Graphics: I found the graphics in Fallen Haven to be clean and inventive. The layout of the different provinces were creative and well done and the variations in terrain played a role in planning a strategy for any given invasion. The design of all of the building types was also very good and different enough to make them interesting. The best part of the graphics are the unit explosions during combat, especially when an infantry unit buys it and the arms and legs go in every direction. On the other hand, while the graphics for the different units were good, they appeared a little too fuzzy and did not have enough detail. The units were also static and instead of moving around the screen with any realism, they sort of slide, like chess pieces. In general, the graphics were above average but not great.




Interface & Gameplay: Fallen Haven is set up to make it simple to start playing without reading lots of instructions. Both campaigns come ready to go, with a certain number of units and buildings already constructed in your capital province. The screen provided easy access to all of the necessary information and commands. Both the strategy and tactical modes were easy to move around in as a result. In the strategy mode, lots of information was provided about both my provinces as well as those nearby, as long as I had a radar unit. Data on amount of resources, number of units, and technology levels all helped me make decisions about who and when to attack. During the tactical turns, overview maps showed where both friendly and enemy units were located and even gave a summary of the number and types of units still left on both sides. During combat, the action bar showed how many action points a unit had left and how many were needed to fire either a light or heavy weapon. I did have some trouble selecting units on the map with the indicator box, which became a real nuisance at times. Overall, I thought the interface and gameplay in Fallen Haven was quite good.




Sound FX: There isn’t too much to say about the game’s FX. Granted, the quality was good, and I did like of few of them (i.e., the sound of units blowing up). Mostly though, they were few and far between and not nearly interesting enough to add anything to the game. Since the game is turn-based, there really was not much action taking place, and therefore no real need for many FX. There were no responses from units when I selected and moved them and no sounds as part of the strategy turn. The game relied heavily on the music for the audio component.




Musical Score: I thought all 8 tracks on the CD were cool. They range in length from three to five minutes. It’s all techo music and there is some nice variety both in tempo and rhythm. The up-tempo ones with the driving beat were the best, but all of them do a good job of staying with the mood of the game. (My personal favorite was called, appropriately, “Adrenalin.”) A few more tracks would definitely have helped, as would a little more variety. This was especially true since the FX were lacking. However, I had no major complaint about the music and found it to be enjoyable.




Intelligence & Difficulty: The AI in Fallen Haven will challenge almost any gamer. When I played the demo, I found the AI of the enemy units to be rather disappointing. I don’t know if they made some changes or if that simply was not a good representation of the full version, because I thought the game was tough. Expanding to a couple nearby neutral provinces was initially not too difficult. However, as I continued to grow and strengthen, so did everyone else. I found that if I waited too long to gather troops and attack, I gave the neutral territories too much time to fortify their position, making it even harder to launch a successful assault. As tough as the neutral territories can be, the Taurans are even tougher. I noticed them attacking my weak points and bypassing lesser units to take out my more powerful ones. While the AI was very good, I thought the difficulty lacked something. Still, the game is deserving of a good score for intelligence and difficulty.




Overall: Fallen Haven is a quality turn-based strategy game that will challenge a gamer’s strategical skills. The enemy AI and easy interaction make this game a lot of fun to play. Because it does not feature any real-time action, it isn’t as exciting as some of the other strategy games on the market, but it is entertaining and does provide a worthwhile challenge. If you are looking to buy a turn-based strategy game, I would say put Fallen Haven near the top of your list of options. Any gamers who have never played a game of this type, but would like to, I say this is an excellent place to start. If you haven’t already, download the demo and give it a try. Keep in mind that the enemy seemed to be easier to defeat in the demo than it was in the full version. So even if you don’t find it challenging, remember that the full version is tougher.