Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars

 PC
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
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  1. AltGaming
    70
    The reliance of slow, methodical tactical play rather than letting things become a case of who can click their mouse button the fastest is implemented at an incredibly solid level, with very little to complain about.
  2. IncGamers
    70
    Cossacks II wasn’t a giant leap forward from the original game. However, the real-time elements are a blast due to the good variety of unit and formation possibilities.
  3. Yahoo!
    70
    With more polish, a better campaign, and a little more attention to detail, it could have been a real winner. In the end, it's creative and novel, but its flaws prevent an unreserved recommendation.
  5. Next Level Gaming
    70
    This is a nice game for fans of the genre; however, if you are looking for a game to jump in and out of quickly this may not be the one for you. The problem is that you must spend much of your time micro-managing your units, telling them when to fire, when to charge and where to move.
  6. eToychest
    70
    Certainly a playable game, and it has an obvious appeal to a certain variety of gamers. However, if you aren’t part of that group, odds are one or more of those flaws in the game’s design are going to make it just about impossible to really enjoy.
  7. Boomtown
    70
    Twitch players in favour of the 'rush and crush' tactic will be deeply frustrated here, but those who like to take their time and mull over the tactical options available should find much to keep them occupied.
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  8. Worth Playing
    70
    A veritable treasure trove for history buffs, aficionados of that particular time period, or people otherwise interested in how wars were actually fought through human history.
  9. GamerFeed
    70
    While more than a couple aspects of this game turn out on the bland side, and the single player campaign is much more difficult than it should be, the game is fun to behold.
  10. PC Format
    67
    It's designed to be more cerebral than current RTS war titles, and can't match the visceral thrill of "Rome" or even "Medieval Total War." [May 2005, p.102]
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  11. Eurogamer
    60
    A curious mix. Some undeniably strong and distinctive pieces of game design, tarnished by some elementary errors, such as the lack of a decent training program or real in-game help.
  12. GameSpy
    50
    It just comes a bit short as turn-based game, with underwhelming historical battles and lacks the rich RTS experience of the original.
  13. GameShark
    50
    An average game that is held back by brutal difficulty and a design that would seem to fit better with a turn based model.
  14. Computer Gaming World
    50
    Trying to please hardcore and casual strategy gamers, Cossacks II satisfies neither. [Aug 2005, p.87]
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  15. Computer Games Magazine
    50
    Seems like more work than play. [Sept 2005, p.53]
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Awards & Rankings

79
#79 Best PC Game of 2005
77
#77 Most Discussed PC Game of 2005

User Reviews

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User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 58 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 58
  3. Negative: 9 out of 58
  1. Parvarteshwar
    Aug 30, 2011
    5
    This Cossacks 2 has a good concept. Real-time strategy, unit based warfare like Empire Total War with real-time economic elements like AOE 3.This Cossacks 2 has a good concept. Real-time strategy, unit based warfare like Empire Total War with real-time economic elements like AOE 3. Two really good gameplay elements melded into one and it is really a shame that poor polish ultimately made this game unplayable. There is huge degree of micro-management, with workers, units, and buildings all needing a great deal of care and attention, and that attention soon gets spread very thinly. That said, I am not against micro-management, quite the opposite, but the way it is presented in this game make it feel like needless busy-work. The economic management is basically nil, so you can run out of a resource in the midst of a huge battle and have almost no way to make up the difference. The interface is very clunky, especially in the heat of battle when you simply don't have time to second glance your commands. Your unit AI is very simple and pathfinding and auto-targeting are broken. For instance you cannot set non-artillery units to auto-fire, which means you must constantly be clicking back and forth up and down your lines to make sure that your unit is not getting shot to pieces without so much as returning fire. And since reload times are based on individual units and not squads, it is difficult to judge when the squad will be ready to fire, since you cannot order individual units to fire independently. And the morale system is very wonky as well, with the designated morale meter not being a very good indicator of your unit's overall morale. Half of a unit could break and flee and the meter would still read 100% for the other half and at other times it is close to zero and your brave soldiers will still be fighting on. In all if you can keep your army small it would not be very difficult to manage everything but the AI has a habit of trying to wear your done with attrition, sending wave after wave of cannon fodder until you either run out of ammunition or are overwhelmed. That said the AI is not overly complex and while it will attempt maneuvers or capturing strategic positions this is just an afterthought for its main strategy. And since they AI receives resource cheats its impossible to beat them through claiming strategic locations. There is also a campaign, which is slightly better than the random maps via scripts, it is rather unimpressive and boring. One example is half the officers in the Royal Army have Californian accents. All that said, I did not give the game a terrible score and this is why: The concept is truly unique and there is a huge amount of potential. If GSC can iron out all the rough edges there is strategy game of the year in Cossacks 3. Improve the AI, improve the interface, and there is a really great game to be had. I really hope the developers stick with this concept.… Full Review »
  2. dr-kenobi
    Sep 7, 2022
    5
    Герої 4 серед усієї франшизи Козаків. Не варто було це взагалі релізити колись
  3. Jackie_Jackson
    May 26, 2022
    8
    Я понимаю шо забаговано конечно страшно всё это дело но сама игра бесподобна и не имеет аналогов как и мой песюнЯ понимаю шо забаговано конечно страшно всё это дело но сама игра бесподобна и не имеет аналогов как и мой песюн
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