Being a WWII buff myself, I have been waiting for a really good non-first person shooter based game on the subject. Frankly, the number of WWII shooters is out of hand, and this is a refreshing change to the WWII genre. It's a solid game that, I think, both WWII buffs and RTS buffs will enjoy. First, the good stuff. The sound effects in this game will rock your world if you have a decent system. Once a full scale fight has broke out, you will be blown away by the great explosions, varying gunfire, and vehicle noise. One of the details I really liked was that German soldiers speak in German and Russian soldiers speak in Russian. It's a small detail that really adds to the overall game play. The character models are good, too. The different tanks really stand out and you can tell them apart. They aren't just repainted models of the same stuff. The landscape of most of the levels are nice, too. There are some bad places here and there, but overall, it really looks good. Details ,such as, being able to hide troops in the landscape is a cool idea. Tall grass, bushes, and trees can sometimes mask a small group of troops. The simple fact that tanks just roll right over trees, fences, and utility poles and they tumble down is very cool. The story mode, so far, is a plus. First off, you can customize your army with whatever is available at that time in the war. You don't have to use what the computer gives you. You are awarded points at the end of missions with which to outfit your army. Troops also gain experience that improves there damage in combat. Tank crews, rather than the tank itself, gains experience. This lets you upgrade the tank that the crew is driving, while still keeping it's experience. Foot soldiers can also be equipped with extra equipment to aid them in a mission. You can spend points to give them grenades, mines, and Molotov cocktails to help them fight tanks if the are away from tank support. Mine detectors can clear the way for your tanks to move. The boat is a neat piece of equipment that allows the unit to cross deep water. A good move to launce an ambush or get to hidden areas. The binoculars allow the unit to have greater sight range. A good thing for snipers, mortar teams, and anti-tank rocket troops. The wide verity of troops you can use adds a lot to the replay value. Now the bad stuff. One of the first thing seasoned RTS players will see is the lack of team formations. For some reason, you aren't able to position groups in formations like box, broken line, and sweep. When they move from point A to B, the simple move to the position they were in to start with, and sometimes just go in random places. It will start to tick you off in a large fight. I think that is a critical thing missing from a game where getting your troops in the right place is the key to a good attack. Graphics in the cut scenes are very poor. They look about three years old or more. I guess that really doesn't affect game play, but they could have put forth a bit more effort than that. Sometimes it's just painful to watch, but it can easily be ignored when the story is good. All in all, this game is made for RTS players and WWII buffs. Off-and-on RTS players may not like it that much, but if you are a huge RTS player or a WWII geek like me...this is the game for you.
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