You will carry out missions that were executed before the invasion of
Normandy, the D-Day Invasion, and missions that prevent the Germans form
retreating. You will have access to allied units and reinforcements provided by
the French resistance. Along the way you will also find other allied units to
aid you in your mission objectives. After you complete a mission, you will have
the opportunity to replay the mission with different units that you can choose.
This RTS is like most of the WWII genre. Gameplay is similar both good and
bad but what this title offers that most lack is pretty impressive graphics. Not
exactly eye-popping, but definitely a step in the right direction. The
explosions are nicely done, as is the detail of the units. My only gripe, and it
is a big one, is that the infantry units look nearly identical. It is really
hard to differentiate between the different infantry type units despite their
icons. Trying to find your one sniper amongst machine gunners, rifleman, scouts,
etc can be painful. This makes for a tedious unit selection that nearly had me
screaming for an alternative. Even if they were color-coded would have helped.
May not have looked as good, but would have been more enjoyable in the actual
gameplay experience. One hint of advice, you can assign a number to them as you
can a group of units. I liked to assign a number to a scout and a different
number to a sniper. That way they could easily be called upon and moved with
search and destroy type of tactics. This proved to work exceptionally well.
The Tutorial is helpful but far from thorough. It does do a decent job of
getting you started, but either you have to play around with the units, and or
give the manual a quick read through. The game is playable but to get the most
out of it you need the manual. Trial and error will get you more in tune with
the commands. This is crucial for the game. You really need to coordinate
attacks to do well, and know the ins and outs of each unit. When it comes to the
armor units you can load them up with infantry for added firepower. This is
great to deliver some devastating blows against the enemy, but you may not have
enough men to max out every vehicle. The down side is that if your fully loaded
armored unit gets destroyed, so does everyone in it. This can eliminate your
entire platoon in a matter of seconds, so be wise. Fortunately there are units
like medics who can heal your infantry units, and mechanics that repair
vehicles. These infantrymen add longevity to your units. Protect them the best
you can.
A nice bonus is the history that one can learn from the game. There is plenty
of in game cinematics and background history provided in the game. You can even
get some good info on all the units in the game and their capabilities. This is
sure to have any WWII buff pleased and for younger players they can learn a bit
of history while enjoying the game.
Overall the game has its quirks, but this reviewer has yet to find a RTS
title that doesn’t in any genre. Most WWII strategy fans will find this game
challenging and enjoyable. Unfortunately there are challenges in the gameplay
that may be difficult to over look, but this gamer thinks the game is decent and
probably worth the money.
|
Review Scoring Details for D-Day |
Gameplay: 7
Gameplay in its entirety was pretty decent. My biggest gripes are mediocre
path finding abilities by the AI. You can sometimes see a clear path but your
units seem to find the path that is likely to yield the most casualties. Trying
to coordinate attacks is a daunting task especially when trying to determine
which infantry units are which. Unless you hover your mouse over each unit, it
is nearly impossible to determine which unit is the one you want. For example
the machine gunners, snipers, medics, officers, etc all look pretty much the
same unless you zoom in as far as you can. This seriously hinders quick orders
and can make the game seem difficult to play. You do have the option to
speed up gameplay and you can also pause to issue orders. Both options are
wonderful and would like to see those in other titles.
Graphics: 8
Visually for this genre the graphics were nicely done. Usually in RTS
strategy games this is overlooked. The cut scenes with video footage helps to
immerse the gamer into the game.
Sound: 8
Great sound effects, decent musical score, and average voiceovers.
Difficulty: Medium
Really the game is quite simple to play. You can toggle the difficulty
settings to make the game more challenging. The biggest challenge is getting to
know your units and their strengths and weaknesses. Special abilities come into
play and can leave you mesmerized on what you should have each unit do. The more
you play the easier it gets so don’t get frustrated. Fortunately you can pause
the game to issue commands. I would highly recommend this until you get
comfortable with the game.
Concept: 8
We have seen strategy games for the WWII genre before but this is nicely
done. I really liked the pause and command feature of the game; this really
helps out those new to the genre to get familiar with the game.
Multiplayer:
Available both LAN and Internet through GameSpy. Unfortunately at time of
review, I was unable to locate any MP games through GS. I would imagine after
the game develops some sort of following, games will appear on GS.
Overall: 7.8
I really enjoyed this title and the ease of play. At times I thought there
were too many choices available in regards to issuing orders, but this does add
realism to gameplay. The graphics are top notch within a genre that usually
lacks stunning effects. I was pleasantly surprised when I played this title.
Nice job!
