Reviewing J2ME Games: 1805 French Empire

Don't worry everyone, anime Napoleon is here. He is the first thing you see when you open up 1805 French Empire, a strategy game in which you command the sexy French army and their cute little horses against, you know, a palette-swapped army clad in red with their own cute little horses. Aww.

The boys, in the field.

The text pre-amble that comes before each level in this game is remarkably rudimentary. There is a lack of flair to this game. We are just here to straightforwardly direct our guys. There is some music, but it's that typical Java music that just plays in brief moments and has a very non-notable sort of melody. It reminds one of the arcade, in a way. Those simple interludes of sound that let you know that Pac-Man is alive and well. And boy, is he.

Cool.

I do really like the pixel art here. There's something just right about these little men and their little horses. It reminds me of the tin soldier display room at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris. 

The men, on display.

The levels themselves are satisfying. You blast some guys, and that's all you could really want. I really like the way some of the men and their horses appear in the black space outside the game, on occasion. They're hanging out. They become spectators in the void, waiting for their turn to get blasted.

It is, perhaps, a bit awkward to control an isometric strategy game with the on-screen numpad controls. My heart wants to tap the tile on my screen, but that's not how we play this. Something about this format in particular means that I keep forgetting. But that's why a real, committed gamer trains hard. To win the war.

Ultimately, this is a nice little game, and I am enamoured by the horses. The men will also often say, "oui, d'accord" when you give them a command, which is just nice to hear. Thanks boys.