Act of War: Direct Action
A superb, well detailed RTS where a varied army composition is needed and diverse strategies are key to victory as combat can end quickly and brutally. Gameplay is a great mix of casual and hardcore RTS with the usual base building and unit deployment except resources aren’t found in deposits instead are earned either from POW’s or finite oil fields/banks/ammo bunkers. Buildings also utilize realistic gameplay so you’ll have to MedEvac injured troops to field hospitals or ferry a heavily damaged vehicle to a repair depot. Lastly buildings can be garrisoned on different levels when the building provides like on the roof or other visible floors to defend from not just within the structure. Infantry units can depending on the unit type go prone stance for camouflage and gain additional cover at the cost of speed as well as storm a garrisoned building with varying levels of success depending on unit type. Sometimes your units or the enemy’s forces have a chance to survive a battle due to either heavy injuries or are part of a surviving vehicle crew unless captured, repatriate or healed they will eventually bleed to death or stay put for the enemy’s gain. Killing POW’s is useless unless to prevent them from exposing your stealth units so your better off getting them for more money. Vehicles like infantry aren’t all around powerful units so you can’t zerg in this RTS thankfully. Aircraft are treated as off-map support with varying aircraft for different sortie missions but all can be shot down if not properly deployed or if the Air Control Tower gets destroyed. WMD’s are in-game too but whats unique as well is counter WMD defensive teach to prevent such disaster. As your units gain veterancy they will become generally more effective and even heal/repair when idle so its best to keep your army well supported in the long term. Each faction is unique with their own tech trees, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. The US Armed Forces has specialized firepower but needs electricity and descend their DEFCON alert level to access and maintain new tech. Task Force Talon is all about speed and flexability not needing electricity for a direct tech tree but doesn’t have the punch of the other two factions. The Consortium lastly requires you to use all of your units to get the best out of them. The story and characters are set in a well made semi-futuristic Military Sci-Fi theme with an interesting cast and a simple but effective plot that’s better, more interesting then most RTS stories especially if your a fan of Tom Clancy’s style writing though the main antagonist doesn’t have the same impact as say Kane of Nod is like. Cutscenes are made using a combination of real actors and CGI giving a nice cinematic feel for each missions all in a more realistic, gritty, serious take on the genre that’s more engaging and enjoyable then just a simple briefing. Missions have great variety that makes you utilize different strategic skills without being unfair with great AI as you increase the difficulty. Multiplayer is available as well with optional AI enemies or allies in good number of maps and nice number of game modes though its not functional online as its GameSpy so you’ll need 3rd party software like Hamachi or Game Ranger to do so. Graphics are dated and some animations too but it still has great detail with unit interactions, building functions, battlefield scarring and no unit limit help make it still impressive. Audio is passable with mostly similar unit dialogue and the soundtrack is good but limited. In summery a well made RTS despite its age for those wanting to find that niche for an in between casual and hardcore experience and more depth then to simply zerg.
– Real player with 24.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best RTS War Games.
Introduction:
Act of War: Direct Action is a tactical RTS game set in the near future, which tells us the story of the conflict between US forces and terrorist baddie who went full mad berserk mode and almost made it to Nuclear war. Original game was released in 2005, so this is more of a retrospective review, as judging the game according to modern standards would be wrong.
A drama behind the scene:
From the actual announcement, Act of War was possessed as a straight rival to C&C Generals. I still have that fancy magazine where journalist made a review, calling AoW a killer of Generals. In all honesty, even if developers did not initially plan to fight C&C on their own field, the rumors and speculations aren’t born on empty place: both games really have similar gamestyle and gameplay, despite, quite often, having somewhat different approaches.
– Real player with 24.2 hrs in game
ICBM
ICBM is a great way to kill an hour, along with a few hundred million people. It’s got a bit of a learning curve to it but it’s simple enough that you can pick most of it up in 2 or 3 games.
What I find interesting (and a little terrifying) about ICBM is how nothing is permanent and how the game always keeps you at the edge of your seat, because much like a real nuclear war, you could find yourself and everything you’ve built being vaporized by thermonuclear weapons at a moment’s notice. If you build an airbase, the enemy can nuke that. If you build missile silos, the enemy can nuke that. If you build submarines, the enemy nuke that. The game effectively works out to be a scramble between you and your enemies as you try to keep tabs on where they’re keeping their city-melting goodies, as well as protecting your own, either by keeping them well-hidden, or building enough defences that the enemy can’t smash through them until you’ve already turned their continent into a giant radioactive parking lot. Then there’s also the question of “Should I attack first or is that going to end horribly for me and 85% of my country’s population”, which then promptly leads to the question of “But If I don’t do anything, are all my cities going to be on fire in 5 minutes” which means you’re always guessing, or always trying to find out.
– Real player with 385.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best RTS Cold War Games.
I had to go back and change my original positive review to inform you not to buy this. Multiplayer community is dead and its been less than a month since the game lauched.
