Unity of Command I was a proof of concept that I fondly remember. I also do not associate the first game with the trauma of having to capture Rimini or some other far-away cities that I had to capture in this game. Being a fan of the first game, I started the main campaign at the "Classic" difficulty: I'm immensely proud to have finished all a-historical scenarios on this difficulty, as they are more difficult than the historical ones. Some of these victories I achieved through cheesing the AI, others through a well-executed pincer movement.

To the developer: objectives such as taking X number of prisoners should be expanded upon, and the taking of objectives within a certain time frame should be minimized. The fantasy of this game is to break the enemy through the breaking of his logistics, and the game's win conditions should more aptly express that. I also believe the game's framework supports other fantasies, and that should be explored (Operation Herbstnebel from the Allies' side, for example, in terms of defence and semi-fictional history). In any case, congratulations for this original work, I think it exhibits very rare qualities in our times.

To the other players: it is absolutely worth it to push on and finish the game. I almost quit multiple times when having to restart long scenarios like "Road to Rimini". The scale of the base campaign is huge, on multiple continents and traversing the whole of Europe: I did not fully take into account the immense scale of the military operations that I directed until I was done.

To those on the fence: whether on sale or full price, a lot of work has gone into the game and you will not regret the buy. If you're even remotely interested by WW2 and its theatres of war, you will learn much; the game forced me to confront and "conquer" the geography-topography of northern Africa and western Europe in order to pull off big encirclement or maintain lightning speed towards the objective. Caveat: the game only gives minimal representation to air- and naval-power, if that's a deal-breaker for you. Also, if you haven't played the first game, do yourself a favour and play on "Normal" difficulty until you're confident you understand the mechanics and rule-set, then go play on "Classic" if you're seeking a challenge; the manual helps but is not perfect.

To myself: I've heard that DLC scenarios are even more difficult and I HIGHLY doubt it. I know the rules, I've fought the Germans and know their strengths and even their most dangerous specialists, and I understand the geography of war now. I'm going to take a break for a little while, but looking forward to finally playing with the other side that gave me such a spirited defence. Very few games engage me on this level.