The Cold War is played out, so it’s time to go back to WW2. Built in the same engine as Wargame, Steel Division is going back to the RUSE era, though likely without much of what made that game so special. Can it stand on its own merits, or will it be another Act of Aggression? Time will tell, whenever this comes out later this year.
Since Paradox is publishing this, we can safely expect DLC. We all love DLC.
Pistols at dawn, sir.
On one hand, I think the extra support and resources of partnering with Paradox is a good thing. On the other hand, I think I may be done with Eugen’s RTS games. I feel like there really hasn’t been much advancement of the concept.
That trailer talking about the planning and preparation pre/battle and this image:
make me feel there probably is more to the concept than just a Wargame in WW2. In the upper left corner there’s a countdown to what I suppose is a phase of the plan, and the fronts are strongly drawn in an unusual way for these games.
I think there might be focus not only on army composition as before, but also on pre-battle planning limiting your options?
Anyway, I’m intrigued.
Yeah, we’ll have to see if their dynamic frontline system actually changes things up. It should work better than arbitrary zones as an incentive to push forward and maintain a consistent front. Victory seems to be determined by total map control percentages instead of holding 50%+1 of the predetermined control zones on the map.
The additional support from Paradox should be a big help as well, since Focus seemed content to leave them hanging in the wind after each new release.
I assume if a WW2 game models front lines there will be a way to cut off units from behind. That could be good.
Man, this looks great, and reminded me I wish I had a copy of R.U.S.E. Is it worth tracking down a copy, y’all, what with the Wargames that came after it?
Nevermind what I wrote earlier. It seems Eugen is doing something different with this one.
[quote]Combat in Normandy ‘44 takes place at the division level. Rather than selecting a nation, you pick from a number of Allied and Axis divisions that fought in Northern France near the close of the war (though the actual beach landings won’t be included), each with a unique unit roster and play style. Among the names dropped were the US 101st Airborne and the German 12th SS, with England, France, Poland, Canada, and Scotland also represented. Some nations have multiple divisions to choose from, with each falling into a broad category of armored, mechanized, or infantry.
While your division serves almost like a deck of cards that you select prior to a battle, the troops you will actually be taking into the field, called a Battlegroup, are 30-40 units chosen from this roster on a mission-by-mission basis.[/quote]
I hope it does well so we get an eastern front version!
The Wargame series is superior to RUSE. But bith are good games which twist the RTS genre in new ways. RUSE is worth playing for a few bucks. But Wargame is where the long term gameplay is to be had.
That’s what I was hoping. Thanks!
Ok, that preview sounds quite like my dream game. A (way) more accessible but still somewhat realistic Operation Star.
I love that they are modelling deployment speeds and morale.
I hope they include historical battles where some units are pre-deployed.
But yeah, based on RUSE, the Wargame series and the preview I’m day one on this.
I hope this “realism” they’re talking about isn’t the same pseudo realism they have in the Wargame series ie. Wargame isn’t realistic at all and the rock, paper, scissors aspect kinda ruins a lot of the fun (for me).
Oh, look, the European Theater of World War II.
SNOOZE.
-Tom
Tell that to a certain short fingered vulgarian and his buddy in Russia.
you guys be all hipster and snooty and critical independent thinkers while i sit in my corner lapping it all up. oh yeah. soooo sweet :)
My thinking is that we want this to do really good so we get the Pacific or the East Front (that is, the two theaters were the war was actually fought).
Although after Red Dragon, I hope they really think hard about their naval model for the Pacific theater.
The game looks great.
So I pre-ordered, and played couple skirmish vs. medium AI, and medium AI beat me twice before I realize the importance of gaining territory vs. holding it, it is not like the previous wargame, you park your command vehicle into a zone and defend it, you actually have to move around to gain map control. As you see the front line shifting, you have to adapt and counter, also need to maintain the forward momentum by gain territory in order to win. Oh, did I mention, recon is really needed for those pesky anti-tank guns hiding in the trees.
I like in single player you can actually slow time to bullet time to allow time to think. There is also a line of sight tool, I use it quite often. I also like the 3 phases of operation, as it really makes game a little slower paced than the previous wargame.
This looked pretty cool from the games being played I watched on youtube. Not sure I’d go full price on it, but glad to hear initial first impressions were favorable.
