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A.P.I Review:	RISK
Developer:	RuneCraft	OPTIONS:	SCREENSHOTS: No.1   No.2   No.3
Distributor:	Hasbro Interactive	1-8 Player
Game Type:	Strategy	Memory Card
Review Date:	May 1998	Mouse Multi-tap

Setting the Scene

		RISK is a well-known and extremely popular board game of
global conquest set in the 17th Century. The basic idea is that you have
a world map split up into various territories, each player starts with a
number of troops with which they must attempt to increase the number of
territories they own. The more territories a player controls the more
troops they get, the more troops they get the more territories they can
take, and so on. 
		Players use little plastic tokens to represent the
number of battalions they control, an infantryman represents one
battalion, a horseman represents 5 and a cannon represents 10. Each
player uses a set of dice to determine the outcome of combat, and to the
victor goes the spoils. A pretty basic premise but it lends itself to
highly complex strategies that a player develops after years of
experience.
		RISK has been turned into multiple computer game
versions over the years. Most of these previous versions have simply
been computerized versions of the original. This situation has just
changed. 

Genre

		From the description above it's pretty obvious which
genre RISK belongs in. RISK is a turn based strategy war game and even
though the idea is based on an existing board game it works well on the
Playstation.  Luckily Hasbro Interactive has decided to add some extra
features, taking it a step beyond the traditional board game into a
whole new realm of war game.

Graphics

		Real time strategy games lend themselves well to
colourful, animated graphics, first person shooters  and racing games
lend themselves well to textured polygons flying around the screen at
high speeds, a turn based strategy game doesn't really lend itself well
to flashy graphics, but RISK does what it can. 
		While pretty basic in its' presentation RISK has a few
nice features that aren't really necessary but add some extra texture to
the gameplay.  The most impressive element being the maps that the game
takes place on which are  textured with detailed terrain including
mountains, plains, desert, and arctic areas. 
		Another spectacular element in the graphical
presentation is the FMV you see when the battles unfold. There seems to
be a different FMV depending on the number of troops involved in the
battle and the type of battle being fought. Apart from the FMV, there
are a few little animated touches (burning or waving flags), the screen
is well laid out and easy to look at and the graphics don't distract
from the gameplay, and after all that's what we're here for, aren't we?

Sounds and Effects

		Again, not much here to mention. The sound in the
Classic RISK game is rather sparse but effective.  It includes a
wonderful burning flag noise and a nice punchy sound for the troupe
placements, non-distracting background music and the usual menu effects.
The sound does pick up a bit in the Ultimate game mode including many
more special effects noises for the various battle scenarios (cannons
going off, horses galloping, hidden power-ups and stuff).    As it
stands, all the sounds belong where they are and do not intrude into the
game in any way. The background music changes depending on the mode of
game and map you are playing and never becomes annoying or boring which
means it has done it job but it's really nothing to write home about.

Playability

		This is where this game really shines. When a game keeps
you and 3 friends up until 4am in the morning, when eating, sleeping and
working suffer, when you lose all concept of time and space while
playing you're onto a real winner. 
		Why is it so addictive? If you're a fan of the board
game you'll realize fairly quickly that the Standard RISK game that is
included as part of the package is an excellent representation of the
original. The standard game duplicates the playability of the board game
exactly, you can play with up to 4 human and up to 4 computer opponents
(or any combination of humans and computer players). You still roll dice
to determine combat outcomes, you still gain re-enforcement cards when
you take a territory and you still have an enormous amount of fun
betraying your friends for you own personal gain. However, if this was
all that was involved in the Playstation version I couldn't possibly
recommend the game, luckily for us, there's more, a lot more.
		Which brings us to Ultimate RISK, a variation of the
basic game with options and rule variants that make me wonder how the
game can be called RISK at all. The options available, excellent
presentation and gameplay make Ultimate RISK a completely different (and
immensely better) game.
		Ultimate RISK takes the basic game and turns it into a
option rich and complex strategic war game while still retaining the
simplicity and charm that makes the original such an addictive time
sucker. 
		While the original game only allows you to play on a
whole world map, Ultimate RISK allows players to place their initial
troops on the board (depending on which startup option is selected) on
one of four maps. The World c1800, Asia c1800, Europe c1797 and North
America c1800, each map give you the chance to try different strategies
and tactics. 
		Other options include:
*	the ability to customise turn length (unlimited, 2,3,4,5 or 6
	minutes)
*	random/player determination of initial territories
*	random/player placement of initial troops
*	fixed or increasing sets for reinforcements
*	different map views - political, continent or hotspot
*	AI difficulty level (easy, medium or hard)
*	Power Ups (on/off)

		But that's not all. Other rules variants have been
introduced to Ultimate RISK to make it more interesting. One new feature
is use of Rebels. Rebels are troops that are not controlled by any
player and generally make a menace of themselves, random events and
disasters can also kill off your troops or turn them into rebel scum, in
which case they will happily turn around and attack you. 
		To assist you in your struggles you also have the
ability to hire and train generals to command your armies. If you have a
general with your army you have a better chance of winning battles, as
you win battles your generals also increase in skill, thus making it
easier to win battles and so on. Along with generals, you can build
forts to defend your territories, each fort adds defensive points to
your territory making it harder to capture.
		In Ultimate RISK each player can assign a territory to
be their Capital, the Capital city has a huge defensive bonus but if you
lose your capital you are out of the game and all your troops become
rebels. During the game you have the ability to form alliances
(unbreakable, under any circumstances) with your enemies for an agreed
number of turns, these alliances can prove to be quite valuable while
trying to secure your borders against the invading hordes.
		While battles in standard RISK are a matter of rolling
dice and comparing the numbers, Ultimate RISK presents a new twist by
allowing the player to choose a tactic card to use during play. An
example may be 'defend left flank' or 'surprise attack'. The presence of
a general in your force will give you better option, as will the size of
your army (which will also effect the chance of success). During a
battle you can choose to retreat or surrender to the invading force,
this maneuver may cause your troops to be captured by the enemy, and
become Prisoners of War. In future turns you have the chance to exchange
prisoners with the enemy, thus boosting your forces with a surprise
reinforcement.
		Another great twist in the game is the ability to gain
and use Power Ups, extra forts, super troops, booby traps, land slides,
heros and super cannons all allow you to gain a temporary advantage over
your enemy and add a new dimension to gameplay.
		Overall the gameplay of Ultimate RISK is a whole bunch
of fun, as usual the more the merrier, get some friends around and the
fun increases.  While not a game for the serious war gamer,  it will
easily keep anyone with an interest in strategy games interested for a
long time. RISK can be learnt in 10 minutes but will take a lifetime to
master.
		The only criticism that could be aimed at the gameplay
is that the AI is a bit stupid. I never managed to see a computer
opponent behave as you'd expect a human. While they rarely make stupid
decisions the computer opponents tend to be either too passive or too
aggressive (usually the later). Don't let that be an obstacle to trying
the game, as always, the most fun will be had with a few mates around,
grab a controller each and make a few enemies out of them.

Value for Money

		After playing RISK and Ultimate RISK for hours on end,
days at a time, for far too long I still haven't come close to exploring
the full variation of options available. Every game of RISK is
different, add a few human players and the replay value increases
exponentially.