To be honest I was a
bit unsure about Dropzone Commander (DZC) from Hawk Wargames when I first heard
of it. “Not another Boutique game, small table, expensive small armies, bit
faddy and altogether just another attempt to drag in GW players with a cloned
version of 40K \ Epic Yawn”
How wrong I was
At least partly
It is a bit “Boutique”, and it does struggle with the expensive
label, even though it is pretty much bang on the average as far as I can see.
But GW clone – no way.
I first saw the models when they were displayed at Salute 2012,
and they were beautiful. 12 mm (1:144 for the die-hards) resin sci fi, very
highly detailed, and a full range for four factions, all beautifully presented.
It is safe to say they were the star of the show. The models went on sale later
in the year and reviews were pretty much universally positive, but also at this
point they got labelled as expensive. I’m not quite sure how this happened,
because in comparison to historical stuff in the same scale they were similarly
priced – tanks about a tenner for three is not too shabby when an M1 Abrams is
a similar price from Minifigs in 1:144. Maybe the need to add dropships put
some people off, or maybe they had their own agenda, but the “expensive” label
was used a fair bit, and some of it stuck.
Anyway, that leaves “faddy” and “GW Clone”. There was maybe
a chance that the “faddy” tag would prove correct, take up was slow initially.
That seems to have changed when out of the blue Hawk sprang a 2 player starter
set on us. This contained a full rules book printed full size (not a mini or
quickstart) two starter armies in plastic, plus a map sheet and ten card
buildings and all the dice and counters you need. It’s a big box and full of
stuff. The quality of the plastic models is remarkable, slightly simplified
from the resin but only marginally, and easy to assemble and paint. Cost is
£60, although you can usually save 10% or so by shopping around online, and is
great value.
So “Clone”? Absolutely not! The rules are innovative without
being off the wall, but most striking is the setting and the way the game is
mission orientated. Unlike most rules, DZC is mostly concerned with urban
combat. I feel most rules basically are written with the standard “two woods
and a hill” terrain in mind. DZC is about fighting through the urban sprawl ,
although the rules for other environments are fine, cities is where it is at.
This could be an issue except Hawk has released a set of low cost full colour urban
buildings in heavy duty card, along with a series of street tiles, so terrain
is cheap, attractive and easy to get hold of. The second point is about the
missions and game dynamic. You win by doing things other than just killing your
opponent, and you have to do it fast. Objectives are pieces of intelligence,
items or individuals usually located in buildings. You have to get in, find
them, and get out before your opponent does, and do it in six turns. This means
that infantry are not just an adjunct to a tank battle, they are an essential
part of your army, even if they are very vulnerable. No-one can win by just
bringing the biggest guns. The problem is that the game is played on a 4 foot
wide table, and the APCs and tanks only move 4 to 6” a turn, so it doesn’t take
a genius to realise you can’t just drive to the objective, find it, and get
back in 6 turns, and that is where the air mobility kicks in. Just about every
unit is transported in dropships, allowing them to get to the objectives “Furstest
with the Mostest” as Nathan Bedford Forrest would have said, and then get back
out of Dodge before you get caught. This
opens up a whole new level of gameplay and strategy. Dropships are vulnerable
to enemy fighters, so you need to provide protection or risk them getting shot
from the sky, either by moving from ground based AA covered zone to covered
zone, or by escorting fighters. The problem is these are themselves vulnerable
to enemy ground or air forces. Another problem faced is that in the Sci Fi
battlefield of DZC, it is a valid tactic to blow a building down rather than
let an opponent search it and recover an objective. Buildings with objectives
in them become the scene of frantic searches, vicious close quarter infantry
fights, all with the threat of the building exploding around you as it happens.
About a half an hour in you suddenly
realise this is a game about all arms cooperation and air mobility, and is
deeply engrossing and tactically challenging.
I know this may sound a bit strange, but of all the games I have played, DZC reminds me most of the old AK-47 Republic from PeterPig (the old version, before they sucked all the fun out). It doesn't have that wackyness nd unpredictability, but like AK, you have to be flexible and mission orientated to win. And it is fun
I know this may sound a bit strange, but of all the games I have played, DZC reminds me most of the old AK-47 Republic from PeterPig (the old version, before they sucked all the fun out). It doesn't have that wackyness nd unpredictability, but like AK, you have to be flexible and mission orientated to win. And it is fun
All in all Dropzone Commander is an excellent and different
game, well worth a try, and the starter sets are a great way in. Highly
recommended
Not sure how anyone can say that Dropzone Commander not is expensive when 12mm infantry are coming in at 45p each. Pendraken are 15p each.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting point Derek, which will probably need a bit more than a comment to respond to, so I'll put something together as a full post and get back
DeleteSince I posted I found the Siren Corps with twelve 10mm models for £8. That's 67p each. Very expensive.
DeleteYup - for four very specialist units that are in no way required. If you insist on concentrating on a single facet of the game - the price of infantry - you are missing the big picture, and if I may say so, the point.
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