Very Very Difficult game that's not for everyone, but it's a great game
User Rating: 9 | Hammer & Sickle PC
I can understand why the Gamespot reviewer gave this game a not so hot rating. In the relatively short time these guys have to get their review out, I don' t think they can fully appreciate a game like this. I should first note that this game is not for everyone, because not all of us have the patience for extremely challenging games. H&S is essentially misunderstood by most, even Silent Storm fans, because this game relies less on combat. In fact, a primary goal of the game is avoiding combat if at all possibly. Your team is essentially a bunch of spies made up of soldiers leftover from WWII. By the way, this game, in many respects, is a sequel to Silent Storm and Sentinels - there are a lot of references to those games. However, H&S is set at the start of the Cold War. Your team has to stealthily work it's way through European countryside, towns, cities, prisons, and secret locations to achieve objectives that are not clearly spelled out in the beginning. In fact. part of the gameplay is figuring out what the heck your objectives are. There is plenty of combat, but you want to avoid as much as possible. Your actions effect the game and ending tremendously. There are multiple endings, but only one with a successful result. i think this adds a lot of replay value to the game.
Although, Hammer is basically a squad-based/turned-based strategy there is a strong RPG element to the game. Your team builds skills over time, acquires weapons and inventory via scrounging and money. there's even different uniforms you find that help you in certain situations and environments.
Like Silent Storm, the game is very taxing on the computer so you need a lot of juice or tweak the graphic settings. Some say there are bugs, but I didn't find to many that were bothersome. The dialog can sometimes be a little confusing, which i think turned off some, but remember it's a Russian developer and focus, so you just have to kinda change your thinking and expectations a little.
Well, in closing, I really enjoyed this game and the challenge. If you like this sort of game and Silent Storm, you should like this game but it requires some patience. It's one of the most difficult games I"ve ever played. I don't really think there's a game quite like this one.