Game already has rampant hacking which ruins the game for everyone. Not to mention that the actual game itself is not really that fun after a few games.
Matches are 95% build up and 4% figuiring out who to attack and 1% fun combat. Most games you’ll build up for 35mins to literally not be able to use a single one of your nukes due to the game ending due to nuclear contamination via a massive barrage two guys release at once and even if you launched right then your nukes would not hit the ground before their nukes end the game.
– Real player with 43.3 hrs in game
9th Company: Roots Of Terror
I picked up this Russian made RTS game in the Steam sale.
The game is a tactical level RTS that follows the the 9th Company of the 345th OPPD through 9 years of warfare in Afghanistan against the insurgents and yes it is the same 9th Company in the film 9th Company. The game even has clips from the film.
The campaign is good but short and you do a nice variety of missions. The tutorial at the start is comprehensive enough for you to get a quick grasp of the controls.
It also has some nice realistic elements. Soldiers can get injured and can’t fight until attended by a medic and if you’re not fast enough may die from their injuries. You also get off screen support fro missions such as D-30 artillery strikes, rocket artillery and Hind CAS (all of which are extremely deadly) and so on. If you lose your radioman you lose your access to support. For some missions you get armoured vehicles to control and if these get hit you can bail the crews before the vehicle brews up. It’s best to take care of them as they provide a great fire-power advantage over your enemy.
– Real player with 239.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best RTS War Games.
Grab it on a sale.
While the game has a good few bugs (I’ve made a steam guide to help avoid them.) I personally enjoy this RTS, keep in mind that the store-page is inaccurate as the non-linear mission structure/morale system and a few other mechanics were actually cut and (like a good few steam games) the description seems to be out-dated.
What you do get is a linear, generally pretty decent budget RTS with some good ideas brought down by clearly being rushed out the door which is a shame as I really enjoy it, you will have to manage your units ammo for instance by scavenging/sharing ammo between them or you’ll end up having to try using your knife, you will be able to have snipers take out the gunner/driver of a truck so you can take it for yourself and you can call in artillery if the situation’s bad enough, these mechanics all together make for a pretty fun experience and the fact the game is set in the rare setting of the Afghan war and with the Russians as the player faction means this is an obscure RTS that’s pretty fun.
– Real player with 88.2 hrs in game
Warfare
second game from developer the first one is set in Afghanistan with the player playing Russian units. this one is is all about Saudi Arabia and with US units fighting against an insurgent against the royalty of the the country
pros
can capture buildings but not tents
different units can use trucks tanks apcs helicopter’s and all civilian vehicles
tank crews can use everything including anti aircraft vehicles except helicopters
vehicle crews can use all types of apcs civilian vehicles but not tanks or anti air or helicopters
– Real player with 886.7 hrs in game
So there’s three “warfare” games, all Russian in origin but with some differences in who developed them. I’ve beaten this game two or three times, on normal to hard difficulty. After this one came “Warfare Reloaded” where you play as the Russians against the US in Afghanistan. I can’t even review that one, because it’s not sold on Steam, probably because it’s AI is mentally handicapped and one mission won’t end even after you complete the objectives. The third one is “Syrian Warfare”, and I’ll review that one next. This one is the first, the best, and the other two aren’t worth touching.
– Real player with 74.7 hrs in game
Wargame: Red Dragon
Awesome..Im a Total War Junkie, and this feeds my addiction perfectly!!!
– Real player with 1609.9 hrs in game
One of the few games that can make me throw my mouse at Mach 2, but still come back for more. Worth every penny.
– Real player with 420.7 hrs in game
Wargame: Airland Battle
This game has gotten some raw reviews lately by people whome have put very little time into this game. Others have voiced legitimate points over the games campiagn mode. This mode is very lacking but shows just a glimpse of what a campaign can really be if they move in a different direction (i.e. Total War). The maps are set up pretty good with great detail in vegetation and the size of the air space your planes fly in is amazing. Model detail for the vehicles and air power are great while the infrantry is mediocre whitch leaves alot to be desired. The difference between models of air craft is neglegable with no difference in aero-nautical and external hardware. They swap out the skins and say it is a different vehicle despite the fact they look the same.
– Real player with 195.8 hrs in game
Before reeding, please accepte that i have bad Englsih :)
90 hourse online and 300 offline game time.
Short: This game are taking the RTS in a new lvl and twist. Cause the game have made it massive and “smal” in the same time. I feel the developer have made it realistic and smoth. And I feel like i have the countroll over whats happening while playing.
Long: I go after 6 thing i going to rank. GIGS-CO
Gameplay:
I find it realy great. It is many thing that bring it easy to play, but in same time funny to countrol. One eks: can give many comands; move fast, move, attack, spread, regroup, split. This is very importan when it comes to winning or losing. (You can say witch direction thay gonne stay at if you are holding in left mouse butten).
