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It does some aspects, such as suppression and supply line, even better than my old favorite Panzer General II. However, the built-in scenarios frequently restrict the ways these features can be exploited strategically. While its theoretically great that you can render a heavily fortified enemy force ineffective by cutting off its supply, it does little good when there is a supply point right next to that force, or if any vulnerbilities in an extended supply line is so far off that the time it takes to exploit it is beyond the window for victory. This limitation does however make the few times when such strategy works even more satisfying.
Therefore it is no surprise that supply is where UoC's AI shines the brightest. Because success in scenarios is measured by time, any interruption to the attacker's momentum (and the player is always the attacker against the AI in all pre-made scenarios) can potentially cost victory. A nearly destroyed enemy infantry can move across your rear and cuts off your supply for one turn; even though that infantry is immediately destroyed the next turn, its actions still prevent your armor spearhead from much needed recovery from suppression. In a game where some scenarios measure victory in a handful of turns, even one ineffective turn can be critical. Beyond that, the AI doesn't deviate much from bulking up some units near objective points and holding other units on the front line (another neat UoC feature; you actually see the frontline on the map and it has effects beyond supply). Those frontline units typically do not move unless their supply is cut, even when the tactical importance of their position has long disappeared. I am not faulting the AI in that regard; it's hard to design an AI capable of matching human strategy, more so for a game of some depth like UoC.
And so we come to the truly great part about UoC, the scenario editor (as of v1.04b, which Amazon kindly includes) and PvP capability without which I would have given the game 4 stars. The game has an intuitive interface and easy to grasp mechanics that can be used to create quite deep strategic situations. Not happy with the build-in scenarios? AI not challenging enough for ya? Not a problem; you have to the tools to make your own battles and play with friends and strangers alike.
At this point I feel I should say something about the game's audio/visuals. It's clean and comfortable. You can see everything you need to see without superfluous distractions. The sound is functional and blends into the background. They're just what this kind of game needs.
I was actually compelled to write this review not specifically because of the previous factors. In several scenarios of the campaign, I had to sacrifice my chance at "brilliant victory" and settle for "decisive" ones because I found the order the objectives were to be captured for "brilliant" to be less than ideal, sometimes from the start and sometimes as the battle developed. Then the centerpiece scenario at Stalingrad came around and I won big as the Germans at relatively small cost. The ridiculousness of the situation hit me, and I realized this must be what some of Germany's real generals felt during WWII. You start many scenarios in the game with problems not of your making: units out of supply, frontline breached, etc.--situations that are unthinkable in most other strategy games I've played. Therein lies the beauty of UoC. For almost everyone who fight in it, war is not a clean slate that you get to fight the way you want. For German generals in WWII especially, many were asked to fight in impossible battles from Operation Babarossa onward, professionals doing what they can to resolve problems created by others with unrealistic expectations. Many strategy games take the setting of the Eastern Front during WWII, but few portray the hardship and helplessness of that theatre even to this level. I find UoC quite special in this way, not just glorified chess but a glimmer of a true war game.
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