Review by: Pete Hines
Published: May 16, 1998

What a surprise…the humans (Terrans) aren’t getting along with aliens somewhere. Liberation Day provides a turn-based forum for these two sides to duke it out for survival. The game is similar to Fallen Haven in a couple of ways, one of which is its setting on a small continent that is comprised of provinces. Conquering each province gives you control of that continent, and then you’ll move on to the next one. The game is heavy on fighting and light on resource management and such. The fate of the humans lies in your capable hands….

The campaign gives you one province to begin with, from which you build your operations. The game really focuses very little on building up resources and so forth. Instead, you build structures using industrial credits, which are earned by successfully completing missions. A mission consists of invading another province and completing the objective; the objective might be to destroy a particular structure or unit, or simply eliminate the entire enemy force. Successfully completing the scenario gives you credits that you can then spend to buy new structures or improve your base’s defenses, to protect against enemy attacks. In turn, the structures allow you to build increasingly more powerful and diverse units to successfully complete subsequent missions. There are more than 25 buildings for the humans, and they range from defensive structures like anti-aircraft and guard towers to factories and research centers. All of the units in the game have a corresponding structure, and in order to have a unit available for a given mission, you must have the appropriate building at your base.

When you are ready to earn some credits, click on the province you think you’d like to try next. Moving your cursor over each province on the map provides a description of the mission objective for that province and the number of credits you’ll get for successfully completing it. Once you choose a province, you’ll be taken to that map. Each map has starting locations, which are highlighted in blue. On the right side will be a list of available units, which is based on which structures you have completed at your base. You’ll also have a given number of deployment points that correspond to the “cost” of each unit. You determine which units you want to use in this mission and continue placing them on the map until all of the deployment points are used up.

From that point you have a certain number of turns to complete your objective for that mission/province. Everything is managed with a simple point-and-click interface and a small menu bar on the side of the screen. Each unit has a certain number of action points to use during a given round. Those points are used to move around the map and fire its weapon. The units in Liberation Day are pretty basic and remind me a lot of C&C — both in their function as well as the way they look. You have your basic infantry units, grenadiers, flame throwers, tanks, other mech vehicles, and naval and aerial units. Units can be upgraded using tech points, which are obtained by successfully completing a mission or by capturing alien tech centers during a mission. These upgrades improve a unit’s attributes and improve things like armor rating or weapon strength.

Each unit has only one weapon at it’s disposal and firing at an enemy unit is simply a matter of clicking on it. If the target is in range, your unit will fire. If the target is out of range, the icon will change to indicate that your unit needs to move closer before it can fire. If you want to put the unit in overwatch, or “defensive” mode, so that it will save action points so that it can fire during your opponent’s turn if any enemy units come into range. You can also determine whether your unit will fire its weapon just once, or until it runs out of action points or the target is destroyed. A group button allows you to select multiple units and move them at the same time. When you are getting outmatched, call in reinforcements for extra support, provided you have the deployment points to pay for them. Automated units can be used to perform functions like creating bridges across water so your units can cross, or even dropping units behind enemy lines (i.e., troopers, commandos).

In addition to the campaign game, which offers several difficulty levels via a slide bar, you can also try one of the many skirmishes that come with Liberation Day. Like the missions in the campaign, these skirmishes are played out on a variety of maps and include different objectives. You may have to take out a building or escort a number of ships safely through a dangerous area. Each skirmish has assigned units for that mission from which you can choose. You also will have the ability to upgrade whichever units you wish with a given amount of technology points before you begin play. The skirmishes range from being really easy to very hard, which is usually an indication of how well armed the enemy is and how many turns you have to complete your objective. Multiplayer play offers a similar experience to skirmishes and is supported via modem, LAN, and TCP/IP connection.