12 o'clock high: Bombing the reich

"12 O'clock High has so much to offer, it is a pity that it falls short in too many other areas besides gameplay to give it a higher score. But those willing to look past its failings--chiefly nondescript graphics and a labor-intensive interface--will find a title that rewards players with incredible replayability and a depth rivalled by few other wargames on the market. 12 O'Clock High will be an oft-played fixture on my hard drive for months to come."

"Ultimately, 12 O'Clock High suffers from its combination of "black box" game mechanics and a horrible interface. Because most of the inner machinations of the game aren't disclosed, you lack the tools to truly develop a strategy. When you don't know the rules, you can't develop strategy—reducing you to pushing pieces around a map. With the horrible interface that was inexcusably held over from Battle of Britain, even pushing pieces isn't very fun."

"It’s deep, involving, demanding, and rewarding. If you can hang with the hardcore nature of it’s gameplay, you’re going to love it."

"Ultimately, 12 O'Clock High: Bombing the Reich is an excellent strategic simulation that quickly becomes a labor of love. If you don't think you can love a game of such large scope and detail, then you should give it a wide berth--there's little point in working hard on the off chance that you might find the game amusing. On the other hand, if a monster gamer lurks within you, and you have a few weeks of personal and computer time to spare, then you might want to put on your flight jacket and oxygen mask for this one."

"The truth of the matter is that 12 O'Clock High is less a game than a Ph.D. thesis sandbox. A place where you can tweak every setting you can imagine to see if you could have done better in managing one side or the other in this conflict. But a terrible interface and poor explanations of how all the settings in the game affect the outcome dooms 12OH to be a game for the hard-core only. If you don't think you fall into that category, this is one game where it's probably best not to take a chance, because if you even aren't sure you're hard-core, you probably aren't hard-core enough to enjoy this game."