We thought we were in for a treat when the good-looking strategic map loaded up, but we were mistaken. The interface is convoluted and the manual does an incredibly poor job of describing its operation (in fact, several features are not discussed at all). We figured things out after a few hours of trial and error, but by that time we also had discovered that the game was repetitive and dull.

The combat routines are laughable. The designers gave us all sorts of neat formations to line our troops up in, presumably to give us a tactical edge in combat, but every fight immediately degenerates into a circle-shaped general brawl. The only thing worse than the graphics and sound effects during the fight sequences was the fact we had to sit through them for interminable amounts of time, always knowing who the winner would be before the conflict even began. Braveheart obviously was a great idea that was kicked out of development and onto store shelves before it was ready for prime time. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Blends strategic concerns with tactical combat
• Set in an interesting historical period

• Unfortunately, the strategic portion of the game is boring, and the combat routines are a repetitive mess