What game theme has been used over and over and
over again? The answer to this question is World War II. This is the setting for
a multitude of games currently out on the market ranging from first person
shooters, action games, to real time strategy genres. The reason for this is
that a lot of things happened in this time period and there are many different
stories that can be told or expounded upon. Along comes World War II: Frontline
Command by Strategy First, which is a RTS game with a different approach, but is
this game just using the popular theme, with nothing solid to back it up? Read
on to find out.
There are two difficulty modes in this World War II: Frontline Command, Recruit
and Veteran, and unlike most games there is a noticeable difference between the
two, and it isn’t the AI. Recruit mode is for beginning players, and has a total
of 12 missions to play. These missions are separated in blocks of four with
three missions in each block. The mission locations will range from France to
the North German Border. In this mode players will have access to more vehicles,
infantry, and unlimited ammunition.
Veteran mode has over 25 missions to be played; these are divided up into five
blocks with five missions in each block. Players have the choice to play four of
the five missions in each block. The missions will take players from France and
it will finish once they are deep into Germany. In this mode, the enemy AI is
ramped up, players will have fewer infantry, vehicles, and they will have to
re-supply ammunition as well as repairing any damage to vehicles. The biggest
change is that anything players do in the previous missions will directly affect
the next missions.
World War II: Frontline Command is a different RTS game. This game removes all
of the tedious resource management and just throws players into the fray of
battle with a set number of units for each mission. Once players lose all of
their units they are done for. This makes the game really unique because they
cannot create more units, so the players have to be extremely strategic in each
of their moves to complete the mission. In veteran mode they not only have to
look out for the unit count, but also the ammo each of the units has as that
makes the game extremely life like. One of the biggest disappointments for many
people will be the decision that players can only play as the Allies. I theorize
that this was done so players will be fully immersed into the Ally campaigns.
World War II: Frontline Command plays like a dream! The best thing is that
players will be able to see all of the graphically glory that this game has to
offer due to the fact that there is not numerous screens blocking your view. The
command interface is really easy to use, and only requires the players to do a
few mouse clicks for everything. The better the players do in certain
circumstances the higher the troops moral will become and because of that,
players will be rewarded with “Heroic” actions that are really neat to see in
when done.
The best thing about this game is that everything players command and all of the
technology they use is taken from the World War II time period. This includes
all of the missions players will go through, the different vehicles you will
command, to the weapons and technology that is available to them during this
war. It is amazing the amount of meticulous detail that the developers put into
this game to make sure that everything is authentic.
One of the neatest parts of this game is how the enemy can catch you. Most games
have a “line of sight” meaning if the enemy can see you within a certain range
you will be caught, but if you are just out of it you will be flying high.
Frontline Command has that but also includes a “hearing” system. This means that
players will have to be quiet if they are trying to sneak around a town, because
the slightest noise can ruin a mission for you. Your troop AI is not stupid
either, as they are well aware of the dangers that they face. They will know
when you send them on a suicide mission and your troop marline will drop as
well, meaning there is a less chance of seeing the Heroic actions.
The bonuses that this game has to offer are really astounding. One of these
goodies is real WWII archive footage that gives information about a certain
mission. This really draws players into the game this much more. There are
bigger and better things for the players to find out once they complete the
missions.
World War II: Frontline Command is rated T for Teen.
The system requirements are:
Pentium II 500 MHz or greater
128 MB of RAM
Windows 98/ME/2000//XP
8X CD-Rom
DirectX 8.1 (included on disk)
16 MB or greater Video card
Windows compatible soundcard
56 Kbps or better Internet Connection to play online
TCP/IP installed to play over a LAN (Local Area Network)
750 MB of Hard Drive Space
Keyboard and Mouse.
Gameplay: 8.8
The game’s interface is really easy to learn and get used to, it is all
mouse clicks and a few short-cut key commands, most of which are universal to
any RTS game. There is plenty of action, strategy, and stealth involved during
the entire course of this game, without the tediousness of collecting all of the
resources. Even though this game sounds simple it will have plenty of things to
keep you busy and on your toes at all times.
Graphics: 8.8
World War II: Frontline Command looks really nice. During the course of the
game players will be able to see all of the beautiful landscape of France and
Germany, which include war torn towns, farms, and many other things. There is no
slow down at all in this game, which is really nice when you only have a few
units to work with. The camera that is used in this game never hinders the game
view in anyways.
Sound: 8.2
The sound here is what you would expect from a World War II game. This
includes plenty of gunfire, explosions, and units responding to your every
command. There is nothing out of the ordinary that players will hear in this
game, but it is done.
Difficulty: Medium
I really like how there is not only a difference in AI in each difficulty
mode, but also in some of the missions as well. This makes players want to play
through the entire game more than once so they can see it all. The game is never
too hard to play, but it always provides a challenge as the AI is always
adjusting to what you do in the game.
Concept: 9.0
I really like how what you get in the beginning of the each missions is all
that you get. This really makes players really cautious during the course of the
missions, because if you lose one unit it could mean the difference between
victory and defeat.
Multiplayer: 8.5
It is pretty nice playing against AI but
this game is even better playing against up to four human players.
Overall: 8.8
World War II: Frontline Command really puts a unique spin on the RTS genre
and even the different difficulties modes. Check this game out, as you will have
a blast while playing it.
