Strategy Informer brings you a first-look at one of 1C's other expansions to their leading franchise

A couple of months ago we brought you coverage from 1C's Prague'n'Play event, where they were showing off all of their up-coming titles. As you'll remember, they're releasing yet more expansion packs for their critically acclaimed Men of War franchise. The first one, Assault Squads we previewed at Prague'n'Play, and now having gone hands-on at GamesCom, we're bringing you coverage of the other expansion, Men of War: Vietnam.
 

It's like Normandy, but not...

Made by the same people who made the first expansion, Red Tide (an internal 1C studio as it happens, not DigitalMindSoft who are making Assault Squads), Vietnam follows a similar line to that of the first expansion, although as the name suggests takes the fighting out of the Second World War. Even though the series as a whole technically occupies the 'Real-Time Tactics' sub-genre of strategy games, Vietnam takes that one step further and concentrates on small squads of soldiers, as well as the fiddly RPG elements, in an experience that allows you to re-live some of the highlights of that twenty-year conflict.

With the simultaneous development of Assault Squads by DMS, Vietnam actually makes a lot more sense now. The problem with Red Tide when it came out is that it was only a single-player experience, and none of the extra features, units or weapons were made available for the main game and multiplayer. Now however, 1C's vision is more clear - whilst DigitalMindSoft works on the multiplayer and online elements, 1C's internal studio provides a small, yet engaging single-player narratives to explore.

The Vietnam War isn't often covered in videogames, so 1C adds its name to a fairly exclusive club that involves people like Guerrilla Games, 2K Czech, as well as a number of other now defunct studios. Despite this reluctance within the industry, somehow setting a Men of War expansion in Vietnam isn't that surprising, although it is surprising that 1C have decided to move the series on already (we hope they go back). Saying that, we would argue that Men of War would have made a better game to cover the Korean War than their Theatre of War franchise.
 

This is a nice shot... very atmospheric

Even though Vietnam is mainly a single-player offering, unlike Red Tide this expansion will now also feature a four-player online co-op mode (however nothing is being added to the main multiplayer). The campaign consists of ten missions, five from the perspective of the U.S., and interestingly five from the perspective of North Vietnam - which is something that's almost never covered, even in films. Whilst the number of missions may seem short, each outing actually takes a lot of time, so you still get that length of play. This is mainly down to the setting and the elements that Vietnam focuses upon, as we mentioned above.



So far, this game is looking to be far more interesting and better than Red Tide was. With a greater emphasis on micro-management, one really has to be meticulous when traversing the map. 1C have tried to really give an authentic experience, even placing traps in the forest that can instantly kill your men if you don't spot them in time. Everything is done much more slowly, you make greater use of inventory items and even the direct fire-mode comes in handy. That's not to say the whole thing is more commando-style jungle missions - Vietnam is slated to include everything from search-and-rescue ops, to full scale battles, with locations from Ho Chi Minh, the Mekong Delta, and even the Tet Offensive. You can also make use of Air strikes, and for the first time in the Men of War series, Helicopters, which played a major role in the war. We're unsure at this point whether you can control them, or whether they'll simply be an 'ability' or whatever, but it'll be interesting to see anyway.

On the US side at least (the North Vietnam campaign is being kept under wraps for now), you always get to include at least one corps squad of soldiers that the game revolves around. Much like Smirnov and Kuznetzov and from the original Russian campaign, in Vietnam you have yet more individual personalities to follow. The core squad consists of Sergeant John Merrill, machine gunner Jim Walsh, sniper Sonny Armstrong, grenade launcher operator Carl Dillan and combat engineer Bill Kirby. As you can probably guess, each person has their own speciality, so it's a case of making use of their individual strengths to overcome obstacles. Don't worry if you lose some of them though, they come right back for the next mission as always.
 

We hope the Noth Vietnam characters are given as much personality as the Americans

Men of War: Vietnam again caters to people who liked the more up close and personal missions from the original game. It'll require slow, methodical game-play, full exploitation of the RPG elements, as well as modes like direct fire, and a keen eye to your surroundings. At only ten missions, five for each faction, we worry whether it's ultimately going to be good value for money since it's going to be a full-priced expansion. It should be a decent experience none-the-less, although If I'm being honest, I'm more excited about Assault Squads. Men of War: Vietnam is due sometimes during Q2 2011 for Windows PC, and remember, Charlie don't Surf.

Most Anticipated Feature: Since Vietnam completely changes how you interact with the game, there's no single thing to look forward to. You either love the whole package, or you don't.