Download UMS - The Universal Military Simulator

UMS - the Ultimate Military Simulator, a. k a. Universal Military Simulator is a wargame where you can set up a battle and lead your side to the victory. This black & white game consists of two stages. First is a planning phase where you must set the moves and the status (attack or defend) of the troops. Then, when the two sides got the primary orders, you can start the turns of the battle phase. The troops will move according to their speed and order in eight turns by pha se. At the end of each turn, the ranged units can fire at the enemies in range.

When UMS came out in 1988, after seven years of developing, it made many innovations; It was one of the first wargames that offered intriguing isometric wire frame view of the battlefield, and an impressive AI that could properly manage its armies, following a common objective. UMS also contains a versatile army, map and scenario builder that is easy to use. Consequently, you can make additions to the four scenarios that come with the game (Arbela, Hastings, Marston, Waterloo without the prussians, Gettysburg). It also offers an interesting combat equation which takes into account various variables such as the unit’s strength, elevation, weapons, morale, status, quality and accuracy.

However, UMS has a lot of weak spots. The interface is very unfriendly and cold for the beginners and the game has no objectives for the attacker. It's simply a matter of destroying your enemy, or being destroyed. The lack of naval force is just a minor fault. Finally, the lack of color could be considered a minus, as well as the lack of sound and a very hard to use map.

Overall, UMS gets a 3 because it is worth a look if you want to experience a genre’s pioneer, but there many better strategy games with similar playing style out there. Consult the manual for further details.