The American Revolution campaign begins at Lexington and Concord, before Washington emerges onto the scene. Since this editor has YET to make it past this first scenario in the American Revolution campaign, the privilege of playing as George Washington has not been enjoyed.
The game functions much like "Age of Empires." You grow your own food, chop down trees, mine for raw materials (i.e., gold, stone), and produce peasants and soldiers. Movement across the map is at a much faster-pace than "Age of Empires," but you get used to it. The battle scenes are immense, with up to 16,000 soldiers able to participate. In one of this editor's missions, the Spaniards holed up in their fortress inflicted over 1,000 casualties (there is a counter available) on attacking Indians in about 20 minutes of game time - and they kept on coming. (A side note: Not that yours truly is bloodthirsty, but it would be neat if these games didn't feature disappearing bodies. It would add greatly to the realism if the bodies remained on the ground).
You can group your forces into formations, so long as you have the requisite units, which at a minimum include an officer and usually a standard-bearer. In many cases, a drummer is also needed. There is something awesome in watching a line of perfectly formed British redcoats unleashing a devastating volley in unison. No wonder the colonial militia kept running away! In addition to formation, unit morale, positioning (i.e., flanking) and equipment play a role in how effective one force may be over another. You can even garrison your troops inside of buildings - and not just forts. Houses, storehouses, and blacksmith shops can provide some of your troops protection as they fire out through windows and doors at the approaching enemy.
As impressive as they are, you are not limited by the campaigns. You can also play "Random Map" campaigns and multiplayer as well.
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