an extra, and welcome, dose of realism. Nothing is worse than having a mutiny on your hands or losing your structures to your enemy.

Although based on the AoE formula, enough new gameplay ideas to keep the jaded real-time strategy gamer and history buff alike playing for a good long time to come. If you have the patience and time, I suggest you check out this game.

Some will like the increased complexity and find all they need in this game, while others might get lost in the multitude of stats, units and options and simply give the whole thing a miss.

What sets Cossacks apart from other games is its spectacular visuals and its attention to historical detail.

An excellent strategy game which is sadly somewhat marred by its overly difficult campaigns and unimpressive enemy AI.

It's also almost exactly like "Age of Empires II" with a facelift and a few new perks. It fails to really innovate in any area; instead offering a few new perks and a few things that'll have you saying, "That's kind of cool!"

The real selling point of Cossacks is the opportunity to stage massive combat situations where up to 8,000 troops can be present on the battlefield at once.

The most innovative aspect of the game is the formations feature. Large groups of soldiers can be controlled with considerably reduced effort and the flavor of the game is enhanced immensely.

But while AOK managed to hit every note just about right, Cossacks mixes together some harmony and cacophony (continuing the metaphor) and doesn't quite achieve the same elegance of gameplay.

If you don't mind another variation on an oft-played theme, Cossacks has more than enough variety to ensure fun empire building and colorful clashes.

Better AI and pathfinding and less reliance on such large quantities of resources would make Cossacks faster playing and more enjoyable.

Suffers from Y.A.T.W. syndrome (Yours Against the World). ... at least give the computer opponents some pretense of fighting with one another instead of having some secret alliance to focus almost entirely on your units.

The resources might have been ripped off from "Settlers," but they're perfectly balanced and you get a genuine sense of achievement as you build a thriving town from a few sticks and a couple of peasants.

Could have done without some of the extra resource and development bits that seem rather tagged on but still a hefty challenge for war gamers.

Though rich with a variety of units and resources, European Wars simply doesn’t have the polish needed to put it on the frontlines in the genre.