Soldiers: Heroes of World War II is quite simply one of the greatest games I have seen in years. Rarely does one find a game anymore that’s offers a real challenge, but this one certainly does, rarely does one find a game that is crafted so well that the difficulty is not frustrating, and the game play is so well done that you really almost enjoy trying the mission again to see if you can do better this time. Soldiers: Heroes of World War II is a game that does this, and much more. The game is a real-time strategy game, but not at all in the traditional sense. There is no base building, nor is there a need to spend time collecting wood. You are given your force allotment at the beginning of the mission, and that’s what you have. This makes you truly care about your units, and not send them wholesale into the fray as you would in a standard RTS. Attrition is not a viable tactic, and careful use of your troops is key to victory. As with any review, we start with the graphics. Wow. The engine this team has crafted is incredible. The amount of detail apparent on each and every unit, structure, weapon, impact effect, and the landscapes is amazing. Everything is FULLY destructible. Tanks can drive through houses, knock down trees, blow huge craters in the road, destroy bridges, and then blow up the debris that is left! This makes the game play very satisfying, you won't forget the first time you wipe out an entire German troop carrier and the house next to it. Or drive through an entire neighborhood to cut off some troops escape. Explosions and fire is very well done, and the water effects and shadows are impressive as well. Overall, the graphics and presentation is outstanding. Sounds are quite well done as well. The voice acting is above average I would say, especially the pre-mission briefings. Weapon effects, explosions and screams are quite well done, and add a lot to the immersive factor of the game, a good example of the detail is the sound of the airborne debris hitting the ground after one of your HE shells blew up a house. The music is very subtle, I haven't really noticed it too much so far, and so it’s neither distracting nor particularly noteworthy. Game play is where this game truly shines, and there are a number of clever innovations. The game can play like a traditional RTS, albeit, with a much more tactical focus as you have a limited amount of units. The fantastic interface allows your units to take advantage of cover with a single click, or you can order them to fire around a terrain piece, crouch behind a wall and snipe, jump over the wall, etc. Weapons, equipment, ammo and even vehicles can be pilfered from your enemies, and this will alter your strategies. Sometimes you might want to just 'soften' up that tank and have the crew bailout as opposed to blowing it into pieces. Perhaps the most exciting thing is the 'direct control' feature. This literally turns this game from an RTS into an action game with a single button. Direct control allows you to move a unit manually, and engage the targets of your choice, so instead of clicking the unit, and clicking where it goes to; you click the unit, enter direct control, and move using the arrows, or the WASD keys. This feature allows you to maximize the effectiveness of your units, which is welcome because you are usually outnumbered. In addition, it’s just an enormous amount of fun to drive a tank through a fully deformable map and cause mayhem. Multiplayer is fully supported, as well as co-operative multiplayer natively! Unlike many other strategy games you choose your units before hand, much like a traditional tabletop strategy game. With the direct control feature, this can make for some great matches, where you directly fight your friends in multiplayer. To sum up, this game is fantastic. It is rare that I feel Gamespot is wrong in its score. This game is certainly worthy for anyone who enjoys strategy games of any complexity, or due to its focus on combat and not base building and resource collection, action game fans that might want to try something a bit new. Pitts
Other Helpful Reviews for Soldiers: Heroes of World War II
Soldiers is one of the best looking and best playing WW2 RTSs around. Everything in the environment is destroyable. Enemy troops react realistically to your attacks. Ammo conservation is VERY important for each indivi... Read Full Review
This game is an ace for anyone who loves RTS but really wants a bit more action - oh and as well as some deep strategy. Can you have it all? Well, yes. Not seen this done before and loved all the Panzer games which... Read Full Review
