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There’s more on the chopping block than the heads of a few French artistocrats in Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution. From the war table, you’ll organize troop movements, cut deals, and pass new laws to secure your reign. Once on the battlefield, you’ll lead your troops from the cockpit of your personal fighting mech. It’s an exciting blend of steampunk gadgetry, turn-based strategy, and revolutionary sentiment. Napoleon steered the world once. Now, as either Céline or César Bonaparte, the reigns of history are in your hands. Here’s our hands-on preview of Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution.
Not Throwing Away My Shot
After taking command as either Céline or César, you’ll get your first taste of the battlefield during the storming of the Bastille. Though it’s an introductory fight, the Loyalist soldiers and musketeers put up their best defense. Combat is deep but intuitive. Unwieldly cannons are vulnerable from the rear but will melt your infantry in head-on confrontations, encouraging you to consider your units’ positioning as much as their power. Your ragtag army of revolutionaries isn’t alone, however. Your mech sees to that.
Like the lumbering war machines of Grit and Valor – 1949, your mechs function as hero units. Their gigantic swords and pistols can carve a swath through enemy units, but only if you account for their drawbacks. Attacks generate heat. Mechs that get too hot take damage as their machinery melts down. Do you fire one last shot to prevent a cavalry charge or do you spend a turn venting your mech so the heat doesn’t consume it? Although the hands-on build only includes the first few hours of action, it’s enough to show off the tantalizing potential of this system.
History Has Its Eyes On You
Bullets and bipedal tanks are how you’ll fight. What about who? Despite their famous surname, Céline and César Bonaparte aren’t pledged in any particular direction. Will you join Robespierre and the Jacobins in toppling the king? Seek to establish a constitutional monarchy with Lafayette and the Moderates? Perhaps you’ll join Comte d’Artois and the Royalists, fighting to restore Louis XVI to power. From the strategic map, you’ll choose not only which territories to take but also which deals and with whom. Propaganda? Political reforms? Surprise shifts of loyalty? It’s Crusader Kings lite but with a flavor all its own.
The preview build didn’t include access to the National Convention, so I’ve yet to see the game’s voting and politics systems in their full glory. Still, there’s obvious depth here. I’m excited to see how much variety lies beneath the surfaces as the game heads into early access. While the tactical mech battles bring familiar fun, it’s the game’s unique voting and political mechanics that may help Bonaparte stand apart. You can give Louis XVI a good robot stomping when Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution enters early access for PC.
