UMS: The Universal Military Simulator

The war strategy game, UMS was released in 1988 on DOS platform by Firebird. The game was designed by D. Ezra Sidran and was developed by Interplay Productions. Some of the other names by which the game is also known are Ultimate Military Simulator and Universal Military Simulation.
The game UMS: The Universal Military Simulator offers the player to choose from four battle scenarios Arbela, Hastings, Marston, Gettysburg and the battle of Waterloo, with complete omission of the Prussians. The game involves two stages, the first where the player decides whether to attack or to defend. It is then followed by setting the moves by deciding the formation, numbers, and speed of the troops for a maximum of eight turns. The various variables of weapons, accuracy, quality, elevation, status, unit's strength, and morale are taken into account for the player to gather insights and decide the strategy. The player has to decide the course of accuracy or defense can use the detailed maps. The second phase is the battle where the troops attack or defend strictly according to the set strategy. After receiving the instructions, the troops mobilize to achieve the objective of winning the battle.
The graphics are good for the time when the game was first released, it offered isometric grid line views of the battlefield and the game is impressive with the movement of the troops as per the set instructions. The maps provided are detailed and can be used with a bit of practice. The scenarios are easy to choose and create. The lack of background score and audio, absence of the naval force and lack of objectives for the troops are some of the few handicaps of UMS: The Universal Military Simulator.
This black and white war strategy game is worth a try for being one of the first war simulator games.

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