Firstly, a little
exposition: Men of War is the sequel to Faces
of War, which was itself the sequel to 2004's Soldiers:
Heroes of World War II. These three games are all
part of what the Ukrainian developers Best Way actually
call the Outfront series, which they've never
been known as in these parts. Oh, also, rumour has it
that Men of War is essentially a repackaged
standalone expansion pack. Simple, eh?
The naming scheme is a confusing state of affairs, but
it's often an expected if frustrating part of
localisation. There's no point in getting hung up on it,
though, because whilst Men of War is by no means
perfect, it is also a very competently put together WWII
strategy game which creates an exciting, tense, and
genuinely tactical gaming experience. Many of Men of
War's successes stem from the fact that it strikes
the crucial realism balance pretty much perfectly -
controlling your forces feels deep and tactical, without
being inaccessible; you have a wealth of options at any
given time without you feeling swamped; and the game has
a huge variety of unit and mission types without you
having to constantly re-learn how to play the game. The
interface is a tad questionable - much of it is tiny,
and much also seems superfluous - but it's never a
hindrance to your enjoyment.
.
Whilst multiplayer is
available, Men of War's focus is squarely on its
campaigns. There are three: Soviet, German, and Allied.
The first of these is the most fully-developed,
consisting of ten lengthy missions, whilst the German
and Allied campaigns are shorter at only five missions
each. Happily, they each focus on a different theatre of
the war - in the case of the Soviets, the campaign
changes from a defensive to an offensive footing as time
goes on. Throughout, the different sides to Men of
War are aptly demonstrated, but the uniting feature
is how brilliantly tense these missions can be. Take the
example of an early scenario set in Rostov-on-Don - you
must hold of a German assault on an industrial complex
long enough to load the factory equipment onto a
military train for evacuation. It's a familiar mission
structure designed to enhance tension and climax in a
razor's-edge finish, but it has rarely, if ever, been
done as well as it is here. This game loves to employ
the tool of making the player hugely outnumbered, and
this evac mission is a classic example. With only a
couple of tanks and a few dozen men at your disposal,
the mission forces you to undertake a slow retreat
deeper into the crumbling factory, closer and closer to
the vital train as wave after wave of enemy troops are
frustrated by your men's heroics. Missions are often
like this in Men of War, and though they are
challenging, they carry an enormous sense of achievement
and reward when you finally emerge, shakily victorious.
That idea of heroism is crucial to the gameplay too.
Whilst units don't gain veterancy, they are so precious
that you're constantly trying to preserve them. Any unit
is extremely frail when used wrongly, but potentially
devastating if employed with skill and precision - it's
just as strategy should be. For example, in one Soviet
mission you can capture a light German AA tank - it may
appear useless initially, but it soon proves to be a
lethal anti-infantry weapon, which is also able to shred
armour - but you still need to dance it cautiously
around the map, as a single enemy shell will reduce it
to glorified shrapnel. Similarly, infantrymen are
enormously vulnerable, but when given the right
combination of cover, positioning, weaponry and
inspiration a few squaddies can destroy multiple
fearsome armoured units and claim dozens of enemy lives.
Trying to make the most of your troops in this way is
integral to Men of War's appeal, and the game
explores this concept in two main ways: direct control
of your units and squad-based missions.
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"Occasionally
shoddy path-finding" |
I'm a bit sceptical about
direct control. It has some fairly serious camera
issues, and generally isn't a great deal of use except
when using particularly valuable vehicles. In fact, one
of its key uses is in compensating for the occasionally
shoddy path-finding. Men of War's maps are quite
detailed but, sometimes, its AI can't navigate around
them very effectively - trucks towing artillery pieces
are particularly notable culprits. On the other hand,
the smaller-scale squad missions are absolute gems,
forcing you to use very small numbers of infantry to
complete virtual suicide missions behind enemy lines.
Scavenging weapons from enemies, stealing their vehicles
and holing up in buildings are the order of the day, and
completing these missions - particularly the concluding
Soviet mission - is an almost unbeatable thrill.
Once the ample campaigns are done - which will keep even
seasoned armchair commanders busy for some time - there
are also some single missions and the multiplayer to
move on to. Then of course, if you like the cut of Men
of War's jib, you could always go back to its
predecessors. While hardly groundbreaking, Men of War
is a deeply satisfying strategy game which builds on the
potentially stale formula of the WWII RTS to create a
solid, engaging experience.
80%
Minor
issues don't seriously hamper this unlikely gem.
About
our scores...
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