Oh! This is great, this is! It's always nice to look at, and the bits with Morph are ace.. oh, hang on. That's Take Hart, isn't it? So this is Braveheart, you say? And there was a film, too? Coo.
James Price

Braveheart, as a PCCD-ROM game, is singularly the most user-unfriendly piece of software Future Gamer have encountered in many, many moons. Elevating 'counter-intuitive' to an artform, it makes the simple act of negotiating a few menus a test of both memory and sheer endurance. With row upon row of unintelligible icons, it insults gaming veteran and virgin alike with its awkward, unwieldy interface. If Bill Gates were to renounce charity, humanity and 'usable, sort-of approachable' PC-based operating systems, then declare himself Antichrist, subsequent Windows releases would still be easier to use than Braveheart. Probably.

It's a genuine shame, because beneath its turgid, brainless mess of a user interface lies a design brief with promise. And, like all good ideas, it's pretty simple. Beginning with one Scottish territory you raise an army, oversee trade routes and organise expansionist activities. This can vary from making new weapons to building new facilities for a town or even creating a new settlement. While consolidating your position within your tiny borders, you can begin to conquer and coerce your neighbors. This can be achieved by two means: diplomatic missions or combat. The former is risky and rarely successful; the latter involves a 3D engine and real-time strategic combat.

In Braveheart, the success of your men on the field of battle is influenced by the stats of the man in command. You begin with two generals but you can acquire more later by acceding to their wage demands or by convincing captured leaders to join your cause. Having selected a commander and raised an army, you can commit your men to battle. And, erm. Erm...

Well, it's not the most convincing of battle sims. At the beginning of each combat encounter your men are neatly arranged in lines, with each squad of up to 15 invariably facing in the direction of your foe. You can manipulate the game camera to your liking and there's a radar that shows all men within viewing distance. Click on a group of soldiers or a general and a list of icons pops up. These offer different formations and the like. Slowly, painfully, you can scroll the map to the position where your adversaries are waiting. That done, you can select your troops and give the order to attack. And your men do just that. After a fashion...