COMP: *The Rise of the West*

I'm a picky consumer of computer games, but I really like RAW Entertainment's
*The Rise of the West*, a computerization of my favorite SPI game, *Empires
of the Middle Ages* (Jim Dunnigan). The game needs an IBM-compatible PC (386
or newer) with Windows (3.1 or newer, i.e., the versions that actually work),
2 megabytes of RAM or more, another megabyte on the hard drive, a VGA or SVGA
monitor, and a mouse.

As in the original game, Europe is presented in provinces (e.g., Wessex,
Champagne), each with a social state, fortification level, language,
religion, and population level.  Via emperors of varying military,
administrative, and diplomatic abilities, 1-8 players control empires made up
of these provinces.  Ruling one's empire wisely is at least as important as
nibbling off pieces of other peoples'. Non-player raiders, magnates, and
Mongols can appear--these work better in the computer game than in the
original, because of the computer to run them.

To my surprise, I consider the computer game's few departures from the
original to be improvements.  Instead of abstractly fighting each other,
provinces now contain armies and can mobilize these against the neighbors.  A
few new Holding Cards have been added, including a Revolution card that can
be used against one's own or another ruler.  The computer opponents are more
than competent, and (unlike in many other computer games) appear to be
playing by the same rules, and with the same information, as the humans.

RAW Entertainment doesn't take credit cards, but they respond promptly to
checks. *The Rise of the West* costs $34.95, plus $3.50 for shipping.

Brian McCue
bmccue@ota.gov
brianmccue@aol.com