– Real player with 133.3 hrs in game
Wargame: European Escalation
This is the sort of game I have been waiting for a long time; an ultra-realistic RTS game simulating the tactics of a hypothetical Cold War showdown. As a professional soldier I know the history on the development of all the vehicles I used in combat, but we always wondered how they would do fighting in the role for which they were designed (hint: Bradleys, Abrams and Apaches weren’t meant to fight third world insurgents). All of the Wargame battles require a combined arms fight with knowledge on how to use terrain and maximize the strengths and weaknesses of one’s equipment. This game is an incredible achievement in my mind. When a red horde slams into your position, and you realize that you do not have enough TOW’s to stem the tide, it puts the Fulda Gap into perspective.
– Real player with 232.5 hrs in game
I really hate that I have to call this game terrible, but sadly I do. For me, it is almost unplayably bad, and I wish I had never wasted my money on it.
The gameplay mechanics are good; it is sometimes difficult to micromanage the orientation of platoons to keep them facing the enemy, and my recon helicopters have an annoying tendency to land whenever they’re not actively moving, while I may want them to stay airborne to keep enemy units visible; the inability to set stances, and the rather awkward method of turning off individual weapons on individual units to keep control of who fires what, can be annoying, but I can generally get my units to do what I want. The graphics are fantastic, making each unit distinct and identifiable. The music fits the scene nicely, and the single player campaign storyline is nicely plausible.
– Real player with 83.3 hrs in game
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts review
Short Review
How not to be disappointed by this Tales of Valor? Of course, it is based on proven foundations and robust technology. But with content as thin as a soldier dropping under the fifty-something ton of a Tiger tank, it’s hard to recommend buying it at full price, even for a fan of the series. This second extension is just as superfluous as Opposing Fronts is essential. And to top it off, the Soviets were still not playable. We now know they kept the Soviets warm for Company of Heroes 2 but at the time this extension was released it was a scandal. Get it in a bundle or when it is on sale.
– Real player with 738.1 hrs in game
There’s no ‘U’ in Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor, which reflects the absence of a British campaign. There’s no ‘I’ either, but they probably should’ve worked one in. Considering the way most of this standalone expansion shifts CoH’s focus from the company to the individual heroes, it’d certainly be fitting.
Valor offers an evening or two of single-player content in the form of three mini-campaigns that incorporate its new concepts into well-presented but ultimately unchallenging missions. In the Tiger Ace campaign you control a single German Tiger tank that thunders through British forces as though it was in god mode – earning new abilities from an RPG-like skill tree for even more overkill. In Causeway, you control a handful of American infantry squads that might as well be composed entirely of Rambo clones – all you have to do is set them to attack-move behind their targets and let them do their thing, occasionally pushing the ‘revive squad member’ button when prompted. Falaise Pocket offers more of a challenge since you use more conventional CoH mechanics to hold off Allied forces while your wounded German comrades retreat, but it’s still only three missions long.
– Real player with 35.5 hrs in game
Operation Osama Bin Laden
(Hi Osama)
Hello Mustafa
(Wanna go for a ride?)
Okay, my friend
(Jump in!)
I am Bin Ladin
I will always win
For you it’s tragic;
For me fantastic
You can brush my beard
Undress me everywhere
Imagination, bombing every nation!
(Hey Osama, kill Obama)
I am Bin Ladin
Going for Berlin
With my fellows
Don’t be jealous
On the motorbike, going for a strike
Imagination bombing every nation!
I’m a black terrorist
Killing every racist
With my hat and big nose
I’m Afghani
Number one, in the world
Killing wen with my sword
– Real player with 3.6 hrs in game
Cool game
– Real player with 2.1 hrs in game
Act of Aggression - Reboot Edition
I’m a die-hard Command & Conquer fan, having played every single C&C title and expansion from all three universes (Tiberium, Red Alert, Generals), starting with C&C Gold back in 1995 through to the canned Generals Beta around October 2013. My review is written with a strong emphasis on comparing Act of Aggression to Command & Conquer titles.
WHO WOULD THE GAME APPEAL TO?
If you have ever enjoyed any of the “old-school” real-time strategy games (e.g. any C&C title, Dune, StarCraft, Warcraft 1&2, Supreme Commander etc.) which were defined by base-building, resource collection, unit spamming, superweapons, then you definitely should consider this game. These games are vastly different to more strategic and tactical RTS games such as Company of Heroes, Men of War, Wargame series etc. which typically entail micro-management of individual units (e.g. what to equip them with) and careful consideration of where and how to deploy your finite units and supplies.
– Real player with 165.2 hrs in game
Let me preface this by saying I was very happy to see Grey Goo, Etherium and Act of Aggression all slated for release this year. I simply love traditional RTS games. By traditional I am referring to the resource, build, produce sub-genre of RTS made very popular by the C&C franchise.
Grey Goo let me down and simply could not entice an audience. Etherium was low quality.
FInally I feel like someone has made an RTS game worthy to be held up against C&C Generals; one of my favorite and most well-love RTS games of this sub-genre.
– Real player with 157.6 hrs in game