In the world of strategy games, playability is vital. The look of the game and its uniqueness also plays a major role in how the game is received.

Castles & Catapults, a PC release from Infogrames and Magic Lantern Playware, is certainly not going to wow players with its graphics. The mapboards are finite and the overall look and gameplay is rather simplistic. But the game does offer some unique elements, and the simplistic nature, while it could be a hindrance in games that require micromanagement, is actually beneficial here.

Think of this game as a chess match, or even a scaled-down version of Risk. In the case of the latter, rather than battle for the world, you have a plot of land which serves as the mapboard, an area to defend, and an area to conquer.

You choose the units you wish to use ­ and yes, these can include catapults for laying siege to a castle, as well as spellcasters (wizards) and dragons ­ and then enter the fray.

The game features 13 different units that can be used in the battle, from pikeman to archers to mages, as well as cannons, trebuchets and dragons. Paladins, engineers and wizards are the unit commanders.

You begin the game by choosing the skirmish or campaign mode. The former allows you to jump into the action; the latter is an evolving mission-based advancement from Western Europe to North Africa. The skirmish mode is more elementary in design. You conquer the enemy ­ period. The campaign is more involving. You get to purchase new units at the beginning of your turn, and you not only can attack keeps, but you can purchase castle tiles to build your base unit.

Up to 10 tiles can be held in your ‘rack’ during a mission.

From that point on, it is a matter of formulating a game plan, designing movement of units, where you will build your castles, and how you will attack the enemy.

The computer opposition faces in the early stages is easy to overwhelm if you incorporate a little commonsense in your approach to the battle plan. If you just rush units into the battle, you can be overrun yourself. Flanking and crossfire are easy enough to accomplish.

The look of the game is not that strong, but the game features consistent graphical elements. The animations and special effects are average, but solid. The sound is passable.

The game controls are also easy. Select a unit, then move the cursor to where you wish them to move and click. Click on an enemy unit to attack it. F1 pulls up a list of victory conditions for your army, and other hotkeys allow you to change your view from army to army, or jump to your castle.

The game does not employ a hexagonal mapboard, and movement seems to be capable of going horizontally as well as vertically and diagonally.

Castles & Catapults is certainly not the most involved strategy game on the market, but it does have some nice ideas. The foremost is that you can just jump into the game with very little background in the genre and muddle your way through rather easily. This game also will not stack up well graphically with other titles in current release, but for what it does Castles & Catapults gives players an introduction to the genre while giving them an evolving campaign to test their abilities as a commanding officer.

This game is rated Teen for violence.

Gameplay: 7
The mission mapboards are not huge, but the game does have a nice evolving difficulty level. The controls are designed for ease of play.

Graphics: 6.8
This game, while sporting solid animation, cannot stack up to current titles like Praetorians, Command & Conquer or other strategy games.

Sound: 6.8
This is only adequate, and is definitely a support player.

Difficulty: Medium
The game, in campaign mode moves from easy to harder as players advance down the mission trail. It does have some challenge after you get past the first few missions.

Concept: 6.8
There is really nothing that original here. The overall game design is very player friendly though.

Multiplayer: 7
This game is supported online through GameSpy, and playing against another human is akin to a chess match.

Overall: 6.9
This game is solid, but merely average in the realm of strategy games. It has challenge, but stumbles on the graphical front. This is a visual medium, and graphics that entice are essential to the experience. Castles & Catapults should be commended for allowing players to jump in and play quickly, but it really can’t stack up to the current crop of strategy games.